Simple eBook Sales
Let me start out by saying some things that need to be said up front:
- Pippin has created an incredible platform for digital sales – Easy Digital Downloads.
- WooThemes has a robust solution for e-commerce that could support digital products as well.
But a few weeks ago, I wrote about a new solution for really, really, super simple sales. I told you about how I was using it to sell one of my eBooks – The High Performer's Rule Book.
Well, I decided to use it again last night as I put up my latest eBook on Pricing, for freelancers, small business owners, and consultants. And as I chose it, I was thinking about really small products and why I love them so much.
Product Market Fit
The term “product market fit” can be confusing if you put too much into it. It's really just what it sounds like – finding a match (fit) between your proposed product and the market you're going after. The whole notion of testing your product market fit isn't new – organizations ran focus groups for decades before they used the phrase.
That said, however you think about the term, the point is the same: before you invest a lot, invest a little. Before you pursue a full court press on a marketing campaign, find ways to validate your hypotheses.
Where Most People Fail
Most people fail at finding a product market fit because they spend so much time creating their v.1 product (ebook, software as a service, product, services, etc). What I mean is that their “standard” before they roll something out to test it is too high. Their bar is too high.
They spend more money than they should (even if it's just their effort/volunteer time). Because if you don't have a good product market fit, it's not worth moving forward.
That's one of the reasons I say no a lot.
Great Simple Products
And that's why I love products like Celery and Super Stripe. I love them because they are simple products. Their founders decided to create something small and see if people would use it (as is). And I'm one of the people who has used both products.
I use them because they're great examples of tiny products. Simple products. They don't try to do too much.
But there's another reason why I love them. Because as they are, they help me test my own product market fit. Celery let's me take pre-orders so I can see if my pricing is right. And Super Stripe let's me create a simple way to collect funds and deliver digital products.
Why You Should Build Simple Products
I want to wrap up by highlighting four reasons why you should pursue simple products.
- People have an easier time knowing if they're in your target market or not.
- You can grow the products by listening to customers, rather than prospects.
- You can get your product out the door faster – which often means cheaper.
- You can start collecting feedback faster – which helps you adjust your product.
These four reasons aren't just my opinion. They're facts. Smaller products take less time, cost less, allow you to launch faster, and enable you to collect the right kind of feedback, from the right folks, faster.
There's really no reason not to build simple products and grow them from there.
And if you're smart, and your product grows and it's market clamors for more and more features – then you can do what Pippin did and create an easy infrastructure to allow others to create add-on extensions to a base product.