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Be Irresistible: 10 Steps to Consistently Develop Highly Viral, High ROI Products

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How Good, Great, and Elegant Is a Product that No One Uses?

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Yesterday while I was talking with @MichaelPort about solid.ly the software system he’s developing to support his Book Yourself Solid System. He told me about a conversation he had with venture capitalist who asked him, “What makes you think you can move from writing books into developing software?” I was taken by the perfectness of his answer. It was something like …

“I’m hiring the best people to do the development, but I know and care about the people who will be using it.”

That lead us into a discussion of what a product developers job is.

I spent almost 3 decades developing products for teachers — books, CD-Roms, websites, videos, audios, and others. During that time, I learned a lot about how products were made — what works, what doesn’t, and that the great idea that hasn’t made it to the market probably isn’t there NOT because someone hasn’t already thought of it, but because

  • it’s too expensive,
  • too labor intensive — to build or to use
  • or no one really wants it.

If I can’t afford it, don’t have time to use it, or don’t want it, it doesn’t matter how elegant, great, clever, cutting-edge, award-winning or beautifully you produce it.

10 Steps to Consistently Develop Highly Viral, High ROI Products

But the most crucial thing I learned as product person was that no matter how much I thought about my products, I had to think about my customers more. My role wasn’t to produce great products, but to produce great products people wanted to buy and use. Those are the products that folks buy again and tell their friends about. Here’s the secret I discovered …

It’s not my brilliance that makes a product irresistible. It’s not the awards the product might win that makes a products go viral and gain loyal long-term fans. It’s understanding my role as the product person is to know, love, and serve the customer.

Most of my intelligent customers could do or learn to do what I do.
But if they did what I do, they wouldn’t have time to do what they do.
My job is to make the customer’s life easier, faster, more meaningful and, if possible, more fun.

We turned around a failing company by developing highly viral, high ROI products by getting as close as we could to our customers. Here’s a few ways to do that before you even start planning that product execution …

  1. Know and live with the people you’re building for. Talk to the people you want to use what you’re building. Live in their natural habitat. Know the issues of their lives. Know the little things that bring joy to them. Know the prickly things that they don’t even realized irritate them daily. Know the influencer group of your customer group. Know the folks who understand both groups intimately and best. Invite the most interested from all three groups into your process as participants not just advisors.
  2. Use measurements appropriately. Data supports how people do things but rarely gets down to the why they do or the patterns of what moves them emotionally. When you think you know something, then, test and measure it. Don’t build a profile of customers through measurement only. Think about what companies would get wrong about you if they only used the quantitative data and scores from your medical check ups and school reports about you, without ever finding out about your personality.
  3. Respect the products that your customers are already using. Don’t fall into the trap of only seeing the faults of what’s already out there. That product you see so many flaws in has already solved a huge number of problems for your customers or they wouldn’t be using it. If it’s so bad, why does it have 100,000 or a million people using it? Ask people what they love about it. Be careful not to build something that takes away something they’ve made a part of what they’ve come to enjoy and they’re regularly doing. Lose what they hugely love and it won’t matter if you offer something that fixes a minor irritation.
  4. Start with a small offer built to your highest standards. Respect your customers’ time. Make the first release your best work, not a beta test. If you know your customers, if you’ve lived with them and invited them into the the development process, you know what works for them. Deliver it. Don’t play with their time or ask them to work out the bugs for you. That’s your job. If you want to attract the best, be the best.
  5. Simplify until there is no learning curve. Simple is not only elegant. It allows us to focus on why we got the product not learning the product first. Apple has mastered this. They can put the entire manual for using a product in a pamphlet that no one reads because we can pick up the product already knowing how to use it.
  6. Get paid for your product. Free samples are fine. Free products are not. The model of building things for free costs those who build products more than we might think. We release things unfinished at standards less than our best. We don’t build the appropriate support or service into them and we ask too much from our “free” customers who take us for granted. We work with people on promises. We lose money, reputation, and if nothing else, time we don’t have. Ever seen a tweet the equivalent of, “I’d gladly pay for Twitter if they’d guarantee service.”
  7. Systematically and strategically build your customer base as you build your product line. We no longer need to build a huge department store and fill it will products to prove we exist. We don’t need to stress our resources, cash, or infrastructure like that. Release one product that does one thing well for one audience. Let that product and that customer base finance the next. One customer group well served is better than 12 products less well defined — and one product is easier to market and easier for our friends and networks to share on our behalf. Know, love and serve that first group and they’ll tell their friends. They’ll also tell you what they want next and what group of their friends are your next best bet.
  8. Learn the life cycle of your product and know when to revise. Every product has a life cycle. It seems the way of the Internet to let the product die a slow death. Know how long that product is likely to sell well, then just after the peak selling point, carefully revise it to add new features. Once you’ve got a history to rely on do this on a predictable schedule. If your product life cycle is 9 months to a year. Plan your next revision at 11-12 months. Be careful not to revise out the features that customers love and not to add features they don’t care about. Look to make your product even easier, faster, and more meaningful at doing what it does. .
  9. Release new products on a predictable schedule. High tech companies might be slaves to the fast-changing conditions, but not every company is. If you can provide a predictable release schedule get fully behind that. It will build discipline into your infrastructure and your process. Predictability also builds trust. Customers will come to know that they can look forward to something knew from you when they’re planning their budgets. .
  10. And go back to Step 1 by getting to know your customers even better after they buy from you. Think of that first purchase as the first date in a long-term relationship. Value the customer who’s already shown a commitment above all others. Respect them by giving the best offers to them, not to the “potentially new” customers who haven’t been listening to you. .

These 10 steps work. I know because I’ve used them successfully and two well-respected financial guys have put their names on that fact.

It takes two things to win a loyal and growing customer base,

  1. products customers truly want that live up to their promise
  2. and more opportunities to get those kinds of products from a business they can trust..

Simply being that business who knows, loves, and serves their customers better than anyone else can save those customers the time of having to look in other places when they need what you offer. Who wouldn’t value that?

Have you had any experience with a company that consistently builds highly viral, High ROI products.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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What Is Your Title, And Why Do I Care?

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By Terez Howard

I have a secret to share with you. After years of studying online writing, I decided to become a “professional blogger.” And you know what? I made that title up.

I was in an interview once, and I was asked what it took to be a professional blogger. I was thinking, I made that title up to tell people who I am without having to explain who I am. Now you want me to explain it?

The writer, the blogger, the candlestick maker

When you introduce yourself to someone, you say, “Hi. My name is (insert name).” The stranger always gets around to asking, “So, what do you do?” That’s your opportunity to give your title. If you’re like my husband, you say that you are a teacher and a professional violinist. If you’re my niece, you say that you are a dental hygienist. But, when you’re a freelancing jack-of-all-trades, what do you call yourself?

You have to give yourself some type of title. Please don’t call yourself a freelancing jack-of-all-trades. I will give you three reasons why you need a definite title:

  1. Your title is part of your brand. It automatically gives people a mental image of what you do. A blogger blogs, and a marketing specialist markets. It is a snapshot of your work.
  2. Your title can open doors. When you tell someone what you do, it can be an opportunity for a super short sales pitch. For instance, my husband and I took a visit to an insurance agent who asked me what I did. When I explained my work, he said that he wished he knew me a few months ago because he was looking for a writer. I am confident that he will remember me if he needs a writer in the future.
  3. Your title makes you feel like you have a real job. When you blog online, some tend to get the idea you are practicing some sort of hobby to pass time. They don’t realize you are building a business and get paid in dollars and cents. Some of my friends still seem to not understand that I actually work from home. I have a job, and here is my title. Even if they never get it, I can feel like I am a member of the workforce. It’s a boost.

Choosing your title

Yes. You get to choose what to be called if you work from home as a freelancer. It is an easy, simple way to build your brand. Pick the right title, the one that tells people exactly what you do.

Be as specific as possible. If you blog about travel, then call yourself a freelance travel blogger. If you write press releases, then you are a press release writer. If you want to blog about and review screenplays, call yourself a screenplay blogger. That’s right. Even if you don’t have all the references, testimonials and samples to prove it, choose the title that will best describe who you want to be.

If you need to make a change in the process, do so.If you see that your type of blogging is evolving and that you are beginning to become someone other than the person that your title embodies, gently transition to your new title.

If you just happen to do more than your title says, don’t stress over it. Yes, I call myself a professional blogger. But I also write for a magazine, edit, build websites and create online content. I still call myself a professional blogger. However, if I find that the scale tips more toward another niche, I’m not afraid to make a change.

In the end, you are who you say you are. By the way, who are you, and why should I care?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Is Mean Blogging The Writing Style Of The Future?

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By Terez Howard

If you’re on Jon Morrow’s e-mail list, then you probably received his message about getting rid of nice writing. He pointed to Jennifer Greshem’s post Why I Fired My Father (And Maybe You Should Too) and how this woman openly talked about her personal life.

Jon spoke about the blogging world being overrun with nice, helpful information. He said it is boring. And I have to agree with him to an extent. Type in a simple phrase, like how to grow long hair, and you will be inundated with content. Most of it will be junk, some will contain nuggets of truth and a few will be entirely well-written and thoroughly helpful articles.

Is it really mean?

I read Jennifer’s post, and I didn’t think it was mean at all. She professionally explained her story, why she made the decisions she did and how others can learn from her. She was not mean; she was real.

Now, my husband calls me mean. When I told him about this post, he said, “You’re not just mean, Terez. You pride yourself in being mean.” I suppose that’s true. But to correct him, I said that you can call it whatever you want. I prefer to call it real.

In my personal life, I have an “I don’t care what people think” attitude. I will speak my mind, and if it happens to hurt your feelings, so be it.

I think this was really Jon’s point. There’s no need to hide behind a curtain of niceness if you feel strongly about a subject. Your strong emotions will get traffic and will get people talking. Look at the multitude of comments on Jennifer’s post.

3 ways to be mean the right way

I really examined Jennifer’s so-called mean post. I noticed something particularly interesting, besides her unvarnished honesty. Several times, she referred to expert sources. She wrote a blend of journalism and blogging. I found this intriguing.

With my journalism background (I worked and interned at a newspaper for seven years), I saw this to be an integral part of real, not mean, blogging. If you have an opinion that goes against the norm, back it up with expert sources. It makes your case more believable, more acceptable.

Secondly, Jennifer also wasn’t general. She called people by their names, and she told brief but poignant stories. She did not rant or expel suppressed emotions. She gave solid reasons for the choices made.

So, when you’re keepin’ it real, you cannot just settle to write in circles. It’s like taking a controversial topic, like the food industry’s general lack of telling us where the things we eat come from. (Can you tell I’m still hyped up about Food Inc.?) You could say it’s wrong. It’s bad. It causes diseases. But if you don’t go beyond the surface, like Robert Kenner did, nobody is going to believe you.

Lastly, like Jennifer, you help people. Yes, Jon said that helpful writing is boring. But that’s what Jennifer did. In the end, she was helping people. That means that your posts have to have some kind of purpose, a call to action that motivates them to do something.

Can you handle being real?

Jon said that Jennifer did get some hate e-mails and some people who disagreed with her. That goes with the territory. You have to expect that people might not like when you write even nice things. One anonymous commenter criticized an analogy I made about being creative, like a child. I didn’t expect anyone to hate on that topic, but that’s what happened.

When you put yourself out there, especially when you take up something big, something real, people will exercise their free right to talk back. You have to be able to stand the heat. You also have to be like Jennifer and stand nearly 200 comments, loads of traffic, countless e-mails and a single blog post going viral. I could stand that.

How do you make your blogging real, or mean, whatever you call it?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Do You Blog Just Enough To Hate It?

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By Terez Howard

Someone once said, “Do you do it just enough to hate it?”

I recently thought about that question in reference to cooking. I try to cook healthy meals for my family. But if I cook too often or cook too many courses that take too much time, I don’t want to cook at all. I hate it. If I never cook (like when my kitchen was remodeled for a month), then I get used to not cooking and hate the idea of restarting.

Then there’s blogging. Do you blog just enough to hate it? Are you writing so much, so frequently that you dread the next time you have to concoct some witty, informative post? Or, do you write so rarely that you cannot produce anything worth reading?

Strike a balance

When you blog, you first have to have a clear objective in mind. What is your purpose?

Reasons for blogging include:

  • Showing yourself to be an authority in your niche, thus directing potential customers to your business
  • Helping people by explaining what you have learned in your niche
  • Sharing personal experiences for the fun of it
  • All of the above

Next, you have to take an honest look at your schedule.How much time per day or per week can you realistically devote to blogging?

You can devote:

  • One to two hours per week
  • One to two hours per day
  • One hour every other day
  • You get the idea!

Third, figure out how long it takes for you to create a high quality blog post. Some can whip up a post in a half hour, while it takes others a few hours to do the research, make links and write well.

Don’t forget about promotion

Too often, bloggers hear the saying, “Content is king.” And while beneficial content is a key ingredient to a great blog, promotion should be queen. It takes time to promote your blog.

Ways to promote your blog include:

  • Guest posting. Write for blogs related to your niche, so readers will naturally be drawn to read more at your own blog.
  • Blog commenting. Blogs you choose to comment on should be related to your niche, but even more importantly, should interest you. If you don’t care about the topic, then your comment will reflect your attitude.
  • Social media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Youtube are other avenues that can direct people back to your blog.
  • E-mail marketing and newsletters. Build a list of devoted followers to inform of the newest developments on your blog and with your business.
  • Free reports. Who doesn’t love freebies? Your audience will eat these up, especially when you tailor them to truly benefit your readers.
  • SEO and LSI. When you write your blog posts, good content is definitely on top. But you should consider SEO and LSI to direct search engine results to your pertinent posts.

All of this promotion takes time. So, you have to decide what you’re going to do and how long this is going to take you.

Planning makes perfect

If you plan what you’re going to do, how much time you will take and follow your plan, you will see results. It might take longer for some that do not have much time to devote than others. But it WILL pay off. You can blog just enough to love it.

How do blog just enough to love it?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Blogging By Using The Power Of The Eyes

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By Terez Howard

A month or so ago, I got a Victoria’s Secret catalogue and decided I would get a pair or two of flannel pajamas. I didn’t really care if I purchased them after winter ended because I figured they would be cheaper by that time. But now, I cannot stop thinking of those warm-looking pjs.

Shortly after I received the catalogue, I noticed how uncomfortable I felt in my pjs when I was in bed. My pant legs always ended up twisted like pretzels around my legs and rode up as if they were short shorts. I got to the point where I couldn’t stand if my pants only started to ride up to my knees.

Then I remembered those flannel pajamas, the ones that had pants like leggings, nice and tight ones that would not ride up or twist. I needed them yesterday!

What those pajamas have to do with blogging

But this post isn’t going to be about my pajamas, even though I could probably fill up a post just talking about them. It’s about our eyes. Victoria’s Secret does something very interesting that I never noticed before.

That company provides pajamas for everyone. Skimpy lingerie to shorts and tees to lovely nightshirts to those flannel pjs that I like, Vickie’s really has every woman’s tastes covered.

That got me thinking about blogging. What am I giving to my audience? Are they getting a need satisfied? Are they getting the information they want? Are they at least being entertained to some degree?

We bloggers cannot write to appeal to every Internet surfer. But we can appear attractive to the members of our audience.

Utilizing the power of the eyes

They draw people in. They entice them. They make people go, “Hmmm.” Pictures are the start of a reason to read your post.

Tap that “Add an image” button in WordPress and upload a shot to your blog post. Since I’m a freelance writing mama, I am certain my audience would be interested in children. That’s why you will see family-friendly photos on my blog.

If you can’t take a few original pictures (which are best, in my opinion), there are plenty of royalty-free stock photo websites. Expect to pay a fee to free your mind of worrying about infringing on copyright laws. My favorite is iStockphoto.

The first words people read are headlines, telling people whether or not they want to read a post or not. Show people how they will benefit by reading your entire post in your headline. Give them a tantalizing reason to read what you have to say.

I personally look at headlines very simply. There are basically two types of good headlines: the ones that tell you exactly what to expect and the ones that make you wonder what to expect. Experimenting with those two will get readers hooked on the rest of your words.

What do you see?

What you see directly affects your actions. The same goes for your readers.

How do you utilize the power of the eyes in your blog posts?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

What “Julie and Julia” Taught Me About Reaching Goals

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By Terez Howard

During a recent night of Netflix searching, my husband and I watched the movie Julie and Julia. This film, from 2009, intertwined the story of cooking sensation Julia Child with Julie Powell, a blogger who challenged herself to cook every recipe in Julia’s first book and record her experiences in a blog. This true life adventure helped me realize a key to reaching goals.

One pivotal scene is the movie is when Julie decisively commits to this cooking/blogging challenge. She announces her decision to her husband, Eric, and says that if she does not give herself a deadline, she will not complete that immense task. One year for 524 recipes.

Give yourself a deadline

When I worked for the newspaper, deadline was a word I heard daily. “Will it be ready by deadline?” “We have to meet deadline.” “Maybe we can extend the deadline a little for this breaking news.” “It’s too late; it’s after deadline.” The deadline dictated what would make the daily news.

With a blog, it’s hardly a necessity to make your content stick to a strict 10:30 a.m. deadline. However, there are benefits to establishing a blogging schedule.

A deadline means more than just the time your posts appear for public viewing. A deadline gives your goal or goals a point of fruition.

Let me illustrate it this way. Let’s say that I want to start integrating video into my blog. I would give myself a week to research and purchase a video recording device and another week to shoot two to four videos. I would allot myself two to three hours per day per video to make my own edits. Then I would spend a day posting the videos and another week to fiercely promote them.

Know this, I’ve not yet put video on my blog. But this rough sketch gives me the idea that it would take me a good month to get a few decent video posts published. My time allocations fit my schedule. They might seem drastically long to you or perhaps not long enough. However, only I know what I can handle.

The same goes for you. You know what you are capable of achieving and how long it will take you.

Light a fire

Do you need to light a fire under yourself? Make your deadlines tighter and stick to them.Give yourself one week to get high quality video on your blog.

At the same time, be realistic.If you work a full-time 40-hour week, such a task might be insurmountable in such a short period.Give yourself necessary leeway, not excuses.

And please, don’t decide to do something by the end of 2011. That’s too general. If you’re going to be that general, make several short-term goals and deadlines along the way.

A new year, a new deadline

Most people look at the start of the new year as a fresh start. Challenge yourself by setting a deadline to just one goal. It could be for your blog, for your weight, for your family, or something else. Whatever it is, treat it like you were a reporter at a newspaper. It is urgent. With no deadline, there will be no news.

Tell me, what is your goal? What is your deadline, and how will you achieve it?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!