Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

Update: The Home Study Video Package is now available – click HERE.
I share below, my personal story as a practical example of how you can monetize what you know in different ways, You will learn how a combination of requests from buyers, and difficulties meeting unique challenges they faced with what I had, helped me conceive an idea for a new product to fully meet their needs!

I’ve been responding to enquiries from prospective attendees of the Feed Formulation Workshop scheduled for Saturday 15th March 2014.

And I’ve also been following up with subscribers to my mailing list, who I recently sent an email invitation to, for the event.

My attention has been mainly focused on those who are past buyers and already members of my Farm Business Ideas club.

You see, it’s always best to target people who have a potentially long term interest in what you offer.

People who are serious minded about achieving their goals in the area you offer solutions.

Such people will rarely take anything you do, or say, lightly.

This is why I get between 12 to 23% open rates in the email broadcasts I send to my Farm Business Ideas mailing list.

I love Mailchimp.com: Their automated email newsletter manager helps me see exactly what’s going on with my subscribers.

As a result, I know which of my broadcast messages they respond most to, and that guides me to send more of such kinds of messages.

For instance, I have three main groups of mailing lists I write to.

But the farm owners group has been by far the most responsive. Following them is the Public Speaking Ideas newsletter subscribers group. And bringing up the rear are those who subscribed to get my SD Nuggets blog updates.

Now, I recognize there will be overlapping areas of interests.

Indeed, I’ve found that some subscribers from other groups, have also consistently shown good responses to broadcasts I’ve sent to the farmers group.

What I’ve been able to deduce over time is that such persons often aspire to start their own farm businesses in the future.

Many are actually still in paid employment, but thinking of starting on the side.

So in subscribing to my blog updates, they wanted to access my career development and self-development articles as well as the Farm Business and Entrepreneurship articles.

And This Probably Explains Why They Order my Farm Workshop Products (Even Paying N10,000.00 for DHL to send it to Them!), Instead of Coming for In Person Training

One example. Today alone, I have spoken with three different persons, two of whom are still in paid employment. The third is self-employed but quite busy.

They all expressed interest in attending the event, but the date was just not right for them.

I had however been expecting that to happen…

You see, I’d heard about the fuel scarcity crisis that had gone on for 2 weeks (but is now clearing up I’ve been told) in Nigeria.

That had made me worry about how easy attendees from outside Lagos would find it to attend.

And that group (i.e. Farm CEOs based outside Lagos) happen to make up over 90% of those on my mailing lists!

This made me decide to create a special video series to ADD to the home-study pack I sell normally.

That way, interested persons would have a viable alternative to traveling down for the event.

And it would mean savings in traveling costs, hotel costs, and energy!

When I mentioned this option, every one of them told me to let them know when the videos are ready!

No surprises there ;-))

Indeed, I wonder why I did not think of it earlier.

Based on the above, I’ve now decided that…

For those who will physically attend the event, a recording of the LIVE proceedings will be done and put on one CDROM.

And a copy will be handed to each person before s/he leaves.

Subsequently, I’ll pack that along with the video series created, and offer it as a Complete Home-Study Package on Practical Livestock Feed Formulation and Compounding.

This will make it unnecessary to organize LIVE workshops in future, except for people who request it.

I believe this is the way to go, because today, more people use a similar strategy to enable learners cost-effectively and conveniently.

Below Is a Template of the Message I Normally Send to Buyers of my Products

===Start of message template===

Hi <name of buyer>

Find attached the following:

A. A physical copy of your personalized version of the Feed Formulation Handbook

B. A CD ROM containing the following:

1. Your personalized copy of the 70 page PDF Feed Formulation Handbook

2. Your personalized copy of the Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator software which auto computes ration formulas using the Pearson Square technique described in my Feed Formulation Handbook.

3. Your personalized copy of the detailed PDF user guide for the Ration Formulator

4. Your personalized copy of my 30 page PDF annotated pictorial introduction to livestock feed formulation ingredients.

5. A copy of my PDF report titled “10 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Feed Formulation”

6. Lastly, a PDF invoice covering the payment you made.

C. A printed copy of the invoice covering the payment you made and listing the items delivered to you via email, and physically.

See the email I’ve sent to you for FULL instructions and other details you need to make use of the Ration Formulator™ software.

Note that this extended version of the software stores 3 FORMULAS for easy retrieval (*Space for 7 EXTRA feed ingredients is also now provided in the table).

And it allows you to export them into a separate worksheet outside of the application. I’ve sent it FREE to every past buyer who requested it.

As a FULLY paid buyer, you will also get ALL future upgrades FREE.

Note also that your payment makes you a member of my Farm Biz Ideas club – meaning you get 40% discount on ALL my other products and services.

Read full details of what you get as a member of the club at : http://spontaneousdevelopment.com/workshop_ffhb_ideas.htm

With kindest regards

Tayo K. Solagbade, <location, date, time> (NB: I may be in Lagos or Cotonou, or elsewhere, when responding to the order)

===End of message template===

Once the Video Series Is Added, Buyers Will Be Able to Learn Practical Feed Formulation In Their Homes!

Once the complete self-study video series is ready, I will add an extra line in the above message stating that the CDROMs containing the videos are also enclosed.

Are you interested in learning the theory and practice of feed formulation at your own pace? If yes, you’ll want to pick up my home study package!

Interested persons would simply place their orders, and I’d send the package down via courier.

Just like I’m currently in the process of doing for a Farm CEO who sent in payment from Uyo.

The video series will be ready from the date of the forthcoming workshop i.e. Saturday 15th March 2014.

For details of how you can order them, click here to send me a message.

Final Words: You Can Also Monetize What You Know Like I’m Doing!

All you need to do is think creatively.

If there’s something people currently pay to learn from you…or something you know well, that people would be willing to pay for, you can write a manual and/or create a home study video series “teaching” it.

That way, people can buy those “learning resources”, instead of having to meet you physically, or online, for a LIVE session.

[NB: In this part of the world, poor connectivity, and high costs make online learning a bit unattractive for now e.g. webinars, even when free! This is why offering videos they can watch on their own PCs makes sense for me and my buyers, for instance.]

We see successful experts offering “home study” packages like those described above, but it never occurs to us that we can also offer it.

To protect yourself however, you may want to tie sales of this offer to some others.

In my case, as shown above, the video series is bundled with my handbook and software. That makes it more valuable to the prospective buyer.

And by implication, your offer becomes open to a larger number of potential buyers, including persons limited by distance, free time, money etc.

The best part is you do the work once, and reap passive income repeatedly into the future!