The Product Creation Formula by Tim Brocklehurst - HTML preview

It All Starts with an Idea.

Many who work in internet marketing tend to be incredibly creative. They may have several great ideas every single day. In fact, many have so many good product ideas that they come faster than they can ever be placed into action.

Others may be great at selling but may not have a knack for invention. They could peddle ice in Siberia, but find it challenging to come up with an

original product idea.

 

Here are some tactics that anyone can use in order to develop and maintain quality internet marketing project ideas.

Start Logging Needs

Products succeed when they provide users with something they want. Otherwise, interesting notions will fail miserably when there is little or no demand. Thus, the first place an internet marketer should look for product ideas is by noticing the needs of the population he or she may decide to target.

Investigate your niche and find out what kind of questions are asked frequently. Learn what people want to know. Discover what is bothering them, or what is on their “wish list.” Then, log those ideas somewhere so that you won’t lose track of them.

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These customer needs can become the seed for great product ideas. This allows you to put yourself in a strong position.

Instead of trying to convince the marketplace to like your idea, you will eventually be able to offer a product you already know they want and can use.

It decreases eventual sales resistance markedly and increases the chance for a product’s success.

Brainstorm

After collecting a series of needs and wants from your potential customer base, it is time to start looking at ways to solve those problems.

 

Is there some kind of information or instruction that can resolve questions and concerns?

As you look through the need list, immediately record any ideas you might have for products that can fill the gap between what your prospective customers have and what they would like to have.

At this point, don’t worry about feasibility.

Whether or not you are capable of creating the products yourself is unimportant.

Not only will such thoughts hinder your ability to brainstorm other ideas, it is also a matter that may be resolved later through effective use of outsourcing. Focus on things that would solve problems.

Remember, this is a brainstorming session, not a design session.

Try to keep pragmatism out of your mind as you devise possible product ideas. What may seem absolutely ludicrous or fanciful may very well become the basis for your highly successful offering.

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Logging needs and brainstorming are the first two steps in a longer process of inventing a new product. One cannot necessarily learn “how to be creative,” but following a strategy of this sort will increase the chances of coming up with a truly unique way of tending to demand within the target community.

You’ve now learned what people want and you have brainstormed some ideas of how to give it to them. That’s a good start, but there are still three steps left in the idea process.

Let’s look at them:

Cull Options

Once you have a list of ideas, let them set for a while before returning to them. That will allow you to regain some level of objectivity about your notions and may prevent you from making a hasty decision. Re-evaluate them and decide if any fall too far from the important needs prospective customers have.

If some of your brainstormed notions are obviously silly or completely unworkable, you can dismiss them at this point. Your goal is to come up with a list of possible products that have some basis in reality.

Research the Remains

Now that you have isolated a few stronger ideas, you will need to go about testing their likelihood of success and whether or not they might duplicate some other service or product.

This should be relatively unlikely, based on the needs expressed earlier, but it is still necessary to check before you set course on a redundant path.

 

Additionally, this is a time to size up the competition.

 

Note what they offer and think of ways you can produce a better product.

 

If someone is already providing an option, but people are expressing a need,

 

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that means there is some sort of weakness--either in the existing product or in its marketing. Try to find that weakness and eliminate it in your offering.

Make a Decision

After you have conducted your follow up research, carefully evaluate your ideas in light of what you have learned. You may have discovered that there is a problem with your idea that makes it unworkable. You may have decided that with a few small additions you can produce a product that will absolutely blow your competition away.

This is, obviously, an important step in the process.

Errors at the point of decision can have a critical impact on the success of a project. That is why it is important to test your ideas with additional research after having culled weaker possibilities out of the mix.

If you have followed the process, you should be able to make an informed, comfortable decision.

 

At this point, you will understand what your buyers want, what you can do to help, what they currently have, and how you can offer something better.

In essence, you have a project blueprint.

The next step, of course, is to translate that plan into action and to create a successful project.

 

Ideas come quickly and easily to some people.

Others struggle to come up with an original concept that can succeed. Fortunately, by following a fairly simply pattern one can successfully find needs in the marketplace and conjure up ideas about how to address them.

The result of using these tactics is a well formed and strongly supported product idea, that once implemented can result in marketing success. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Should You be the Manufacturer, as well as the Creator?

You have a great product idea and you know it can be a huge success. You have honed your concept and have a blueprint for product creation. You probably already have a mental image of what the finished offering will look like. Now, it’s time to put your plan into action and build the product you will later be successfully selling.

That means it is time to ask yourself an important question.

 

You came up with the idea, but should you be the one to build the product?

At first, that may seem almost silly. After all, it is your baby. You found the need in the marketplace and developed the idea to address it. It’s your idea and you understand it better than anyone else does. You may think it is obvious that you should put the project together.

Pause for a moment, though, and ask yourself a few questions. Your answers will tell you if you are better off doing it yourself or outsourcing the work to an expert.

First, are you the best person for the job?

 

Divorce yourself from your personal connection to the project and objectively assess whether your skills are right for creation of this project.

It doesn’t make sense for someone with a thick regional accent to record an audio guide. It doesn’t seem reasonable for someone who hates to write and doesn’t feel he or she has the talent with words to effectively write a seventy-page ebook.

If your skills don’t match the project, you might want to think about outsourcing the product--paying for someone else to manufacture it for you.

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Second, do you have the time necessary to do the job? Your product is based on a need in your marketplace. That need could be filled by your product or by someone else who is also assessing that need. It pays to get there first, and if you have a great idea, you have every reason to try to get your product out there as quickly as possible. Besides, you are missing potential income with every day that passes. If your schedule doesn’t provide ample opportunity to get the job done, you may want to outsource.

Third, can your time be better spent?

Consider what your time is worth and then compare that figure to what it will cost you to outsource the job. If it appears as if you could be making more money spending your time doing something other than project creation, outsource the job if you can.

Finally, do you have the resources?

Even if outsourcing makes perfect sense on every other level, you may be unable to find someone else to manufacture your product if you don’t have sufficient funds. Make sure you can afford outsourcing before going that route.

An objective look at your product and your personal situation should give you a strong idea of whether or not you are well suited to be the manufacturer of your product, as well as its creator.

Instincts may push you trying to do it all yourself, but a rational examination of the matter may lead you to a totally different conclusion.

 

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Three “Musts” for Successful Product Creation

You’ve researched your market and have done all the preliminary work. Now, it’s time to build your product.

 

That may seem easy, considering it is your brainchild and you implicitly understand exactly how it will look and be used.

 

However, there are few guiding principles you must consider during the construction process in order to have a quality end result.

 

Let’s take a quick look at three “musts” for successful product creation.

 

The product must remain focused.

You chose a particular problem or set of problems to address with your product. After carefully assessing market needs, you pinpointed exactly what a popular item could do for consumers.

During that process, however, you also exposed yourself to a lot of additional information about the product’s niche and the target population. Some of that information will help shape your product in a positive way. Some of, however, could lead you to make some bad decisions.

It is essential to keep your goals in mind while building your creation.

It will be easy to allow the project to become sidetracked with superfluous features or commentary that seem to almost naturally grow from your background research. You cannot let this happen.

An unfocused product will not be well received.

Additionally, it will result in you spending more time and energy to finish the job--time and energy that will be wasted. Retain a focus on the true function of the product at all times.

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The product must retain usability.

It’s easy to “trick out” your project with a series of additional gimmicks, features and items. Again, that can arise because of your extensive knowledge of the topic inadvertently.

It can also be a reflection of a belief that more will undoubtedly be better in terms of subsequent sales.

In reality, however, that excess will serve to decrease the usability of the final project. Remember the old adage “keep it simple, stupid” throughout the production phase.

Do not add features or details that will overburden the end user or that don’t add genuine value to the final result. You need to fight the urge to “dress it up” in order to create a truly elegant and practical solution to your target audience’s needs.

Think like a user.

 

As you build your product, take care to approach it as a user, instead of as its creator.

Try to put yourself into the shoes of someone else and try to assess how they will react and handle your product. It is easy to lose yourself in product building and to make a final item that suits you perfectly, instead of one that really meets the specific needs of users.

By stepping out of your “builder mindset” and into the persona of an end user, you are more likely to produce a winning final product.

By keeping your project focused, maintaining usability at all times and thinking like a user, you can dramatically improve the chances of building an awesome product that will take the marketplace by storm.

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Gathering Testimonials and Refining Your Product in One Fell Swoop

One you have finished the draft version of your final copy and have subjected it to significant editing/testing and a good once-over, it is time to put it into someone else’s hands. Those hands, however, don’t belong to paying customers. Instead, you need to find a group of people who will use and review the material.

This will serve two primary functions:

 

First, it will allow you to find out how others view the result, giving you an opportunity to further refine your work for maximum effectiveness.

 

Second, it will allow you to build a base of testimonial comments that will later be valuable while selling the product.

Try to find a small group of people who understand what your product is attempting to accomplish and who have some level of credibility within your niche. Approach them about reviewing your offering.

Let them know that their comments will be used for product improvements and that if they have positive comments to make, you may use them in your sales materials.

Advise them that any testimonial material will be published only with their consent and will include a back link to their website, if applicable.

 

Take the recommendations offered seriously and use them to further refine your product to increase its value to end users.

You might be surprised at an error your have made or a feature you have overlooked. Often, a third party will be able to provide you with direction and information that you would never think of yourself, simply because you are “too close” to the product.

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Save all of the positive testimonial material for use on your sales page and other marketing materials. Third party statements in support of a product add a high degree of credibility to your efforts and can improve sales tremendously by inspiring trust in your creation.

If the comments you receive from your test group are positive, but don’t have the makings of “ready-to-use” testimonials, follow up with an email explaining how much you would like to use their positive reaction in support of the product, but that you could use a more suitable comment for that purpose. You will usually receive a reworded testimonial perfect for use.

If the reaction to your product is negative, it may be time to go back to the drawing board. Don’t be disheartened.

 

It does not mean that you have reached a dead-end.

 

Instead, it could mean that few basic changes are in order and that by making those adjustments you can still produce a successful item.

 

Run the “fixed” version back by your same critics and find out if your alterations have resolved their concerns or complaints.

This small group will be your product’s first time in the hands of others and may teach you a great deal about what you can do to improve. It may also elicit the kind of overwhelmingly positive response that will verify your belief that you have a future success story on your hands.

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Product Creation Pitfalls to Avoid

There are a few essential things you must do in order to build a great product. There are also a few pitfalls one should avoid while making a product. These traps have led to many disappointing ventures. Learn from the mistakes of others, and sidestep these potentially damning errors.

First, resist the urge to take shortcuts.

When you have a great idea that you believe can generate significant profit, it is easy to fall prey to an urge to take shortcuts in an effort to get your product to the marketplace as quickly as possible. The allure of fast earnings will often trump the wisdom inherent in good product design.

Taking these shortcuts, however, will inevitably reduce the quality and effectiveness of your product and your sales strategy. The necessary steps involved in successful product creation are taken for a good reason: they work.

Trying to skip any of these necessary actions exposes you to the risk of rushing an incomplete or inferior product to the market. Not only will such an act reduce the product’s profitability, it will also risk damaging your long-term reputation as a marketer.

Second, don’t stay on the treadmill too long.

As noted, rushing through the process can be damaging. The flipside to this is that overworking a product can also produce negative consequences. Yes, you want your final project to be perfect. However, spending too much time tweaking and refining can actually harm a project and will delay your chance at profits.

It is an interesting balancing act.

 

You don’t want to rush over needed steps, but you don’t want to become so

 

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mercurial and obsessed with absolute perfection that your product never sees the light of day. Striking a proper balance is essential.
Third, don’t put the cart before the horse.

If you are an internet marketer, your first instinct probably leans toward marketing--not project building. That is one reason why outsourcing can be a great option. It also means that you may be thinking more about how you are going to sell your product than you are about how to make it a highquality item.

Your initial research and development will ensure that you will be able to sell your product upon completion. Focus on project creation before concerning yourself with the minutiae of subsequent sales plans.

This will help you to build the kind of sought-after product that will make that marketing job easier and more effective in the long run.

 

By avoiding these common errors during project creation, you will be able to hit the market with the right project at the right time.

You’ll be introducing a well-developed item that has a high level of marketability and will have avoided compromising the integrity and quality of the product at the same time. Be comprehensive, don’t become paralyzed, and keep quality product development in the forefront of your mind.

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Price Testing: A Critical Element of Marketing Success

Which will sell better, an ebook priced at five dollars or one that sells for fifty?

 

The natural reaction is to believe that the cheaper ebook will probably do better. That isn’t always the case however.

 

Even when it is, it may not as profitable as the fifty-dollar offering. Finding the right price to maximize profits is essential to selling a new product.

 

Welcome to price testing J

 

Price testing is really an exercise in finding the optimal profit-producing price tag to put on your product.

 

You don’t want to freeze buyers out by charging too much.

You also don’t want to sell it so cheaply that it decimates your profits or creates a perception that the product must be lacking in quality. You need to find a price that will produce the most revenue.

There are a few factors to consider.

 

At what price does the product seem to sell the best?

 

At what price do sales numbers go up, without pushing up overall income?

 

At what point does the product become overpriced?

 

At what point is it under priced to the point of dissuading buyers from taking it seriously?

 

Those questions can be hard to answer, and they are usually impossible to “guess.” You have to test.

 

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Testing generally consists of constructing multiple sales pages that are identical, but for the price, and driving a similar amount of traffic toward each. You can then compare the numbers and decide what kind of price is working the most effectively. When you discover that optimal site, you should adjust accordingly and do away with other sites offering different prices.

Approaching the numbers intelligently can provide you with a wealth of information. You may have sold twenty copies at five dollars, but one at fifty. The fifty-dollar price tag earned you less money than the cheaper version. However, a third option of twenty-five dollars may have produced five sales, making it even more profitable.

By playing with different prices and testing them, you can make an educated pricing decision for your project.

In some cases, however, the higher volume of sales may be desirable even if the immediate gross profit is somewhat less than another option, because of potential back-end profits.

You will have to keep considerations like this in mind.

 

Don’t leave pricing up to guesswork.

Even if you are happy with the results, it is quite possible that you missed the chance for an even greater profit by not testing to discover an optimal price point.

The testing may seem like an annoyance by the time you are ready to offer your product to the public, but it can make a huge difference in your overall success. Hunches and guesswork may occasionally be spot-on, but more often than not a bit of research and examination will reveal the best way of doing business.

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Deciding Upon Delivery Methods for Your Product

You have a product; you are ready to sell it.

 

What happens after someone buys it, though?

 

You must have a way of putting the goods into the hands of the end user.

There is a variety of options available for the delivery of digital products and choosing the right one will depend upon your skill level, the product and your target audience.

One can simply email the product to buyers. This has a few advantages.

First, it allows you to avoid concerns about unauthorized individuals pirating copies of your product from your website. You have complete control over who gets the product and when.

This system also has disadvantages. Users may be accustomed to the breakneck speed of the internet and might be unwilling to wait for you to get around to reading your email and sending out the project. Additionally, it requires time and effort on your part, too.

One possible solution is using an auto responder to automatically email the product to buyers after making a purchase. This may require some expenditure, however, and may necessitate a level of expertise you might lack.

Others provide a download link on the “thank you” page customers encounter after making a successful purchase. This does provide instant access, but may be confusing to some users, particularly if your target audience consists of those who may be relatively new to the internet.

You should always be sure to provide clear (and, if possible, illustrated) download instructions to help fend off confusion and complaints from

 

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buyers who were unable to determine the proper means of downloading.

Additionally, having the product uploaded on the web does create a potential for it to be discovered by non-buyers who can then “steal” their own copy. If you are going to be launching a high-demand product, you may also encounter server overload problems.

There are encryption methods and safeguards available for this method of distribution. If you already have access to them, this may be an optimal delivery method.

One can also provide the copy on CD-Rom or another appropriate medium.

This option may be unattractive to buyers who will not appreciate the costs involved in shipping and the time it will take to access the product. However, some products are better suited for “hard delivery” and can be effectively distributed in this manner.

Be sure to contemplate the costs involved in producing the hard copies and shipping them and to incorporate this into your price. This is often added as an optional delivery method for the minority of users who would prefer to handle the matter in this manner.

Delivery of your product is an essential part of the process and cannot be overlooked.

Regardless of what method you choose, make sure you have a reliable and organized plan in place to make sure your buyers and your product can come together efficiently and easily.

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Applying the Final Touches to Your Product

After your product is “manufactured and assembled” and you have had a small test group perform a review or “beta test,” you will need to take one final look at the result before putting it up for sale to the public.

Let’s be honest, by this stage in the process a great deal of the thrill has probably gone out of dealing with your item.

What was once an exciting new idea has probably become something of an ongoing annoyance. You want to get it done, get it on the market, and be paid. Despite these completely natural inclinations, a final examination and edit is in order.

You are intimately aware of every word, sound, and contour of your product at this point.

 

That makes you