Aiming for Perfection

Releasing a “Me Too!” Product

Overselling

Underpricing

Treating Customers as Expendable

Technical Glitches

Not Having an Affiliate Network

Relying on Others to Promote Your Product

Not Having a Funnel in Place

Not Keeping in Touch with Your Customers

 

Aiming for Perfection

 

When the Wright brothers took their first historic flight on December 17, 1903, they weren’t trying for perfection. They weren’t trying to offer great cocktail service or wireless Internet or 100 channels of TV aboard their flying machine. They just wanted the darned thing to stay up in the air for a few seconds!

 

And a few seconds – twelve, to be exact – was all they got. And they became famous for it.

 

Now imagine if they had been concerned about the extras – no, I don’t mean beverage service or comfy seats. But if they had wanted a crash-free landing, a three-hour (or three-minute!) flight, a stylish rig – they’d probably have never gone out to that sand dune in Kitty Hawk in the first place. They’d still be in the workshop, tinkering with the wheels or wing flaps.

 

What Orville and Wilbur knew – and what information marketers would do well to take note of – is that perfection is overrated. In fact, it doesn’t exist. So waiting until your product is “perfect” before you release it means you have a good chance of either never releasing it at all, or delaying so long that someone else beats you to the punch and scoops your market out from under you.

 

Hesitant to release a product that is less than perfect? Well, Microsoft – and pretty much every other software company – does it all the time! And if “good enough” is good enough for billionaire Bill Gates, it’s good enough for you.

 

Releasing a “Me Too” Product

 

When you see other information marketers making big bucks from an ebook on, say, Twitter traffic generating strategies it is really tempting to jump up and say, “I could write an ebook on Twitter traffic generating strategies, too! And then I could make big bucks too!”

 

It sounds good – but it doesn’t necessarily work that way. In fact, if you create and release a “me too” product that is nothing more than an imitation of a more successful product already on the market, don’t be surprised if the world doesn’t rush to your door. (And, don't be surprised if you tick off the original product creator, too.)

 

“But wait!” you might be saying. “Dunkin’ Donuts opens up across the street from Starbucks, and they both do well!”

 

Yeah, they do. That’s because it’s NOT a “me-too.” Each has its own spin on the product. Dunkin’ is where you go for quick brew and a 99-cent donut. You head across the street to Starbucks if you want a gourmet breakfast sandwich and a wi-fi connection while you prepare for your client meeting. Distinct needs; distinct products.

 

To take the coffee metaphor online... It’s okay to come up with a product that’s similar to a competitor’s, but you need to put your own spin on it, adding value over what your competitor is offering.

 

Overselling

 

The other day, my six-year-old convinced me to get her this chalk set that promised “3- D effects on your own driveway!” She pointed to the kids on the box, glowing with the success of creating artistic, 3-D effects that would rival those of Pixar. “Please, Mommy, please!” she begged.

 

I gave in, shelled out the $12, and we took the box home.

 

You know the story – it didn’t work. Within five minutes, I had a crying daughter, a box of broken chalk, and a headache.

 

The problem here? The company oversold their product. They made promises their product didn’t fulfill. Let this be a lesson to you.

 

 

Underpricing

 

You may naturally assume that to make something sell quickly, you want to price it as low as possible. After all, the laws of economics state that the lower the price, the higher the demand, right?

Well, sometimes that's true. But not always.

 

In fact, lowering your price tremendously can actually have a detrimental effect on your sales. Why? Because many people equate “low price” with “low quality.”

 

Think about it. You are headed out to the store to buy a piece of jewelry for your spouse’s 10th anniversary present. You know it’d better be good, or you’re going to suffer. The jeweler pulls out two necklaces, which look pretty similar. One has a price tag of $15; the other is ten times as much. Which do you choose?

If you were evaluating coffee mugs, you might immediately go to the lower-priced option. It’s much closer to the price you expected to pay. But with jewelry, you’d likely think twice – or more – before going cheap. You’d worry about the workmanship. Would the clasp break? You’d worry about the materials. Would it turn your beloved’s neck green? You’d worry about its provenance. Was it stolen?

 

The worries aren’t worth the lower price, so you scoop up the more expensive necklace, have it wrapped in a gorgeous blue box with a white bow, and proudly present it to your loved one. Crisis averted.

The truth is, we rely on price as a signal of quality. If a leather jacket costs, we assume it’s better made, more fashionable, and created with more care and attention to detail than the one that cost at Joe’s Bargain Basement. We don’t know for sure, but we assume it’s true.

 

And much more...

 

Master Resell Rights Terms & Conditions 

 

[YES] Can be sold

[YES] Can be given away

[YES] Can be offered as a bonus

[YES] Can be packaged

[YES] Can be edited and changed

[YES] Can put your name as author

[YES] Can be used as web content

[YES] Can be broken down into articles

[YES] Can be packaged into another ebook

[YES] Can be packaged into new content/format

[YES] Can sell Resale Rights

[YES] Can sell Master Resale Rights

[NO] Can sell Private Label Rights