I have to teach you about something before I try to sell it to you. That can take weeks, if not months. It’s exciting to throw something on the web to try and make sales instantly. That’s not realistic, though. I would actually do more harm than good by pulling the trigger too soon.
Four months ago I decided to build a product. Two months ago I was ready to sell that product. A lot of friends and family have asked me why I haven’t started selling Skilz yet.
If I were to jump the gun and start selling the product immediately it would be a flop. I know because I’ve already failed doing this. As you know from my last post, I’ve gotten pretty good at failure. The good part of failing means now I know how to not fail.
If I were to try selling Skilz two months ago nobody would have purchased it. Why? Because you would have no idea what it was. I spent the last two months teaching you the benefits of building a product around a skill you have. Now I have a list of 40 people waiting to buy it because I took the time to explain as many aspects of the product as possible.
I don’t want this to be an impulse buy for you. I want you to be happy with your purchase. I want the methods in Skilz to bring you success. I want to develop a long-term relationship with you and watch you build a product that changes your life forever.
Prove Your Worth
Netflix proves their worth by offering a free trial to stream unlimited movies.
Warby Parker does a great job with this concept by allowing customers to try five frames free in the comfort of their own home.
An important part of the buying process is providing free samples of your product. It’s the first step in acquiring a customer. People don’t usually throw money on the table until you earn their trust. I talk more about the buying process in the book but this is important to note:
If you don’t let people test your product it means your product sucks.
If you’re worried someone won’t buy your product if they test drive it first, you should build something you’re proud of instead.
Launch Sequence
The first day a product becomes available should be one of the most (if not THE most) profitable day a product will see. That requires weeks, if not months, of talking about the product and raising awareness. Creating buzz, as they say. You earn high sales on the release date by offering a 1-day only sale. I’m offering a huge sale on the release date. If nobody knew about my product until the day I released it I would not get any sales regardless of the discount. You would be like, “What the hell is Dan trying to sell me?”
Pricing Strategies
I don’t have a million customers. I don’t plan on ever having a million customers. Don’t get me wrong, it would be amazing to have that many people buy my product. Realistically, it’s probably not going to happen. This is what differs from best selling novelists who sell books for $10-$15. They already know they’re going to sell a half-million copies when the book hits the market. That allows them to sell their book for a few dollars. A novel is also a form of entertainment. I use novels to escape from work. Novels are great. They have their place in the market.
I won’t be selling a half-million novels. I need to focus on creating a product that brings a lot of value to each customer. If I sell 1,000 items this year I need to maximize the profit from each sale. In order to do that I need to spend more time building value into the product. Sure, the book by itself is going to allow you to get higher paying jobs, create passive income streams for you and your family, and increase the amount of money you’ll make throughout your life. However, it’s hard for you to see that before it actually starts to happen. That’s why I spent an extra 200 hours building the Total Package.
Skilz Total Package
Skilz is a practical guide that outlines a streamlined path to create and sell your own product.
I was able to write a bulk of the book over the course of about 14 days in July. I wasn’t working a full-time job so I was writing 8-12 hours per day. I recently spent another 50 hours editing and rewriting most sections to make them more comprehensive and easy to understand.
This is a point to keep in mind: if you’re not able to write until the product is complete it could mean two things: (1) you haven’t created a strong enough outline, or (2) you’re not writing about a topic you’re skilled in.
The chapters in the book:
- Individuality
- Customer & Value
- Topic & Validation
- Marketing
- Writing
- Price & Package
- Sales Page
- Launch
The Total Package is the book + resources. It contains the tools you need to build your product.
The Total Package includes:
- Book Files and Writing Templates – I provide the book in PDF, ePub, and mobi for viewing on your desktop, smartphone, or tablet. I also include an audio version of the text so all you multi-taskers out there can listen while you save the world. To help you get started in the writing process I provide a Microsoft Word template, an Apple’s Pages template, and a Scrivener template. Let me tell you – Scrivener has changed my life. They give you a free trial if you want test drive Scrivener.
- Training Videos – the book describes the process, but it still contains complex ideas. I include custom training videos for the steps that are particularly tricky. The videos are short, concise, and walk you through complex processes. A few of the videos are: Master PhotoShop in 1 Minute a Day, How to Build a Sales Page, and a few others. Adobe has done a great job removing the price barrier for people to use PhotoShop. You no longer have to spend thousands of dollars because they host the application on the cloud. If you want to get a jumpstart on the process you can get a 30-day free trial of PhotoShop from Adobe Creative Cloud. https://creative.adobe.com/products/photoshop
- PhotoShop Files – I provide a bundle of custom designed PSD files that jumpstart your progress and give you the tools to be your own designer. Just double click the file and it opens up in PhotoShop ready for you to manipulate. This adds a tremendous amount of value to Skilz. Yes, that means the price is higher to buy the Total Package compared to the book by itself. It’s a lot cheaper than hiring a graphic designer. A few of the files included: product designs, book cover designs, buy buttons, landing pages, and a few others.
- Private Facebook Group – this group is so you always have access to me. Ask any questions you have during the process. In addition to speaking directly with me you’ll be able to learn and share experiences with other people going through the same process as you.
- 45-Day Launch Strategy – I provide a detailed outline of how you should release your product into the market. The launch strategy includes emails to send to your prospects, blog post topics to write as you build awareness for the product, and a day-by-day plan to make sure you cross the finish line.
- Next week I’ll let you in on EVERYTHING that’s included.
If you’re still reading I’ll first say, Thank You! It means a lot.
If you’re interested in learning more about Skilz check out the sales page for updates on the product release.