Editor’s note: MFA is pleased to share today’s guest post from Danny Iny, from Mirasee.
You’re all pumped up. You’ve got an awesome idea for a digital product, and your research validates that your market wants it. What next?
Do you hole up in your bat cave and bang out the most comprehensive, most complete product ever created? You could, but you’d run the risk of spending months creating your magnum opus, only to hear… crickets.
It’s All Theory Until It Sells
The idea you have for your product is a theory that needs testing. Not by investing all your energy, time, and money to create the full product right out of the gate. But by putting out a first iteration, also known as a pilot. Sell the version 1.0 to beta users at a discounted price, and then use their feedback to create a full, polished course.
The challenge is to narrow down your concept into something hyper-focused, so you can pilot quickly and successfully.
“If You Can’t Explain It Simply, You Don’t Understand It Well Enough.”
Finding a laser-focused topic isn’t easy, because, as Albert Einstein pointed out, it takes real mastery to explain something in simple terms.
Also, when you want to teach something you know will help others, the inclination is to share everything you know.
The following process will help you identify a pilot topic that’s focused but still delivers impact.
How Eddie went from broke to $1.5 M in just 1 year
What Eddie did that changed everything… and how this can be the answer that changes everything for you too!
Step 1: Nail Down Your Big Promise
You will use an adaptation of BJ Fogg’s magic wand technique for behavior change to identify a realistic but meaningful outcome for your beta users.
With your general idea in mind, ask yourself, “If I could wave a magic wand for my customers, what outcome would they want me to magically create for them?”
In all likelihood, the answer will be something you can’t deliver, due to factors outside your control. Work backwards and ask, “What’s the next best thing?” Make your answer specific and clear by starting with one of these ways:
“I will teach my customers to….”
“I will give my customers a blueprint for….”
“I will give my customers everything they need so that they can….”
Brainstorm as many solutions as you can. Then look at your list and mark the ones you can actually deliver. Of those solutions, which one will get your customers closest to the most magical, perfect outcome you identified in the magic wand question? That’s the big promise you can make with your pilot!
For example: If a productivity expert could wave a magic wand for her audience, they would want her to give them an extra 8 hours every day to accomplish everything they want to do. Since this isn’t possible, she keeps working back to the next best thing and comes up with: “I will teach my students to manage distractions so they can get more things done with the time they have.”
Step 2. Define Your Minimum Viable Outcome
Now that you know the big promise of your pilot, the next step is to identify your minimum viable outcome—the least you can do that will still create a result your beta users will be happy with.
To do that, ask the following questions:
- Will it take more than six weeks to deliver?
If so, then it’s still too broad. Scale down your idea.
- Could you deliver the content during a two-hour plane ride with your ideal customer and leave them saying, “Wow, that really helped me?”
If it will take longer than that, then limit the scope of your pilot. If your content won’t wow them, think of ways you can cram as many benefits for them as possible into the limited time you have.
If you can answer “yes” to these two questions, then you’ve got your winning pilot idea!
Going back to our example, the productivity expert chooses this minimum viable outcome: “I will give my students a simple blueprint so that, within one month of doing the course, they are able to identify, minimize, and resist the distractions that hamper their productivity.”
Follow this process to pick a hyper-narrow topic for your digital product, and get it out there quickly.
Danny Iny is the founder and CEO of Mirasee, host of the Business Reimagined podcast, and best-selling author of multiple books, including Teach and Grow Rich: The Emerging Opportunity for Global Impact, Freedom, and Wealth.
MFA encourages you to check out Danny’s really terrific course, Course-Builder’s Laboratory. If you are looking for a step-by-step guide to creating your very own profitable online course, even if you have no idea, no audience, and no money, Danny’s is the program for you!
