Start Selling

→ October 11, 2010
→ By Ashwin
→ Leave a Comment

How I deferred my First Product for 3 Months…

and got it done in a Weekend? I wanted to release my first Skin for Thesis Theme, some 3 Months ago. But due to various reasons, I deferred it, almost every day and every week. But… I got it done last weekend, Holy Kaw! I couldn’t just resist sharing with you a few Practical tips, that made it happen!

Divide and Conquer!

One main reason I deferred working on the Product was – the Magnitude! I considered the task of creating a Product and Selling it in the Market as a huge one, that requires a lot of time and effort.

Though this is true, the mindset changes when you “Divide the Major Task into Small Chunks”.

I kept these points in mind, when creating these Small Chunks:

Make the Small Chunks – really small. Each task should never take more than 1 Hour to complete
Use a clean and simple Todo tool (I use http://todoist.com ) to record these Small Chunks
Tick it off, as you complete One Small Chunk – believe me, this gives you an immense level of Motivation!
Set a “Lower Limit” on the Number of Small Chunks to complete, in any given day! (…Unless you do this, you fall in to the same old PIT)

Focus on the Product, Not the Sales!

One another reason to defer work, is being skeptic about the Results or the Returns! Especially, this happens with your first product.

If you feel the Sales are going to be Low, you willll never put in your Best and Be on Time!

Come out of the “Salesman” mindset. Your product may sell like Hot Cakes or Bite the Dust! But, never mind with your First Product. Go ahead, focus on the quality and get it out.

The Feel and the Experience of getting your First Product out, is essential for your “Longevity”. I followed this and focused just on my product, neither the money nor the sales.

Choose a Simple Way to Sell

Don’t complicate yourself with setting up a Shopping Cart on your Site, Configuring Paypal and blah blah… Use a really simple way, to setup and start selling in minutes!

My recommendation to you, with eyes closed is – E-Junkie.com

You can get started with E-Junkie, setup your product and sell it in less than 30 Minutes. Believe me, I did that.

Instead of writing another post on How to use e-junkie.com, I will point you to a neat article by Dave Navarro – How to Use E-Junkie.com to Sell your Stuff

Ignore the Competition and “Super” Perfection

Not Always! Just for your First Product. Once you start comparing your Product with the competition, you start “Striving for Perfection”. Never, ever do that.

It’s O.K. to be “Not So Perfect”, but “Getting out there and Selling”

Many people, work all along for Perfection and miss the “Big Launch”. Beware of the “Perfrection” trap and get out in the Market, with more than Minimum acceptable Quality! But make sure the Product is usable – otherwise it loses the whole purpose.

To Summarize…

Divide your Major Task or Product in to “really” Small Chunks
Focus on the Product Creation, Not on Sales or Results
Choose a very Simple Way to Sell
Ignore the Competition and “Super” Perfection

What Next?

If you have your Own experiences or Tips, share it with me as Comments to this post. Also, I will be a lot happier, if you can share it with fellow Tweeters – by Retweeting this post!

I am giving away “One Copy of my New Thesis Theme Skin – The Bolder Skin” – for FREE – to One commenter of this Post. It could be you…

Filed Under: Sell Stuff, Start Selling

→ September 28, 2010
→ By Ashwin
→ 6 Comments

Analyze the Depth of your Market!

In my previous post, I emphasized the importance of analyzing a Market, before creating your Product.

But sometimes it is not possible, to completely analyze the Depth of your Market, beforehand.

So what should you do then? Here is the secret…

The Only Available fool-proof way to analyze the Depth of your Market is…

Piloting your Product

In short, Piloting is nothing but – Creating a Shorter or abridged version of your Product

Few things to keep in mind while piloting your Product are:

Keep the Costs to a minimum
Piloting must target the real Product Market (not a simulated one)
Real Customers must be involved in the Pilot
You should be able to easily Scale up or Shut down based on the results of the Pilot
Time to Market is very Crucial. Your Pilot must be in the Market as early as possible!

In the coming weeks, I am running a Post Series on getting your Pilot Product out – in the shortest time and at lowest cost! Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: lan Sane

Filed Under: Piloting, Sell Stuff, Start Selling

→ September 27, 2010
→ By Ashwin
→ 3 Comments

What should You know before Selling a Product?

Many of us are excited, when a Product Idea tops our mind. But an Idea in itself, is just not enough to go ahead and Create the Product. There are many other aspects, that are essential for a Succesful Product!

Here are some essentials to know and be clear about, before getting on with the Product Development.

The Market

Ask yourself the question – is there a Market for the Product or am I going to create one? If there is a well defined market, then things are easier. But it gets really tough when you have to create a market.

Without a market, the risks of your product not becoming successful is multi-fold. So make sure to:

Find out if there is a market
If not, clearly identify the ways you will create one
If there is an existing market, how your Product will add value to its users

The Competition

Once the Market Analysis is done, find about your Competition. This will essentially help you to:

Benchmark your services or benefits with the Competition
Differentiate your Product from others
Pricing and Marketing competitively
Opportunities for Collaboration

If the Competition is very less or non-existent, go back to Market Analysis if you still think it is a Viable Product

The Returns

Understand the returns you expect from the Product. You should have at least a tentative idea on:

What will be the returns? (Money, New Customers for existing Services, Reputation etc.)
When will the returns start flowing?
When will you break-even?

Though you may not have clear answers for everything, it is good to think about them early on!

The Support

Almost every product must be supported, once the customers start using them. Decide if your Product need to be supported and how will the Support Work. Typically, you should know, if you need to:

Hire a Support Team
Buy a Support Product
Setup a Support Platform
Support Period and Costs etc.

Never start working on a Product, before giving a thought on all these aspects.

What else do you think that a Seller must know before selling a Product? Let us know and we are more than happy to listen!

Photo Credit: courtneyBolton

Filed Under: Sell Stuff, Start Selling

→ September 23, 2010
→ By Ashwin
→ 2 Comments

5 Ideas to Start Selling Stuff on the Internet!

Have you been waiting awhile to Start Selling Stuff on the Internet? If yes, there is no better time to Start than now. Here are 5 Simple Ideas to Start Selling on the Internet.

These Ideas are meant to be a Spark, to invoke your Creative Mind to get into the race!

1. Start a Blog

In my opinion, the simplest and the effective way to Start Selling is – to Start a Blog. The Blog will be your platform to communicate with the Prospective Buyers. A Typical Vision of using a Blog to Sell is – To Share Ideas, Establish Authority, Gain Readers & Prospective Buyers, Make the Pitch and Sell the Stuff

It is a long term way of selling stuff, but it is the most effective!

2. Sell eBooks

eBook Creation is more easier than you think. Here is an useful post from Yaro on How to Create and Sell an eBook in 14 days or less.

In short, all that you need is High Quality Content, a Viable Market and a Channel to Distribute the eBooks

3. Paid Writing

Content is another entity that you can sell on the Internet. There are numerous Sites that offer money for Quality Content you write. If you are technically inclined, the Network of Blogs under Nettuts accept content from Guest Writers and pay for them.

You could explore similar options in your Niche and Start Selling your Content.

4. Offer Training and Courses

This is not an easy path – but it definitely is a big way to Make Money Online. Using your Skills and the Talent, you start Making Money by Teaching & Training other people.

Though Reputation and Authority are key in succeeding with Teaching – this is a channel you can explore!

5. Build Products

This is by far the most proven way to Sell Stuff on the Internet. Build Products around your Expertise and Sell them the right way. Similar to an eBook, look for the Market and the Prospects. You might also want to pilot a few Products, before diving deep

So what are your Ideas to Start Selling Stuff?

Photo Credit: greggoconnell

Filed Under: Blog Business, Sell Stuff, Start Selling