Sometimes Smaller is Better. (For products, anyhow!)

One day I was talking to a client and she said: “I have this idea for a free product. I do a meditation thing. It takes about 5 minutes. And there’s a one page worksheet that goes along with it.”

My ears perked up at the 5 minute thing. Perfect.

“I have a few of these. I think I could make a recording that’s about 35 or 40 minutes long. But is that enough?”

Enough???

I’m thinking: Whoa! You had me at 5 minutes.

I asked her: “Why would you add more?”

THEY say that I need to “stack on the value.”

Is that true? Are “they” right?

The purpose behind a free offer is to get someone to sample your product/service.

5 minutes? I can do that now.

1 page document? I’ll print it right away.

45 minute audio? 50 page e-book? Those will have to wait until “later.”

They’re going on the pile.

Or more likely…I’ll pass on the offer.

Because I already have too much stuff waiting.

And adding to that pile is adding to my stress. (And I’ll encounter another 20 free offers later today.)

Our common struggle:

Too much info. Not enough time.

Yet, somewhere along the way, we’ve bought into the idea that a product (even one we’re giving away) needs to be big and substantial in order to provide value.

More pages. More minutes of audio. More hours of video.

It’s the information product equivalent of the fire hose from the stage at a live workshop.

The thing is…

Value doesn’t come from size. Value comes from solving someone’s problem.

Instead of asking: How can I make this product BIG enough to provide value?

What if you asked: How SMALL can I make this product?

How can I solve this problem for my client in the shortest period of time and with the least amount of effort on their part?

How can I cut through the information overload and pick out exactly the pieces they need (and nothing more)?

Small Ideas for BIG value

What do your clients need to know? What are the questions you get asked all the time?

• What can you teach in a 5 minute video?
• Do you have a process you lead your clients through? Can you walk them through it on a single sheet of paper?
• Can you create a useful reminder your clients could hang on the wall in front of their computer? (Or on their fridge? Or bathroom mirror?)
• Can you record a guided meditation? Or a pep talk?

Your product doesn’t need to be huge to be helpful

I believe it was Tony Robbins who once said that 80 % of the people who purchase a self-help book don’t get past the first chapter.

Today, people are busier than ever.

If you’re going for “huge and full of value” there’s a good chance the product you’re working on is going to end up languishing on someone’s already over-crowded To Do list.

That won’t help them. And it won’t help you.

Try thinking small instead.