The gurus says you have to have this....inorder to

tpw

12 years ago

Product development, hands down.

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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Bill that is my way of thinking too but i do know a few other that thinks different than we do so it would be good to hear their reasons why...

Do you have a product Bill? What's it about if you don't mind saying...

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tpw

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

Bill that is my way of thinking too but i do know a few other that thinks different than we do so it would be good to hear their reasons why...

Do you have a product Bill? What's it about if you don't mind saying...

I have writing guides, Kindle marketing guides, offline marketing guides, software, and Kindle books.

See my signature for more details.

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onSubie

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

Bill that is my way of thinking too but i do know a few other that thinks different than we do so it would be good to hear their reasons why...

Do you have a product Bill? What's it about if you don't mind saying...

Building and flipping web sites. Consulting and outsourcing my client projects.

I guess you could say my products are the sites I build and sell, or the services I provide to businesses, but I don't think they are considered products in the traditional sense.

For example, I can't produce one web site and resell the same copy over and over. Each needs a new domain name and unique content. Usually in different niches too.

Same with marketing services. Although my "product" is the service, the actual work has to be repeated for each client. They can't just buy my "service" and get a download link to a digital file.

I could certainly add a product to this, but it is doubtful my web site buyers would want an ebook on flipping web sites.

Same with services, if my clients wanted an ebook on SEO strategy or backlinking they might buy one, but even if they did- their business is not SEO or backlink building so they would still need to hire me for the actual work.

I'll bet Brad Pitt could write a killer book on how to become a movie star and marry a goddess, but I doubt he needs to- he is too busy adopting kids and making movies.

I think Product Creation and Sales is just another business model that doesn't automatically fit into every other model.

Nothing against product creation, but I disagree that it is "the one thing you have to have" in your business.

Mahlon

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DireStraits

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

I've bought a lot of training material over the years and in almost every one of them they are saying the same thing...but the question is do we really need it to make money or create a business...

Anyone know what it is???

if guess developing your own products then you guess right, this is one of the most powerful ways to starting and developing a presence online and it is something I myself believe in.

Why I believe so much in owning my own products is because it gives me the opportunity to leverage and do what I want in order to create a stronger and better business.

Two questions for you guys:

1) Do you have your own product?

2) Which one you prefer product development or affiliate marketing?

I would love to here what you guys have to say.

--David

I have no products of my own and love the freedom, flexibility and consequential "security" of being an affiliate, so I vote as part of that camp.

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mosthost

12 years ago

In IM this seems to be common advice. In other areas it's more common to resell products that someone else has developed. That's one way to save money on development so you can go to market faster.

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CDarklock

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

Two questions for you guys:

1) Do you have your own product?

2) Which one you prefer product development or affiliate marketing?

1) I have fourteen of them. There will be about thirty by the end of the year.

2) Personally, I prefer product development, but it is just that - a preference. There's no objective reason why one is "better" than the other, just a matter of personal taste.

Most people also do both. It's not easy to create enough products that you can always promote your own stuff. It takes time. And while you're still developing your product portfolio, you can shore up the income by promoting other people's products.

A good plan is to set up a list with an autoresponder that promotes a series of a couple dozen affiliate products, two or three a week, for a couple of months. Once you get the squeeze page and traffic sorted for it, start building your own products to replace the affiliate offerings. Eventually, you'll replace all the affiliate products and have a list with an autoresponder that promotes only your stuff.

This can give you a good switch-off, as well. On a four-week cycle, you could do something like this:

- Launch product to list at half price
- Remind customers to send in reviews
- Use reviews to write sales page for web site
- Jack up the price and add to followup sequence

Once you have a dozen products, you can broadcast discount codes to your list for a different product every month.

It's all about control. With your own products, you're in control, and you get to set the prices and make the rules. I like that.

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Alexa Smith Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

It's all about control. With your own products, you're in control, and you get to set the prices and make the rules. I like that.

You make it sound almost tempting.

That's to say, you make it sound more tempting than anyone else does ... :p
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- Fernando Veloso 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Alexa Smith
  
  You make it sound almost tempting.
  
  That's to say, you make it sound more tempting than anyone else does ... :p
  
  He sure does!
  
  CD, didn't knew you were a copywriter!
  
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  People make good money selling to the rich. But the rich got rich selling to the masses.
  
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- CDarklock 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Alexa Smith
  
  That's to say, you make it sound more tempting than anyone else does ... :p
  
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  "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
  
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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

This can give you a good switch-off, as well. On a four-week cycle, you could do something like this:

- Launch product to list at half price
- Remind customers to send in reviews
- Use reviews to write sales page for web site
- Jack up the price and add to followup sequence

Once you have a dozen products, you can broadcast discount codes to your list for a different product every month.

It's all about control. With your own products, you're in control, and you get to set the prices and make the rules. I like that.

Dude everything you said here man just proves the importance of having your own products, these bits are a simple formula that you can't go wrong doing.

Excellent post dude...

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braincandy7

12 years ago

I have one product and one service. I much prefer developing them to affiliate marketing.

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Isaiah Jackson

12 years ago

Product creation get affiliates to build your list

Posted from Warrior Forum Reader for Android

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johnes4th

12 years ago

Do I have my own products? - yes

Which do I like better? - Affiliate marketing without a doubt.

I see the value in creating my own products and have done pretty well with them (mostly Kindle, Nook, etc), but as far as which one I enjoy more - it's affiliate marketing. I think it's because I enjoy the initial research and first few months of the site-building process the most and I won't create my own product until the site is proven to be a keeper (usually by the 6 month mark).

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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by johnes4th

Do I have my own products? - yes

Which do I like better? - Affiliate marketing without a doubt.

I see the value in creating my own products and have done pretty well with them (mostly Kindle, Nook, etc), but as far as which one I enjoy more - it's affiliate marketing. I think it's because I enjoy the initial research and first few months of the site-building process the most and I won't create my own product until the site is proven to be a keeper (usually by the 6 month mark).

John, developing your own product, has it help in making more revenue in affiliate marketing?

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johnes4th

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

John, developing your own product, has it help in making more revenue in affiliate marketing?

Absolutely. It seems like every niche I get into lacks a quality product to promote at a certain price point. As a result, I create my own to fill the blanks. Normally, I find local professionals to interview so that I can piggyback on their authority (which is especially helpful because I am mostly in the health/beauty/nutrition niches and being able to say "Dr. XYZ" said this has dramatically boosted conversions). This not only generates direct sales, but also helps ease people up the pricing ladder.

The other big benefit for me is that it gives me (or my pen name) instant authority when I sell a book on Amazon. I assume that this is because most non-IM people have no idea how easy it really is to write a book and put it on Amazon. Normally, I will give away a PDF with a few chapters for free to build my list - plus I get the sales directly from Amazon, Nook, etc.

The key trick to this (in my experience) has been to spend a significant portion of several chapters in each book developing a framework or perspective that all of my future newsletters and affiliate promotions can be applied to (which is also the same chapters that will give away to my list). This gives me the ability to maintain a consistent message with my list, while still promoting multiple complimentary products at varying price points.

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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by johnes4th

Absolutely. It seems like every niche I get into lacks a quality product to promote at a certain price point. As a result, I create my own to fill the blanks. Normally, I find local professionals to interview so that I can piggyback on their authority (which is especially helpful because I am mostly in the health/beauty/nutrition niches and being able to say "Dr. XYZ" said this has dramatically boosted conversions). This not only generates direct sales, but also helps ease people up the pricing ladder.

The other big benefit for me is that it gives me (or my pen name) instant authority when I sell a book on Amazon. I assume that this is because most non-IM people have no idea how easy it really is to write a book and put it on Amazon. Normally, I will give away a PDF with a few chapters for free to build my list - plus I get the sales directly from Amazon, Nook, etc.

The key trick to this (in my experience) has been to spend a significant portion of several chapters in each book developing a framework or perspective that all of my future newsletters and affiliate promotions can be applied to (which is also the same chapters that will give away to my list). This gives me the ability to maintain a consistent message with my list, while still promoting multiple complimentary products at varying price points.

John, absolutely brilliant this is what marketing is all about a well laid out plan of attack...This must makes selling so much more easier because how you implement this...thank for sharing that.

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CDarklock

12 years ago

Originally Posted by johnes4th

It seems like every niche I get into lacks a quality product to promote at a certain price point.

I've seen some people propose that this is part of the initial niche research: identifying the price points at which people will buy in the niche, the kind of funnel which gets them there, and the actual products to promote at each stage.

The key trick to this (in my experience) has been to spend a significant portion of several chapters in each book developing a framework or perspective that all of my future newsletters and affiliate promotions can be applied to

Dammit! Stop giving away the good stuff! WTF

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Cataclysm1987

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

1) Do you have your own product?

2) Which one you prefer product development or affiliate marketing?

1. Working on it

2. I think I'd rather have my own product. It is the difference between controlling 100 percent of a sale and the back end list and promotions and upsells and controlling only 50 or 60 percent of a sale.

That is a huge change. Half the money of a customer comes when they are on your list and you sell them even more stuff.

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Eduard Stinga

12 years ago

You don't need to have a product or to promote products in order to have a presence online and have a business that's doing well. You can also offer services.

Now - the problem with all the "gurus" saying you have to have your own product is that all the newbies who have little to no experience in making money online or never made a $ online read that and start making their own products about how to make money online, which only leads to crap products that provide little to no value at all. Just my two cents

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CDarklock 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Eduard Stinga

You can also offer services.

This is generally not scalable. No matter what you do, you can't have more than 24 hours in a day to provide services, even if you try with both hands.

The usual response to this is that you just get more people to provide the services, which rapidly runs into network effects where the complexity of the system increases geometrically.

which only leads to crap products that provide little to no value at all.

As opposed to the frequent advice given to newbies here that they should provide writing or SEO services, which can't possibly lead to crap articles and SEO that... wait
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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Eduard Stinga

Now - the problem with all the "gurus" saying you have to have your own product is that all the newbies who have little to no experience in making money online or never made a $ online read that and start making their own products about how to make money online, which only leads to crap products that provide little to no value at all. Just my two cents

This is such an excellent insight how the hell can you sell money making stuff of good quality as a newbie when you haven't sold or done anything online...

Money making market isn't the only niche to start but for some reasons newbies get stuck in it and when they don't make any money they complain and moan about the guru products not working or any good.

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tpw

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Eduard Stinga

Now - the problem with all the "gurus" saying you have to have your own product is that all the newbies who have little to no experience in making money online or never made a $ online read that and start making their own products about how to make money online, which only leads to crap products that provide little to no value at all. Just my two cents

The problem is in how the student implements the instruction.

We said "make your own product."

We did not say, "make a product about something you don't yet understand."

When I said "make your own product," I thought the student would listen to the rest of the program, where I told them to create products based on what they understood, so that they could make a better quality product.

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Paul Myers 12 years ago

David,

2) Which one you prefer product development or affiliate marketing?

Artificial dichotomies? Dude, you're way smarter than that.

Paul
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- johnes4th 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Paul Myers
  
  David,Artificial dichotomies? Dude, you're way smarter than that.
  Paul
  
  I not sure I agree. This is a question of preference. You can easily prefer one over the other while still participating in both.
  
  An artificial dichotomy would be "Which do you do - affiliate marketing or product creation" - because the question presupposes that if you do one then you necessarily don't do the other.
  
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- David_Thompson 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Paul Myers
  
  David,Artificial dichotomies? Dude, you're way smarter than that.
  
  Paul
  
  Paul you old git...damn good to see you around, I have being away way too long from the forum...
  
  We all know using the information we have at our disposal is key to having a successful business and that is the main reason I asked these questions.
  Just knowing about product development doesn't make you the ideal person to put a product together or being a good affiliate marketer...
  
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Tevis Verrett

12 years ago

Originally Posted by tpw

When I said "make your own product," I thought the student would listen to the rest of the program, where I told them to create products based on what they understood, so that they could make a better quality product.

A Booyah to that Bill:

There is no staying power in shortcutting the process, nor the get rich quick schemes. . . . they are just that, schemes and dont lend themselves to longevity.

Tevis

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paul nicholls

12 years ago

I love to create products because i like to provide lots of value and i get a buzz when i know ive made a difference in somone elses life and ive helped them to push there business forward and to generate more income/traffic/increase conversions etc

paul

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Kal Sallam

12 years ago

#2 Other people's products due to the extreme advantage you have
of picking killer converting sales letters/funnels and an awsome product,
which then leads to commissions.

Some of these sales letters cost a lot, and have been tested out to the max,
vendors make sure they convert to their peak ,
so I like to take advantage of that.

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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Kal Sallam

#2 Other people's products due to the extreme advantage you have
of picking killer converting sales letters/funnels and an awsome product,
which then leads to commissions.

Some of these sales letters cost a lot, and have been tested out to the max,
vendors make sure they convert to their peak ,
so I like to take advantage of that.

Kal, I can see why you prefer selling other people's products it is easy once you know how to drive traffic to those offers, then it's easy.

But from a standpoint of a newbie that is totally different getting traffic is like trying to stop the rain from falling...

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WillR

12 years ago

Having your own products is definitely better. If you are successfully promoting something as an affiliate then you could create your own version of that product and instead of only getting 50% of the profits, you take them all. You then also get other people like you to promote the product for you. A massive win win.

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Salesmanship In Print

12 years ago

I've gone well into 7 figures per year promoting physical products, so don't let anyone tell you that you 'must' have your own product. On the other hand, it's easier, and more profitable, for me to promote my own products and services.

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Tevis Verrett

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David_Thompson

Two questions for you guys:

1) Do you have your own product?

2) Which one you prefer product development or affiliate marketing?

D, my brother:

I actually sell other people's/manufacturer junk. I am in the watersports space.

I prefer developing my brand, and also welcome affiliate marketers to sell the products on my websites, and do facilitation for/with them.

Adding my .03, hope this helps the discussion.

Tevis

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Noel Cunningham

12 years ago

Hi David,

Yup, I have my own product and would choose product development everytime. The beauty of creating your own products is that you can get others to do the affiliate marketing for YOU - not the other way around

I see traditional Affiliate Marketing as a way of getting some cash together quick but creating your own Products is key to Long-term success.

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David_Thompson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Noel Cunningham

Hi David,

Yup, I have my own product and would choose product development everytime. The beauty of creating your own products is that you can get others to do the affiliate marketing for YOU - not the other way around

I see traditional Affiliate Marketing as a way of getting some cash together quick but creating your own Products is key to Long-term success.

Noel, what I'm getting from you in this post is control, the power to control who and how your products are sold, freedom to decide over the destiny of your business assets...

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