https://DarkHorseSchooling.com
Tracy Brinkman is the host of the Dark Horse Entrepreneur podcast, which provides helpful tips for entrepreneurs, coaches, and course creators who are feeling overwhelmed or unsure about the technology involved in building their business online. In this episode, Tracy discusses the viability of creating tangible products, like CDs and DVDs, to help entrepreneurs make money online. She explains that although it may seem outdated, creating physical products can still be a great way to supplement a business’s income. Tracy encourages entrepreneurs to listen to the podcast to gain more knowledge and take action in order to successfully build their business.
Tracy Brinkmann explains the importance of having tangible products to stand out from other businesses in the same niche and to be able to charge premium prices. They reference an example of when everyone used to be excited about creating tangible CDs or DVDs to distribute digital content. Tracy explains that tangible products can be the key to building a successful business and encourages the entrepreneur to consider including physical products in their strategy.
The conversation discussed the benefits and advantages of physical products compared to digital ones. People tend to perceive physical products as having a higher value and are thus willing to pay more. With digital products, the higher the price point, the higher the refund request rate. To combat this, one suggestion was to drip feed the information gradually and provide a guarantee of a full refund within 60 days. The example given was of a podcast course that sent a surprise coffee cup with the logo on it to commemorate the completion of the course. This physical product was an unexpected surprise that the speaker still remembers and uses to this day.
Tracy Brinkmann is offering advice on how to reduce refund requests as a product creator. They suggest creating a tangible product like a USB or CD and using a service like Kanaki to print and ship it out. Doing this will command a higher price and reduce refund requests because it is a pain to return a physical item. People are excited to receive a tangible item in the mail and they will provide more positive feedback and reviews because of the perceived value. Additionally, customers are more likely to consume digital products if they receive them as a tangible item, as they are more likely to dive right into a physical product than a digital one. Tracy also suggests using an insert with an online access code that can unlock exclusive content, as well as collecting consumer’s addresses when they put in the code. This technique is similar to the one used by the music industry, where they include download codes with their physical products.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00:00 “Exploring the Possibility of Creating Real Tangible CDs and DVDs with Konaki: A Discussion with Tracy Brinkman”
0:01:38 “The Benefits of Physical Products for Entrepreneurs”
0:03:17 The Benefits of Offering Tangible Products and Strategies to Combat Refund Requests
0:05:27 “Exploring the Benefits of Creating a Tangible Product for Your Digital Content”
0:11:59 Exploring the Benefits of Repurposing Digital Products into Physical Products
0:13:25 Heading: Leveraging Physical Products to Increase Brand Awareness and Customer Loyalty
HIGHLIGHTS
The whole idea is that you sell your tangible product, have the service provider, in this case, the one I’m talking about, is Kanaki ship it out for you and then collect the consumer’s address when they use the code. When they put that code in, they got to put in their email address. Now, you could even sell your products via other avenues. You could put it in a store. You can make it a part of someone else’s program.
But I want to talk to you specifically for a minute about Kinaki and here’s for one reason. With Kanaki, right? Last time I looked at it, you can get an insert put inside the CD or DVD that you’re sending out at no extra cost. And on this insert, you could include an online access code whereby they can unlock and watch the content online. Or you might even offer some exclusive content that they would gain access to via that code.
But here’s the thing in all of them that I looked for and I looked at, you. Simply upload your audio or your video files to the website by following their simple instructions. Click a couple of buttons, and bing, bang, boom, you’re ready to start sending out products to anyone, anywhere in the world. Now, keep in mind that duplication and distribution services, that’s what they give you. They don’t master your product for you.
Guilty. I’ve done it myself. Then a couple of weeks or a month goes by and they’ve forgotten all about it and why they bought your product. And all they know is they see some 97 to 97 charge in their credit card that they do not want to pay. Or maybe their spouse doesn’t want to pay, right? So what do they do? They ask for a refund. In my experience, tangible products get used far more than digital products, and the product creator winds up with far less refunds.
Well, they’re still waiting. They’re still waiting for week six in week eight and week ten, right? Your real customers, the ones that have zero intention of refunding, are frustrated because they’re forced to wait is ridiculously long time for the very content and information they paid for in good faith. And they want it right now. So here’s where I offer you a solution. Create a real tangible product that you can ship out.