Release Now Or Later?

I would say wait until you have everything in place to get the highest conversions as possible and attract more affiliates. It could make the difference for putting a lot more money in your pocket. But without more details that would be guesswork i suppose...

In almost every other discussion of this subject that I've seen here, I've instinctively felt the opposite, and that people should "get on with it, already". But on this occasion I agree with you, Steven. I think it is the smart thing to do to make the product more attractive to customers and potential affiliates.

From knowing you, I also think that you and I are similar enough in our attitude to our work, and what we "put out there", to suspect that it's going to be far easier for you - as it would be for me - to have "regrets" about releasing too early rather than too late. So I (uncharacteristically) voted "later".

I predict a "close result", here ...

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You want to put out the best quality and bang for the dollar you can. It's hard when money is tight but worth waiting to build better customers for future products etc.

I'm not sure if I would follow this advice or not, but you could always consider releasing it now, with the promise of specific free bonuses on a specific near-future timeline to those who purchase. Maybe even give them an extra bonus (or discount) for being an early adopter.

It might also be useful to get some feedback from the community while your bonuses are in development.

To be honest, I am usually the type that likes all of my i's dotted and t's crossed before pulling the switch. But logically, I know that is not always the right way to help a project succeed.

Inspired by Alexa above, I am going to be uncharacteristic. I vote now.

I probably go against the trend here, but I hate bonuses. Either your product is worth what you are charging or it is not. End of story. If the bonuses are what makes me buy, then I was probably wasting my money in the first place.

I'm all for discounts and specials. Buy now and get 20% off or the first 50 buyers get a special price. That sort of thing. Bonuses to me have always wreaked of desperation.

I know that probably goes against 99% of IM'ers though, so take it with a grain of salt I guess.

In your situation I would go Now! Next year do version two with the bonuses if you really think they add to the attractiveness of your offer.

I ignore bonuses most of the time and concentrate on the product. Does it do what it says it should? If so, just get on with it.

KenJ

BTW. I think it is a little rude to announce your non participation in the thread. And now I am being rude for telling you so. I'm English and that's how I think.

Apparently I just broke the Poll tie. Patience is a virtue. You already broke 30 more days wont make a difference. Get your max reward from it....Just my opinion.

Go! Go! Go!

Let your product package which would include all pieces of the puzzle evolve over time (Windows 3.x, 95, 98, 2000, etc.)

Mark

Steven,

What I sometimes do it release Part I, and let folks now if they buy now they'll get part II for free as soon as it's finished. So instead of a main product and a bonus, it's like a delayed bonus only labeled differently.

They get a discount for buying now. If they wait for both parts to be finished they can still get both, but at a higher price.

That's worked great for me in the past. Your mileage may vary.

Release it early with a discount and bonus for earlybirds.

Possibly All Parts (Later) $1,000

Early birds first half $400 with second half @ $400

Follow up products discounted also.

If the bonuses are essential to getting the most out of the main product, then wait. However, if the bonuses are NOT essential or highly relevant, then release it now.

Look at it this way...

If you launch now and it goes really well, you can upgrade it, add bonuses, and then release it again as a more expensive "version 2.0."

And, if it doesn't go well, at least you didn't waste a month of your life developing bonuses for a product that nobody wanted.

John

I would not let financial worries drive my business decisions.

The time frame you choose aside, you could be just as broke afterwards.

I voted for "Now."

... if your product needs "bonuses" to help increase sells, then you need to create a better initial product.

I voted launch 'now'

because you can immediately sell them 2 oranges, with a promise of 3 free oranges later.


and Steven, I hope you won't me saying, do yourself a favour and stop diverting your attention to the negativity in your threads, concentrate on your work in hand,

If it's not positive or helpful ignore it, you are writing way too much replying to unhelpful comments, add that up at the end of a week, and that's half a day or more of your time being unproductive.

I didn't vote because the question you're asking is grossly irrelevant, vague, and ambiguous.

It would be like me going on a PUA forum and asking, "hey guys, I'm trying to pick up women, should I wear white shoes or black shoes"?

You can say I'm comparing apples to oranges but I'm not.

Because I have no idea what your product is. I haven't seen your sales page. I haven't seen your offer. I haven't seen your business plan. I don't know enough about you, what you're doing, your past experience with products..... how you're driving traffic.... I don't know a thing about anything other than - "bonuses, yay or nay"?

Most importantly. I think if you really knew what you were doing, and were a "wiz" like your name suggests... you wouldn't need to ask this question in the first place. You say the bonuses are good, and are tied into product? Great. Then wait till it's done. It's that simple.

The *only reason* you're asking this question is the mere fact you're broke. You basically admitted to that yourself. That's how irrelevant this question is. You're nitpicking at nonsensical details just because you're tight on money.

I have seen you complaining, whether directly or indirectly, about being "broke" or "tight on money" for the last year or 2. And it really make's me wonder if you have a job. Because if you don't, it might be time to get one.

I've seen your posts on this forum and the 1 thing I DO know about you... the 1 thing you have thoroughly convinced me of... is that you have an endless list of excuses, reasons and justifications for why you're broke. All these "what ifs" and orange talk. That's why I try to avoid your threads. Like right now all this talk about fruit... I have no idea what you're even talking about. I really don't. To me it reads like: "if this happens and then that happens but then this happens and potentially this might go wrong but if this works and that works but this doesn't work what should I do" ?

I really hope and pray that this product is successful. I genuinely hope it works for you. But just encase it doesn't. I really think its time you remove the phrase "copywriting wiz" from your name.

-Rob

the easiest thing to do is create a super simple link bait or presell type of product to "launch" now (or at least early) and then finish the bonuses and launch the main product with the bonuses the right way.

BTW, by link bait product i mean something like a checklist, cheatsheat, mindmap,resource guide, infographic....

from your position with low funds and little leverage (in the way of connections who will promote becasue you just sent them sales last week), you need to start something sooner rather than later. But you dont want to mess up your "big" launch opportunity by rushing things.

if you do a super simple link bait style product it could go cheap for 100% commission to start the list building, launch buzz, affiliate networking,....... you get the idea. If i remember right you r thinking music niche? some of the IM launch tactics will work much better to audiences and affiliates/partners who dont see them multiple times a day.

Do it now man.



You could promote the notion that you're creating some UNFATHOMABLY ELITE bonuses to be added later...

You could open a copywriting clinic on that one idea alone...

"In fact... This is so awesome that I'm going to CONTINUALLY GIVE YOU BONUSES over the next XYZ quantity of time because I'm so passionate about ABC!"



Even if it totally flops, just repackage it later with a better angle... (And if you're launching this internally or on a small scale; nobody will even know that it tanked. Nothing to lose, other than a potential marketing budget).

Just launch 1.0, get feed back and re-launch 2.0

I suggest waiting and not releasing the product until it is of the best quality. Bonuses should only be included if they bring a lot of value, but are not necessary to enjoy the main product. By waiting, you are not releasing something out of desperation, which can cause people to make mistakes - I know from personal experience. You want this product to sell over the long term, I assume. So, quality and value trumps everything.

If you do choose to release it now, make sure it is exactly the product you would be proud to release if your money situation wasn't as it is now.

By the way, I LOVE New York!

Steve,

Test it man.

Throw some traffic at your offer with the bonuses and throw some traffic at it without the bonuses.

You never know how the market is going to respond despite your 'no brainer' assumption - and you ought to know better than most what happens when you assume anything about a product that you haven't tested.

Dennis nailed it.

Create the bonus as you go, if you can. It might not need to be completed before launch.

But for goodness sake test the conversions before making any assumptions.

Release it now.

Based on the things you've been saying here and in other threads -- You need money now, and you need to use all the time that you have to solve this problem. So:

Considering these things, what I'd do is:

Release the products now (without the bonuses, instead of doing the bonuses now and nothing else. Why?

If I were in a similar situation, then I wouldn't want to take a pass on these opportunities:

*** Possibly earn some money (or a lot) from the launch;

*** Possibly earn more money (or a lot) from doing other things;

*** Gain relevant data that might be useful for improving both the products now and the bonuses in the next launch; and

*** Possibly earn more money (or a lot more) than my projections now from the next launch (due to relevant data).....

How? I'd effectively divide the time that I have each day to three main tasks. These are:

*** Keep track of the kind of sales I'd be getting from this along with the results that I could use to improve my plan for the next launch (with the bonuses;

*** Do some other things that could most likely make me earn money; and

*** Use relevant data from the launch to complete and improve the bonuses for the next improved release of the same products. Also:

If you intend to release your products now without the bonuses, then your next problem is how to implement a system where you'd be able to notify buyers regarding your follow-up bonuses. What I'd do to solve this is:

*** Implement into the check out page an enticing description about these free bonuses, followed by a box to place their emails if they want to be notified upon the release of these free bonuses (tell them your target date) and the credit card form / Pay Now PayPal button -- You said your target buyers aren't in the get rich quick MMO / IM crowd, so they won't most likely mind, since most (if not all of them) might not consider this as a way to add them to a mailing list where you just promote stuff for them to buy...