What's Your Main Obstacle to Creating Info Products?

All good points James and great for the feedback. To be honest, I love creating products and I'm just trying to get a sense of the opposite perspective.

Product creation always just "made sense" to me I guess so rather than just "assume" I know what the issues are...I figured I'd put it out there to this great community to see what would happen...

Good feedback so far so thanks everyone (even to those who haven't posted yet...the fact you clicked means something)

Cheers,

Brad

My Rebuttal (basically why you've got all those already)

1. Knowledge- even if 100 people know it...there's at least 1,000 who don't...and more likely 1 million or more. So just share what you know and get it out there. SOMEONE needs the help.

My conference this weekend proved this to me in many instances...lots of successful people didn't have specific knowledge of someone else in the group conversations I was in...

Don't underestimate your own skills

2. Experience- done it a few times? That's more experience than most people who don't know something?

Find a unique way to improve it...and you've got a product...doesn't matter if you've only done it 10 times ever...

Experts means you know more than someone...not that you know the MOST

3. Creative Mind...

One Problem One Solution. Here's all the product creation ideas you need to get going buddy.

One Product/One Solution= "How to Cure 'Insert Frustration' in 'Insert # of steps' or less"

Anything can be done in that framework.

Bottom line...don't underestimate yourself

Best wishes,

Brad

My solution...

Make it a game.

Your competitive bone will kick in and it works every time.

Cheers,

Brad

You don't have to be better than your teacher. For example, what if your teacher has moved to advanced students only...where they don't teach the basics.

Does that mean there isn't a place for the basics?

Yea...you can create one now my friend...the market will tell you if they like it or not (based on them buying/not buying).

Cheers,

Brad

Will,

Good you overcame that perfectionism trait. Ugh I get so frustrated when I'm having a chat with someone via PM or skype and they ask for my help on how to do x, y, and z and my only response is "get it out the door."

They are frustrated too looking back since they want to hear some thing that will justify their lack of results.

"Get it out the door" is the only response to 80% of our problems in this business.

I mean...we're not in the pharmaceutical biz where you can drop 1-2 billion bucks on drug research only for the drug not to work.

THAT... is where perfection needs to be focused on.

Not simple PDF, MP3, or Video information products.

Great thing you conquered this (I had it too and it's like a sack of potatoes being lifted off your shoulder).

Cheers,

Brad

Themelis,

The fact you mentioned Karma means you can have a long term sustainable business based on long term customers buying everything you sell.

Karma only works though if you do...

So get your stuff out there and realize you can always have Vol 1, 2, 3, .... 1000.

It just doesnt' matter. Give your customers lifetime updates and you're good.

Best wishes (and keep that integrity up...it'll pay off I promise)

Brad

Oh Barry you make me laugh.

I dont' have children so I can't speak to the time issues it must be...so HIGH FIVE TO YOU! Most people quit once they have kids and they quit life...doing anything for themselves to be stuck in the corporate **** hole..."So they can provide a good life for their family."

That's BS...it's just hard to have a business that provides for a family.

All I want to say to these people (usually don't say it b/c it's not my place but I think it nonetheless) is "What if you made enough each day by the time you woke up to more than care for your family?"

Hmm...

Great job at least for recognizing you have the excuse. Just change it.

Best wishes,

Brad

My response to your analogy is that a mechanical item has a high barrier to entry.

"Poor" is in the eyes of the beholder...what if I sell you something that saves you 8 hours on a task that you do once or twice a month (like create a sales page for example).

8 hours a month has got to be worth 47 bucks right. If you make at least more than 5.88 an hour at your job than it is.

That reality with products is what holds most people back in the value area. I still suffer from this time to time so I'm no saint...just a psychological exercise to work through I guess.

Cheers,

Brad


Paul you rock...consider this my RSVP for that invitation to see your method hehe.

But seriously...getting excited and the positivity you express (I win this way...or if it doesn't work I win this way) is what keeps me going when I'm down and don't want to work anymore.

Which more often than not...is how I feel after running my restaurant during the day.

Thanks for chiming in...you definitely have this thing figured out.

Cheers,

Brad

Hey,

I set out on an objective for a product...my target objective tells me when "enough is enough."

I used to not do this and didn't produce anything...nothing would get to market.

For example, in the framework of "better, faster, cheaper, and easier" (4 words I like to make sure I do in every product)...as long as I do that I'm good.

I mean for something that's 17 bucks...or something like that...one tactic can be enough for that. I mean if it saves you a ton of time and frustration....isn't that worth it if it ELIMINATES that problem/frustration.

I guess the analogy to think about is "spend 2-3 hours fussing with this techy garbage or take my girlfriend to the movies." Which is worth more to me? I'll pay the 17 bucks to save 2-3 hours...(not counting the time savings in the future).

Just my opinion of course...

Thanks for the feedback.

Brad



Read my reply above...speed to market is great...if you start writing quality from the get go and have an outline to follow...products can be created at a HIGH QUALITY level as well as REALLY FAST...

No reason that can't be possible (in my experience good stuff can be done fast...especially if it's in short video or "quick report" format)

Also, and this is just an opposing perspective, would you rather have your customer get the info in 20 pages that they can read in an evening...or 120 page manifesto?

The general public I've found doesn't like to read that much (I do like to read big stuff if I'm really interested...but I guess i"m not the market most of the time which is my biggest problem creating products ).

Thanks for chiming in!

Cheers,

Brad

Hmm...I'm not sure what exactly gave you the impression. By all means products are only 1 of a million models. It works for me.

I'm just trying to step out of my own shoes and see what bugs others. My model is imperfect (and always will be) so my thought was "let's find out what bugs other people" and see if I can't learn something.

By no means do I think this is the only or even the best way...just what I enjoy the most I guess.

Sorry for the confusion

Cheers,

Brad

I completely agree...but short/sweet doesn't mean that it's crap.

I think sometimes people want to make manifestos and then sell them for cheap...

They cut their legs out from under them and then people miss out on all the info b/c they see an 80 page ebook...well how many people read it?

If not many do...then it's like it never existed.

Just my opinion of course...you can be good and short/sweet...

If I can help you out...feel free to PM me...I dont' want to be too critical...but 10 good products is better than 1 good product (in my opinion).

Cheers,

Brad


Dude...you know what you need to do ...

Your products kick ass.

Cheers,

Brad

To the point is a matter of opinion. In most cases this is true.

However, sometimes with more expensive stuff the "to the point" can be a bit more problematic b/c I might give you a course that could teach you to make $500 a month for example...and sell it to you for $2,000. That's worth it if you look at the fact you'll make a 300% return by the end of 12 months.

With bigger courses, the info must be more systemitized, streamlined, etc. It's not one tactic products (my specialty) but rather longer drawn out "Start at A and end at Z" type things.

I'm not sure if this makes sense...hopefully it does...lol I'm pretty tired as I type this

Cheers,

Brad

Yep

Jason,

I suggest getting a template and then really break that template down. I used to be terrible at copy and the only reason i was able to do it is because I could get a template and then become intimate with it and then experiment.

Then I'd analyze other copy and then improve it based on my thoughts.

This makes copy easy. Starting from scratch as a beginner totally sucks

Cheers,

Brad

Thanks for that. I didn't notice that thread and kind of feel silly posting my own. I spend my days working at my deli as well as creating products so I'm not always on the up and up with new stuff out there.

Cheers,

Brad

Heidi:

You've actually been part of WF for a while, I see. It's great that you saw enough potential in this thread to jump in. You sound like someone who can add value to any discussion.

I am in the same boat you're in (you can probably find 20 posts by me talking about information overload). I like your idea of "Next Action" . There may be fancier systems but sometimes simpler is better. As per the proverb "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." That's where all the action is---in the present moment, where we take that next step.

Debra:

My first thought is that you could present both the product and some draft sales material in War Room and solicit opinions for a limited period.

If you want a more select exposure---you could look at some of your favorite reviewers of past launches and invite them to review for you---some of these folks might be 1,000 + post veterans like yourself There are some pretty big names in the Forum. You have lots of successful experience---is any old brain trust or mentor relationship still intact ? These would be great places to begin.

I've only just started myself but it's clear that I have way more ideas than organizational ability---I probably need a mentor myself.

If you got where you got in 2005 without any direct personal coaching, my hat's off to you ! Good luck with your relaunch.

I can see what you're saying about 8 hour videos but most of my products are less than 15 minutes per video.

They're designed to basically show it in action and show my "logic" in why it works and then allow people to experiment, tweak, and improved based on their personal experience.

Audio is great too but like you said "I don't have 8 hours to watch a video," I personally don't respond to audio and my feedback has been mixed. Most of my customer feedback said they wanted a written report too so I started including written directions for that type of learning.

Whatever works to make the bank though...I would change my model if the market demanded it...but I created tricks, tactics, and "simplifiers" for IM based tasks. Easy market to break into as well as one of the fastest evolving which (for me anyway) makes it more fun and creative.

For me, 4 words make up product creation and my style of doing it...they are...

"Better, Faster, Cheaper, and Easier"...I try to hit all 4 in every product I create.

Thanks for chiming in buddy!

Cheers,

Brad

This is an issue I find is best dealt with at the very beginning. I used to produce products and then search for the traffic but I found life was a lot easier if I focused on building traffic first along with a related email list. Then, whenever, I come out with a new product it's just a matter of selling to a market that is already in place.

It may seem strange to do it this way, but it's possible to focus on sites for a given niche which have good content and attract a fair flow of traffic. This may take a few months to do it properly with SEO, backlinks, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, articles, etc. (I know it's faster to simply buy the traffic.)

In that time it's possible to work towards targeted traffic of 1,000+ unique visitors a day.

With a setup to capture email addresses and build a mailing list, as long as the new product is relevant to that particular niche, the interested buyers are already in place and you can then produce a number of small reports to release to them. As well, there are related opportunities, such as audio and video versions, bundles of reports at discounted rates, etc.

While building the traffic on one or more related websites, it's possible to monetize them with affiliate products and/or Adsense but the real aim is to build a list of people who are interested in that particular niche or group of related niches.

This also provides a long term business that is built on your credibility and relies a lot less on what others provide.

Ivan

NicheExposed:

I have to say that your thoughts on product creation keep me encouraged. I really DO want to help people solve problems and your perspectives keep the "creative energy" there for me. Rather than focusing on dry formulas or dealing with sales projections---focusing on building solutions for folks is the sort of thing that keeps me naturally productive. Actually--it's what drives my everyday "real world" life as well. So product creation can be a natural extension of this---even a labor of love, as you say.

Vicone--your strategy for creating products based on your day to day interactions with a list makes a lot of sense as well. It fits hand in glove with the problem-solving mode mentioned by nichexposed. This keeps the whole process grounded--which I really like. And it certainly takes pressure off of "product creation" as an abstraction. People like Marlon Sanders have talked for years about doing market research to uncover product ideas. And that's valid. But you make a good point that a product can be built AS you find and learn how to serve your target audience.

You guys are right--this has been a real gem of an exchange---very meaty. And unusually long and engaged. Nichexposed, I certainly get what you say about not wanting to "risk" putting together involved posts for WF for fear of wasting them. I've had some really thoughtful posts "die on the vine" and it's not a good feeling :confused: It seems to be that if even a few highly engaged people are aware of a thread and online often enough that continuity is not lost--it's enough to keep it alive and growing. Gotta stay on page 1, right ?