5 Reasons to Create an Information Product for Your Little Biz Today

today we have a guest post from melissa vandermeer of zayth - a new online marketplace for moms who want to rock out their life, and are looking for the information that will help! 

Do you want to infuse your little biz with an instant dose of energy?

Do you want to build your mailing list and attract thousands of targeted customers?

Do you want to be viewed as an expert in your niche? 

Do you want a new way to market your business?

Well, my friend, you need an information product that delivers, is kickass awesome, and reflects your business ideals and values perfectly.

And before you say “But, I can’t really write an eBook to go with my biz!” consider this: an information product does not have to be an eBook! You could create a short guide, a checklist, a printable planning sheet, a podcast, a webinar, a course delivered over a few days or weeks, a how to, a directory… the possibilities are endless. Just think of what information your customers would need, and then think of how you could package it and deliver it.

Here are 5 great reasons to put your head down and create an information product that will take your small business to the next level:

1. Achieve Expert Status

First and foremost, an information product is an effective way of achieving the expert status that most business owners want. If you’re in a competitive niche, chances are you’re a small fish in a big pond. Putting together a seriously awesome information product will help you stand out, share your knowledge, and establish your expertise in the industry.

2. Provide Value to Your Customers

Next and most importantly, you will be adding a lot of value to the relationship you have with your existing customers. They will not only come to recognize and know the person behind the brand and business, but will also glean a lot of useful information from your information product.

Let’s say you’re in the cloth diapering industry. This is a niche that is quite small and competitive. By creating a series of podcasts or, even a series of small but well-organized eBooks, you can easily establish expert status AND help your customers know more about cloth diapering. Alternatively, you could put together a free cloth diapering eCourse for new moms and help them identify the best cloth nappy for their baby and lifestyle, as well as how to use, wash and care for cloth nappies.

3. Reach Newer Audiences

While you would be adding value to existing customer relationships, you will also be reaching new target audiences thanks to your information product. Yes, you see, content-rich and well-organized information products are often shared widely.

Karen recently put together a series of inspiring and awesome ‘little biz’ graphics that reflect what she feels passionately about – the little biz, the mumpreneur’s biz, the eco biz, and more. She spent time and effort to create these graphics and then, gave them away to us. And what did we do? We shared them. On Facebook, on Pinterest, on our own blogs.  Yes, we helped spread Karen’s awesomeness far and wide and led more mums with little biz’ straight to her virtual doorstep!

4. Easy, Effortless Marketing

Creating a free information product is an easy way to market your business. For instance, you create an eBook. You set it up with your email service so that anyone who signs up automatically gets that eBook. Simple, stress-free, and successful marketing. 

5. Free Advertising for Your Business 

Finally, the information product you create carries your unique branding. It reflects your business values and ideals. It’s infused with your passion for your niche. It makes the perfect ad for your little biz on a little budget. Your brand, business name and, of course, information reaches thousands of potential, interested customers with virtually no cost at all. Why would you pass up this opportunity?

Bonus: Make Some Extra Money

Yes, you can consider selling your information product and actually make some money in the process. Diversification or products and building multiple sources of income are key when you’re a small biz, so why not add information products to your list of offerings? You establish expertise, reach newer markets, and make money in the process. Plus these are great passive forms of income; once you create them and set up the system to sell/deliver them your work is done. Win!

So, what’s holding you back from creating an information product to build your little biz? Add your comments - we can address them in a future post!

Creating an information product for your little biz? Sign up here for the Zayth newsletter and let us help you sell more of it! Melissa Vandermeer is the founder of Zayth, an online, virtual storefront for digital products and services. Launching in May 2012, Zayth will be your go-to, one-stop resource for eBooks, eCourses, and services. Pop over to the facebook page to say hi!

creative biz | 4 important areas to focus on when setting up shop

meagan visser of MeaganVisser.com has a fantistic five part series for us this week on running a successful creative or handmade business. this is part 4... (part 3, part 2, part 1)

In my last post in this series I gave you a brief overview of some business basics that you should be aware of & take into consideration before you jump headfirst into your biz. Today, I'm going to talk about setting up shop & I'll be covering the 4 most important areas you need to focus on.

Setting Up Shop

There are so many places online (for instance etsy.com, madeit.com.au, notonthehighstreet.com) that you can use as a platform to sell with it's not even funny & I couldn't even begin to tell you all of them. My suggestion is to do your research first. Check into them & see what they're about, what their reach is, how easy are they to work, what fees are involved etc. Here's a really helpful article about this very thing.

Another thing to consider is skipping that all together & selling from an e-commerce website of your own. This is usually a "next step" for sellers who've done well with their shops in these handmade communities, but no one's saying you can't start out this way if you want. That's totally up to you.

Let me caution you though...this tends to be a more expensive start & you have to work extra hard marketing your business because people aren't going to be coming to you. You have to go find them more-so than you would if you were selling via a handmade community.

Now...no matter where you choose to sell from, here are 4 super important areas you need to focus on & master in order to have a successful shop!

1. Products

The first thing you're going to need to focus on are your products. I've already stressed the fact that your products need to be something you love & don't mind doing over & over again. I also mentioned that you needed to be good at making them because not many people want to buy a cheap, low-quality type product.

Another thing you need to ask yourself when it comes to what you're going to offer your customers is, "Am I providing my customers with something that they want or need?". This will be a huge part of your marketing later on. If you don't offer anything your customer wants or needs then they wouldn't be your customer, now would they?

So study your market, create an ideal customer profile for each product you plan on selling, & know what solution you are offering.

2. Photos

Photos are key to selling online. You're customer isn't able to see, touch, hold, smell, hear, or taste your product so you need to show them everything you can about it in your photos. Show your product in use, show what it looks like in context to what it's used for, show how it coordinates with something else, show an close up view & a full view, show it with some props or show it alone. There are tons of different ways to style your photos. Try lots of different things. Take tons of photos.

Make sure your photos are bright, clean, & crisp looking. Read your camera manual & learn how to adjust your cameras settings based on where your photographing at. Play around with different backgrounds & settings. Remember, don't stress out. It takes practice to get great photos. My photos are something that I still feel like I need to constantly work on, but they are much better now than when I first began! There are tons of photography tutorials out there...especially if you're a part of a handmade community. One of my favorite online resources is Digital Photography School.

3. Product Descriptions

Just like I said above, your customers can't see, touch, hold, smell, hear, or taste your product so it's up to you to describe it accurately & show them why they need it. You want to create desire for you product in their minds. You want to explain to them how your product will solve their problem. Be sure to include keywords that someone would use if they were searching for your product. Describe how it feels, smells or tastes. Describe how big it is & what it's used for. Describe how it would make them feel or how it would make them look if they owned it.

There are lots of ways to write a product descriptions. Including a story is great. It really lets the customer imagine more about your product. Here's a link to a free 7-day course called How To Write Irresistible Product Descriptions. Be sure to check it out!

4. Price

Pricing is a tricky balance & something that every artist struggles with. You tend to price your products low enough so that people buy them, but then they just look cheap or the money you end up making as profit doesn't really make it worth it. First off, decide if you're doing this as a hobby or a business. If you're doing it as a hobby, then you only need to make enough money to break even, but if you're doing it as a business then you need to be making a profit honey. You want your biz to grow, right? Price your products for what they're truly worth.

Do some research on similar products. What's pricing like there? Can you decrease your costs by buying supplies in bulk? Are you charging too much for your time? Can you cut out the wholesale price all together or maybe you'd like to only sell wholesale? Play around with your numbers, come up with something that works for you, & don't settle.

Tara Gentile says to NEVER apologize for your prices. Your branding & your descriptions should be communicating the value & worth of your product. Make your price match. Check out these two posts that I wrote about pricing your products if you'd like more info...Pricing Your Products - The 411 & Pricing Your Products - The Formula.

Let me know in the comments below...

What is holding you back from setting up your shop?

further reading:

• does your product represent your brand
• how to write product descriptions that capture the imagination
• 46 tips to help you price your stuff
• what message are you sending with your prices?

Meagan Visser is a wife, mother, & creative entrepreneur living in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. She inspires moms to pursue their creative business dreams on her coaching website MeaganVisser.com & she offers fashionable & eco-friendly products for babies & toddlers in her Etsy shop, Baby Swank. Connect with her on Twitter & Facebook!

ask the expert | how to write product descriptions that capture the imagination

today we have a guest post from our expert partner in coywriting: anne maybus from clever streak, answering a very common question...

I hate writing product descriptions. I never know what to say! Should I just simply say what the product is or should I say something more? What should I write to make it easy to sell my product?

I love writing product descriptions but I know that for many of you, it is just a job that has to be done so you can sell.  To me, it’s one of the best places to let your imagination run free.  You can really use that to your advantage.

Selling online.

People love to shop online because it is so convenient but let’s face it; it’s not as much fun as wandering through a store and experiencing the whole shopping centre vibe.  You can’t really see the item, nor can you touch it or smell it.  It’s just a flat image on a screen and it looks like the images that are seen on lots of other sites, too.

You need something that will make someone stop at your page and say “OMG!! I’ve got to have that!”

You need a tool that will give people the tactile experience they get in real shops and the best tool you can use is your product description.  Plug straight into their imaginations and emotions.  That’s where the buying decisions are made.

Here are three ways that you can tackle the writing of a great product description.

Promote the benefits.

Some products don’t lend themselves to flights of imagination.  (And sometimes the people who need your product won’t be the sort who would be into the airy fairy stuff!)   

The best way to describe these products is in terms of what they achieve for the client.  Take pain relief tables as an example.  No one promotes them as ‘an exciting blend of chemical A and chemical B shaped into a delicate capsule”, do they?  Instead, they talk about how great it will be when the pain is gone. 

I always start with the benefits and leave the specifications until the end.  If people already know that they want the product they will skip to the details but it’s the benefits that will help everyone else make up their minds.

Compare these descriptions:

“Meet the next generation of outdoor cookware – and fire up the flavor – with our innovative fry pan, which makes it easy to cook crowd-pleasing stir-fries, vegetables and more on your grill. Thanks to our exclusive perforated design, your favorite foods take on savory, fire-smoked flavor.- Tiny perforations on the pan’s surface expose your foods to the fire, adding rich, smoky character.- Unique design keeps even the smallest ingredients safely inside the pan.- After searing meat, poultry or vegetables, close the grill – and let the fire work its magic.”( http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/steel-grill-round-fry-pan/?pkey=cfry-saute-pans|ckwfryfry )

“So it may be a small fry, but it certainly doesn't hold back in the colour stakes. Add a bit of punchy colour to your stovetop with the cute Scanpan Classic frypan in red.  For over twenty years, Scanpan has offered both professional and home cooks the most technologically sophisticated nonstick cookware on the market.  Scanpan’s signature Classic line is manufactured in Denmark from pressure-cast aluminium that heats evenly and will never warp. The virtually indestructible ceramic titanium nonstick coating is safe for use with metal utensils.” http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/New-Items/Scanpan-Classic-Frypan-20cm-Red

Have you nodded off yet?  Isn’t that second one dull?  The first description has me salivating!  Who cares if the pan is red and will look pretty in the kitchen.  Talk to me about how it will make my food taste and you’ve won me!

Use your imagination.

There are some things that are best described with an appeal straight to the reader’s senses.  That’s when you can let your imagination run wild. I’m not a white chocolate girl, but even I am tempted to buy some when I read a description like this:

“White Chocolate, so elegant and chic - it has a personality all its own. It hides its richness under a veil of purity while teasing your tastebuds with an ecstasy of flavour. How well it matches Pistachio or Raspberry Rocky Road - cool, clean White Chocolate covering a vibrant heart full of rippling taste. White Chocolate Rocky Road keeps its passions secret...” http://www.harrysrockyroad.com.au/index.php?p=catalog&parent=3&pg=1

Imagine what it feels like to be using your product and allow yourself to be ‘poetic’ about it.  Remember that your words have to give your clients the same experience they would get in a shopping centre.  Make them feel the texture, smell the scent, taste the delights – then conclude with the facts. 

Tell a story.

I still remember the descriptions on a site that no longer exists.  (The new owner changed everything and it went out of business)  I loved this site and although I didn’t need their products, I often went back just to read it.  They hooked me with a story which tied each product in with a reason for its appearance.  You can bet that although I didn’t need their products, I certainly spread the word to those who did.

“And she turned and saw him, the magical stranger, in the distance, his profile shimmering behind a field of dancing wildflowers.  She stood and lifted her hand in a wave…” 

And later…..

“His skin was firm and supple, bronzed by the sun and scented by the grass...’

Each episode of the story linked directly to the style of the product being sold.  The first episode related to a range of stationery that was decorated with fields of wildflowers.  The second introduced diaries that had firm and supple leather look covers!  You get the idea? 

Don’t be dull.

I know that I can get a bit excited about product descriptions but they are really important if you really want to make a sale.  Think about why people would want your product and what problems it will solve for them.  Then get in there and show that you understand what they are going through and offer a solution.  Create a truly sensual experience.  Give them what they need that will help them choose to buy.

Just don’t be boring about it! 

do you have a question about copyrwriting? post it in the comments below or send an email to build a little biz.

think outside the box when it comes to new products for your biz

if you have started a business i am guessing that you would like it to be a success. i would bet you would like it to grow it into something that makes you more money – perhaps so you can quit your day job, or justify not going back to your old job, or to support your family better, or whatever your goal may be. and maybe you would like one day to not have to work on it 24/7, to be able to let the business run itself while you enjoy some time at the beach (or whatever your pleasure. my happy place is the beach so let’s go with that.)

what is your plan to grow your biz?

if you are like most business builders your immediate goal is probably to gain more customers, to make more sales. so what comes next? you’ll need to make more of your thing or spend more time providing your service. and maybe things will really take off and the cycle will just continue! yay!

but the thing you need to consider, whether you are a service provider or you make handmade products or you source products or you do the majority of the work that goes into delivering your products, there is a limit to the amount work you can do. there will come a point when you cannot possibly make more, offer more, produce more or source more. (well not if you want to stay sane & get sleep.)

new products...

one way to grow your business is to add new products to your business. the smart way to add new products is to think outside the box and find things that will allow your business to grow without costing you more time in the long run.

you need to look at:

• creating multiple streams of income
• adding passive income
• modifying existing products & services
• widening and lengthening your niche
• expanding into new niches
• offering services and products and information

like most business owners, your product was probably the catalyst for starting your business. you had a great idea that you knew people would love! but that initial product alone is probably not enough to drive your business to the state of success and profit that you are longing for.

it is time to think outside the box, to branch out from your first ‘cornerstone’ product and to think about what you can do to grow your business. planning now for growth will allow you to start putting strategies into place for adding new products and new income streams to your business down the line.

and maybe picture yourself on that beach. we can all use a big goal to keep us motivated =)

out of the box strategies for adding new products to your biz is one of the sessions we have planned for the business OUTSIDE the box one day conference in adelaide. we will be looking at each of those ways of adding new products, and coming up with multiple ideas that you can implement to your business right away. if you are a south australian business owner you must take a look at this fantastic event. early bird prices end soon!

does your product represent your brand?

if you have been following my blog for a while now you know that branding is a passion of mine. i always remind my readers that your logo is not your brand. your brand is a message that you are sending out to the world about your biz.

and one excellent way that you can send that message is with your products themselves including the way you package them, what you name them, how you display them and more. your branding does not end with your logo and your business card!

your products

consider the materials you use, the inspiration that goes into creation or development, the passion you have for what you do, the methods/processes behind making your product… in what ways do these things represent your overall brand message? identify and share those aspects of your product in your marketing materials/website/blog/facebook, it will help your biz be memorable!

further reading:

http://www.ohmyhandmade.com/2011/what-we-know/storytelling-101-10-interview-questions-to-get-you-started/

product names

the way you name your products or the service packages you offer can be a simple but fun way to express your brand message. make your whole business stand out by sticking with the themes of your brand as you come up with product names. this can also be a way to involve your fans – get their ideas, have little contests or ‘winners’ to help you!

further reading:

http://loganzanelli.com/effective-name/

packaging

we often get so caught up in the products of our business that we overlook the finishing touches such as packaging. this can be another component of your biz to have some fun with! eco-friendly packaging, recycled materials, packaging that is a product of itself (something that can be used over and over) handmade touches and special details… these can all be ways to make your packaging part of your brand message and give your customers something to talk about!

further reading:

http://paperieboutique.com/category/packaging-feature/ (this blog is directed towards photographers but there is inspiration here for ANYONE. scroll down to see many examples of packaging….)

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/04/biz-ladies-how-to-design-the-perfect-packaging.html

http://www.augustempress.com/2011/03/pretty-package/

displaying your product

whether you have product images online, have a display in a retail shop, have a market stall, or a printed brochure/catalogue the way you present your product should match your brand message. and this counts if you sell a service instead of a physical product – you are still showing off what you sell so be sure you are sending the right message!

further reading:

http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/2009/11/stylin-101-how-to-create-amazing.html

http://sitesquared.com/10-examples-of-excellent-product-photography/

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/04/biz-ladies-window-displays.html

pricing

i have written about the fact that your pricing is part of your brand so i won't go on about it again, but it is worth a reminder here since we are talking about products, and pricing & products go hand in hand. your price is part of your brand. don't forget it!

further reading:

http://www.buildalittlebiz.com/blog/2011/5/31/what-message-are-you-sending-with-your-prices.html

http://www.winwithoutpitching.com/why-i-charge-more

your product is your brand

the product you sell was most likely the starting point for your business, and creating that product is probably still your favorite part of having a business. for most of us, the product is the easy part of biz (it is all that other business stuff that is challenging!)

just don’t forget that even that most basic component of your business is still part of your brand. have some fun with these methods of expressing your brand and use it as a way for your business to stand out amongst the competition. give your customers a reason to rave about the package they got in the post, the products they viewed online, or the passion that goes into your work!

further reading:

http://www.craftmba.com/2011/04/25/promote-your-product-not-your-logo/

http://www.supportawahp.com/competitions/mothersdaycomp/10-tips-product-promotion

think outside the box and create an e-product for your biz

if you are working on building a little biz, i am guessing that you would like to grow that biz into something that makes you more money – perhaps so you can quit your day job, or justify not going back to your old job, or support your family better, or whatever your goal may be.

what is your plan to grow your biz?

when just starting out, biz builders tend to have the plan that they will just make more of their product or promote themselves more and then sell more! and voila – the biz grows!

the thing you need to consider, whether you are a service provider or you make handmade products or you source products or you do the majority of the work that goes into delivering your products there is a limit to the amount work you can do. there will come a point when you cannot possibly make more, offer more, product more or source more. (well not if you want to stay sane & get sleep.)

in this post i share my own brainstorming for thinking outside the box when it comes to what you sell and the ways you sell it. i definitely recommend doing some brainstorming like this for your biz – it will help you come up with a plan for how to grow your biz without necessarily adding long term work for yourself (that make more to sell more mentality).

think outside the box

one of the ways you can expand your biz without having to make more products or fit in more clients to your schedule or take on more customers is to sell an ebook. there is obviously a time commitment to write, package & launch your ebook, but once you have it up and ready then it can become a passive income earner to your biz.

even if you do not choose to sell your ebook it can be a useful addition to your business as an incentive to sign up for a newsletter, as a thank you gift to referrers or repeat customers or as a bonus to new customers.

and you do not need to create a ‘book’ as we traditionally think of it (chapters of text) – you can create any sort of digital information product:

• an email course
• a guide
• a template
• a workbook
• a worksheet
• a checklist
• an instruction manual
• a pattern or blueprint
• a manifesto
• a magazine

if you are not sure what sort of ebook or eproduct your right people would want try thinking of:

• the thing you seem to help people with over and over again
• the common questions you seem to answer repeatedly
• the types of blog posts, newsletter content, or facebook info that have been most popular
• the things you wish your customers knew before they started working with you
• the things your customers might want to know after they buy something from you
• the problems your customers need solving
• the things you have learnt along the way as you developed your skill, built your biz

the expertise that you have, that has lead you to create a business out of doing something that you love, is valuable to people. think outside the box and imagine how you can channel that expertise into a product that your people will love!

get some help with your ebook/eproduct

when i decided to write the build a brand workbook, one of my greatest discoveries was the site stickyebooks.com. i purchased kelly’s ebook the sticky eBook formula and it really inspired and helped me to move forward with my ideas for my workbook.

now she is about to launch a new product called eBook evolution which will include the sticky eBook formula to help you with the writing as well as new information to help you launch your product. and she has paired up with the bigbrandsystem.com to include everything you need to create and design your ebook. so you can learn how to write, design & launch your e-product in one go!

kelly has also created an excellent resource called Engaging eCourses to teach you how to create an eCourse (whether by email, webinar, workbook, membership site etc.) that your fans & customers will actually complete and find success with... beacuse caring about your customer's results is good business!

UPDATE: kelly now has a FREE 45 minute virtual class on how to write, create and launch ebooks (and other PDF eproducts). whether you are creating an eproduct to sell or to giveaway as an incentive the Ulitmate eBook Kickstart would be an awesome, free place to start!

i enjoyed the entire process of writing, creating & launching my workbook. so much so that now i am in the works of writing three new ebooks as companions to the build a brand workbook and i will definitely be looking at the ebook evolution for some help!

final thoughts...

i should point out that creating and selling an ebook doesn’t require a big investment of money – you can create the book online for free and sell it online using sites like ejunkie and paypal for quite a small amount of money, and very little trouble at all. it is an investment of time, but now that i know better what i am doing the next time around will be much faster!

the last thing i want to remind you of is this: you may be thinking that the expertise you have to offer is not valuable enough to sell. (‘there are so many experts out there who know way more than me!’ is the thought that went through my mind when i first considered writing my ebook.) though you may see yourself as not being very high on the totem pole in your field of expertise, there are heaps of people who are looking to you as the pro. they value what you do, value what you know.

as you are being mentored by others and you can be a mentor yourself; as you are learning and growing and improving, you can also be teaching others…  

you have something valuable to offer this world… what are you waiting for?

some further reading on creating ebooks or eproducts:

• 11 coolest ebook ideas ever
• how to create your ebook outline (and your sales page at the same time!)
• the sticky content blueprint
• the DIY guide to ebook design

would you like some help coming up with ideas for an eproduct? book in for an email workshop and let me help you out! =)

please note: i am an affiliate for stickyebooks.com

{selling your thing} maybe it is time to think outside the box?

recently on the build a little biz facebook page we had a chat about thinking outside the box when it comes to growing your biz and selling your stuff. particularly if you make a handmade product, or perform a one-on-one service, there comes a point where you cannot fit any more work into your schedule. so what do you do?

my suggestion is that you have to think differently about your ‘thing’. up until this point you have been on one path: “i make doodads. people like them. i will sell them. i will build a site where people can buy them. i will promote my ass off so more people will come. i will make even more doodads and sell even more doodads.” and onwards. but that plan of ‘make more to sell more’ is going to hit a ceiling at some point.

my photography business has two aspects – i provide a service (hour long photo sessions that result in me editing a minimum of 25 images) and a product (portraits, collages, albums and other photo gifts that i design and print using client’s favourite photos). because of the time it takes, there are only so many photo sessions i can do a week, only so many photos i can edit. i have recently worked out the ‘right amount’ of work for me, the amount i can handle comfortably without getting overwhelmed or burnt out. but what if i want to grow my business? make more money? i can’t add in more photo sessions so i am going to have to think a little differently about what i sell and how i can sell it.

is there a digital product that i can make and sell?

sell an ebook to other mums who want to start a photography business. sell an instruction manual for people who want to learn how to make their own digital designs. create some sort of online course for using photoshop to create something amazing. sell ready to go action sets for photographers. sell completed digital designs for photographers to use with their clients. (once these things are made and the work is done, they can be sold repeatedly with very little cost.)

is there a way that i can provide my service to a large group at once?

a group workshop for mums on how to take better photos of kids. a photography class for kids. ‘quick’ photo sessions to a large group at once – party plan style, or for a school or community group perhaps. (once these things are set up you can use the same materials and structure each time.)

is there a way i can provide my service on an ongoing basis?

create a membership site with monthly fees – again maybe for mums who want to be better photographers, or photographers who want to start their own business, or people who want to learn about photoshop. create a series of digital products that lead into the next one so existing clients continue to buy from you. start a mentoring program which takes place over the course of a year.

is there a way i can reduce the amount of time it takes me to make my thing?

stop making every photo product as a custom made design from scratch – for some of my products offer just two designs to choose from. sell my photo gifts without having to do a photo session and large batch of editing – i can make these products using digital photos people already have.

can i offer my service or product in a way that is modified to save time?

do a day of mini-sessions – the session takes a fraction of the time, i only edit a fraction of the photos, and people order what they want on the spot so the post-session interaction time with clients is a lot less.

can i stop doing or outsource the things that take me a long time or that i don’t enjoy?

i like creating my digital designs and photo gifts so i don’t want to outsource any of that. i don’t like doing accounting/invoicing type things so maybe hiring someone to do that would help. framing is a finicky thing that is a time sink for me, so maybe not offer it or charge a huge premium for that service.

can i bundle products or services?

bundle some of my products that are quick and easy to do with something that takes a lot longer - clients feel they have more value added when they buy a package and i make more on the entire package without adding much more time to the order.)

so, this is just my brainstorm for my business. i have no interest in going ahead with some of these ideas, and other ideas i have already started to implement. but this was a very good exercise to force myself to think of ways i could expand my business without adding more sessions and photo-editing to my plate. and i plan to revisit this list again and see what is working well and what other ideas i can come up with.

by the way, there is one more thing i could consider: can i charge more for my thing?

i heard this advice once: when you get too busy, increase your prices. there is a lot more to finding the right price, of course. but i thought this point was worth a mention! i am planning some future posts on pricing so stay tuned...

what do you think? are there other ways that you can think of to expand a business by offering additional services, information or products? or by offering your existing products and services in a new way? please leave a comment, i would love to hear from you.