product creation

26
Nov
2009

Product Creation Golden Tip

Here’s a little tip that I’ve found works wonders for me, and I was talking about it to a friend the other night.  In fact it works so well I could probably pad it out and sell it as a product in its own right and people would be glad to pay for it.

It’s really mind bogglingly simple, and is extremely effective.  It came about almost by accident, and this is GOLDEN.  You’ll have one of those “Aha!” moments when it sinks in.  It’s one of those things that most people leave until last, when it should be done before most everything else.

Are you ready?

Once you know what your product is going to be, and it’s all taking shape in your mind…  here it is…

Write the sales copy FIRST.

“WTH?” I can hear you say.  “But the product isn’t ready, why would I write the sales copy if I don’t even have a product?”

Three golden reasons, and when you’ve done this once you’ll realise how strong they are.

#1 – It clarifies exactly what the product is going to be.  You’ll find yourself coming up with additional ideas and bulleting them in.

#2 – It absolutely COMMITS you to a course of action because you’ve done what would for many people be the last thing first, and no-one likes to think they’ve wasted their time.  You’ve made an investment.  It motivates you (trust me on this) because you want to join all the dots and get to the end point you’ve already put in place.

#3 – Probably the hardest job to have to do is writing the sales copy – it can be a real struggle and is one of the reasons so many people outsource it.  When you’ve done everything else and you’re as good as ready to launch your product, then if you’re anything like me, by that time you’re running out of steam.  There is NOTHING so hard to face in the product creation process that is so difficult as having to write up the sales copy when you have no enthusiasm for it.

Think about that last sentence.  At the beginning of a project, your enthusiasm is on a high, you feel very motivated, and it’s easier to write your sales copy because your mind is buzzing with ideas.

Four years ago when I started on all this, my first product was SmartDD.  It had been completed, the sales script was in place, and everything was done apart from the sales copy itself.  It took me nearly two months to write before I even had the guts to launch it.

I found myself going round in circles, removing bits, adding new stuff, removing it again, and generally putting it off.  I procrastinated a lot.  I finally decided it was ready when somebody told me I was being a jerk and just to “Get the damn thing out there!” but I wasn’t happy with the copy until months afterwards, and I still tweak it here and there even now.

Nowadays I move a lot faster simply because I do the sales copy FIRST.  And I don’t agonise over it either.  I make it good enough and tweak it later.

Everything else is a lot easier to do once the sales copy is done.

Try it, you’ll be amazed.

-Frank Haywood

Posted by Frank Haywood in internet business
27
Oct
2009

Forming A Business Alliance

Working on your own at home is fine (and I quite like it) but of course it has its downsides too.  For instance when you have a job you go to each day, then you get all that social contact, and if you get on with the people you work with then it can be fun too.

I sort of miss that a little, but the freedoms I have now far outweigh any small misgivings I have about the team thing and missing the camaraderie.  You may feel the same.

And of course while you’re doing your thing and working from home, there’s nothing to stop you from forming an alliance with a like minded person or two and then creating a business from it.

The most important aspect is the division of workload and finding someone who has complementary skills to your own.  And you have to be able to get on with them too.  🙄

The thing is, just by being “out there” and doing stuff like product creation and getting your name known, you’ll inevitably bump into people along the way who share your enthusiasm and most importantly “get it” and who are on your wavelength.

It doesn’t happen every day, or even that often, but when it does you should grab the opportunity with both hands.

Sometimes you’ll find that you already know the person, but events just get in the way until one day you find that things are just right and you can get your act together.

The big benefit of finding someone you like and who has the abilities to handshake yours is you can get a lot done in a short amount of time.  IF you divide the work up between you and you can actually do what you say you’re going to do.  😉

Let’s not forget that when you work on your own, then every so often FEAR raises it’s head and you start to think you’re going to fail.

FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.

If you’re working with someone else, then that fear of failure – which is just an emotion – largely disappears because suddenly you find yourself busy doing important stuff and you have goals to achieve.

So my question to you today is…

Is there someone out there than you can form an alliance with?

An alliance that will mutually benefit both of you.

I reckon if you stop to think for a few moments then you’ll come up with at least two people you’ve met either online or off that you could work with and split the profits.

Why not drop them a line or give them a call and ask if they want to work on a small project with you?  Nothing too big, just a 30-day project to begin with, and create a new product and get it to market.

Two of you working together will mean you start to spark off each other and you’ll come up with some great ideas.  You’ll find you always have different resources you’ve both found to share with each other which can then be used to help you in your venture.

My suggestion to you today is you put aside 30 minutes and call or write to someone and ask them if they wouldn’t be interested in working with you on a small project.

You’ll almost certainly find that they’ll say yes.

And that could be the start of a beautiful (business) relationship.  😉

-Frank Haywood

Posted by Frank Haywood in internet business
21
Oct
2008

A New Product Every Week

Just about 12 months ago, I did my “7 Products In 7 Days” exercise – I only managed 3, but I still class it as a success.

I think it’s time to do something similar again on the product creation front.

But instead of pushing myself to do a product a day for 7 days, I think I might set myself a target of a product every 2 weeks or if I can keep up (and why not?) every week.  The products will include *everything* – that’s the product itself, the sales copy, the autoresponder set up and the sales and delivery software needed to do it all set up.

This is easily attainable and I can see myself getting in front after a month with 3 or 4 products ready.

The way I see it, I can break it down into timed chunks and set myself a timetable for when everything has to be done.  Product creation time will vary depending on the product, but things like sales copy and software set up should be fairly constant.

Some products will be freebie list builders, and others will be items I charge for.  Some will be created from scratch, and others will be based on PLR.  I don’t think you’ll be able to tell the difference when I’ve finished with them.

I have plenty of almost completed products on my hard drive.  I don’t know about you, but I suffer from getting 80% done and then grinding to a halt.

How about one of the first products being a breakdown of how to create a product, and all the little tasks that need to be done?

I usually do these things off the top of my head as I go, but I think it’s about time I had a system in place so that I don’t have to think too hard about it all.  You know, step 1 do this, step 2 do that.

And I fancy creating a mind map of it all too – I’ve never done that before, so that should be interesting in itself.

If you don’t know what a mind map is, it’s a method of dumping all the knowledge in your head on a particular subject into a useful usable format.  You can then use the map to complete a task such as writing a book, or creating sales copy or even creating a process.

I’ve even seen mind maps that are products in their own right.

There’s a free mind mapping tool called Free Mind (plenty of explanation and screen shots) that I think I’ll use to do that job, and I’ll let you know how I get on.

So let’s say starting 1st November, I’ll document each day here on my blog how I’m getting on with my product creation and set up.  A sort of a day in the life…

I know you’ll find it interesting.  😉

The important thing in this is YOU realising that I’m not the only one who can do this kind of thing – you can do it too.  Maybe watch me first and it will give you an idea of how to go about it yourself.

-Frank Haywood

Posted by Frank Haywood in internet business
03
Jul
2008

More More MORE Product Ideas…

A couple of weeks ago I ran a promotion for something of which a handful of people thought was a bad deal. I think it was more of a case of it insulting their sensibilities than a bad deal.

I had a small amount of criticism.

A lot of people bought it.

I’ve been downloading more of the material today (I’m up to 2.8GB at the moment) from the 365 PLR (Private Label Rights) items, and I’ve been spending a little time browsing through it.

I have so many product ideas now, I don’t think I’ll ever have to engage my brain again on that front.

This is a GOLDMINE. And I know even as I write that, some will say “no it isn’t, it’s trash”.

I completely disagree.

Purely from an ideas point of view, it’s worth the piffling $27 I paid for it.

And the bulk of this material is Private Label Rights. That means that within reason, I can do what I want with it. So I can take the autoresponder package that’s in there, rework it and sell it as my own.

Or I can take one of the many marketing ebooks, use it as a base point, and write my own. Many successful marketers have done just that.

Here’s an idea for you.

Search through the material until you find something you know about and it’s a subject matter that you know your target market will be interested in. Read what’s been written, validate the material to check to see if it’s relevant and write your own version, correcting any inaccuracies and bringing it up to date.

While you’re doing that get an ebook cover made, or do it yourself if you know how.

Next, set up a squeeze page – that’s a page that requires a name and email address. The deal is, if people enter their name and email address and agree to receive emails from you, you’ll give them a copy of your new ebook.

Finally, start moving traffic to that page and watch your list grow. If you don’t know how to get traffic, here’s a few realistic ideas.

o Join a free traffic exchange.
o Create a blog with no adverts on it other than your free ebook, and then start making relevant comments on similar blogs. Make a post on your blog on your target topic every day for 30 days, then 3 times a week thereafter.
o Buy a solo ad in a relevant ezine. Around $60 should buy you a mailing out with your offer to about 20,000 opted-in email addresses.
o Sign up to a giveaway and give your ebook away in return for a sign up.

Okay there are lots more ways to get traffic, and I’ll cover them in another post if you want me to.

Here’s the cruncher.

You have next to NO competition.

Only 1 person in 100 will do anything about this. Of those, only 1 in 100 will get as far as re-writing an ebook. Of those, only 1 in 100 will use a traffic method to start building their list.

That’s ONE person in a MILLION will actually start building their list.

Somewhere along the way, the rest will drop by the wayside.

Don’t overestimate your competition. Don’t think they’re better than you.

The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for you to succeed where they will fail. And the bigger your goal, the fewer people will pursue it, making it even easier for you to achieve. There’s less competition for the bigger goals.

If you’re an eternal Newbie, now’s a good time to shake off that N-word and become a player. Not tomorrow, today. Now.

If you haven’t already bought this bundle, then go and get it now, and do as I’ve suggested. Don’t let anything distract you. Break the task down into smaller goals if you need to, and reward yourself for each achievement.

In a week or less, you could be building a mailing list just by taking a little bit of action each day for the next few days.

Don’t wait until the time is right, because it never will be.

Just start now, and pick up the pieces as you go. That’s one of the defining characteristics of successful people.

Ignore the people who try to tell you there’s only one right way to do things because there aren’t, there’s as many as you can imagine. But NOTHING happens until you take action.

-Frank Haywood

Posted by Frank Haywood in internet business, Product Ideas
23
Apr
2008

Remove The Fear Of Failure By Knowing Your Numbers

You know how some of the semi-religious self-improvement psycho babble you’ve read that you probably thought was junk?  It isn’t.

You need to re-program your mind to think in different ways if you want to have a profitable internet business.

The biggest downfall for many people is procrastination caused by the fear of failure as confirmed by the replies to yesterdays post.  (I already knew this – been there, got the t-shirt.)

To overcome the fear of failure, all you need to know are a couple of things.

Persistency and consistency are the keys.

If you create your first product and it flops, it doesn’t matter.

The learning you will have gained will have paid for the product creation time.

The next time you’ll do it better.  And you may even later rework the product that flopped into something else.  You should always look at re-using any material you create.

But as sure as anything, if you persist and consistently create new products every 4-6 weeks, some will do well.  Some will also flop but it doesn’t matter, because using the law of averages means you are getting closer and closer to a full time income.

So using the law of averages, eventually you may come up with something like 5-3-1.

For every 5 products you create, 3 will do well and 1 of those 3 will do very well.  Or it may be 3-2-1 or 7-4-2 or whatever – you’ll see the pattern emerge in time.

You can then work out your average income across them all and know that just by the sheer weight of numbers, you will be making n amount of dollars.  If your averages work across 5 products, divide the n by 5 to give you your dollar value per product.

Let’s say it’s $200 per month per product averaged out.

Pure logic now says that the FASTER you can put out new products, the more money you will make – guaranteed.  You CANNOT lose as each one will generate an average of $200 per month.

Now the fear of failure is irrelevant.

You will know FOR A FACT, that every time you create and release a new product it increases your monthly income by $200.

It doesn’t matter whether it flops or it does really well, the law of averages is on your side.  Every single product, averaged out, will increase your income by $200/month.

To begin with you won’t know your averages, and the only way of finding them will be to do something.  Which brings me back to taking action and not worrying about the failures.

All you have to do is pull your finger out, create that first product and start marketing it.  While you’re marketing it, start working on the next one.

It’s as simple as that.  The law of averages is your friend.

Okay then…  Now I’ve removed your fear of failure, what are you waiting for?

-Frank Haywood

Posted by Frank Haywood in internet business