Showing posts with label Product. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Product. Show all posts

Saturday, November 24, 2012

A 3 Step Guide To Launching A Product

Launching a product can be somewhat daunting, especially if you have never done it before. First, you have to create something of use, then you have to be able to process payments, third, you really are going to need to be able to find your audience. Its a long procedure, and can at times take many months, even years to get it perfect. Hopefully this three step process will make some kind of sense to you today, and help you off on your feet.

What Does Your Audience Want To Know?

Sure, you know lots of stuff, but it is not as simple as just documenting how to do something that you know how to do well. It is a matter of knowing what your market wants, then documenting how to do what they want to know.

This is where most products fall flat, but thankfully, there are a few simple ways that you can query your followers. If you have followers on Twitter or Facebook, you can simply ask them yourself. If you have a mailing list, then you can create a free survey with Survey Monkey, and simply ask them what their pains and desires are. You can even go so far as to research your markets forums, and note down the common questions. This will get you off on the right foot.

How To Deliver The Product

You are going to need three things. First, you are going to need a sales letter, so that you can convert people into buyers. Second, you will need a payment system, so that people can actually pay for the course. Third, you will need a membership backend so that you can deliver the content.

When launching a product, you will need a salesletter, which you can create manually using HTML, or you can order a template from a well known template directories such as Theme Forest. You can also use sales letter themes such as OptimizePress, which work with software such as WordPress.

Your Payment system will generally be taken care of by services such as PayPal, or even Google Checkout. For further flexibility, you can also use your own merchant account, so that you can process Credit Card payments, but that will need to be arranged by the bank, and by a third party integration service such as 1shopping cart, eJunkie, or Nanacast.

A membership backend can also be created using services such as Nanacast, Wishlist Member, or even OptimizePress in combination with the prior mentioned. Each can be integrated with PayPal and other merchant accounts.

Finding Your Audience

This is where things can get a little tricky. Everyone by now should have at least some followers on Twitter and Facebook, plus a few subscribers to your blog, but with this kind of exposure, you are only just starting to scrape the surface.

Consider other people within your niche who may be able to profit from promoting your product as an affiliate, and develop a relationship with these people well before the product has launched, or has even been made public. This is commonly referred to as being "A Joint Venture", and can result in a massive increase in sales, as long as you develop a solid relationship, and so long as the person is in a targeted niche relative to who you want to target your product to.

When it comes to launching a product, I am only just scraping the surface with this one today, but I have provided some gold nuggets in there for you. The key point, above all else, is to make sure that your product is targeted to your audience. If it is not, then you can see a wide variety of repercussions. Refund rates, bad reputation, and more. So, before you go too far, consider whether or not your product solves a problem, makes light work of a hard task, and is just as high quality as possible. It will be a reflection on you, and you should treat it accordingly.

Choosing the Right JV Brokers for Affiliate Marketing Ventures   Successful Product Launching   

So You Want to Launch a Product: Part 2

The Product Feasibility Assessment Many times products fail due to a poor initial research. You may think that you have a great product but you must determine if there is a viable market for your product and a need. More specifically, your product should provide a solution to a true need or problem for its target market. You really need to be certain that the problem exists and that there are currently few solutions out there.

There are 4 parts to a feasibility assessment:

1. Product Quality Is your product truly a quality product? Does it provide valuable information or solution to the problem that you are attempting to solve? This is when you need to be completely honest with yourself. Your product will undoubtedly fail if it is not of high quality and perceived value. It is best that you test the product thoroughly with a focus group. This is a great way to establish social proof that can be used latter in your marketing strategy. Another important aspect to consider is the price. What price point did you decide on and why? Be careful not to price too low as low quality is sometimes perceived along with a low price. Alternatively you don't want to price your product too high as you risk pricing yourself out of the market.

2. Market Demand You need to clearly define your target audience. A strong practice is to create an avatar for your ideal client. What does he/she look like, what do they do for a living, how old are they, where do they hang out, etc. How does your product solve their specific needs? Do you know what their buying habits are and what their preferred product types are whether it be video tutorials, eBooks, DVD's, or online memberships? How is your product or industry perceived by your target market and is there an effective way that you can reach them? You will want to determine that your product suits all of their needs.

3. Competition This step is really important. You definitely need to know who your competition is, what they are selling, and their strategy. Watch them closely! Who are they? How are they perceived in the market? What share of the market do they "own"? What is your unique selling point (USP) and how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? You will want to assess their marketing activities and identify what works well for them and what doesn't and how you can either mirror some of their activities or do better. Most importantly, how have they priced their product? What kind of testimonials and social proof do they provide? What kind, if any, bonuses are they offering? What would make your target market buy from them and not you and what can you do to solve that problem?

4. Leadership Are you currently perceived as a leader in your industry? Does your target market know who you are and trust you? This is probably the most important aspect of a successful product launch. People buy from who they know and trust, especially in this day and age when there is so much available and it seems like every neighbor and their dog has the same product to sell. If this is your first product, you want to position yourself as an expert in your industry. You need to build a following and develop a relationship with that following. This is about building trust. Can you pull this off? Are you truly an expert in your field? If not, what can you do to become one? Are you ready to position yourself as a leader?

Completing an exhaustive product feasibility assessment provides a solid foundation from which your product can build upon. It is wise to complete this stage before investing too much time and resources into developing your product.

Choosing the Right JV Brokers for Affiliate Marketing Ventures   Successful Product Launching   

Product Launching Ideas - 5 Ideas To Make Your Product Launch A Roaring Success

There are many product launching ideas that can help increase your chances of making your product launch a raving success. This article will offer 5 proven product launch ideas that can help you jump start your launch and put you ahead of the pack. Some of the ideas you may have heard of before, others you may have not. Whatever the case, there are many variables involved with a launch, and you will want any advantage (legal and ethical) you can get.

Here are 5 ideas you can put into action for your launch:

Idea #1: Offer A High Commission Rate

Having a high commission rate is a must to attract joint venture partners to promote your product. Some of these super affiliate partners have massive lists of subscribers that you can tap into, but to entice them to promote your product, you need to offer a commission rate that will attract them. In the information products arena, 50% to 75% commissions is the norm. For physical products, they can be in the range of 4% to 20%. But bear in mind that information products are cheaper to produce, that's why high commission rates can be given.

Idea #2: Use A Proven Payment Processor

Using a proven payment processor gives your customers confidence in ordering your product. If you use a processor like ClickBank as well to process your payments and track your affiliate sales, more affiliates will also promote your product as ClickBank has been proven to pay out on time.

Idea #3: Split-Test Your Sales Copy

To maximize your sales conversions for your launch, you need to split-test your sales copy. Split-testing at its most basic means testing two sale pages by inserting a code on to your webpage. Split-testing can be done through a service like Google Website Optimizer or Hypertracker.

Idea #4: Create Swipe Files

To make it easy for joint venture partners and affiliates to promote your product, it is a good idea to provide swipe files for them that they can use to promote your product. These can include email ad copy, banner ads, sample blog posts, pay-per-click ads etc. The easier you make it for partners to promote your product, the more likely they are to push your product hard for you.

Idea #5: Have A Joint Venture Launch Contest

Having a contest for your launch spices things up and makes your launch exciting for joint venture partners. It gives them two incentives for promoting your product - the prizes or cash prizes available, and the bragging rights for securing the top spots in the contest. Joint venture partners can win cash prizes or hot products from your contest and gain recognition in the process. This is another product launching idea you can implement to really tip the scales in your favor.

Choosing the Right JV Brokers for Affiliate Marketing Ventures   Successful Product Launching   

The Unrevealed Secrets Behind A Successful Product Launch

One of the things that has come to define the internet marketing space over the past couple of years is the use of product launches to promote the introduction of new products into the marketplace. Most of us have experienced the onslaught of emails, videos and non-stop internet buzz that accompanies one of the massive events promoted by a top internet marketing guru. The impact of a major product launch is almost impossible to ignore.

The success of these marketing events is legendary and many have generated millions of dollars in revenue in less than 24 hours. A number of high-end training courses have been devoted to showing others how to produce these internet events and thousands of eager students have lined up with their credit cards in hand ready to learn the secrets of how to build a successful product launch. The reason is that this strategy works.

While the concept of doing a coordinated launch to introduce a new product was initially made popular by Jeff Walker's course on the topic, many of the top internet marketers have gone on to expand and build on his ideas. It has since become standard procedure for online entrepreneurs who want to introduce a new information product.

Successful product launches are the epitome of creating a JV or joint venture with other marketers in a particular niche. The incentives for cross promotion can be huge and the typical result is a win-win scenario for everyone involved, including the customers who buy the products. The reason is that many of the JV partners throw in an array of bonuses for customers who buy the product through their affiliate link.

The strategy behind building a successful launch follows a relatively consistent sequence. One of the basic concepts is creating the perception of authority with an audience. You do this by providing a huge amount of great information that people can actually use. In fact, many product launch gurus have advocated giving your best stuff away for free.

The result of offering your visitor this type of information not only helps to establish your authority on the topic, it also creates a perception of extreme generosity which, in turn, builds trust and elicits an attitude of gratefulness. This also creates a subconscious sense of indebtedness which can result in the prospect being much more likely to buy the actual product when it is finally made available for purchase.

Another by-product of a successful launch sequence is creating an atmosphere of community and a sense of belonging. When people get involved in promoting or following a product launch sequence, they become a part of an event. There is often a communal sense of excitement and anticipation as the launch date approaches. This atmosphere is one of the driving forces that motivates both buyers and promoters.

When a product launch sequence is structured and implemented properly, the results can truly be amazing. The excitement and anticipation generated by the series of emails and online promotions crescendo on the launch date with an avalanche of sales and affiliate commissions. This is a skill that every online business entrepreneur should definitely learn and begin to use.

Choosing the Right JV Brokers for Affiliate Marketing Ventures   Successful Product Launching   

Tips On How To Handle A Product Marketing Launch

Understanding how to handle a product marketing launch can go a long way in helping you get the most out of your product. A well planned strategy is more likely to see you succeed in a shorter time-frame. It is also likely to not only earn you more money but save you more money as an organized plan will help allocate the funds better.

First and foremost you want to be well organized before you begin. Start by creating a plan that you and your employees can look back on as you go through the process. You will want to make sure that you begin creating your plan early in the process so that if you see problems there is time to correct.

As with any marketing plan you must understand the wants and needs of your customers. While preparing your documents remember to consider your market and as much as possible little details that would be important to the target. For example, if you know that people will show more interest in your goods if they are packaged in a certain way this is a variable you must consider as it may be the difference between getting a sale or not.

Of course, you will need to understand your perspective clientele well. Take the time to understand why the goods you are launching is important to the consumer population and what will make it most attractive for purchase.

Advertising is going to be a crucial part of how to get the word out. While word-of-mouth is a wonderful starting point you will also want to consider advertising using other methods as well. Some businesses opt to use the media, while others opt to contact prospective but until directly through print.

Which type of advertising will work best for you and your company will greatly depend on demographics and your target audience. Considering things such as the age of your consumers will be very important. The different factors related to your consumers will directly affect how well your advertising works. For example, often the younger audience has a tendency to watch more television and therefore commercial would likely be a positive way to convey your message to them.

To prepare yourself and your company in the best way that you possibly can and it is crucial that you get a good working staff. It is important that everyone on your staff is able to work well, share ideas and resolve problems together. When choosing the members of your staff that will help you it is important to have someone from each aspect of the plan available while working out your strategy.

Probably one of the best decisions most companies can make is to look to the public themselves before finalizing a product marketing launch. Offering the public free samples and asking them to offer their opinions can give you an insight into what people like and dislike and how you can make improvements. Taking this step will give you the opportunity to make changes before the launch begins and thus give you a greater chance of success.

Choosing the Right JV Brokers for Affiliate Marketing Ventures   Successful Product Launching   

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