Product Creation - Sustainable or Not?

by Riki Oh

Posted: 12 years ago 18 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hi guys/gals.

Is product creation as profitable as so many marketers make it out to be? I have been doing a lot of research about this form of marketing (mostly as it pertains to Clickbank), looking for something sustainable, and everyone that claims to have experience in this field has published considerably questionable earnings claims. Usually, these people are selling something, though, so I don't know what to believe.

Can you guys help me out on this? I need some honest answers...preferably from fellow warriors that actually have experience with this, and not something based on hearsay - respectfully.

I just got laid off from my job; just in time for the holidays, so that worked out good. At least they were planning ahead. I can't believe how things have become. I'm sure there are plenty of warriors here that know where I am coming from.

I don't have any hands-on experience with Internet marketing, but I have been reading about it with a keen interest for years. I feel like I know a lot about it, and now, more than ever, I need to put it use.

If you want to pitch me some product or whatever, that's fine...just be honest about it, PLEASE, and pitch me something that you know works; something that I can build a sustainable career around. I can't keep jumping from one idea to the next and not getting anything done. I can't afford to do that anymore. I am ready to take action...I just want to be certain that I am making the right decisions. The last thing I want to do is spend all of my time and money on something for a year, only to find out that I made a huge mistake. It doesn't even have to be about product creation. I just chose that because it made sense from a business perspective.

I don't have a big list. Actually, I don't even have a list. I don't even have a website yet. I have some money to invest, so I am not on a shoestring budget, but I also do not have more than $3,000. I am resourceful and can probably do most of what I will need to do with regard to the techie stuff, so I can further minimize my overhead if need be.

For anyone that bothers to read this and respond, thank you.

Take care.

#creation #product #sustainable

youngsiteowner Banned 12 years ago

The answer is... Content is King!

and that includes software.

So yes it is sustainable and one of the best ways to make money online.
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ipixeli 12 years ago

It's definitely sustainable and profitable if you know how to do it and do it right. It's also a great way to build your list fast. You can easily get distracted at the WF with WSO's, so I'd use part of the seed money to get on 1 on 1 coaching with well-known marketers here to avoid information overload and get you on right track. I would avoid CB.

Good luck.
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E. Brian Rose 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Riki Oh

Hi guys/gals.

Is product creation as profitable as so many marketers make it out to be?

Would you rather own Ford or own a Ford dealership?

Would you rather make surf boards or rent them from a tent on the beach?

Would you rather manufacture hearing aids or sell a pair every once in a while?

Would you rather be the king or one of his subjects?
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- Riki Oh 12 years ago
  
  Thanks for the answers, everyone. I do appreciate it.
  
  About the coaching; any recommendations? I have been reading this forum for a couple of years now, off and on, and yes, it is very distracting and educational. Now I am at a point where I have to settle on something and stop hopping from one thing to the next.
  
  Thanks again.
  
  Take care.
  
  Thanks
  
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ipixeli 12 years ago

Hey buddy... you are in luck today. This coaching program still has 3 spots left - click here (not affiliate link). I only know he's quite well-known here, he also has testimonials on his sales page.

Good luck.
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Riki Oh 12 years ago

I'm looking at it now. Thanks!
- Thanks
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Eddie Titan 12 years ago

Product creation is sustainable at the least.

However not many people can pull this off. By entering into the field of product creation you must change the way you think about work. You are no longer an employee. You are the person responsible of developing something that can make money. You will, most likely, employ people to get it done and you will make your own money.

How well you do in this field will depend on how dedicated you are and how much you understand about product development, customer relations, and marketing strategy.
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ProScribe 12 years ago

Product Creation is definitly something you should consider.

I would also recommend you take a look at the offline and CPA sections of the Forum as they can also be very profitable ways of going forward.

If you have $3000 to work with I would try and conserve those funds and don't buy any expensive products. You can learn plenty online for free and experience is the best teacher anyway.

I would also say that IM like anything has a steep learning curve. You may want to consider getting some form of part time income offline to keep paying the bills while you are gain experience.
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Brendan Vraibel 12 years ago

While coaching seems like a logical choice, be sure to tread lightly. A lot of coaching programs will teach you the same concepts and strategies that are widely available on the forum for free. I know that that's a generalization and not all are like that but like I said, keep your expectations in check. It's good to have someone to bounce ideas off of but they're not going to do the work for you like many people believe a coach will provide.

I also recommend joining the War Room. It's a $37 one time fee and there are tons of strategies for making money and plenty of resources to carry them out.

Best of luck.
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- JohnMcCabe 12 years ago
  
  Riki, you are at the point where, when it comes to IM, you are still a virgin. Like many virgins, you probably have a lot of theoretical information. But you really don't "know" anything.
  
  Paul Myers has a product out called "20 Page Empires" (non-aff) that will give you a lot of practical information for getting started. Once you 'pop the cherry', you can look at things a whole lot differently.
  
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The Copy Warriors 12 years ago

As with any other field, only a certain percentage of people who develop and sell digital products will have any degree of success with it. But if you're wondering whether people really are making money with products they have developed, then the answer is yes, many people are. If you want to be in that category, you'll want to develop a unique product that offers new insights in your niche, and market that product well with a PPC ad campaign, an affiliate marketing program and other promotitional strategies.
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travlinguy 12 years ago

Before you run into product creation mode it's always good to have some background and skill in something people are interested in buying. But even that's not enough. You also need to present it so others understand what you're trying to put across.

The truth is, there are many courses, reports, guides and whatever that identify excellent business models. But the person who has created the course has no skill at all in explaining how to put the model into practice.

There are lots of product creation courses out there but none of them can hand you the intrinsic talent you need to make excellent products. That has to come from within and be nurtured and developed. Good luck.
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ebusinesstutor 12 years ago

The trick with product creation is to create products different from everyone else. So don't create another crappy ebook with a secret formula that regurgitates the same stuff everyone else is doing.

Instead, create real tools and unique products. Very few other people will do this because it is harder. So "harder" is your friend because it weeds out the competition.

I have several products with only 1 competitor - IN THE INTERNET MARKETING FIELD! So in a field flooded with 10s of thousands of lousy ebooks, my products quietly make me and my customers money without having to compete against the rest.
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- amarketing 12 years ago
  
  Is is sustainable, or isn't it? Well, it can be either/or. Let me explain.
  
  If you create a lousy product that is the same old same old regurgitated information, than chances are, you're ogling to have a hard time getting a lot of sales going. Beyond that, you will more than likely have a higher return rate on the sales that you do get. Oh, and all of this will make it harder for you to get some good affiliates on-board to help you sell the product.
  
  On the other end of the spectrum, you can create a great, unique product that delivers a lot of value. This will have a lower refund rate and will generate lot of glowing reviews from customers...which will in turn help you to sell even more. Affiliates with large lists will be more apt to promote your product since it will provide value to the subscribers of their lists. You can see where I'm gong with this.
  
  It all starts with the product, create a great product, and you've already won half the battle. However, there is the whole marketing side that you need to understand as well, but that's only really important once you've developed a product that's worth marketing.
  
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CDarklock 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Riki Oh

Is product creation as profitable as so many marketers make it out to be?

Depends. I've made products which pulled in $200, and products which pulled in $12,000. More commonly, a product makes me between $3k and $5k, and it takes me two to three months to create one. As you can probably guess, this gives me an average annual income around $18k. It's not a lot, and it's sure as hell not reliable, but it pays my bills - and most months, it even pays them on time.

However, it's not hard to figure out that if I could create products faster, I'd make more money. And the bottleneck there isn't so much knowing how to create products, but being able to keep those products out and in the public eye while continuing to produce more and better products.

The key to a successful business creating and selling products is to establish a solid and reliable line of quality products which can be promoted over and over again, or to establish an ongoing process of new products being created at frequent intervals. I haven't made either of these things happen yet, but those two approaches are the major ways most product creators I know drive their business into higher income levels.

As far as earnings claims go, I don't even look at those anymore. Even if they're accurate, the game is very different from one person to the next, and you don't know what rules those earnings were made under.
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David Keith 12 years ago

Hey Riki welcome to WF.

I have done online business as long as almost anyone around here, and here are a few simple tips. by the way, I am not in the "how to make money niche".

1. You must create something unique if you want to give yourself a chance at making good money when you start out with no list. Once you have a list, you can make money selling almost any product related to that niche, but at first you need a strong USP (unique selling point)

2. I dont care what niche you decide to go into, the money is in the list. Your first purchase once you really get ready to go should be an aweber.com autoresponder account.

3. Success is not a numbers game, its a people game. You need to focus on building relationships in your chosen niche yesterday. That means building relationships with possible JV guys, major industry players, the lower level more approachable industry players, and the customers in your industry.

As far as product creation goes, I honestly dont understand why most of the guys in the IM industry dont focus their efforts more on building a smaller set of products that have a sustainable life span.

For the life of me, I have not figured out why they jump from project to project making a few dollars and never positioning any of their products as the undisputed industry leader on a given topic.
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jbsmith 12 years ago

Product creation is not only sustainable, it is leveraged income. Meaning, that once you spend the time to create a product, you can leverage that time for months and years to come.

I have two infoproduct bundles that I released in 2001 that, with a couple of day's work each year on updates, continues to make me as much now as it did then

Meanwhile I have created a dozen others that range from simple ebooks through membership sites and coaching programs.

There are some subtleties for sure...your topic must be in-demand (at an emotional level), you want to test your idea before spending time creating the product, you want to focus on organizing your products as training sessions rather than just information - this will make you a lot more money and you want to understand the basics of reaching your audience online and converting prospects into customers on the net.

Pretty exciting and cool business to be in...and you will notice that money-makers in other business models (Adsense, affiliate marketing, Amazon guys, bloggers, etc...) all come around to generating their own products, WHY? Because it is profitable, leveraged income and they fully control this line of income.

Hope that helps,

Jeff
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Chris Chicas 12 years ago

Like someone else noted, part of the biz is building relationships with people that are ethical and are actually making money.

Have people get to know you, add them on Skype, FaceBook, and other social media sites and show your face - who you really are and what you are about. Some might say this isn't necessary but it doesn't hurt.

Also get to know people in your vicinity interested in IM. I"m in Palo Alto/San Francisco area if anyone is from around here.

Best of luck.
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