Don’t let this chicken-or-the-egg dilemma
Squash your audio ambitions
It’s the most frustrating challenge product creators face:
Its easier to sell product once you’re known. But one of the best ways to become known is to sell product.
Yikes!
Newbie product producers (including yours truly way back when) fare poorly with this dilemma, creating great products that don’t find their audience because they’re not a known commodity. If you’re persistent, this problem is solved with time.
But what if you’re not? What if you don’t have the time to become known or to put out a body of work before your products become financially successful?
Isn’t there a better way?
There is . . . but there’s a major adjustment you’ll need to make.
In our last post we mentioned one key to successful products is creating what your audience wants desperately – not necessarily what you want desperately. I often tell clients to come up with the five questions your potential customers would travel halfway around the world to find the answers to.
If you answer them, you’ve got a success.
But I left one thing out: Just how do you find out what those issues are?
The trick is to find out what they want without having to create a product in order to do so. And here are three ways to tap into the mind of the folks who know best – your customers – to get the kind of direction that leads to powerful products right out of the gate:
- Send an email and a bribe:
Yep, it can be that simple.
Craft a short email asking your customers, fans and subscribers what their most nagging challenges are, leaving a space after each question for their answer. That way, its a simple matter to hit the Reply button and answer the questions right in the space you’ve provided.
HOT TIP:
If your email provider offers audioresponders, create a special email address your surveys go out from. When your audience replies, they will automatically receive a very thoughtful email thanking them for their participation that includes a link to a web page with a juicy bonus PDF or MP3 they can download as a token of your thanks. - SurveyMonkey.com:
While there are a lot of web-based tools for gathering info from your prospective customers, one of the quickest to use is Survey Monkey. You can find it at SurveyMonkey.com.
A simple interface allows you to create your survey without having to be a techno-geek. If you can click a mouse, you can create dynamic surveys to find out EXACTLY what your customer want most. Survey Monkey compiles the results and gets them back to you, so you can begin to create products that answer your market’s most pressing issues.
Their basic level of service is free, but limits you to 10 questions and 100 responses per survey. Their Professional Subscription, at $19.95 per month, entitles you to unlimited surveys with an unlimited number of questions. You can receive up to 1000 responses per month without accruing additional charges.
But the easiest way is one you’re probably ignoring . . . - What's the first thing out of their mouths when people find out what you do?
Sometimes the best way to gather market research is simply listening to the FIRST THING out of people's mouths at networking events, conferences, meetings and speaking gigs when they find out what you do. Two of my most successful products, Create Your Own Blockbuster Guided Visualization CDs and 5-Figure Teleseminars, came directly from the first things folks would say once they found out what I did. Often, they mentioned plans for their own guided visualization CDs or piled me with questions on how to make their moribund teleseminars more profitable.
It was potent free market research hitting me in the face.
A mortgage broker I know introduces himself at networking meetings by saying “I’m a mortgage broker . . . and I know what you’re thinking”. He goes on to list several negative stereotypes of mortgage brokers, and how he’s different. And I’m sure this was prompted by the furrowed brows that greeted him when he introduced himself one-on-one.
He got the message: Mortgage brokers have horrible reputations and he needs to disarm those impressions immediately. You can use similar feedback to help you decide which product idea is a money maker. And which one may tank. If you receive quizzical stares when you introduce yourself as a business coach, you may want to create “The 7 Ways a Business Coach Can Help Double Your Profits in Six Months or Less.”
Introduce yourself . . . and then listen to the NEXT things people say. It can be very revealing
Since I don’t believe in the myth of instant success, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with working to become successful.
In fact, one of my favorite web pages outlines over 300 live dates a certain musical group played way back in 1962, at pubs, clubs (and even a Presbyterian Church!) A group we soon came to know as the Beatles.
The problem is, most folks quit when their first effort doesn’t land them on Oprah. The folks who do succeed aren’t necessarily better than you. They are simply more persistent, and take the time to find out what their customers want.
I’m not promising you instant success. And I know persistance can be painful. However, if you follow one (or all) of the three steps we've outlined, you may find your profitability curve shortened considerably.
