When is a product 'good enough'?

1. Develop a cheap, quick "dirty" prototype

2. Get it into the hands of likely potential customers as quickly as possible

3. Refine the product design based on feedback

Let's take a comment you might hear during the course of your prototype work.

"This course is on something like 27 DVDs. I am immediately put off by this." (This is an actual comment BTW).

IMers might put up a fuss, thinking they have to offer 5, 10, or 27 DVDs to get to a certain price point. They are focussed on shoving something down the market's throat.

Let's further say you absolutely must have 27 DVDs, this can not be changed. What other ways could you address the objection?

With an open mind you can do a couple of things. You can have the material on the DVDs in small chunks, not a long, monotonous monologue.

You can extensively cross-index each chunk, so it takes just a minute for the user to find what they are looking for.

In other words, when you are putting together a product in a vacuum, you should feel anxious. Playing the percentages of how many products are mismatched to the market because they were developed in isolation from the market, you have every right to be anxious.

Simple solution, do not develop products in a vacuum. Develop in collaboration with potential customers, and you'll sleep a lot more soundly.

Your product is good enough when it has a competitive advantage, from the point of view of the customer -- not you. Everyone falls in love their product, and they are blinded to scores of shortcomings everyone else can plainly see.

Let me make this clear. Competitive advantages are judged by customers, not product developers. Nobody cares how much the developer loves their own product, certainly not the marketplace.

When these developers put in all kinds of time and effort on a big product, they get defensive. Consequently the product never gets good enough to compete. And they do amazing mental gymnastics trying to pretend "there's nothing else like it" while the market lets out a collective yawn.

Related:

A Gifted Product Is Mightier Than a Gifted Pen The most ignored advice Gary Bencivenga ever gave. Also happens to be the one key reason most IMers will never have enough money to hire someone like a Bencivenga.

As in my example, you can look at the feedback and creatively adapt.

Just because a potential buyer says something like "I don't have time for your bloated product," don't take it negatively. As my example explains, you don't necessarily have to make the product any smaller at all.

In other words, look for the meaning underneath the words. Ask yourself what that comment really is getting at, then integrate that metamessage into the product.

And, when you integrate the feedback, you also upgrade your copy. Using the example, you now have a good idea that finding the exact nugget you're looking for is a selling point. Work that into the copy as an objection handler.

Finally, depending on the people you get for your feedback, you can also find out what the competition is doing wrong and correct it in your product. Far too many IMers copy the competition rather than learn from it.

Hi, John... as a new member here, but an experienced writer, I have to say this is something most every writer faces. We overcome it by following the advice you were given by John S - just get something written down.

If, for one, have a tendency to edit as I write. When I can get past that and just write, it makes all the difference in the world.

And don't be too hard on yourself. There may be others who can say the same thing better, but if you have something of value to say, people need to hear it from YOU.

Wish you the best.

Dee

Confidence is an effort that is made. If you follow the advice in this thread and continue to act fast and let the market react, you will be able to adapt to that and continually improve your products. I think we all face these fears from time to time, at least subconsciously, and the only way to overcome them is to just do the work and follow the results. Good luck with your work.

I sold tons of money making ebooks on ebay for 3 years, I never cheated anyone and always did so much research as to give everything to help my readers learn.

I taught about top Internet marketing and selling techniques, these are the real solid hidden secrets top Internet sellers never reveal in thier own ebooks.

In other words 99% of most top Internet guru's never share the real wealth of their goldmine.
Any ways I decide to share my real money secrets of how it was done online, how I to use secret scripts and codes to control tons of Internet traffic to my ebay auctions.
My ebooks averaged me $8500.00 to $10,500.00 a month all on digital downloads. I was cleaning house for 3 years selling ebooks.......yet I still sold products at the same time also, so I made even musch much more.

I also revealed in my e-books real companies who I purchased products from in countries like China, and how I did a professional write up, and the secret words I used to make those sales.
You see, I really learned to sell online and on e-bay for years, before I wrote my first of many ebooks...... I have sold on ebay for 9 solid years , selling 1000's of products for home, shop and manufactoring industry companies also CNC equipment and I was the world largest Internet dealer for Solid Oak Tool Chests for 6 years solid in a row.
I made some real good money and fast.
And over the years, I learned a lot about driving Internet traffic into my ebay auctions.
So by the time I wrote my ebooks I knew my subject very well.
I always feel you have to give your customer the real deal, 100% solid info, if I didn't have that 100% solid Information, I then would never had sold an ebook.
I did a lot of research and knew I had a market that could last for years.

1.)Remember this..... you can write great ads that sell tons of ebooks or products.
2.)You can use scripts to bring in tons of Internet Traffic
3.)You can have 1000's of backlinks.
4.)You can give awesome deals........
5.)But.........your most important selling feature is how solid your product is....and how much in demand to your readers want it.....if they got to have it....and can't live without it.........you have a great seller.
But once they get the product I always want to know if they are happy with it. If not I'd give a full refund. My average is about 1 refund in 75 to 100 sales on average, and that's on ebooks that I have sold over 30,000 on.........hope this helps....I do enjoy reading the other idea's people have here also......lots of great advice !!

P.S. I am not selling e-books at this time, so please no one ask for my ebooks, I am taking a year off, and it's been wondereful to have this time free, and I am 6 months into this year long vacation......it's fun !!