Create a New Product or Scale Existing Product?

Hi Jeff - indeed that is the usual pattern...boom and then bust. What I have found is that if you do have a product that sells, make sure you don't move on too quickly though, you can expand sales around that product by focusing on acquiring new affiliates, running paid ad campaigns, developing additional content around the product, etc... I've often come out of the gate strong with a product, then had it dip until I activated another campaign. Eventually, the goal is to have a steady and ongoing stream coming from that product - should be possible to extend it for years. I have multiple products that have been on the market for greater than 5-years that still march along nicely after adding affiliates and running paid ads.

Depending on the nature of the product, it may be possible to turn that one-off product into a reliable seller simply by updating it.

One quick example from my own bookshelves - a yearly "fishing planner" with sections on new and updated regulations, tide charts, peak seasons for migratory species, moon phases (which affect tides and fish feeding patterns), etc.

Add a few tips, recipes, and photos of people with their fish, and you have a "new" product. One which "old" customers tend to buy every year.

It's also a perfect example of an information product where almost all of the information is available for free on the Internet, but people still buy the books year after year.

So before you junk that stale product, or devalue it as PLR, can you revive it with an update and a new cover?

If you enjoy product creation, which I do, and are able to come up with fresh ideas on a regular basis to keep interest high and income coming in, you can also sell the rights to your old products to someone else. Even if the sales on that product have fallen off for you, another person may see the potential in it to add onto it, update it, freshen it up, and build it up to making strong sales again.

Just be completely honest about your sales with the buyer, so they know what they're getting. If they want it, you can get a nice chunk of cash to fund your next project, or whatever else you need it for at the time, while your buyer gets a product they can be excited about improving and continuing to sell.

Three thoughts on this discussion . . .

1- It's quite disappointing to buy a "new" product only to find out it's just a rehash, very slightly changed product you already own, but maybe with a new title and a different cover so you can't tell the old from the new. It doesn't happen a lot, but I have been fooled three or four times.

2- One way to combat the "stale" product is to not focus on fads and the latest or greatest techniques and strategies. It's OK to produce products on the "flash in a pan" trends but you should realize that they are just that - here today and most likely gone tomorrow. I think short fluff-free reports are probably the best platform to discuss such things because they can be produced quickly and easily without a lot of up front or "finishing" costs.

3- Which brings me to my last point: why not focus your efforts on creating evergreen products in the first place . . . "built to last?" Jeff talked about this in some of his products. A solid product that focuses on core or fundamental information should be able to sell for years. Obviously, some fast changing marketplaces (technology, for one) will be tougher for evergreen products than others. But there is some wisdom in planning and writing your product to be relevant for a long time.

Steve