Excuse #11: Someone Already Has Something Similar on the Market

Let's continue our list of common excuses…

Excuse #11: Someone already has something similar on the market

Ummm…so there should only be ONE of everything on the market?  That's insane!  Tell that to McDonald's whose coming up on the heels of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts to start serving high-end coffee in their restaurants.  I'm not arguing whether that's a good idea or not, just pointing out the fact that in just about any market, there's plenty of room for similar, competing products. 

How about YouTube, Metacafe, Revver and the host of other online video sharing sites (yup, you can even create your own)? 

Or just consider all the choices you find at your local bookstore on just about any topic. 
Will you buy "The Idiots Guide to _______" or "_________ for Dummies^TM"? 

I could come up with tons of examples of this.  I'm sure you could too.

If you happen to be creating an infoproduct, you might have a different way of explaining things that some people prefer.  In fact, a lot of times, people are not only buying the info, but they're buying a little bit of YOU! 

Just because someone already has a product that covers a certain topic or a service that offers specific benefits, that doesn't mean you should back away from that idea.  There's more that one of just about EVERYTHING that's worth creating, though it's important to differentiate what you're bringing to the table (rather than just ripping someone off).

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Fine Art of Focus - Just Because You CAN Doesn't Mean You SHOULD

It still amazes me how much opportunity there is out there.  With a handful of low-cost tools, a little know-how and the right attitude, people can jump on all sorts of great opportunities.

But there's the problem…soooo many opportunities!

I'm pretty good at filtering these things out now, based on some rules I've come up with for what sort of projects I'm willing to take on.  But every once in awhile, something sneaks in under the radar.  Then it's a day spent ooohing and ahhhhing over how awesome that such-and-such idea would be…how we could do this, how we could do that…you get the point.

That's why it's best to come up with some rules for what you will and (more importantly) WILL NOT do.  Like the title says, just because you can doesn't mean you should.  There are a million and one ways to make a buck, online or offline.  But that doesn't mean you should jump ship off your current project just because something comes along that looks better and that also matches your skills, interests, etc.

For example, just because you know how to create ebook, DVD, or CD graphics doesn't mean you should setup shop and start doing that for a living.  Maybe you should, but maybe it doesn't fit in with what you're looking for.  It may take too much time, or you may not want something that's strictly based on the amount of time you put in, etc.  Then again, it may be so enjoyable for you (or so profitable) that it makes sense, at least in the short term.  It could be a short-term strategy in lieu of working a job - a way to bridge the gap from employee to business OWNER (emphasis on owner, rather than self-employed DO-er).

Another example…maybe the idea has an unpredictable income stream, like Google AdSense.  You might decide that letting Google (even potentially) impact your ability to keep the lights on makes for bad strategy.  Hmmmm…don't want to end up like this guy.

So what's on your list of "I won't do that for money" things that helps you keep focused when new ideas come along?

Don't have a list?  You should probably make one.

Have a list? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Excuse #12: I Need to Learn a Little Bit More Before I Get Started

Earlier I mentioned that I'd be doing a series of blog posts covering some of the most common reasons people have for not starting their online business.  For some reason, #12 is on my mind today, so let's do it "Late Show" style, in reverse order (although there's no real order to this list).

Excuse #12: I need to learn a little bit more before I get started

No, you really don't need to learn "a little bit more".  Now I'm about to tell you something that  you already know is true, but let me refresh your memory anyway - you're NEVER going to know it ALL.  No one does. 

Here's a good example.  One of the best thoughts related to this was something I read on Willie Crawford's blog in a post where he talked about how he built a list of over 100,000 people.  One of the things he said he did was write information-packed articles (Nothing new there, right?  But are you doing it?  I digress…). 

Notice that he emphasized the fact that they're "information packed", without holding back.  Why?  According to him:

The reason is that knowledge grows exponentially, and since I'm constantly learning new things, I can never teach you everything that I know.

The big takeaway is that if someone with 10+ YEARS of experience online is STILL learning stuff, then if you wait until you know everything, you'll NEVER get started. 

Just get the basics and get to work.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Harness the Power of Wordpress Future Posts By Installing This Plugin

One of the most powerful features of Wordpress is that you can load up a bunch of posts and set the publish date to sometime in the future.

In fact, I just got finished adding a bunch of posts to this site for the next several weeks.

But as I was about to get started, I thought it would be great if there was a way to see which dates already had posts scheduled and which ones didn't.  You know, just in case you schedule one for the wrong day or want to see which dates down the road you already have covered.

So a quick search on Google led me to this resource, a future posts calendar plugin for Wordpress that allows you to see when future posts are scheduled.

Of course, you can see this on your dashboard or in your Manage –> Posts menu, but it's so much more useful to see it right there on the calendar, with several weeks worth of posts scheduled, all highlighted in green on the calendar.  Good positive feedback.

It's pretty simple to install and use.  Just follow the instructions on the site or check out the readme file that comes with the download.

 

Popularity: 5% [?]

One of the Best Content Sources for Infoproduct Creators and Affiliates

Content creation for your online business is one of the biggest stumbling blocks many of us face.  I have to admit, sometimes I still find it challenging to come up with good content ideas.  If you feel the same way, maybe this little tip will help.  This is especially useful if you create and sell your own infoproducts or promote affiliate products.  Sorry, can't say there's any rocket science here.  No "ninja tricks" or secret sources for push-button article writers.  But since I just had this "DUH" moment, I thought someone else might find it useful too.

Take a look at the product you're promoting.  If you're an affiliate, hopefully you have a copy of the product or have used it in the past.  If it's your own product, then you're already in good shape.  Read through it, watch it, listen to it or whatever.  As you do that, take note of any times when you mention lists of items, resources, tips, etc.  I mean literally take notes as you go through the thing.  Also, take a look at the sales letter.  Pick out any bullet points that lend themselves to lists of "stuff" you could talk about without giving away the entire course.

Then, create articles, blog posts or other content based on those lists.  Talk about what the product does, what's in it for the customer if they buy it, the problem that it solves or give an overview of the tips included in the product.  You may or may not want to include everything that's mentioned in a particular list.  What if you create a series of articles about this product?  All of them together may give away so much info that no one needs to buy the product.  However, your article should still cover enough to be of value…the person should be better off after reading your article than they were beforehand.

Two quick examples:

1. Say you have a course about online video.  You have a section that covers 10 ways you can use online video on your website to boost conversion.  You could easily create an article that outlines some (or all) of those recommendations…places people should test video within their sales process.  But in your course, you may also include "what to say in the video" or some other bit of info that would make the job easier - and that people will likely also want to know (rather than figuring out through trial and error).
2. Or maybe you offer a dog training course.  You could easily create content covering the most common training problems for new dog owners, with one problem covered in each article/podcast/blog post.  But of course, you have 101 training techniques included in your product, including recommended training tools, resources and so on…which you can recommend at the end of your article.

The end result is content that, on it's own, contains valuable information that someone can actually do something with (not just a bunch of fluff).  The idea is NOT to just create a mini sales letter.  So that's the obvious benefit to the reader, but here's how it benefits you:

• It gives you a natural way to include a good call-to-action at the end of your content to mention your product as a way to find out more about that topic
• It helps educate your target market about why they should consider buying your product (e.g., in example #1 above, maybe the reader doesn't realize how much online video can help).  So you also get an educated customer, which is a better customer.

Like I said, simple enough and probably nothing new.  But I was shocked at how many content ideas I came up with just by going through my own stuff again.  Hopefully that will help you promote your products (or affiliate products) too.

P.S. - This same idea can be used to promote the freebie you're giving away to build your opt-in list too.  Can you think of any other uses?  Leave a comment below.

 

Popularity: 10% [?]

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