Another Great Reason to Have Your Own Products

The other day I got a really cool gift from someone I don't even know (yet).  It's the best kind of gift too, a totally unexpected surprise.  It was from Richard Lee, a fellow internet business blogger who I've mentioned a couple of times on this site.  Anyway, it was pretty cool to get that in the mail, though I've been lazy about getting over to the UPS store and it's been sitting there for almost three weeks - and he was probably thinking I was an ungrateful SOB for not at least saying thanks (again, sorry about that Richard and my sincerest thanks for the CD).

Okay, so a couple of points.

First, here's the link to the CD:

Motivation and Distraction Management  (goes straight to the order page, not an affiliate link)

So why do I think you should drop everything and go get a copy of this CD pronto?  Because whenever you get a room full of entrepreneurs or wanna-be entrepreneurs together in a room and ask them what their toughest challenges are, staying focused and actually GETTING THINGS DONE are two things that almost always show up on the list. 

My thinking is that anything that can help you knock those off the "what's-holding-you-back" list is a good thing.  In fact, I got several good ideas I'm going to use when it's time to write the next batch of articles to promote one of my products.  If you do the same, you'll more than make up the cost of the product, making that factor irrelevant.  Of course, that assumes that you have your own product…

You DO have your own product, right?

Well if not, this little story is yet another reason for why you should.  You see, by creating your own product, you now have something of value.  Normally your goal is to exchange that value for money.  But what about offering certain products as bonuses, or even giving something away for free (with good reason, not just willy nilly)?  What about trading your product for someone else's?  I know for a fact this is done, though usually behind the scenes. 

Really the sky's the limit but I want to keep this post short.  The point is that if you're just an affiliate or just building AdSense sites, you don't really have much to offer your peers in the way of a "value exchange".  Not to mention the difference in profit potential. 

Something to think about.

Popularity: 99% [?]

Can You Really Make Money Showing People "How To"?

I had a talk with a family member the other day.  I'm not sure how we got on the subject of business because I try to avoid talking about my business when I know it's going to involve lots of explaining to others, but that's where the conversation led.  He commented that he just didn't understand how you can make money showing someone "how to" - in this case, how to make money online but it really could have been any topic.  Do you have that same blind spot?

Let's consider an example and I'll let you do the math and be the judge.

Say you're a real estate investor in the Washington, DC area.  You've been at it for awhile and know how to find great deals, have a network of other investors to turn to for support if needed.  Let's say you just fix them up and sell them to landlords, so you have a bunch of landlords that are willing and able to buy whatever projects you finish.  It's all systemized, more or less, and after banging your head against a wall for a few years, you have it all documented in a course - actually just a PDF file and a few MP3's on your computer.

The short-sighted view would be that you shouldn't "go public" with your info because you'll just be creating a bunch of competitors.  Short-sighted, scarcity-minded thinking.  First of all, those students will probably become partners and even if not, who cares?  There are plenty of deals out there.  Second, and most importantly, the implementation of what you've learned will be the most important aspect, not just the words on paper.  Whoever ends up buying your course probably won't have access to the same network of investors, certainly not with the solid relationship you've built.  The same goes for the contractors doing the repairs for you…you simply can't "package" that, which means people will still have to go fill those gaps on their own.

That being said, there's still ENORMOUS value in what you've put into your course.  You have scripts that tell you exactly what to say when someone calls in response to one of your ads, signs or postcards.  You have quick analysis sheets that people can use to evaluate deals.  You even had your contractors scope out the estimated repair costs for the most common items and have it tailored to your part of the country (since parts and labor vary from place to place).  You have a website, phone system, email follow-up system and marketing system all integrated so people don't have to figure out which vendors are the best (or find out later on that one of them is a dud).

Based on the chat with my family member, you'd be a fool to let the cat out of the bag on this one, right?  But what if…

• …it led to an infoproduct that sold for $497?  How about a volume 2?  Or volume 3?
• …and a monthly newsletter that was $360/year ($30/month) covering the latest goings-on in your area?
• …and a monthly teleseminar/CD at $47/month where you and a partner talked about strategies people can use for improving your business, and things you're doing right now that are working in your own business?
• …a coaching program, either email or in person @ 300/month?
• …and you could get affiliates selling the course for you, making your marketing costs nearly zero?
• …and it was mostly on autopilot thanks to sharp outsourced workers and automated systems?
• …and you had 200 people active in each of the above (keep in mind there are millions of people in town, 200 ain't exactly a stretch!)

Could this happen?  Yes?

Overnight?  No.

But a good friend of mine has a business similar to this (though I don't know, nor would I publish, his exact numbers).  In addition, he's still an active investor.

The point is that valuable information has VALUE!

And showing someone how to do something can be quite a valuable thing if it's something people want to know. 

I just bought 3 DVDs about video editing from a guy for over $100.  It was a quick start for me, rather than reading through some 400-page book.  And it was a good day for him because at that rate of one sale like that per day, he's at $3,000 per month.  Win-Win.

Don't think for a second that you can't make money showing people "how to".
Don't think for a second that what you have is so "super secret" that no one else is teaching it.
They're gonna' learn it from someone - may as well be from you. 

 

Popularity: 100% [?]

You Can Overcome This Common Trap That Stops Most People From Creating Their First Money Making Product - Guaranteed

I was reading some comments made about a YouTube video I found the other day.  The video was basically an offer for a tutorial on a popular piece of software.  It looked good…in fact, great for people who wanted to fast-start their use of this software without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.  Sounds like the typical model for a good info product, right?

Well, low and behold, one of the comments was something like, "Hey, so-and-so already offers tons of free tutorials on this software, so why would anyone buy this?". 

And that brings me back to one of the things I listed in my Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting an Online Business…thinking you have nothing of value to offer that someone else would pay for.  Or, thinking "No one would buy this".  

 

1. There's a Lot of Churn in This Market

The person leaving the comment didn't realize that there's a lot of "churn" in the market that this product is serving.  By "churn", I mean lots of new people coming on board every single day looking for info on how to get started.  This person was obviously NOT the target prospect, and that's fine.  But that doesn't invalidate the fact that the product was still a good idea for a given target market (a group of people that continues to grow each day).  Are there a lot of new people entering YOUR market?

2. Many People Just Want the Basics to Get Started Fast

Another thing the commenter failed to realize is that there's VALUE in having just the basics…something you can watch or read, then get going with FAST.  This is especially true with new people coming into a market.  The source he was referring to does, in fact, have free tutorials available.  However, they're not geared toward the same use of the software as this tutorial being offered.  Also, there's an entire library full of stuff to weed through, much of which doesn't apply or is just "nice to know" but not CRITICAL. 

I don't know about you, but for myself, information overload is a real killer no matter what I'm trying to learn!  A lot of people would rather just have someone show them how to do what they're trying to do…again, that whole fast-start thing.  More often than not, it doesn't take a library full of tutorials or a 400 page book to get the basics down.

Case Study:  A Personal Example I Recently Went Through

I just bought a whole series of DVDs related to a topic I'm interested in learning more about.  The total cost was about $120 and was well worth it.

Note: That makes for a good day for the product creator by the way.  Figure one sale like that per day:

$120/day x 30 days = $3600/month.

Not filthy rich, but nothing to sneeze at.  And well worth it from my perspective as the buyer too.  A win-win.

I plan on buying the rest of this guy's DVD's too.  Why?  Because at $40 a pop, it's a better use of my time to learn the basics that way rather than trying to find an online forum where people in the know hang out, then trying to figure out who REALLY knows what the heck they're talking about, then trying to get help with my specific knowledge gaps.  That could take WEEKS!  Same goes for reading a book.

3. The Only Opinions That Matter - What Your Prospects and Buyers Think

On the other hand, I wouldn't buy a tutorial on how to build your own computer.  Or one on how to change the oil in your car.  Does that make them bad products?  Nope.  But if I thought they were dumb ideas, should someone give a hoot about MY opinion?  Nope!  I'm not the target market for those type of things (because I already know how to do them).  Same goes for the guy who made the comment mentioned above.

This is another good example of why you should only listen to your target market, more specifically, your BUYERS.  If some dude wants to bash on your product idea saying no one will buy that, consider whether or not he's in your target market (or even more likely, a competitor ). 

I bet you'll find that you can safely ignore those sort of unproductive comments and focus instead on providing good value to people who actually NEED your product - in the end, the ONLY people that count.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Is Fear of Criticism Blocking Your Success?

Last week I wrote about a post I read where Richard Lee discussed getting over the fear of promoting your first product.  This is such a HUGE deal that I felt compelled to throw together a quick post on that too.

See, there are tons of ideas out there and a zillion ways to make money - online or offline.  But there's so much inner game, YOU-stuff that we all have to get over that it seems like that's the thing that holds people back more than anything else.  It's certainly not a lack of ideas.  Case in point, this fear of criticism crap when it comes to rolling out products - specifically that very first one.

Here's the deal…

Just consider something like John Reese's Traffic Secrets (which is now off the market).  You're probably aware that this product launch resulted in John's "Million Dollar Day".  Would it surprise you that some people didn't like that product?  It's almost a sure thing, though I guess only John knows for sure.  But that didn't stop him, nor should it have.

You simply can't please everyone and have to assume that someone (or even a few) people aren't going to like your product, some jerks will even use it and then return it, etc.  That's okay as long as that's not the dominant trend.  It's just part of doing business.   In fact, I've heard some info publishers argue that if they're not at least getting SOME returns, they don't think they're selling hard enough on the front end.

Of course, all this talk of dealing with returns and possibly unhappy customers makes a pretty strong case for outsourcing stuff like customer service.  If you never know about people returning your stuff, complaining about it, etc. or at least have someone to act as a buffer between you and that sort of negative feedback, you can be much more objective rather than emotionally tied to how people respond to your product.  You can take that feedback and make any NECESSARY changes (keyword there is necessary) and do so from a more rational standpoint.

You know, I'm a pretty big fan of Dan Kennedy's stuff too and one of the things he talks about in a few of his products is the idea of "immunity to criticism"…that most successful people have a thick skin and that you REALLY have to consider the source of the criticism. 

• Is it a non-buyer that's complaining? 
• Is it a buyer that's complaining but not actually returning the product? 
• Is it a competitor that's just playing mind games or jealous of your product (seems sorta' like elementary school huh…)? 
• Is it all in your head, with no real complaints to speak of?

Just understand that not everyone is going to like ANY particular product, it doesn't matter what it is.  Just get something out there that provides value to your ideal customer, consider the source of any feedback you get, change what really needs to be improved and keep on rolling out more.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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