1 Capture

The first level of product creation is to capture what you’re already doing. For instance, in Speaker mode you can make an audio or video recording of you in action. For a coach, catch the questions you ask your clients and put them into a questionnaire or workbook. The beauty of ‘capture’ mode is that it affordable, takes very little time and builds upon your current activity.

2 Create

The second level of product creation is to combine a number of your ideas into a single artefact. For instance, a trainer may create a card or board game. A mentor may write a book about the people they have helped. The aim of ‘create’ mode is to build something new that adds a different level of service and delivered in a new format. This is why it costs more, takes more time to develop and takes your current activity to a new level.

3 Congregate

The third level of product creation is to build your own community. For example, a membership site where you charge a monthly subscription fee, provide webinars, ebooks, audio and video resources. This level requires a considerable collection of intellectual property, a commitment of time and an existing pool of fans to draw upon.

In a business, you may choose to build a community much earlier if this is central to your business model. However, in the early days of your practice, this is too resource hungry to be effective plus you won’t have the numbers to make your online space come alive. Instead, you can build to this level by compiling email lists, connections on Linked In, friends on your Facebook fan page and Twitter followers.

To avoid making a big product mistake, review where you’re at on the food chain before deciding whether to capture, create or congregate.

The basic challenge of Ideas Marketing is to leverage your idea. And, one way you can do this is to create a product. They allow us to express our ideas, earn more money and build our reputations without us being there to deliver the benefits in person.

When creating your products choosing the right one at the right time is crucial. It’s a bit like knowing your place in the food chain. At the bottom are simple ideas with simple designs that give you a little leverage. As you move up the food chain your products can become more complex and so does the design cost and effort plus the leverage you receive.

The factors that determine where you are on the product food chain include:

1. How much money you have to spend
2. The depth and format of your IP
3. How you deliver your message
4. The quality and size of your client base/audience.

The biggest mistake you can make is to choose a product that doesn’t fit your food chain level.

For instance when you start out you might love to have a custom designed board game. And, this is simply not going to work. You’re not realistically going to be able to afford it, you won’t have the quality and breadth of ideas to base it on and you won’t have the client base in place to take advantage of the end result.

Ideas Marketing

This is our overall theme. Ideas Marketing is the process of designing, building and selling your idea.

Manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of your intent. They’re the key to creating and sharing your BIG idea. We’ll be writing about how to write one so you can transform your business performance and results.

Campaigns

A manifesto by itself is like a shopping list for a great meal. Your intent might be good and there’s nothing to saviour yet. The solution is to turn your manifest into a project that brings it to life and enables you to make a true difference in the world.

Publish

A core part of your campaign is your content marketing program. Here we’ll discuss ways to publish, package and share your ideas so others can gain value from it.

Experience

Brands live in the minds of your customers. And there experience of your brand, campaign and manifesto will determine it’s success. Here, we’ll discuss how to create desirable experiences.

Artifact

Ideas needs to be physical too! And, here we discuss how to build the products and tools that other people can use to turn your BIG idea into there own BIG results.

Cult

The ideal expression of your idea is to have a community of loyal followers who defend it and share it freely with others. Here’s we’ll discuss how to do this.

Immortality

The ultimate expression of your idea is for it to take on a life of it’s own. This means it spreads without you. Here we’ll discuss how to turn your BIG idea into your legacy so you can truly leave your lasting imprint on the world.

If you have any questions you’d like answered, suggestions to improve our service or some general feedback, add a comment below.

Today, we’re talking with Ian Berry, The Change Master and founder of Difference Makers.

What prompted you to create your manifesto?

I have always been interested in capturing my message in as few words as possible.  I have also never placed a lot of value in mission statements as I believe missions matter however mission statements don’t and so the concept of a manifesto is appealing to me.

How did you go about creating your manifesto?

My book Changing What’s Normal comes out shortly and my manifesto came from thinking about the issues I wanted to address in the book.

Where do you use your manifesto?

I have it on my office wall as a constant reminder of what I am helping people to work on and be successful in. I will be also using it to promote my book and eventually I imagine my manifesto or links to it will appear in lots of places online.

What specific benefit/difference has it made having a manifesto?

It has helped me tremendously to focus and keep reminding myself about what is really important to me and the people I partner in bringing about change that people can actually believe in and change where everyone can win.

Any other comments about manifestos you’d like to make?

I am really glad I have embraced this.  It has also led me to read lots of other manifestos and I am inspired by what many people are doing to make a difference in the world.

Thanks Ian!

More…

Read Ian’s Manifesto

Ian’s Book and Melbourne Book Launch (includes the Ideas Architect)