Ask and Ye Shall Create
How do you decide to create a new speech? A new report? A net product? Most of us have an idea, then start to work on it. It's only when we are well into the creation phase that we determine whether or not it will sell.
By then, it's too late! We've put time and effort into the production. Either we don't want to "waste" that time and effort, so we go ahead with a product destined to lose money or we "scrap" an idea that we're just SURE could have been productive...if it only had time.
What if we reverse this "create, then market" paradigm? Let's determine FIRST if there is a market, then create the product the market wants. The Internet provides the ideal venue for this process because it's cost-effective to distribute your survey, and it offers quick turnaround for responses.
Your first step is to create a survey that you'll send to your target market. Your survey includes four parts:
1. Create a list of problems or issues that are typical of your target market. For the speakers market, for example, topics could include marketing materials, topic choice, product development, demo videos, office productivity, etc.
2. If appropriate, list several formats in which you can deliver the information. For example, as a speech, a special report, an audio CD, a videotape or a DVD.
3. List related questions. These could include:
a. How much would you pay for...
b. How likely would you be to...
4. Gather relevant information that could be useful now or in the future. These questions may be about the professions responding, types of computers or connections used, equipment available, etc.
When you've completed your survey questions, you'll need to decide on the technology you'll use to deliver the survey - and to gather the answers. You are more likely to get a higher response if you send your survey via email. However, that means you'll need to compile the responses manually. If you're looking for a small number of responses, email works fine. For larger surveys, use a web-based survey service. Zoomerang is one of the better-known services which offers both a free and a fee-based survey service.
As the last step in the Ask then Create system, invite people to participate in your survey. You can do this as a link from your website, in a pop-up window, or in an email message. You can increase the number of responses by offering a reward - a free article or report, a gift certificate, a copy of the results, an entry in a drawing, a donation to a charity. Be creative!
What's YOUR reward? You get an exact description of the problem your target market wants solved. You'll see how they want the information delivered, how much they're willing to pay for it, and how likely they are to purchase.
And THEN you create the ideal product.