Products, Products, Products… What Product Could I Sell?
December 21, 2009
Darren Rowse of ProBlogger has been doing a lot of good writing recently on the importance of having a product to sell and his own results in launching an eBook. Naturally, this has got me to thinking: is there a product that I should be selling?
The book is a product. But, beyond that, I primarily operate on an ad supported basis. This can be a challenging model to win with – as can any model, of course – and the more that you can smartly diversify, the better off you’ll be.
I see pay to access communities like Darren’s ProBlogger.Community, Scott Fox’s Click Millionaires, Lynn Terry’s Self Starters Weekly Tips Elite Members and more and that makes me think, too. Update: J.B. Glossinger’s Morning Coach is another.
I don’t know that I have anything particularly earth shattering to share right now, but I just thought I’d talk about something that has been rolling around my mind. Here are a couple of questions, if you care to comment:
1. Have you been thinking about this, too? Or might you soon? Do you already sell a product? If so, what is it?
2. Is there anything I could do that you’d pay for? :)
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Hi Patrick,
Yes, I think products could be a good next step for your online business. They offer much higher profit margins than ads.
I always recommend looking at your own expertise and interests to find good business opportunities. Managing online communities is a growth area on the Web, then there’s your love of Bad Boy, too, plus others I probably don’t know about.
You’ve already written a book so there’s little doubt that you could produce more!
Best,
Scott
p.s. Thanks for the mention of my ClickMillionaires.com private coaching community.
Thanks Scott. I appreciate the thoughts. :) No problem on the mention.
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
The more I think about this, the bigger the opportunity for you becomes.
In fact, the question now seems to me to be “Why don’t you have a product already?”
You have industry-leading expertise online that many people respect already. You are a published author.
You know how to use more social media marketing tools and channels than most people have even heard of. (Just look at all the social profile links here in your blog’s sidebars!)
You are online all day already anyway. You know tons of people through your social media activities and management of many forums.
Whether it’s launching your own paid community or just offering “how to” advice, these things add up to a product opportunity for you online that’s a natural extension of what you do well anyway.
(As you know this sort of product and strategy development is what my ClickMillionaires.com social network is all about. Since you are already a member, I’m happy to discuss further in the Click Millionaires Forum if you’d like.)
Maybe 2010 is your product year!
Best,
Scott
Haha, it might be! :) Thanks again Scott. I appreciate your advice and you taking the time to make that comment and all of the kind words. It’s very nice of you. I might take you up on it at CM. It is definitely something I have thought about before but I just have had some different hesitations. But, it is something that I have on my mind.
I don’t know if it would take away from what I do now or if I’d have to stop what I’m doing now. For instance, I offer free advice on ManagingCommunities.com all the time. So, do I need to effectively run two blogs… a pay one and a free one. I do have some people who know me, but is it enough to make it worthwhile for them to join a pay community or group? Just working out the potential benefits and time commitment, etc. gives me pause.
Thanks,
Patrick
There something about saying that it doesn’t matter what you are selling, but how. And there is a lot of truth in those words. People are buying the most unusual stuff on internet and sometimes it becomes possible to sell “unsellable” things.