The Creator’s Secret to Selling MORE

Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of creators critically evaluating their own work by considering whether they would personally pay full price for it, advocating for quality and passion in product development over merely adding to market saturation.

Abstract

In "The Creator’s Secret to Selling MORE," the author addresses the common pitfall among creators of producing more content or products without considering their true value. The article suggests that creators should apply a personal litmus test to their work: asking themselves if they would buy their own product at full price. This self-evaluation is crucial in an era where simply introducing new offerings doesn't guarantee success. The author warns against the temptation to release subpar work in the pursuit of novelty or to keep shelves stocked, noting that creators often have intimate knowledge of their product's shortcomings. The article encourages creators to focus on making something they are genuinely excited about, even if it means giving it away initially to build word-of-mouth and long-term success.

Opinions

Creators should critically assess their work's value to consumers by considering if they would purchase it themselves.
There is an overabundance of choices in the market, leading to consumer fatigue; thus, new products should be meaningful and not contribute to 'over-choice.'
Passion for the product should be evident in the marketing, and if a creator is not enthusiastic enough to pay full price, the product may need reevaluation.
Building something out of genuine interest, regardless of immediate financial return, can lead to more authentic marketing and sustainable business through word-of-mouth.
The article suggests that giving away work initially can be a strategic approach to gaining trust and interest from the audience, leading to paid opportunities later on.

The Creator’s Secret to Selling MORE

Would You Buy What You’re Selling?

The Creator’s Secret to Selling MORE

We’re creators, hustlers, grinders, makers, and do-ers. Perhaps we’re one of the top-producers in our niche. But the world has changed. We can no longer interrupt our way to more customers. This is the age of doing MORE — and for the right reasons.

Just because we can bring something new into the world doesn’t mean we should. Sometimes we look to create MORE, because we’re worried our audience will leave us for something new and shiny.

There’s a danger with bringing more to the marketplace just to load our shelves and make the place look full. Sometimes we get sloppy. Sometimes we release work that shouldn’t be released yet. Sometimes we ask for money when we shouldn’t.

There’s a simple litmus test for bringing a new idea to market.

Maybe you’ve put your entire team on this new idea. Maybe you worked for three months bringing the project to fruition. You think you’ve got just the project to put your work on the map. You build a large marketing plan behind the idea. You try to build interest. The product falls flat. The audience walks away.

Would you buy your own work at full price?

No one is closer to your work than you. You know the product inside-out. No matter how amazing you may think your product, the question is: would you open your wallet to buy what you’re selling.

If the answer is no, or maybe not, there’s a good chance you should rethink your product.

We get so deep in the dirt we may not realize we’re building something people shouldn’t buy. Worse-yet, we know it and we do it anyway. There’s already too much over-choice. We’ve got more books than we can read, more apps than we can tap, more widgets than we can collect, and more clothing than we can wear.

It’s time to sit back and ask ourselves the hard question: Would we buy our own creation? When you speak about your work, or run any marketing piece, your passion for the work will show through in the marketing.

If you’re not willing to pay full price for your own work it’s time to make something you will. The excitement will bleed through into the work.

Create something you’d like to make whether you get paid or not. Give it away first and ask to get paid later. Your business can’t survive on marketing alone. You’ve got to have word of mouth to keep your work selling over a lifetime.

To generate word of mouth you’ve got to sell something you’d buy. And before we can do any selling, we’ve got to give first. See the post below:

The Creator’s Secret to Selling MORE

Would you buy your own work at full price?

What do You Have to Give Your Customer?

The uneven art of waiting a long time to ask