chaldea catnap: Digital Product Creation ? Choosing Your First Topic

Problem: You have never built a product before because you lack experience worth ?productizing?.
So how do you gain the experience?
It is the classic dilemma all entrepreneurs face in the beginning.

==> How do you sell your WordPress consulting services if you don?t have any testimonials?
==> How do you sell your first peak performance training to a corporate client?
==> How do you land your first speaking gig with no previous speaking experience?

There are dozens of ways to get around these ?roadblocks? such as?

taking on free clients in exchange for testimonials
partnering with another expert as an apprentice
charging a minimal fee drastically lower than the competition in exchange for a chance to prove yourself
etc..

Whatever method you choose, the bottom line is you CHOOSE a plan and get to work.

In fact, all new endeavors where you go from zero experience to expert status follow basic 4 step formula?

You set your goal.
You study your options.
You CHOOSE your plan.
You take action.

Most aspiring product creators do a good job with Step 1 and 2.

They can come up with a decent goal like,? ?To create a product and generate X dollars in revenue?
They study markets, courses and training programs and evaluate their options.

Then? they get stuck.

They are desperate to pick the EXACT ?right? project or,
They are scared they will choose the ?wrong? one
(or both)

They become locked in INDECISION.

Imagine this scenario?

Step 1 ? Goal: Lose 30 pounds and reduce body fat from 30% to 15%
Step 2 ? Options: Low carb diet, vegan diet, weight training, yoga, join a running club, pilates classes, boxing classes, etc?
Step 3 ? Choose: ???????

As long as no choice is made, no change will be made.
No changes in actions ? No changes in results.
Simple formula.

If you want to start creating your own products (or doing anything new in your life/business) but you have been stuck in a ?holding pattern?, then I want you to burn this quote from Theodore Roosevelt into your brain?

In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.
- Theodore Roosevelt

In the past 5 years as a full time entrepreneur, I have tried hundreds of things to generate revenue and grow my business. MANY of those ideas/projects were quite literally bad ideas.

But NONE of them were bad experiences. I learned more about myself and more about business, sales, marketing, etc? every single time. Each experience became a new ?notch? on my entrepreneurial belt.

Was I afraid of looking foolish or losing money? You better believe it. But I did it anyways because really? I had no choice. My business was my only source of income so my job was quite literally to keep coming up with new ideas, new projects, new strategies until I found something that worked.

The same thing goes for you as a product creator.

SOME TIPS AND A ?STRAT CHAT??

If you have never created a digital product before you are likely in one of two positions:

1. You have existing knowledge that you can teach that will help someone else achieve a result

make more money
save time
automate repeated tasks
improve their behavior
feel more confident
etc?

2. You are involved in a market (as a consumer and producer) and you know there are needs that have not been met. You create a solution using strategies like?

organized research
interviews
case studies
trial and error with your own examples
etc?.

You already know there is a simple 4-part system to success.

You set your goal.
You study your options.
You CHOOSE your plan.
You take action.

You have 1 job right now and that is to CHOOSE a project and get started.

You must CHOOSE your project with boldness and passion. Don?t limp in thinking ?I wonder if this will work or not?.
After you have given your ideas some thought, you must draw a line in the sand and just pick.

Yes? you might choose the wrong topic, wrong format, wrong plan!

But at least you chose something and got into action. Everyone has heard all the different quotes and stories from successful thinkers and leaders. The general message is that they all fail more often than they succeed.

But they NEVER fail to CHOOSE a plan and take action. That is ultimately all you can control.

If you have been sitting on the fence, make today the day you actually DECIDE what you want to do.

YOUR ACTION PLAN?

Write down all of your skills, talents and interests. As many as you can possibly think of.
Write down all of the products and topics from your market that interest you. What sells? What are people looking for?
Find a topic/area that is under served or has some unanswered questions you can investigate and provide answers to. In the internet marketing world this could be anything like tips for finding more leads for marketing consultants, how to build a mobile app, text message marketing strategies, etc? You probably already have some products/areas that you have thought about. Start there.
Then? pick a topic or idea that stands out. And if nothing stands out? then pick anything.
Decide what kind of problems/questions you want to address
Then begin. Don?t worry if you don?t know how you?re going to do every step. Just get started. Start typing, start recording audio/video, start brainstorming topics, start researching questions you can address. DO SOMETHING.