Product Release Checklist – 12 Considerations

Rarely does a company in the online space have just a single product.  Especially, and typically, solo entrepreneurs that sell online feel it important to maintain a “stable” of products they created for themselves, others created for them, or they become affiliates and earn commissions for sending buyer traffic to other people’s products.

One of the reasons for constant product creation is this:  digital products have a fairly short shelf life in today’s economy.  What was hot and in demand last year may not be in demand at all this year.  In addition, many entrepreneurs use product creation as a way to increase their online income.  Having 2 or 3 or many products generally yields more income than just having one.

These are important considerations for any product developer.  Here are my:

12 Critical Considerations Before Releasing a New Product

This is a very simple and brief checklist of questions that you can ask yourself about your new product that will increase its chances for success in the marketplace right out of the gate.

1. Have I researched the marketplace enough to know that there is ample buyer demand by prospects for the exact thing I am offering? Is this demand trending upward or is it waning at this point in time?

2. Have I adequately assessed the competition to understand what similar products are already available and does my own product have readily apparent (to the prospect) benefits or advantages over those other products?

3. Have I priced the product efficiently* and within the range of being competitive with other similar already established products in the marketplace? (*Efficient pricing means optimizing the price compared to the number of units sold.)

4. Have I priced the product so that I can pay for direct product creation costs, product marketing, delivery costs, refunds, affiliate commissions, and taxes while still leaving myself a reasonable profit?

5. Are there multiple prospect venues that I can tap into for targeted traffic? (Where are they and what will they cost?)

6. Is the quality of my product high?

• Does it have obvious benefits for the buyer?
• Have I worked out any bugs, flaws, or inconsistencies?
• Is the product intuitive, easy to understand, and as simple as I can make it?
• Is the product’s usefulness evergreen (or does it at least have a 24-month shelf life)?
• Can I easily update the product for my buyers?

7. Am I prepared to give adequate technical help or customer service for the product?

8. How can this product help to market or lead the buyer toward the purchase of my other products and does it promote my brand?

9. Am I going to be able to deliver the product in a cost effective manner the moment a prospect makes the purchase? What about international delivery?

10. Is my supply chain strong and can I quickly change to new sources if my preferred suppliers can’t fill the demand or if they simply disappear?

11. Have I considered a specific product launch strategy? Joint ventures? What have I done to attract and support affiliates as a portion of my sales force?

12. Have I considered doing strategic press releases, personal product reviews, product testimonials, doing early bird offers, etc, to help publicize my product?

When you have strong and specific positive answers to these questions, you should have a product that is in demand, superior to other established products of your competitors, readily marketable, and profit producing.

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com