by: Andrea J. Lee
It's actually quite common for online business owners to find themselves stuck. So let's start with a bang and talk about one of the best ways I know to give your online business a real-world boost.
Come to understand the concept of 'Repackaging' or 'Repurposing'
When I go to the grocery store in the month of November, I always shake my head in admiration. The reason is it's pretty obvious what the Big Chocolate companies have done, isn't it? They've taken the same chocolate product and changed the packaging (switched the giant plastic bags for high-end boxes.) It doesn't matter if it's Cadbury, Hershey or Lindt...you're looking at the very same chocolate only put to a new purpose...helping us celebrate Christmas instead of Halloween. Brilliant. And a critically important lesson for online biz owners.
So here's the question to ask yourself:
"What intellectual property do I have that I can (quickly and with relatively little effort) repackage and sell to a new set of customers?"
Answer:
Step 1: Start by listing your current inventory of intellectual property.
Dig deep and don't overlook the obvious. If you've created a one-page website, terrific, put it on your list. Other things to list include lesson plans, graphical banners, audio clips, TeleClass titles you've led, even the list of ideas in your notebook is part of your IP inventory...you don't have to have a website. Other more traditional items are CD sets, workbooks, assessments, your ezine, eBooks, etc.
Step 2: Now brainstorm how to make your material new again.
Make a list of how your current inventory can be repurposed. Can your eZine issues be compiled into an eBooklet? Maybe your eBook can be chunked into 52 issues of a weekly tip eZine...perfect to attract visitors to your website. Do this for as many items in your inventory as you can, and by all means list as many new purposes for each that occur to you. Filled in, this worksheet will become your list of "gold nugget" projects, to return to when time or budget permit.
Step 3: Choose one item and act.
I get asked every day "why do some eBusinesses succeed where others never get off the ground?" The answer is they take full advantage of the leverage they can get out of their intellectual property. By choosing one item on your list to repurpose, and following through on it, you don't just create new products for your online shelves (a great thing in and of itself.) Simply by applying the concept of repurposing, you increase the value of the time you spent creating your original offering.
Your time and energy are now "worth" more than before you read this lesson.
Fabulous, isn't it?
For all those who are dabbling in the online world, but want to go big...good for you for starting a few things. You're right on track! Now your job is to repackage what you've got and serve your customers in as many ways as possible. Not everyone who goes out for breakfast wants their eggs scrambled. As an online business owner, your customers are waiting for you to offer them the choice that suits them best, all the way from sunny side up to eggs benedict and back again.
Repackaging existing intellectual property for long term online success has such a strong track record, I'm hard pressed to think of a truly successful online business that doesn't do it. So once you get the hang of it, try going one step further and make sure new projects are developed with a good "repackageability quotient" from the start. Every new product you create can and should have three or more uses. When that starts happening naturally, you'll know you've fully integrated this strategy into your online biz.