10 Product Creation Mistakes
Have you ever created an absolutely fantastic product, only to see it flop when you introduce it?
Every time you are thinking of a new product, evaluate your idea versus this checklist before you spend time and money on what might be a dog.
1 - Having a “writer” rather than a “user” focus. Let’s face it – it’s just plain more fun to write about what’s interesting to you than what’s interesting to others. Unless you’re planning to buy thousands of copies of your book yourself, however, you should keep your focus on what your users need when designing your product, your sales copy, and your traffic.
2 - Not researching the competition. Some markets have too much competition. No matter how good your product is, if you’ve chosen an oversaturated market, or one with extremely strong competition, the only way you are going to succeed is if you have the marketing knowledge to beat your way to the top.
Similarly, if you find a large market with no competition, chances are there’s a reason. The likelihood that nobody has tested that market is very low, and it may be a market that is nearly impossible to monetize. There’s a reason that Google currently has no advertisers for “Hinduism” despite the large search volume.
3 - Not researching the internet market. There are a number of great tools on the Internet for researching keyword volume and user interest in a topic. The internet works best for certain types of information, and it doesn’t always correlate to offline interest.
4 - Going too broad. Just because a market is huge, don’t assume that it’s going to be hugely profitable. In almost all cases, you can achieve better conversions and attain a higher price point by designing something specifically for a subpart of the market (market niche) rather than for the broad market. It’s easier to start with a niche and move the product to a broader market than to start with the broad market and move the product to a niche.
5 - Choosing a topic that requires constant updating. If you’re seeking to build a business, it’s unlikely that your best bet will be to focus it on a review of the Tax Reform Act of 1997. While it may be a hit for a little while, it’s unlikely to have a lot of searches by the time 2008 rolls around.
There is one important exception to this rule, which is when the topic is evergreen but the information that a user needs changes, like in search engine marketing. This is the perfect situation for a continuity program, where your users will pay you every month for current information. The product creation process is ongoing, but the revenues can justify the ongoing product creation needs.
6 - Not knowing what is and is not working. If you’re not tracking what advertising is working, what keywords are drawing the most profitable buyers, and what changes and tweaks to your page are increasing conversions, you’re probably wasting half or more of your marketing. Start off slowly by simply collecting data, and then grow your testing as the product justifies the time and expense.
7 - Choosing too low of a price point. When you create a truly outstanding product, charge an appropriate price for it. Most of us face a reluctance to price our products at a range that feels “too high” to us, but most of the people I know who have tested higher price points have raised their revenues dramatically. Raise your price!
8 - The best product in the world won’t do anyone any good if nobody ever sees it. At the end of the day, it’s not about the product, it’s about the marketing. If you chose a remote spot in the Nevada desert and opened the best sushi restaurant in the world, but did nothing to tell people about your restaurant, would you expect to be flooded with customers?
When you create something of value to people, you owe it to the world to do everything possible to tell people about it. The more traffic you can profitably generate, the better off everyone will be.
9 - Failing to get buyers to use your product. This concept is called consumption, and it’s all about encouraging people to use your product. They’ve spent money on it, but if you don’t help them use it, many of them will never take that next step.
The wonderful side benefit of encouraging consumption of your product is that it will create more loyal buyers. When you help them find the value of your product, they will be far more likely to tell others about it and to buy other things from you in the future.
10 - Not finding out what was good and what wasn’t in your product and sales process. Surveying your customers, whether through a web-based survey or simply spending some time on the phone, will quickly highlight the strengths and weaknesses in your product and your sales process. This is perhaps the easiest way to generate new ideas for improving your product or for new products.
Print out this list. Post it on the wall and use it every time you’re considering a new product launch until it’s a part of who you are. You will make more money and fail less often.
~ Mike
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