They’re all over the place. And you probably have seen many of them.

I mean those sales pages put up by Nigerians who claim to be making millions online, but in reality are desperate broke asses who only want you to buy their useless e-books (or other information products).

As I stated in yesterday’s post, most of the information products sold by Nigerian internet marketers are not worth your time or money. But that doesn’t rule out the fact that there are few ones you’ll get a lot of value from.

genuine ebook nigeria

The truth is, there are e-books and other info products out there that are created by Nigerians and that really contain immense value — although those are in the minority.

I need to tell you this because I don’t want you to dismiss every information product you stumble upon as a scam. That way, you can end up snubbing a product that can actually help you succeed.

Now, how can you tell the really valuable offers from the scams?

I’ll be as straight-to-the-point as possible.

Once you stumble on an e-book or any other information product created by a Nigerian, just ask yourself the following two questions:

1. Is the author an expert in the topic?

If you can find authentic evidence that the author has been working in a capacity related to the topic for a good number of years, then you’ll most likely get value from the product.

For example, if travel agent with 10 years of experience creates an e-book titled How to get a Canadian Visa with Ease, then it will most likely be a good buy.

By “convincing evidence”, I mean convincing evidence that you can find on credible sources elsewhere, not on the sales page. (Many people claim to be what they’re not once money-making is involved.) If you cannot find such evidence, don’t buy the product—even if the author lists 25 professional qualifications on the product’s sales page.

2. Does this author offer free valuable information that is closely related to the product’s topic?

The only way to make money selling information products online is to build a loyal audience.

And the only way to build a loyal audience is to consistently offer free information that people will find helpful and valuable — using a blog, forum, Facebook page, or any other platform.

This way, people will trust you over time, regard you as an expert, and then buy whatever products or services you have to offer. And this takes time.

But desperadoes will never play by that rule. They’re not ready to go through the pain of building an audience. All they want is quick cash.

So, if you’re unable to find a blog, forum, or other online platform where the author has consistently shared valuable information and gotten positive feedback from other people, don’t ever buy the product.

Even if the author claims to have a blog or Facebook page, check it out to know the kind of information published on it. If all you see is stuff that contains no value, then the product will most likely be crappy, too.

But if the information offered for free is so valuable that you find it hard to believe that such could be given away at no cost, then premium products created by the author will most likely be top-notch.

PS. In line with Akaahan Terungwa’s comment, I deem it necessary to add this: Even if you think the information offered on the author’s blog or Facebook page is valuable, check to see if he or she is the original author of the information.

You can check their posts for plagiarism by simply pasting them in online plagiarism checkers (I recommend Plagium.com).

Many Nigerians copy valuable information from other sources and present it as theirs. Never buy information products created by such people.

Copying other people’s content and presenting it as yours is not only ethical, but is also enough proof that the culprit has nothing to offer. An “author” who cannot create a blog post or article on his or her own will never be able to create an e-book.

So, those two criteria can help you figure if a product will give you the value you expect from it or not.

Do you even have to buy e-books in the first place?

I’d say…sometimes. There are times when you’ll have to pay for e-books, e-courses, or other information products in order to fully understand what a particular online business entails, especially for Nigerians.

While you’ll find many free e-books online on the same topic, you may not gain much from them because most of them are not catered to Nigerians and won’t work for you as a result.

To succeed in some online businesses, you need the assistance of a fellow Nigerian who has achieved success at that business. And that person has packaged the information you need in a premium product, then nothing should stop you from buying it.

You see, every blogger is out to make money in one way or the other. So, if such a person plans to sell information products, don’t expect such a person to give you all the information he knows for free. If he does that, there’ll be nothing left for him or her to make money with. Put yourself in that situation, and you’ll understand it better.

So, it’s not a crime for anyone to sell information products online. What’s actually wrong and unethical is to package useless information into an information product and tell all sorts of lies just to entice others to buy it.

My friend, if dropping some cash is the only way you can get some products or information that you think will be of great help, do that — provided you’re convinced it’s not a scam.

Don’t buy an e-book or other type of information product simply because you’ve seen mouth-watering screenshots of the author’s earnings report. Or because you’ve seen a lot of testimonials. Or because the seller has narrated how the information in the product made him or her a millionaire within three months.

All those can be faked. Yes, I know many desperadoes do that.

When you come across such offers, be careful, and don’t allow the urge to make quick money to push your common sense out of the window. Search for convincing evidence that the product will most likely be valuable before making your purchase.

That way, you’re less likely to be scammed.