Hi guys,
I am a web application developer who plans on developing and marketing some software as my fastlane business. I have an idea on how I can develop my marketing channels BEFORE my product is ready to launch.
There are several companies in my general market that have affiliate programs, and I am considering promoting their products as a way to learn the intricacies of marketing in this area, as well as getting an idea of what my customers want. So far I see several benefits to this method:
1) I can start selling NOW. If I wait until my product is developed, will be be 6-9 months down the line before my product is ready to be sold.
2) I will learn how to sell in this market space. In effect, I will make a lot of my marketing mistakes earlier than I if I wait until my product is ready.
3) I will learn if my product is even needed and what is most important BEFORE spending too much time developing it. In effect, it lowers the likelihood of me winding up like other developers who spend 6 months to a year developing a product that they find no one really wants. I can also tailor my product by finding out what my customers like and DON'T like about my competitor's product.
4) I will have ready made marketing channels from DAY 1 of my launch. I am planning on setting up my marketing so that I can switch all of the affiliate codes and references to their products into references and links to my products in a matter of minutes. That means that on launch day, all of the traffic that I developed for the affiliate products gets directed to my product.
5) Customers would also make good leads for my freelance programming business. Until my own software takes off, I am supplementing my income through freelance programming. The same people who would buy my affiliates' products would also be people interested in hiring me for my programming services.
The biggest downside I see is that it may take me a little longer to develop my product since I am spending some of my time marketing someone else's product that I could be spending working on my own. However, my estimate is that it should only add 2-3 months at most, maybe nothing. Either way, the knowledge of the market and the development of mature marketing channels from day one of launch seems to outweigh the costs. For example, lets say that the product would have taken me 6 months to develop and now takes me 8. Even though I am starting 2 months later, I am starting 8 months ahead in terms of market knowledge and traffic generating sites.
I know that being an affiliate is not considered a fastlane business, but I also see how I can use it as a tool to prepare for the launch of my fastlane business. What do you guys think?
I am a web application developer who plans on developing and marketing some software as my fastlane business. I have an idea on how I can develop my marketing channels BEFORE my product is ready to launch.
There are several companies in my general market that have affiliate programs, and I am considering promoting their products as a way to learn the intricacies of marketing in this area, as well as getting an idea of what my customers want. So far I see several benefits to this method:
1) I can start selling NOW. If I wait until my product is developed, will be be 6-9 months down the line before my product is ready to be sold.
2) I will learn how to sell in this market space. In effect, I will make a lot of my marketing mistakes earlier than I if I wait until my product is ready.
3) I will learn if my product is even needed and what is most important BEFORE spending too much time developing it. In effect, it lowers the likelihood of me winding up like other developers who spend 6 months to a year developing a product that they find no one really wants. I can also tailor my product by finding out what my customers like and DON'T like about my competitor's product.
4) I will have ready made marketing channels from DAY 1 of my launch. I am planning on setting up my marketing so that I can switch all of the affiliate codes and references to their products into references and links to my products in a matter of minutes. That means that on launch day, all of the traffic that I developed for the affiliate products gets directed to my product.
5) Customers would also make good leads for my freelance programming business. Until my own software takes off, I am supplementing my income through freelance programming. The same people who would buy my affiliates' products would also be people interested in hiring me for my programming services.
The biggest downside I see is that it may take me a little longer to develop my product since I am spending some of my time marketing someone else's product that I could be spending working on my own. However, my estimate is that it should only add 2-3 months at most, maybe nothing. Either way, the knowledge of the market and the development of mature marketing channels from day one of launch seems to outweigh the costs. For example, lets say that the product would have taken me 6 months to develop and now takes me 8. Even though I am starting 2 months later, I am starting 8 months ahead in terms of market knowledge and traffic generating sites.
I know that being an affiliate is not considered a fastlane business, but I also see how I can use it as a tool to prepare for the launch of my fastlane business. What do you guys think?
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