Here are key questions that will dramatically increase your odds of developing and launching a new offer that is a big winner.
These questions are based on my real-world experience in having been involved in over 75 new product launches in the direct marketing industry.
- “Are similar products or services already selling good?”
People have tried to sell thousands of different products and services over the years. The products that are profitable keep running, The products that fail you never see.
You put the odds vastly in your favor when you sell something that is already a proven success because you know the customer demand is there.
If you think you have a revolutionary new idea the market will love, but there are no similar products, or at least offering a similar benefit, others have likely tried it before and found the market was not there.
Of course there are exceptions to this rule. These are the ones you hear about and see on Shark Tank, but in the real world, probably over 95% of revolutionary new product ideas fail.
- “Can your product be made different and superior to the competition?”
You need to make your product different and better than competing products. By doing this, people cannot consider it a commodity, then comparison shop and go with the lowest price where there is no profit to be made.
We now live in a very socially connected world where you have to make a great product and get terrific customer reviews because people Google around and check reviews before they buy.
How do you make your product superior and different? For nutrition supplements, I research and recommend little known ingredients to my clients for new product offers. This allows the product to be superior and be differentiated from competing products.
You can look at Amazon 1 star reviews (very negative) to see what competing products are lacking, and make sure your product is strong in these areas.
You can ask your prospects and customers, “What specific features and benefits would the product have or deliver if it was perfect?” I know that no product or service is perfect, but this market research will tell you what people want the most.
Then you can build these features and benefits into your product as much as possible.
- “Do you have a reliable supplier for the product?”
This is self-explanatory, but often overlooked. Also, as soon as you know the new offer is a success, line up a backup supplier just in case problems occur with your main supplier.
- “Does the product have enough gross profit markup?”
For direct marketing products, you want at least a 7 times markup as a general rule. This means if your total costs to buy and ship the product is $10, you want to be able to sell it for at least $70.
- “Do you have upsell offers in place to get a high average order value and do you have back end offers in place to get high long term customer value?”
This is often the difference between amateurs who fail, and pros who succeed. The upsell offers and back end offers are crucial and often the key determining factor, along with response, to be able to scale your advertising and achieve a good profit.
- “What are the most important things to test first?”
The most successful entrepreneurs and companies actually decide on what they are going to test before they even begin. As a general rule, the highest leverage things to test are in this order:
- Advertising headlines/leads
- Price of product
- The first Upsell product
When I am the copywriter for a new offer, I write 3 totally different leads, each featuring a different benefit or concept. By testing these, we can triple the chances of a home run winner right at the product launch.
- “What Proof Elements Can You Put In The Copywriting?”
You should always try to have a specific element of proof in your headline. When you join your product benefit claim with a proof element in the headline, the ad readership, believability and response go way way up.
Just look at the difference between these two headline examples: a) without a proof element and b) with a proof element. a) “How To Look Younger” b) “How to Look Younger With a Secret Used by Over 1,200 Models and Actresses” . a) “How To Make Money Investing In Stocks” b) “How To Make Money Investing In Stocks With a Method That Has Averaged Profits Of 24.7% A Year”
- “What demonstrations of proof (or testable proof) would be the most dramatic and believable?”
Remember this saying: Proof equals profits. The more proof you can show the prospect, the more orders your advertising will produce – if it is easily digestible, dramatic and believable.
Nothing beats a demonstration of proof. Just consider the late night TV commercials with their remarkable before and after demonstrations. I have developed a list of 14 types of proof. I try to get as many of these as possible in each promotion I write.
Here are some types to consider: Before and after photos. Video interviews. Charts and graphs with results. Interview with a doctor or expert. Reprint of clinical study summary. Stages of use shown in time-delay order.
9. “What offer would be almost impossible for a prospect to
pass up?”
Some companies are built on making their profits from the initial first sale, but this is getting increasingly difficult with rising media costs. Most of my clients have an acceptable benchmark of break-even or a set loss amount on their first sale to get new customers.
They are happy to do this because the real profits are made on the follow-up repeat sales to these satisfied customers, and the sale of additional related products to them over time.
How can you structure your offer to bring in the most new paying customers and make your fortune from their repeat business? This first sale is usually made by offering a trial version, a basic version, a free plus shipping offer, or some sort of lower priced version or special offer to get the most people to experience the product. Free bonuses are often piled on to make the offer even more enticing. Immediate or quick upsells or upgrades are often important for cash flow and profits.
When you are developing a new offer, apply these 9 keys. They will increase your chances substantially of creating a new offer that is a big winner. These work. They have been a secret weapon in helping me launch over 75 new products and services with my direct response copywriting.
If you want me to apply these keys and help you launch a new offer, you can call my office at (330) 963-0330, email me at mike@mikepavlish, or visit my website at www.mikepavlish.com