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Is product creation the way to go?

by Zodiax
37 replies
Hey,

If I spend time creating a quality product, with proof. And make the effort to sell JV affiliates, will I be successful in product creation?

Maybe the first 5 will fail, but if I keep trying, making multiple products, will this be a successful side project?
#creation #product
  • Profile picture of the author dbong
    Only the effort you put in and the quality of your product will be able to dictate whether or not product creation will be a successful venture for you. If you can provide something of value to people and successfully implement a marketing strategy, you may very well be successful.

    But again, quality is king. I think I've scrapped 4 projects now before I'm finally ready to launch a product. Why? Because I wanted something that people would truly find useful and not a load of junk that would hurt my reputation and betray peoples' trust.
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinhy
    Define success.

    Everyone has different perspectives on what success is. If you keep trying, I am sure one day you will reach your goal.

    Set yourself a few goals such as "sale numbers" in "a certain amount of time".
    If it doesn't work or you are not seeing any results, improve on your product. I mean Apple started with those huge iPods and everyone loved it. Look at their products evolve every year.

    You can do the same.
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  • Profile picture of the author youvana
    It's a very good idea Zodiax and something I have had success with. Create a great product and reach out to influential people, but build a good reputation first. In my case I was approached by a successful marketer who liked my products and that helped a lot. More luck than anything, but if you build a good reputation here or on other platforms then there is no reason why you should fail. Why should your products fail? and why 5? Where does that come from? If you put the work in develop something good and build the realtionships you will be onto a winner.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zodiax
      Originally Posted by youvana View Post

      It's a very good idea Zodiax and something I have had success with. Create a great product and reach out to influential people, but build a good reputation first. In my case I was approached by a successful marketer who liked my products and that helped a lot. More luck than anything, but if you build a good reputation here or on other platforms then there is no reason why you should fail. Why should your products fail? and why 5? Where does that come from? If you put the work in develop something good and build the realtionships you will be onto a winner.
      It seems the big boys, are spending months creating maybe 3 or 4 products, and packaging them into a lucrative sales funnel, and offering cash prizes.

      And investing tons in pro-level copy.

      Sounds like I can do that.
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  • Profile picture of the author GodOfCPA
    In my experience, the most successful product developers in recent years (who come from an IM background) are SAAS and those who create platforms. Sitescout (sold for millions) and iMobitrax are good examples. Very good idea to "sell bullets in times of war" if you can figure out a need. But if you're talking about creating some ebook / video series "with proof" on how to make money online, I wouldn't bother with it. The amount of work vs. possible profits is negative unless you are already established.
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  • Profile picture of the author youvana
    Definitely, GODOFCPA and I have seen several big marketers opt for that route. It makes sense for the recurring revenue, but you need the developers and the money as you say. Software, plugins, online social promotional platforms tied into a monthly subscription, all of these will get you where you want to be, but yes for Joe Blogs this is not an option.Selling an ebook won't get you there or a video series as you state. It sounds depressing but it's true. However it still is possible to do well online selling good content and if that is tied into a membership site, then people can still make a regular income.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aji Raman
    How much time for a quality product creation?

    -AJ
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  • Profile picture of the author cyberzolo
    Quality products will succeed. It's simple. Crap product you can expect crap results.
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  • Profile picture of the author Omarkenawy
    The key to success in internet marketing and building a successful online business is the persistence and consistently
    You must persist until you achieve your goals ( whether you create your own product or make money as an affiliate marketer)

    But no one can deny that one of the best ways to make money online is to create your own products. Product creation takes quite a bit of practice and a direct audience to market to.Of course we speak about digital products!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author MattSabia
    There are some who hustle 24/7 for months and only make a few hundred bucks selling their product and others like one of my partners Adam Horwitz who can make millions in a week.

    What I'm trying to say here is it's all in the product. It's the definition of passive income. Put in the right amount of work now and just let it pay off later.
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  • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
    Originally Posted by Zodiax View Post

    Hey, If I spend time creating a quality product, with proof. And make the effort to sell JV affiliates, will I be successful in product creation? Maybe the first 5 will fail, but if I keep trying, making multiple products, will this be a successful side project?
    If you are simply looking for some encouragement based on the limited information you provided on your intended product(s) and on yourself, you will probably be able to receive some motivation from the folks visiting this thread.

    If you are however looking for a more realistic / useful answer from professionals that will give you feedback based on your skills and experience in the niche you intend to operate, your overall Entrepreneurial potential., the potential or actual quality of your product(s), your marketing plan, etc, then you will need to bring a bit more to the table and provide more info.

    Product creation is not for everyone, and marketing products successfully appears to be an even bigger challenge for many. Thus my answer to your question "Is product creation the way to go?" at this time is... it depends!
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      This is a difficult question to answer and one that has to be looked at from several angles.

      First of all, it is absolutely NOT necessary to create your own products to be successful. There are lots of marketers out there who do nothing but sell affiliate products who are very successful.

      Think about it. What is it that product creators try to do above all else?

      Get affiliates. And some of these affiliates crank out quite a few sales as the product creator himself can see. My first product had one affiliate sell 100 copies the first month. So you don't have to create your own products to be successful. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

      Secondly, the niche that you're in and the product you create is going to have a big influence on how successful you are. I created a product once in a niche that was very much stuck in its ways. I tried to create something "new." It blew up in my face. The product itself was amazing. There was just no demand for it. And this is something that took me years to create.

      Point is, if there is no demand for the product itself, it won't sell. So whatever it is you're creating, make sure it's something where the demand already exists. Creating something unique can be rewarding. But it can also be very risky and blow up in your face, just like mine did.

      Then there is all the stuff beyond the product itself. There's traffic generation. Do you know how to do that? What about the sales copy for the product? Are you capable of writing it yourself or are you going to have to hire somebody? If you hire somebody, has he written salescopy for this market before? Not all copywriters are equally adept at writing for all niches.

      And of course there is the product itself. Is it any good? You might make initial sales but if the product isn't solid, the refunds my eat you alive.

      What about product longevity? Is it something evergreen that will sell for years to come or is it a product that after a few months or a year will be nothing but a memory. Are you going to have to keep cranking out product after product just to keep making a living like I did? That was one of my biggest mistakes, not creating something that would last.

      Long story short. Product creation is not the only way to go. For some people, it may not be the way to go at all depending on their skills as a product creator and the niche(s) they're trying to go after.

      Hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Zodiax View Post

    Is product creation the way to go?
    Definitely not, for me.

    I also think that for most aspiring marketers, their chances of success, overall, are significantly higher through affiliate marketing than through product creation.

    Here are just ten of my main reasons for thinking this.

    .
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    • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
      Yep, tried product creation, the WP one below, made more than $1000 profit, but l ended up with a few hundred!

      A few hundred for a month of endless discussions with my programmer, and creating the graphics, (well most of it).


      I created the best product of it's kind, to see how well it would do, and eventhough, the above results aren't bad, they aren't really live changing either?


      I also found that the KW costs are so high for WP software that even with a 3% conversion rate, and a pretty good backend, it still couldn't get over advertising costs.

      If l stayed with doing JV deals and creating new software, building lists, etc, then l should be able to get it up to about $1000 a month in about 2 years!

      Probably also explains why l decided to go do graphic products for a site instead. I can do it myself, and way better potential profits.


      But for the record l do believe that this path, can work out long term.

      And the occasional successful IM, with a big list, giving you a break helps!


      Shane
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  • Profile picture of the author Brendon Zahrndt
    Zodiax,

    I need to help you understand the distinction between 'JV's and 'affiliates', as you have combined them. They are different.

    A joint venture partner is just that, a partner.

    That JV partner will likely have the ability to sell hundred, even thousands of your product for you with one or a few emails. They have the ability to make thousands each time they press send.

    As a partner, you'll likely be mailing for this individual as well in true partnership fashion, as it is defined in this industry.

    An affiliate will likely promote and mail for you, yet only make one or a few sales, and they quickly move on to the next thing.

    It's unlikely you will reciprocate with this individual for many reasons.

    As you can see there is a big difference between JV's and affiliates so make sure you get the distinction correct.

    On the subject of product creation - there was a high level internet marketing summit that took place in Orlando, Florida this weekend.

    Of the 100 or so people that were in attendance, almost, if not ALL of the attendees, including the presenter, had two things in common.

    1) They were ALL product creators
    2) They were JV partners for tons of other product creators.

    In my opinion, you can get away with being an 'affiliate' only in this business.

    You may even do well with it.

    But if you want to absolutely explode your business, earn the respect of your peers, and get the chance to have the major players promote for you because you continuously put out great stuff, then you need to start creating products.

    Once you get used to the process of doing so, it becomes easier and easier.

    You think those 100 people sat around any worried about the 'legalities' of being an information product creator?

    Nope. They didn't.

    Get into product creation.
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  • Profile picture of the author youvana
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    • Profile picture of the author Brendon Zahrndt
      Originally Posted by youvana View Post

      Hi Brendon, how can you say that That comment is inaccurate because there are a few variables involved. The size of the affiliates list ,the cost of the product and the engagement the affiliate has with their list. If what you are saying is true then I wouldn't bother promoting products for people because it wouldn't be worth my while. Many affiliates make 100's of sales during a product launch. Look at the videomakerfx software that did over 20000 sales. Some of the top affiliates made silly money there.
      Youvana,

      Many affiliates making many sales during a product launch still doesn't tell me anything.

      If 1000 affiliates make 1000 of those sales, they might still be 'affiliates'.

      What does the size of anyone's list have to do with anything?

      The cost of the product? Huh?

      The number one factor is sales. How many sales can one individual bring at any given email.

      A JV Partner is treated and handled much, much differently, in my opinion.

      I would be willing to bet that a small handful of top JV's made the majority of the sales of Videomaker and if the sales distribution of that product was spread out equally by a large number of affiliates - than that is the one very rare exception to the rule.

      In the Videomaker example - can you show me exactly who made what sales?

      I am willing to bet a small few made the bulk of the sales.

      And I am also willing to bet that those same people do that consistently.

      And THAT makes them a JV Partner of mine, if I can consistently reciprocate.
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  • Profile picture of the author youvana
    I love product creation and it has the benefit of allowing one to build a list of buyers really quickly. A good product launch with the support of some good JV partners yields instant results and a great payday, whereas purely being an affiliate means that you have to build a list by another means and that is a slow process. You might try solo ads but then you generally have a list of freebie hunters, sure you'll get a few buyers, but it will take you a lot longer to get the point of making some good money online. You might try social media and Youtube, I make a bit of money that way, but it's nothing astounding. Product creation would be my choice every time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Carl Donovan
    The secret lies a bit deeper than creating a quality product, IMHO.

    Or, to put it another way, creating your "product" entails a lot more than writing an eBook on, say, dog training and assembling an army of affiliates to push it.

    Wouldn't it be lovely if we could just write a book, turn it over to affiliates and then go drink Mai Tais on the beach while the money rolls in? Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that.

    It goes without saying that a quality product is a must. But you also need to build out an entire backend affiliate system, and think of it as part of the product.

    Right now I'm working on a JV for EZ-Online Boot Camp (link is in the signature) with an IM veteran. I posted this thread in the JV section of WF that I was just about ready to give up and he came in and offered me the keys to this program. The beauty of it is that it's an incredibly comprehensive IM training that I'm learning from while simultaneously putting those very lessons into play, promoting the product.

    When I got into the backend of this system, I was blown away! The work that goes into creating a program that has any chance of success is phenomenal.

    If you have a high quality product with a market, you're still only halfway there.

    Best of luck!
    Carl
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    • Profile picture of the author WayneYork
      Originally Posted by Carl Donovan View Post

      The secret lies a bit deeper than creating a quality product, IMHO.

      Or, to put it another way, creating your &quot;product&quot; entails a lot more than writing an eBook on, say, dog training and assembling an army of affiliates to push it.

      Wouldn't it be lovely if we could just write a book, turn it over to affiliates and then go drink Mai Tais on the beach while the money rolls in? Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that.

      It goes without saying that a quality product is a must. But you also need to build out an entire backend affiliate system, and think of it as part of the product.

      Right now I'm working on a JV for EZ-Online Boot Camp (link is in the signature) with an IM veteran. I posted this thread in the JV section of WF that I was just about ready to give up and he came in and offered me the keys to this program. The beauty of it is that it's an incredibly comprehensive IM training that I'm learning from while simultaneously putting those very lessons into play, promoting the product.

      When I got into the backend of this system, I was blown away! The work that goes into creating a program that has any chance of success is phenomenal.

      If you have a high quality product with a market, you're still only halfway there.

      Best of luck!
      Carl
      I wonder why the IM veteran behind this affiliate program uses the free version of powtoons to advertize the service, looks a bit cheap to me.
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      • Profile picture of the author Carl Donovan
        Originally Posted by WayneYork View Post

        I wonder why the IM veteran behind this affiliate program uses the free version of powtoons to advertize the service, looks a bit cheap to me.
        I made that video, using the free version of PowToons. Creating the marketing materials is one part of my investment in this program.

        Lesson number one, from Theodore Roosevelt, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

        Carl
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  • Profile picture of the author RogozRazvan
    That depends.

    Affiliate marketing allows you to focus more on the marketing side and I think it is the way to go. However, the product owner may pull the offer at any time so building an entire strategy around a single product is not a good idea.

    On the other side - if you simply build a quality list on which you can promote products from the same niche, you are not tied 100% to any product or service.

    Product creation comes with two big advantages. The first one is that you are building a name for yourself. This makes JVs, selling services, etc far easier. The second one is that you can use marketing techniques that are not available in the other option - as having affiliates, JVs, licensing your products and when you want, exit the business for 6 - 12X your average monthly income.

    Hope this helps,
    Razvan
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  • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
    In the long run, creating your own products, services and funnels is the ONLY way to go if truly mean to make it big in this business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Newd
    The World is not short of great products. And truth is some of the greatest ideas don't make it, while some average products Hit It Big! That's because it's really all in the marketing and execution. If you have a desire to create a product then go right ahead. Just make sure you'll follow through completely with all the challenges involved.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zodiax
      Hmm I like all the ideas suggested by far.

      Right now, I am typing out a document which is jotting down a logical process for me to follow with the phases of my product launch.


      Phase One-Planning:
      -Determining product name
      -Determining product audience
      -Determining product unique selling proposition
      -Determining product content type
      -Determining product length
      -Determining content section names
      -Determining content layout


      Is what I have so far. This is just me trying to concentrate my thoughts into something orderly.

      I don't want to do this sloppily.

      Im expecting this first one to be a partial flop, as I'll be making tons of mistakes as someone inexperienced in product launches.

      Im hoping planning can mitigate some of the damage.

      If anyone has ideas to add to phase one, please don't hesitate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aji Raman
    i Will ADD think everything as a DESIGN/concept with a real identity and something that give imagination to your customer. The success of the product is his abilty to project the customer in a complete universe.

    LOVE

    -AJ
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  • Profile picture of the author LegendaryGuy1
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    The best way to succeed with a new product is to get as many high quality affiliates with huge lists by your side. This can take the initial set up to a whole new level and earn you a lot of money in the process.
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  • Profile picture of the author brutecky
    I make 10X what I do as an affiliate with product creation. But its also 10X the work.
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  • Profile picture of the author wDigital
    The short answer is product creation is a great way to go. But don't just limit yourself to that, you can be an affiliate as well as a product creator. If you buy a product that is hight quality, offer it to your buyers list with your affiliate link if it will benefit them as well.

    In fact that will be a great way to get more JVs, when they see you sending sales to their offer they will usually be happy to send out your offer when you next release.

    Its worked well for me anyway.

    All the best buddy.
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    • Profile picture of the author HelpingYouBeAnExpert
      Originally Posted by wDigital View Post

      The short answer is product creation is a great way to go. But don't just limit yourself to that, you can be an affiliate as well as a product creator. If you buy a product that is hight quality, offer it to your buyers list with your affiliate link if it will benefit them as well.

      In fact that will be a great way to get more JVs, when they see you sending sales to their offer they will usually be happy to send out your offer when you next release.

      Its worked well for me anyway.

      All the best buddy.
      I agree also do multiple things. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    Hi,

    It all depends on how much time and work you're willing to put into creating
    your own products that you can sell online.

    I personally LOVE being able to sell my own products that can then attract
    affiliates to promote them for me as well and of course I can still recommend
    other peoples products to my buyers lists too.

    You can create membership sites too that allow access to all of your products
    and this allows you to add recurring payment systems into your business model
    too.

    You can also leverage off the back of your own products by offering them as
    BONUSES when someone buys through your affiliate links etc.

    There are limitless possibilities once you gain some momentum with this business
    model.
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  • Profile picture of the author Teravel
    Is product creation the way to go?
    1) Do you know how to set up a funnel that converts?

    2) Do you know how to generate traffic using multiple sources?

    If you don't know how to do either of these, creating 100 products may not be enough.

    Without a decent funnel, you'll be selling one time products to one time buyers. That means you have to go through the entire sales process with each person, for each product. That's a lot of work for little reward. This is of course assuming that you know how to get targeted visitors to your sales page.

    In any kind of business online, product selling, affiliate marketing, even selling services... If you don't know the above two skills (List Building and Traffic Generation), you're going to work harder for less money.

    "Work smarter, not harder" ~ Scrooge McDuck :-P
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  • Profile picture of the author Carl Donovan
    OOPS! Replied to the wrong thread! The thread this reply was supposed to go to is here:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ting-help.html

    Anyway, hopefully this advice will be useful in THIS thread! DOH!

    You are certainly on the right track with your statement, "it's a real business and not just clicking and wasting time."

    After nearly four years in IM, I feel like I finally have a grasp on the concept. You hear "the money's in the list" so often that it seems like a cliche. But knowing how to set up a backend system that will build your list is the most essential skill of all.

    The worst thing we can do (and I know because I've done it) is chase the newest and brightest shiny object that passes through this forum. Find a subject and a system and HAMMER at it until it starts to produce returns.

    And don't think you can do this all alone. There are thousands of Warriors who will team up with you and together you will all gain.

    No man is an island, especially in IM.

    Hope it Helps,
    Carl
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  • Profile picture of the author EPoltrack77
    Sure, but can you market efficiently and effectively with affiliate products yet? My personal opinion is learning the basics first and get it so you are good at it and grow from there and building your own product to help people is the ultimate prize in my book. Think what you can do if you can communicate to your affiliates and get them to go out and make the same sales that you can make. Talk about giving yourself a raise. Congratulations!
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    • Profile picture of the author Zodiax
      Originally Posted by EPoltrack77 View Post

      Sure, but can you market efficiently and effectively with affiliate products yet? My personal opinion is learning the basics first and get it so you are good at it and grow from there and building your own product to help people is the ultimate prize in my book. Think what you can do if you can communicate to your affiliates and get them to go out and make the same sales that you can make. Talk about giving yourself a raise. Congratulations!
      I look at it like this.

      I can learn to market another product, or I can create my own quality product and invest in someone to create the highest converting sales pages, and I can create OTOs and upsells, and offer lucrative cash prizes, and the earning potential of my product will draw affiliates like honey.

      Besides, the worst thing that will happen is that my product will fail and I would have learned what to do and not to do next time. In the best case scenario, I'll create some nice income.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trey Morgan
    You will learn a lot from creating products and launching them. Even if your products don't sell, you will have a lot of content that you can use to market future products or to do as you please with.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Good
    No doubt that creating your own product is the best option. So, go ahead and don´t hezitate!
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  • Profile picture of the author Marco Moeschter
    For some people it will be a good option and for some not. If you feel good with creating products and if you can at the same hand create quality products than go for it. Just create a product launch it and see how it goes. This will probably answer your question by itself.
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