In 2009, I wrote a review of Josh Spaulding's Info Product Success Formula (IPSF), a 45-page PDF course about building an information product business. I helped Josh develop the product, I was a moderator in his coaching forum, and I promoted it as an affiliate. I want to be completely transparent about that history before sharing what I think of it now.

Here is the honest update: Info Product Success Formula is no longer available for purchase. Josh has moved on to other ventures, and the specific product links no longer work. So this is not a review you can act on by buying the product. Instead, I want to talk about what the course taught, what still holds up, and what has changed about info product marketing since 2009.

What IPSF Taught

The core of Info Product Success Formula was a two-track system for building information product businesses:

• Track 1: Authority path. Pick a niche you are passionate about, become the go-to expert, and build deep content around that topic. This is the “deep and narrow” approach.
• Track 2: Opportunist path. Research profitable niches, create focused information products for those niches, and move on. This is the “shallow and broad” approach.

Josh covered lead capture reports, paid products, one-time offers (OTOs), and email list management. The emphasis was on building relationships through email and delivering genuine value. That philosophy was ahead of its time.

What Still Works in 2026

The fundamental strategy behind IPSF is alive and well. In fact, the info product business model has only gotten bigger:

• Digital courses are a massive industry. Platforms like Teachable, Kajabi, Thinkific, and Podia have made it easier than ever to create and sell online courses. You no longer need to figure out payment processing, membership sites, or content delivery from scratch.
• The two-track model is still valid. Authority-based businesses (personal brands built around expertise) and niche-based businesses (focused products for specific markets) both work. Most successful online entrepreneurs use a combination of both.
• Email marketing remains king. Josh's emphasis on building a list and nurturing relationships through email is more relevant than ever. Social media platforms come and go, but your email list is yours.
• Lead magnets still drive list growth. The concept of giving away a free report in exchange for an email address has not changed. The formats have evolved (quizzes, mini-courses, templates), but the principle is the same.

What Has Changed

• PDF reports have been replaced by richer formats. In 2009, a 45-page PDF was a legitimate product. Today, buyers expect video courses, interactive content, community access, and ongoing support.
• AI has transformed content creation. The biggest barrier to creating info products used to be the writing. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help you draft, outline, and refine content in a fraction of the time. The bottleneck is now your expertise and unique perspective, not the production.
• One-time offers still work but feel dated. The aggressive OTO funnel that was standard in 2009 internet marketing has been largely replaced by more transparent pricing models. Buyers are sophisticated and can smell a manufactured urgency scam from a mile away.
• Article marketing is dead. Josh also sold products about article marketing. That specific traffic strategy (spinning articles across article directories) was killed by Google's Panda update in 2011. Content marketing evolved into something much more substantive.

The Lesson Here

The reason I am keeping this post around instead of deleting it is that it illustrates an important truth about internet marketing: the tactics change constantly, but the strategies endure. Build an audience, deliver value, earn trust, monetize with products that genuinely help people. That was the core of IPSF in 2009 and it is the core of every successful online business in 2026.

If you are interested in creating and selling information products today, look into platforms like Teachable or Kajabi for course hosting, ConvertKit or Kit for email marketing, and focus on building genuine expertise in a niche where you can actually help people.

The tools are better than ever. The only thing that has not changed is that you actually have to do the work.