The Newsletter - Issue 4

In this week's issue I'd like to give you a case study of a product creation sequence from concept to launch. I hope this will give you some good ideas for your own creation process -- and some motivation to "Just do it!"

Please note how doing things in a systematic manner, and keeping a clear focus, allowed the whole process to go so smoothly and quickly.

PRODUCT CREATION AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT
A Case Study: Concept To Launch In 8 Days

THE PRODUCT:

"Unleash An Avalanche Of Targeted Pre-Sold Traffic By Recycling Your Articles On You Tube"

LAUNCHED AT:

http://warriorforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=133045

[Note: Now available at http://researchnichemarket.com/youtube.html]

PRE-CONCEPT

The original brainstorm hit. It came to me in fragments at first, while I was working out at the gym (see how well the take-a-break strategy works). Flashes of inspiration hit me. Videos on You Tube. Pre-sell videos. Infomercials. Articles. Audio books.

Ping! The lightbulb went off. As soon as I got home, I looked through some of my recently published articles. Grabbing one, I read it out loud into my recorder. Then, off to hunt down some good images -- by noting down first what kind of image would suit, I saved myself a lot of aimless wandering around the photo site.

By the time evening came, I'd put together a pretty decent infomercial, and uploaded it to You Tube.

A few days later the product concept came to me.

DAY 1

The feedback on my video was good, so it was time to get serious. I decided to make an even better infomercial and show others how to do it. The product would be one of my video-series home study courses.

The one piece of advice I got, was to include a live video of myself -- at least during the intro. This would lead to a better personal connection with the viewer. Good idea, so I grabbed my camcorder and headed to a nearby Shinto shrine. There was a bit of winter sun shining, so I was able to get a good shoot in. Took about 15 minutes.

DAY 2

I quickly planned out another infomercial and started putting it together. This time, I captured the process on Camtasia, so it took a little longer -- half a day flew by as I recorded, edited, and uploaded this new infomercial.

DAY 3

It was time to make an outline for the actual product -- a video series teaching others how to make these fantastic pre-selling infomercials.

In last week's issue, I talked about "Ready! Fire! Aim!". Here, you can see how I applied it to get this project off to a flying start. I had a rough idea on Day 1 of what I wanted to do. But, I didn't sit down and do any heavy planning until I'd set the wheels well in motion.

Today's planning found the spots where I was missing something, so I spent the rest of the time shooting the Camtasia segments that I needed to round out the product.

By teatime, I had all the basic footage of screen capture that I'd need. It was rough footage that would need editing -- but it was in the can.

DAY 4

Rieko and I took a train ride out to the country for a bit of hiking -- the weather has been like Spring here lately. On the train, I started to write out the sales page in my notebook. I love it when an idea comes together!

After dinner, I typed the whole messy scribble into my computer. Then, I let it sit and and marinate, while I had a nice relaxing evening -- watching an old movie with Rieko.

DAY 5

I wrote the script for the whole series, which by now had grown to 14 videos. I had my outline beside me, the Camtasia footage loaded for preview, and a large pad of paper.

Starting at Video 1, I put pen to paper. For many hours, nothing could interfere with my writing. I stayed away from the computer -- except when I needed to consult a piece of Camtasia footage to see what instructions I had to give.

After filling many pages, it was time to type it all into Open Office. This was when the editing process kicked in. As I typed, I found better ways to say some things. This would be the only edit. Spelling and grammar mistakes would be caught on Day 6 -- during the prep before recording.

This took me the greater part of a day. But, I am a totally inept, hunt-and-peck typist -- you'll probably do this much faster.

The good reason to type my script:

1. It would be easy to read during the recording process.

2. I'd have a finished transcript in my hands, ready to include with my product -- and increase the value I would put in my customers' hands.

DAY 6

Time to record. First, I sat down with a big mug of coffee, a printout of my script, and a red pen.

Reading through the script, I made red marks where I would break a recording. Some would be longer -- where I had only callout images or text. Others -- where I had to match the action on a Camtasia capture -- were often just one sentence long.

Soon, I had 29 pages of script covered with red marks. It was time to record.

All quiet on the set! I prepped by making a big mug of honey, vinegar, and hot water. I know, sounds nasty! But, it sure keeps the voice going smoothly -- especially, since I had 212 voiceover segments to record. Another trick I use, is to speak from my diaphragm. This will get you through hours of recording -- without getting a squeaky Minnie Mouse voice.

To keep track of 212 audio files, I tagged them with the video number and their place in that video.

For example: video1 voice2.wav

DAY 7

I started making the actual videos. First, before touching the computer, I sat down with my script and made notes in the margins as to what text or image I would put on the screen.

First I created a template that would be the base for each video. This would save me about 4-5 minutes on each video. With 14 videos, that's over 1 hour saved!

Then, I started at video 1 and worked my way through 9 videos in about 5 hours. To keep things going smoothly, I followed a system:

1. Load the template video.

2. Import all the relevant audio files.

3. Place audio files on timeline - one-at-a-time as needed.

4. Add callouts and synchronize with audio.

I also shut down everything else on my computer. For one thing, I wouldn't have any distraction -- for another, Camtasia wouldn't be slowed by applications running in the background.

Note: I could save another 6-10 minutes per video, if I was running Camtasia on 2 computers. One could be processing one video, and I could already be creating the next video on the other. Plus, I'd get Rieko to check the play of the processed video. However, maybe it's just as well that I'm forced to get up and stretch between each video.

DAY 8

I finished off the rest of the videos in the morning. Then, it was time to zip all the video files, create the pdfs, and upload all to my server.

Later, I fired up Open Office and created the Digital Dossier that would hold all the video links and give the main steps for each Assignment. Then, I loaded it too.

After lunch, I created an order page for my website -- a place to display my guarantee and give access to my PayPal button. A few more minutes and I had DL Guard create a new download page for this product.

Now, I just had to polish up my sales page, add the BB code for the forum, and post it. After paying the fee, my WSO was live and sales started showing up in my inbox.

8 days! From idea to money coming into PayPal.

LESSON TO BE LEARNED

Note: I didn't spend all day on this project -- the longest was 5-6 hours. But, I did the work in solid blocks of time. I blocked out my schedule -- nothing would interfere with my production. During this time, I avoided the temptation to check posts on my favourite forum, read e-mail, or do any other tasks that were not directly related to the job at hand.

By keeping full focus on your project -- for a set block of time -- you can make fantastic progress.

Also, by setting up a repetitive system, you can achieve great production. Think of your product creation as an assembly line. Be the Henry Ford of Internet marketing.

Most important point: Just get started!

You can do it!

A SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY FOR CHILDREN

OK ... so it's actually the day after Valentine's Day. But my friend Dr Mani's children still need your help. Dr Mani is an Indian heart surgeon and fellow infopreneur, who is helping children born with a heart defect. He's making a difference!

Feb 14 is Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day. An international coalition of families, individuals, non-profit organizations, support groups, and health professionals join hands in a campaign to build awareness about Congenital Heart Defects and Childhood Heart Disease. And you can help.

For more information on how you can help, by participating in the CHD blog or Squidoo 'challenges' and helping to get the message of CHD awareness in front of at least half million people, please visit:

http://www.CHDinfo.com

Help spread the word! A small child will be ever so thankful.

[Note: By now this campaign is over, but the need is always there. You can still help a child at http://www.CHDinfo.com]

IN NEXT WEEK'S ISSUE

Next week, look forward to a discussion of the Million-Dollar idea. Is it something to pursue? Or, is there something better?

I'll also be revealing a nice surprise for those who've been wanting to seriously jumpstart their online business -- but balk at the "gurus" inflated prices.

Until then, have a great week,

Mission Leader
Kevin Riley

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