Fail Fast, Fail Often

I expect that you’ve heard this quote ‘Fail Fast, Fail Often’!

I had a consulting call with Mark Steer, one of my fellow students in Online Wealth Blueprint after I offered a free consultation on Facebook.

I spoke to Mark on Skype for about one hour.

His problem was that he has been working on a product since September which he is planning to launch next March. Today is January 22nd 2014.

Mark’s product is about how to drive free traffic using Pinterest.

I can certainly empathise with Mark – getting your first product out onto the market is difficult. It took me at least 4 months to create WP Website Wizard.

I know of other members in our student group who have been labouring away for 15 months on their product and it has still not been launched.

Here are the barriers in their mind (- I know because I experienced them):

technical – things like how do I set up a members area? What theme should I use? I want transitions in my Powerpoint to make it look fancy. How do I record screencast videos? Where do I upload hem to?
mindset – I want it to be perfect. It’s not good enough yet. Fear of putting your stuff out there and receiving criticism. Fear of the unknown – what will people think, reputation, failing etc

The problem with all this ‘noise’ in your head is that the intrinsic value of the information being offered and consumed will not change all that much by adding all this fluff to your product.

Whilst you are messing around with all this stuff, you are not improving the lives of your potential customers who may need your information TODAY rather than in 3 or 6 months time when you have added in some fancy Powerpoint transitions.

Making money is about an exchange of value – at the moment Mark has nothing to exchange for money. As Marlon Sanders said, ‘half done, ain’t done!’

Also, if you spend 6 (or even 12 months) creating your product you have a significant portion of your life wrapped up in that product. If it flops, think how devastating that would be to you. All that time and money for little or no return.

In the worst case scenario, it could even make Mark throw in the towel.

So when I could see that Mark was in the process of possibly repeating the mistakes that I had made, I was anxious to bring forward his deadline for getting out version 1.0 of the product.

We’ve agreed on a period of 10 days i.e. a week on Friday (today is Wednesday).

Mark also has another coaching call with Marc Milburn scheduled for a week on Friday – I figured that it would be useful if both parties had something tangible to work on improving.

Frankly, he could get his product out today if he was familiar with the process.

But I wanted him to get familiar with the process of producing a product without putting him into a state of panic.

I want him to see how easy this can be.

We’ve discussed what needs to be done and Mark is reporting back to me on Friday with his progress and to deal with any sticking points in his mind. It is all 90% in his mind (as it was in mine!)

Will it be perfect? – Heck no! Nothing ever is.

Will it be the final version! Heck no – this is version 1.0 – the minimal viable product i.e. the bare bones of a product on which he can stick a payment button.

Version 2.0 might be made if Mark thinks it is worth the effort after testing it first in the marketplace.

This is vitally important because it gets him over the barrier of creating and launching his first product.

This is a huge barrier to get over in internet marketing – it’s a barrier made mainly in the mind.

It can only be removed by taking ACTION.

Once you discover how easy and quick it can be, your next product will be faster (and better) and the next one faster still until you get to be like Sean Mize who planned to launch 150 WSO’s in 2013, came up short with 80 and made $65,000 from WSO’s and a shed load more from his coaching programme.

Jason Fladlien advocates that you should create one problem/one solution products in one sitting.

When you first hear this you cannot believe this is possible.

Once you start creating products, you understand that this is very possible when you are familiar with the process.

The other vital points about getting your products out quickly is:

you can quickly gauge what the appetite is for your product in the market which will help you decide whether it is worth building upon or whether to move onto your next product
you can get feedback from beta testers and reviewers for improvement
you have something tangible to build upon and improve – I constantly add additional stuff to my existing products – if I hadn’t created them yet, I wouldn’t have the opportunity of improving them.
Only by taking action do you find out your strengths and weaknesses and start to make improvements – your first product is likely to be poor in comparison with subsequent products. It took Edison 10,000 attempts to create the light-bulb! It’s a process of testing and failing. Being part of a coaching group reduces the amount of testing and failure but you still need to learn the process.
the more products you have, the easier it is to create powerful sales funnels

So ‘fail fast, fail often’ is vitally important in business.

They say that money loves speed. I think that is true.

I am anticipating that by moving Mark’s deadline forward by more than two months, a lot of barriers will fall down for him in the next 10 days. It will be a steep learning curve for him.

On the other hand it would be tough for him to spend another 2 months on his product only to find out that no one is interested in his product idea.

At least by getting it out there quickly he can let the market decide. If there is a reasonable response then he can work on Version 2.0 with all the bells and whistles like adding nice Powerpoint transitions!

I’ve also offered him some technical short-cuts – I have developers rights to software that could make his journey much easier. I’ve offered this to him if he thinks he needs it.

The reality is that there are plenty of free options as well.

I will report back on how Mark progresses at the end of January. This is an actual person with an actual problem and maybe you can learn from Mark’s journey to creating his first product?

The other big thing that Mark may not realise, is that by consulting with me, he is now accountable to me for taking action. He perhaps doesn’t yet realise how this could really move him forward.

Fail fast, fail often – this is vitally important to remember in business if you really want to find success – they do say success is a 1,000 step process.

Product Creation Update

This article is a product creation update as it seems appropriate to review where I am at present given that this is being written right at the beginning of a new year – 2014.

MarkSalmon.Info

Today I released Mark Salmon .Info onto the market. This is a collection of video training packages to which I have resell rights.

They can either be bought individually for $27 a piece or as a package where 1 training is dripped out every week for a monthly subscription of $27 i.e. you get access to 4 trainings for the price of one every month.

Each training comprises between 7 and 12 videos and some include audios, powerpoint slides and transcriptions.

They cover a wide range of topics about internet marketing to give anyone who purchases a well-rounded education in internet marketing.

35 trainings have currently been added to this product and this will rise to at least 52 shortly so that I have at least one years content available.

This product also gives me the ability to plug any of my customers or students into an appropriate training on a wide variety of topics.

For example, if you want to add a product to an affiliate site like Clickbank or Digiresults then there are trainings on exactly how to do that. Alternatively, you may want to create some graphics using the available free tools online – there is a training on that too! Or perhaps you want a business model or strategy to pursue like flipping websites – yes, you can get a training on this too.

There are far too many topics to cover here but you can click on the image below to get more information on all the good training that I am releasing on MarkSalmon.info:

Easy Graphics 101

I have one module about Photoshop Actions to complete on this product and this will then be complete apart from the sales letter. Hopefully this should be completed and released by the end of January. This is how the site looks currently but is has not yet been released for sale. It includes 4 modules:

Solo Ads Assassin

Solo Ads Assassin has been completed in partnership with Daniel Madeira who operates a solo ads business. I did the technical site set-up and put some of my other products into the sales funnel to create a very nice offer.

Unfortunately, Daniel has had to deal with some personal problems first before he could contemplate launching this product.

Again, all the content is on the site and it is ready to rock and roll. Here is how this site looks and hopefully it will be up for sale by the end of January:

Email-ATM

This product has been mapped out on a mind-map and all the bonuses have been added to the site – there are 4 or 5 high-value bonuses related to email marketing.

I just need to create the core content and I am pencilling in a completion dater for this site of the end of February 2014.

Wake Up To Health

I am currently helping my sister, Saira, to build a health membership site which will include a number of health related products.

Her first product will be on weight-loss. Again, I am handling the technical set-up for a fee but I have included a number of premium plugins to give her an incredible marketing platform including:

a premium WordPress theme
a premium membership plugin
a premium plugin for creating ‘courses’ out of her tutorials i.e. a questionnaire at the end of each module to ensure tat students understand the content and much more
a premium squeeze and sales page plugin which includes split-testing functionality
a podcast and video player plugin to handle audio and video files

In addition to the above, I am considering purchasing a developers license to offer the ability to integrate her site with Google Hangouts so she can offer live and automated webinars. Also, whether to upgrade her video to the premium video player that I use on my sites that normally costs $297.

In total, this site offers her the ability to create multiple membership products and to market these effectively using blogging, social media, podcasts, video marketing and webinars.

My sister has been struggling with the technical aspects of this project for over 11 months and it has taken me less than 3 days so far to get her ready to get this project into over-drive in 2014.

She was quoted between $2,000 and $10,000 for this work, but I am only charging her a small fraction of that price for 3 days work.

I just wonder how may other coaches and consultants are in the same position – blocked by technology and the steep learning curve required to get their information and coaching out to their market.

One project that I am pencilling in is to create a site clone, with all the key plugins included, and offer this out for a modest set-up fee and monthly payment to keep it affordable. This to include hosting and maintenance.

Here is how my sisters site looks currently and there is about one days work left to complete and it will then be ready for her to start adding content:

Business Creation Mastery

Business Creation Mastery is my most important product that I want to get launched in January as well! I have been planning this out over the Xmas period and I have been building towards this for a long time.

My vision has been to help other people to set-up and grow a business online. I am going to narrow my niche down to coaches and consultants in a variety of niches who all have similar needs i.e. to get their training and content online and who are frustrated by the technology barrier and what it takes.

After almost 5 years online and prior to that, 8 years of consulting and 25 years of banking experience, I feel that I must have confidence in my ability to add value to the lives of other aspiring online or offline entrepreneurs. I am now going to engage with them more closely, find out what they want, and then support them using a mixture of one-on-one help, group coaching and access to my automated products.

My mission will be to help them to deliver their own unique value into their own niche or marketplace in a variety of formats.

This site has been in the planning stages for some months now and it’s ready to be launched now – I have been listening to podcasts by Sean Mize during the last couple of weeks and that has convinced me to launch now. After all, I have already done it offline and with 5 years experience online I know I have a tonne to offer.

Conclusion

That is the current state-of-play of my products currently under development. I am going to try to create 1 hour of content each day – mainly audios but also written and video. However, one of the key areas I need to concentrate on is driving traffic to my sales funnels to convert my products into more sales.

You can see from this product creation update that I am ready to hit the New Year running as my target this year is to make at least a 6-figure income and I will do whatever it takes to achieve that.

The DEPOT Method

Chris Payne introduced the DEPOT Method at the KISS 2 Event held at Gatwick recently and I subsequently had a consultation with Chris which proved very enlightening.

Firstly let me tell you what the DEPOT Method is. It relates directly to product creation.

When you are planning the creation of a product you must ensure that it meets these criteria:

Desperate Problem – your product needs to solve a desperate problem – a problem that needs solving urgently. To do that, you need to understand what pain people in your niche are suffering.
Exactly – your product needs to be exactly what they are looking for. As soon as they see it, they say ‘that’s exactly what I want’.
Proof galore – show that people similar to your prospect are getting amazing results with your product
Offer is irresistible – when they see your offer, they will think ‘I thought it would cost more than that.’ Show them how they can get the solution within minutes and remove the risk of buying by offering a guarantee
Time is short – introduce urgency into their decision through scarcity e.g. the price is going up tomorrow/there are only 3 left in stock/ if you buy today you will get an extra bonus.

Chris Payne reviewed my product portfolio and said to me ‘your products are what your customers need but they are not what they want!‘

He said, ‘They won’t sell well because they do not address a desperate problem.’

Initially this came as an enormous shock to me. I have invested a lot of time and effort into creating my products because I believe that they are what everyone needs to create and grow an online business.

Upon considered reflection, I actually agree with him that they are not what people really WANT! Most people want the ‘easy button’ – a fast and easy way to make money online. That’s what most marketers are marketing but when you have purchased as many products as I have (see last post) then you realise that this is a big lie. There is no ‘easy’ way to build a business – it takes work and building your business around a proven model.

We actually need to build a list, create valuable products for your list, build a sales funnel with higher value products and then generate traffic (preferably by recruiting affiliates) – this is a solid way to build a sustainable online business.

So my strategy now is to build smaller front-end products that conform exactly to the DEPOT Method i.e. sell them what they WANT (on the basis of one problem/one solution) and then educate my customers into investing in my other products or coaching to build the kind of business they really NEED – one that is built on solid principles and foundations.

Money For Nothing (& Your Chicks For Free!)

Do you remember Dire Straits and their song ‘Money For Nothing ‘ – this sums up information marketing because all the information that people are looking for is out there on the internet for free.

So why do people buy info-products if they can get the information for free?

It mainly has to do with convenience and speed – if we can aggregate, sort and organise information for other people, who have busy lives, and provide a short-cut to the information they are seeking, this is valuable and well-worth paying for.

However, a lot of the work that we do online is essentially free in order to position ourselves as someone who our readers can ‘know, like and trust’ BEFORE they invest in a paid product.

However, the importance of charging for information cannot be under-estimated and I have therefore copied an extract from a very good article by Michael Hyatt that explains why it is important to charge for our products and services:

[content_box_light_green width=”75%”]

This forced me to get very clear about why charging for my work is not only acceptable but essential. Rather than feel guilty, I’m convinced it’s important for at least three reasons.

Because of how it changes your mindset When you start charging for your services, you go from being an amateur to being a pro. You are suddenly more accountable.
- It matters if you show up. You don’t get paid if you don’t.
- It matters if you do quality work. People won’t buy if you don’t.
- It matters if you are consistent. You won’t get repeat customers or grow your business if you don’t.
In short, when you charge, you respect yourself and your own work more. It creates value in your own mind.
Because of how it improves your customers’ experience. People don’t respect what they get for free. There are exceptions, I’m sure, but not many. I have seen this time and time again.For example, I occasionally give away free tickets to one of my conferences. Often, the people who get them don’t come to half the sessions—or don’t pay attention when they do. Worse, they sometimes cancel at the last minute, not realizing I still incur costs.The truth is that until people make an investment, they are not invested in the outcome. This is why I now always make sure they pay something and have “skin in the game.”But charging also improves the user-experience. Recently, I bought a very high-end marketing course. It cost me almost $2,000.You can bet I just didn’t stick it on the shelf and forget about it. Instead, I rearranged my entire schedule, so I could get up an hour earlier and work through the material.Because I paid so much, I was more focused, more committed to working through every exercise, and more determined to apply the principles to my business.The author of the course promised that it would be life-changing. But it’s only true if the students follow-through on his teaching. The fact that he charged so much for the course improved the chances of that happening.
Because of how it impacts the world. This is the most compelling reason of all to me. Charging for your services is a necessity if you are going to support your family. If you don’t charge, you won’t be doing what you do for long.But even more importantly, making money provides you with the opportunity to share with those in need. The more you make, the bigger impact you can have.In fact, within the bounds of my calling and ethical practice, I believe I have the moral obligation to make as much money as I can. Why? Because there are people in need, and I have the opportunity to help them.

You can read the full article here: http://michaelhyatt.com/do-it-for-the-money.html[/content_box_light_green]

When I was in consulting, I was told that people will not value that which they get for free.

It is totally true.

If you’ve ever paid for information then you will know that you are much more motivated to take action on it and get a return on your investment.

I also think that many of us under-estimate just how much value we each have to offer – we are all unique with enormous potential for creativity. It’s just a question of honouring that potential by taking some action.

Whilst your first product might be slightly horrible, if you keep working on the skill of product creation you will quickly improve.

If you haven’t yet got a product or service that you can offer then you might like to take a quick peak at this video of Marlon Sanders about the need to complete your product – if you’ve got a lot of half-finished projects sitting on your hard-disc, then this could be the kick up the backside that you need:

http://renegade.evsuite.com/marlon-sanders-half-durn-aint-durn/

If you can complete you half-done projects then perhaps you too can start earning money for nothing from the ‘digital dust’ on your computer! On the other hand, you might like to invest in my product – Product Creation Renegade – if you don’t yet know where to start with this ‘Money For Nothing’ info-marketing model!