Thread by @iamnickyates

How to create a product in one weekend

(You'll need a list FYI)

This is your weekend plan to begin selling a new product in two days

In this thread you’ll find numerous steps to creating your first product

This idea was inspired by two people: Gary Halbert and John Carlton

Do I advise you to create a product in one weekend and sell it Monday?

For the overall experience of pulling it off, yes!

For a long term business plan, probably not…

But, as an up and coming copywriter (which most of you following me are)

This is the “get off your ass and do something” game plan

Before we start with the actual steps, let’s discuss planning and time management...

@DennisDemori sent out an email in October discussing his use of the Pomodoro technique, 25 minutes work, 5 minutes rest

I find this extremely useful and I do the same

Just like Dennis, I set up my day in 30 minute blocks, I suggest you do the same to maintain focus

So, Pomodoro technique = good

Nod your head if you’re with me

Got it? Good

Onward

What I suggest you learn before you get rolling (I’m cheating a little bit here and going outside our two day limit if you are EXTREMELY new to copywriting)

Read some books, I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here

@DailyCopywriter has already made a solid list

amazon.com/shop/dailycopy…

Would add Boron Letters here as well

Now you’ve got a reading list to get started with, do this before the weekend so you don’t ruin my two day promise I made at the beginning of this thread

Let’s get to the good stuff…

Here’s our general roadmap in plain English, taken from an email by @WesternMastery

All you need is...

-A hungry audience
-A product that addresses their needs
-The knowledge to and know-how create your product

Starting with a hungry audience...

Step 1. Choose a market you’re familiar with

This one is non-negotiable

You simply don’t have time to learn an entirely new niche so you must choose something you’re knowledgeable in

I don’t care if you don’t LOVE it

You must understand the market and be involved with it already

For me, I would choose fitness (which will be our example for this thread)

I have worked in this industry and understand the market very well

I am an avid weightlifter

I am a customer in this market

That’s a trifecta of goodies

Got it figured out?

Good

Now we need a product and the know how to create it...

Step 2. Product creation

You’re going to make an information product

Begin to compile information to create a report you can sell

This can be anything from an ebook to a report

We aren’t selling physical products due to time constraints

Your first step here is…

Begin to research and start pulling out ideas you’ve not noticed or heard of before which solve a pain point in your niche

Using our fitness example, let’s say I stumbled upon an underrated weight loss idea not many people are using currently

Something I’ve never heard of before:

“Eating a grapefruit right before bed boosts metabolism”

(Don’t do this, this is fake)

Still with me?

Now we have an idea.. This is called our “hook”

Something like…

“Your local grocery store has a fruit available that will help you burn fat while you sleep, do you know what it is?”

(Cue middle aged overweight women clicking my links)

This will get people to read your report you are creating

Next, I’d fill in numerous other weight loss tips in my report, creating a great resource for my soon to be skinny audience

Halbert suggests taking multiple stories in the niche and “stripping away the garbage” until you’ve discovered only the thing your audience wants

You are becoming their personal information gatherer

The person who helps them lose weight

Let me destroy some doubts which are currently running through your mind…

“But Nick, no one likes my weird hobby I know a lot about…”

There are currently about 325 million people in the United States

If you have some weird passion you want to sell a product in

DO IT

Let’s say you find 1% of the population shares your interest (which is possible)

That leaves you over 3.25m people to sell to…

Let’s say you convert just 1% of those people

That’s 32,500 people

If you sell this report for $20, that’s $650,000

Is this likely? No

But I want you to think big picture, don’t be a cry baby and rip the idea apart

Use this as an example to inspire you

Moving on…

3. Create a sales page for your product

This is what we will drive every single person to

This is the ONE SPOT you want your list to click through and land on

This is your salesman while you are sleeping, working 24 hours a day

Here’s how to write your first ever sales page…

Swipe someone else’s

For real?

Yes, find an ad on swiped.co that either closely relates to your niche or is something you think will work

(Remember, you should have a good idea of your niche’s tastes)

Your first step to writing a sales page will be to go back to your product and list out every single feature

Things like:

-57 pages long
-PDF
-15 steps to lose weight
-Grocery list included

Then you turn those items into benefits to the reader

They don’t give a shit that it’s 57 pages long, but they do care that they won’t spend hours reading it

They care that they can quickly scan your 15 tips and start losing weight TODAY

Those are benefits to the reader

Next, put all those bullets on paper and fill in very specific details about each one

This will compose the entire outline of your sales page

(Remember to reference the ad you chose to model)

Focus on how the author structured the ad, not how they wrote each and every word

-How did they write the headline?
-How did they transition from headline to the first line?
-Did they use subheadings in the copy?
-Did they use good bullets?
-How did they close the ad? CTA

Since we only have two days to pull this off, do not aim for perfection here

This is all an exercise in copywriting anyways

You can get better later

Still with me, champ?

You’re doing great

Next....

-You’ve found a niche
-You’ve made an info product report
-You’ve finalized the sales page

Now, you’ve got to promote it to your list

The simplest way to do this is via email

(If you don’t have an email list yet, forget all of this and start building a list first)

I would plan on writing to your list every single day

And here's the thing...

Yes, you will get unsubscribers at first, they may not be used to you selling this aggressively at first

But, this will also weed out those people who will most likely never buy from you

That’s a good thing

Don’t you agree?

“Nick, how should I write to my list?”

Write it very conversationally

Tell them about your day and find a way to weave your product into your stories

For example...

If I was using my weight loss report

I could talk about how my friends invited me for after dinner drinks

I got in a little argument with the waitress who rolled her eyes when I ordered off the menu and asked for grilled chicken and veggies and blah blah..

Get it?

Good

Do this every single day, keep them short and sweet.. Around 500 words is what I aim for

You’ll find your method and flow, just don’t miss a day

Lastly...

Keep in mind, this is for the super beginner

The guy who has possibly never even attempted copywriting

It isn’t perfect

But, the purpose is to show you how much you can do in very little time

It forces you to manage time and learn to write under pressure

For me, I do my best writing under pressure

If you found this valuable, RT it

If you want more advice like this (and to see how to write emails like I mentioned above) sign up here:

iamnickyates.com