Product Creation – Part Eight
Creating products is about finding the holes in your niche. What are the problems and frustrations that aren’t being addressed? What are the current trends that are being overlooked?
It’s often easier to target a sub-niche within your niche when you’re first starting out. You’ll often find it easier to uncover problems that are begging for a solution, and generally you’ll find less competition.
For example, if you’re interested in the recipe niche, you might take a look at dessert recipes. And you might even go into that sub-niche to something like chocolate dessert recipes or tofu dessert recipes.
If you’re uncertain about potential sub-niches, how to uncover them and how to market to them, try studying other businesses that are unrelated to your market. See what’s going on in the real estate niche or the Internet marketing niche or the wedding planning niche. How are they serving the needs of their customers? What are they doing that you can apply to your niche?
Don’t hold back when you’re trying to come up with new and creative ideas. Let your ideas fly freely and unhindered. Think back to when you were 8 years old. Get back in touch with that nothing is impossible energy.
Use your creativity to put new twists to existing winning product ideas.
Packaging Products
If you’re market has a number of sub-niches, try imagining how you can package your sub-niche products into larger packages. Back to our recipe example … you could create a series of products around the dessert theme, then package them together for a bigger, more comprehensive product. Perhaps you create a series of dessert products for $7 each, then package them altogether in a product that sells for $47.
In fact, you could package them in various formats … a series of small reports, a monthly membership program, a recipe of the week club, etc.
And don’t limit your potential by thinking you don’t know enough about your niche or sub-niche to create a product. Just let the creative juices flow. You can always outsource the product creation or team up with some who understands your niche better than you.
Next time, we’ll talk about a process you can use to come up with ideas.
In the meantime, you can get a head start this way:
Stop Trading Your Time For Dollars
and Start Trading Products For Dollars!
Product Dashboard
Product Creation – Part Seven
Coming up with winning ebook ideas doesn’t have to be an impossible mission. We often make it more difficult than it needs to be.
Your first step is simply to understand your market. Take a look at existing products. Visit forums and Google groups to see what problems and frustrations are being expressed, find out where people are asking for help.
If you already have a customer base, ask them what products would interest them. Ask them what problems they would like to see solved. Ask them what formats they prefer (ebooks, audios, videos, CDs, etc.). Ask them what price range fits their financial situation.
If you don’t have a customer base, try putting together a mini-report on an important issue in your niche. Then offer the report as an incentive to have forum members complete a short survey about potential products. You can set up a survey on your own web site or try using one of these:
Survey Monkey
Survey Riot
Bzoink
Bullet Survey
What you’re looking for is simple: an existing problem that you can provide a solution for.
Want a shortcut? Take an existing product that’s already selling well and improve upon it. Not only can you improve on the content, you can improve on the method of delivery. For example, if it’s an ebook, provide an ebook with a series of videos.
Check out Clickbank.com’s Marketplace, Amazon.com, and even eBay to see what’s hot.
Next time we’ll talk about sub-niches, studying other niches, and packaging products.
In the meantime, you can get a head start this way:
Stop Trading Your Time For Dollars
Start Trading Products For Dollars!
Product Dashboard
Website Flipping
I just watched this free video that shows you how to instantly make more money from site flipping.
I’ve flipped a couple of sites lately and been fairly happy with the results, though one flip was a bust. They do happen.
Anyway, this video shows some step-by-step incredible tricks that you can instantly apply to get 200%/300% more money for selling your web site.
The guy that put it together is CJ Parker, and in this free video he shows you how he accidentally stumbled upon these site-selling secrets (and used them to wipe off $15,762.00 in personal debt within a few weeks).
Anyway I don’t want to explain the whole method behind his madness, instead I’ll encourage you to go and watch the video yourself.
Oh, and pay special attention to the section around the 5 minute 40 second mark … CJ calls this trick the “Site Selling Tsunami” Technique.
If the name sounds crazy, just wait til you see how much more money you’ll be able to sell your websites for after you implement this one simple method…
Check it out and see what you think:
Product Creation – Part Six
This is the last installment of product creation suggestions. After this, we’ll be going into other aspects of product creation. So use what you’ve learned this far to get yourself thinking about all the potential products you could develop to meet the needs of your niche.
Templates, Forms, Etc.
Think of it … are there any ways you can serve your niche using templates or forms? If you’re in the dog training niche, perhaps a checklist of the various stages of training? Or if you have an interest and some talent, how about designing logos for dog training businesses?
There are two markets within any niche. There’s the consumer, and there’s the provider. So if you have the right skills, it can often be more profitable to serve the providers. You can sell website design services or web copy services, articles, headers, ebook templates, etc.
The point is this: don’t limit your opportunities. Think creatively. Think about what you can provide to both sides of aisle.
Resource Lists
Information is everywhere on the Internet. Everywhere. The problem most people have is that they either don’t know where to look or they don’t have the time to do the looking. Haven’t you ever been frustrated while trying to track down a resource that you desperately needed?
Well, you can provide lists of valuable resources for your niche.
Directories and Guides
Along the same lines of resource lists, only a little more advanced, you could create a directory of sites, resources, software or even businesses within your niche or geographical location. For example, you could create a list of the best restaurants in your area and offer information on each, as well as dining tips, and so on. Or you could set up a website/directory/guide that offers an overview and review of the services within your niche.
For example, you might have a website that shares customer evaluations of local dry cleaning businesses, along with a guide on what to expect from a dry cleaner, how to get the best results, and how much you should expect to pay for various services.
Or you could set up a coupon site for all the businesses within your geographical area.
Right about now you’re probably starting to realize that a product doesn’t have to fit into a familiar box. In fact, the more creative you are at fleshing out your products, the more unique and more valuable they’ll be.
To be honest with you, your product doesn’t even have to be an actual product!
Next time, we’re going to talk about how to come up with winning ebook ideas. I think you’ll find yourself beginning to overflow with new and exciting ideas.
In the meantime, you can get a head start this way:
Stop Trading Your Time For Dollars
and Start Trading Products For Dollars!
Product Dashboard
Some Freebies For You
I wanted to share two freebies with you today. The first is an hour-and-a-half video presentation that Russell Brunson did for StomperNet. It’s really for those who have already achieved a significant level of success online and are looking for ways to take the next step up the ladder. Even if you’re a newbie, however, I’d suggest you consider spending your time viewing this one. Not only is it ver informative, it’ll prepare you for that day when you are ready to take the next step in your business.
Here’s the video: Russell Brunson
The second freebie is titled the IM Myth, and it covers seven steps to instantly IM-proofing your business. It addresses a seven step procedure to make sure your business is stable, no matter what the economic conditions are. It’s a quick read and well worth your time.
Here’s the report: IM-Myth
Product Creation – Part Five
Public Domain information is another excellent resource for product creation. Public domain works belong to everyone because they’re no longer protected by copyright. Any material published in the United States before 1923 is considered to be in the public domain. And any material first published outside of the U.S. before 1909 is considered to be in the public domain.
In addition, there are works after 1923 that are also in the public domain. However, these are a little more difficult to define and track down.
Basically, you can do anything you’d like with public domain works. You can even significantly rework them and copyright them under your own name.
Here are some web sites where you can get started in finding Public Domain material:
Video Or Camtasia Presentations
Often overlooked in product creation are videos. They are generally perceived to have a higher value. They are generally easier to make. And there are all the free tools you’ll need to get the job done.
The most powerful videos are “how to” videos. All you have to do is open Camtasia, record yourself as you demonstrate how to do some aspect of your niche. Don’t have Camtasia? Try one of these:
CamStudio
Easy Screen Capture Video 1.0
Debut Video Capture Software
Freez Screen Video Capture
HyperCam Free Trial
You don’t even have to use a screen capture program. You can put together a series of slides and turn them into training video. Use Windows Movie Maker, which is a free program that comes with Windows, and a series of slides. If you don’t have Windows Powerpoint for the slides, try one of these free programs:
Open Office Impress
Smilebox
Sliderocket
Powerbullet
Here’s the bottom line: multi-media adds value and additional credibility to your products. And while there’s a learning curve, just as there is with anything new, it’s worth your time to learn. If you don’t want to learn, then take advantage of the freelancing web sites we mentioned earlier to get someone to do it for you.
Next time out, we’ll talk about products that you might not have considered before.
In the meantime, you can get a head start this way:
Stop Trading Your Time For Dollars
and Start Trading Products For Dollars!
Product Dashboard
Product Creation – Part Four – Product Innovation
If you’re an expert, you’ve got a great advantage over the rest of us. You know of what you speak. So take advantage of that by having a friend conduct a recorded interview with you. Have all your questions established beforehand so you’re certain to cover all the talking points you want to hit.
Or conduct a tele-seminar. This is a great way to pay for your product development. Make it a free seminar, but offer attendees an audio copy as well as the transcripts for a nominal fee. That should cover all your tele-seminar and transcription services and leave you with a complete product. Sell it as a download. Sell it as a CD. Sell it as an ebook.
This is also a great strategy if you ever give live seminars. Have them video taped or audio taped and turn them into multi-media products.
Turn Existing Content Into Products
This is something that’s easy to do, quick, and has largely been overlooked by most product developers. Here it is: contact a bunch of experts in your niche and ask them to submit their best articles or reports or videos on a particular topic. Then compile the responses into a product.
The experts benefit by having their links included in the product without having to do anything but select something they’ve already completed. You could also entice them by giving your experts the first shot at selling the product to their own customers. You benefit with a product filled with expert opinions, plus you gain instant credibility in the eyes of the customers of the experts.
For examples, if you want to create a product for the copywriting crowd, you could contact several copywriting experts and ask them to submit a sales letters that they wrote for one of their products. Compile all the submitted letters into one mega collection of Proven Salesletters and you’ve got an instant product!
Very powerful. Very easy.
Use Private Label Content
Private label rights extends you the right to insert your own name as the author of the product. In the best of circumstances, you don’t have to write a single word. You simply purchase the rights to the material, add your name to it, and start selling.
Unfortunately, the best of circumstances is the exception rather than the rule. Most private label rights are either lacking in quality or are overexposed on the Internet.
However, you can clean up private label rights material … add material that’s missing, cut material that’s unnecessary, give it your own voice. Or you can submit it to a ghostwriter to clean up, which generally is much less expensive than if a ghostwriter started from the beginning.
Resell Rights Products
Most resell rights products don’t allow you to change the content. This creates a challenge, because you aren’t the only one holding the license to the product. So you have to find a way to stand out in the crowd. You’ve got a product, a resell rights product which you’ve purchased, so the hard work is done. In order to help make sales, however, you need to add some bonus products (look for private label rights) to make it a better deal than other marketers are offering.
More product creation suggestion next time.
In the meantime, you can get a head start this way:
Stop Trading Your Time For Dollars
and Start Trading Products For Dollars!
Product Dashboard
Free Keyword Mastery Package
