Product Portfolio Creation Workshop

Important

You need to pick what is right for you

You need to take notes (PDF of slides will be available too)

You need to create your own action plan

Schedule

Why create your own productsHow to create productsFast product creation strategiesHow to have others develop products for you (not only outsourcing or PLR!)Why create a portfolio

Why you should create your own products

Establish your brandYou can cross-sellYou can build an affiliate base - at last. As an affiliate marketer, the vendor has the backend!You have a portfolio of products to position yourself as a pro in the marketplaceKeep a similar look & feel to your products and site design

Why you should create your own products

Establish trust with one product, then all your other products instantly inherit that trust. Transformation from prospect to customer is the hardest. (Amazon)Establish automated processes to upsell and improve customer- & visitor-valueYou’ll have an asset that you can modify, re-purpose and even sell.Stay able to step back from the brand/business.You should keep a similar name and/or design with your products - like -generator, Turbo-, -classroom, etc... Keep a similar look & feel - you want people to recognize it’s one of your products/sites

Where to get the idea for a product?

Surveys (surveymonkey.com)Online ForumsYour forumFacebook / TwitterBlogsAsk your prospects!Educate yourself about existing/similar products and what customers like/dislike about themAlarm-question: “How did you do that?!”

Where to get the idea for a product?

Surveys (surveymonkey.com, questionpro.com, email,...)Online Forums > What are the problems, feature requests etc.Video-Downloader case studyFacebook / TwitterAmazon (or any other store) ReviewsBlogs (search others or post an article on yours)Ask your prospects!Educate yourself about existing/similar products and what customers like/dislike about themAlarm-question: “How did you do that?!”Adwords to survey“What’s your number one question about...? Type in your email and I’ll send you...” (get content ideas for your products at same time)

IMPORTANT:

Make SURE people are looking for the solution you’re about to solve in a product!

Should you get into THAT market?

No fear when it comes to competition - more demand = more passion, more repeat customers, more problems to solve = more ideas for the portfolio = more products to cross-sell, etc...Need to educate your market that they need your product = BAD!Core formula to start with:Save or make them more time, money, energy, happiness.Diet, Health, Beauty, make money, dating, passionate hobbies, financial, debt, technology (iPhone, software, DVDrippers, etc..)Big markets mean you can dig deep, scale up, go wide, cross over easily!

Should you get into THAT market?

Diet example: Blood pressure, Diabetes, Yoga, Fitness, Martial Arts, Pilates, Biking, Running, Stress reduction, etc...You don’t have to drill too deep down with advertising - mass appeal!Most don’t follow through... repeat buyer alarm!Don’t go for buyers that NEED things, but for those who WANT things! “Chocolate covered broccoli”Small markets MAY work, but most likely the demand is just not there. But is many small projects what you really want?Topic-Check: Were people buying solutions to this in the past? And will they in the future? Are there repeat buyers?You have the tools and knowedge to setup multiple products and do cross-sells, upsells, etc. You are ahead of 95% of the people in most markets! (Even in savvy ones like the internet marketing industry!)

Where to get content

Turbo-Tip: Think about partnering with some expert!

Millions of experts that are PRO in their topic but would never have the time to create digital products themselves.You can become a “Publisher” - Fun, many people to work with, easiest way to create content & make a lot of people happy!Exposure&money for the expert, money for you & professional info for the customer

Think about your network of friends and friends of friends.Tell friends what you’re doing and let them refer experts to youNo need for a fancy business-card/website/presentation or even SELLING the expert on your idea!

Where to get content

Turbo-Tip: Think about partnering with some expert!

Millions of experts that are PRO in their topic but would never have the time to create digital products themselves.You can become a “Publisher” - Fun, many people to work with, easiest way to create content & make a lot of people happy!

Think about your network of friends and friends of friends.Tell friends what you’re doing and let them refer experts to youNo need for a fancy business-card/website/presentation or even SELLING the expert on your idea!

Example: Surround Sound Professor

Where to get content

Again: Surveys, Forums, Blogs

Just search Google for “Keyword blog”, “Keyword Forum”, etc...

Article directories

Other people’s products for inspiration

Traditional books!

Always rewriting in YOUR language and with YOUR goal in mind (the questions you want to answer!)

Brainstorm Process

Shut off distraction like IM, PC, phone, get into your “zone”Use a NEW, blank, legal pad.Clean your room or go somewhere where there’s not a lot of distraction in your viewWrite down everything that comes to mindThink of existing products and think of ways to add to that. Think about SMALL solutions, that do it just a LITTLE bit better!Get feedback from others and don’t feel bad about honest feedback! Detach emotions from your ideas at this point (spouse!?)

Formats

EbooksVideoAudio recordingFull video courseMultimedia course (multiple formats)Membership sitePaid newsletter/magazineTools/ResourcesPhysical products - Books, CDs, DVDs, etc.SoftwareDownload or online?

Ebooks

Ebook, report, or other written product – these are ready-made informational products that intend to save the target market time and money searching for information from a vast jungle of information online.

Write yourself, have written or get PLR or content from a partnership, transcribed interviews (www.castingwords.com)

PDF format

Video

Screen capture videos, camcorders, and even videos made on a webcam are grouped under this type. If what you want to disseminate to your target audience is better demonstrated rather than written or talked about, making your product in the form of a video is recommended.

Can also be the expert you “publish” who you filmed earlier.

Webinars (www.gotowebinar.com - 30 day trial!)

www.camtasia.com , www.screenflow.com

Audio, Podcast or Teleseminar

One of the easiest product types to create, especially if it contains a series of “guest” niche experts that are interviewed. Audio-based products can also be transcribed, increasing their value even more.

Record with any audio-recording software or use even an analogue recorder.

Record interviews or just you talking! Then, castingwords.com!

Multimedia

Combine written, audio and video formats into one cohesive product. The challenge here is to make sure that each topic in the product complements and adds value to one another.

Audio, Video, Text combined OR extracted form one another!

Membership Sites

As its name implies, it is a website that provides select tools, products and services to registered members. The membership can be a one-time fee or a recurring charge, Originally, the membership site model involves adding new content to the site on regular intervals, but most service-oriented sites nowadays no longer need to regularly upload content (as in the case with services or large online archives and databases).

USE your account!

Paid Newsletter / Magazine

Comes in two types: an offline model and an online one. Unlike membership sites, posting of new, original content regularly is key, although this can be outsourced to writers and researchers skilled in dealing with your niche.

Software

The good thing about this product type is that the possibilities are nearly limitless, as you are only bound with what is technically feasible and the kind of technology your target audience has access to. It can also be outsourced, although you have to be very particular with the specifications you hand off to your programmer.

WARNING!

Tools / Resources

Also known as “shovels” because of their propensity to save a user’s time and money as well as get them more of something or less of something they dislike. Such product types are geared to help people do things faster, better, or simply in a more convenient manner.

Can also be done as a membership site!

Physical info products

These are the product types mentioned above but turned into physical formats such as DVD and CD-ROM, books, magazines, catalogs etc. With print-on-demand (POD) publishers readily available nowadays and the advent of fulfillment centers that ship single orders automatically, making physical info products has become a lot easier and more affordable especially for startup companies. What’s more, in most cases physical info products have the advantage of containing a higher perceived value than digital products in a wide margin.

www.kunaki.com , www.disk.com , STAPLES!?

Recap for today: Top 10 Questions For Creating Products

What’s the common problem of your target customer? Each and every person on the planet has at their own respective problems that need solutions to. And the key here is to make a product that can solve or at the very least alleviate one of the problems your target customer has.What are the hot trends in your market? Another factor that makes a product sellable is whether that product is currently “hot”. For instance, as of writing the most popular trends are the 2010 World Cup and the Apple iPad, so the “hottest” products to sell right now are soccer-related paraphernalia and iPad accessories. The only downside of this is that once the trend dies own, the product may no longer sell as effectively.

Recap for today: Top 10 Questions For Creating Products

Can you improve an existing product on the market? There are lots of products out there that can be made better. Just pick one that you have the resources and ability to improve or refine.Can you make a new niche? One way you can distance yourself from your competition is by creating a completely new niche for a current product. You can make your product faster, bigger, smaller or more user-friendly than your competitor’s. Invent a niche by just NAMING A PROBLEM!Is it possible to bundle your existing products together? You can bundle related products together to make an entirely new product. For example, if you sell hunting knives of various sizes, you can bundle them together into an outdoorsman’s kit.

Recap for today: Top 10 Questions For Creating Products

Do you have an old product or PLR product you can “reincarnate”? If you have an ebook that’s no longer being sold, you can redesign it’s cover and layout, give it a new name and update some of its content. You’ll be surprised at how many information products sold nowadays are “reincarnations” of old products.Have you asked your customers what they want? Asking your existing customers what type of products they want sounds obvious, but it is not often done by entrepreneurs. You can contact your customers via email, by phone or by messaging them on social networking sites.

Recap for today: Top 10 Questions For Creating Products

Did you do a survey? Post a survey or questionnaire on your website that asks visitors what types of products they would like have on the market. Don’t forget to ask for contact information (phone number, email address etc.) so you can inform them once you’ve created the produce they’ve suggested. Can you combine two of your products together to make a new one? If you have two or more products with you, you may consider combining them into a single, convenient product. An example, if you are into Search Engine Optimization, you can combine the features of different softwares or applications that get different SEO tasks done. MarketSamurai, for example, features rank tracking, SEO competitors, SEO content that can be recycled, backlinks that can be used for off-page SEO. You can do this as well.

Recap for today: Top 10 Questions For Creating Products

Can you sell your product to another type of customer? Do some research and find out if your product appeals to more than one customer demographic. If your ebook of low-fat recipes appeals to people who want to lose weight, for instance, it may also be attractive to people who are simply health-conscious.

If you can answer a couple of these questions, you may already have sound product idea in your hands. If not, just keep thinking of solutions until you come up with one.

Thank you!

Next time:

Rapid product creation in a day or less!

What makes a good online / offline product

Product creation tricks & shortcuts