Avoid the Epidemic: Why 97% of Audio CD Products Fail and What You Can Do About It

A famous comedian was once quoted as saying

• Life is easy – comedy is hard.
• Well there’s a parallel expression in creating your CD and MP3 audio products:

“The equipment is easy . . .

”Sure, it takes some folks longer than others, but once you get the production nuts and bolts down, you’ve got it forever.

So what’s the hard part?There is a huge disaster felling aspiring audio product creators, stopping them in their tracks. Its increasing in epidemic proportions. It can kill your product dreams (often before they start).

And its entirely unnecessary and completely preventable.

That problem is overwhelm.

Now don’t say, “Ugh! Another article on overwhelm!” unless you’re completely sure that it won’t happen to you.

Because it probably will, and I can help you to avoid that fate. Which is step one insuring your audio products rake in the profits you deserve.

Because, in creating your CDs and downloadable programs, overwhelm is largely SELF INFLICTED.

Ouch! I know that hurts. I know you’d like to believe overwhelm happens TO YOU, that its an unwelcome guest that imposes its will against your wishes. And in other areas of life that may be true.

But in product creation, overwhelm is optional, and I’d like to show you some ways of avoiding it.

First, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Should I be creating this product in the first place?Everyone assumes just because their friend is making money with audio, that it should be their next goal as well. And nothing can be further from the truth. Yes audio is very sexy. Yes, it can make you stand out in a crowd. But you need to have your OWN reasons for doing it. The world simply doesn’t need (and won’t buy) another copycat product.

2. Why am I creating this product?I talk to a lot of people, who often ask me “HOW do I record my teleseminars / CDs?” And rather than give them a pat answer, I ALWAYS answer their question with one of my own: WHY do you want to record your teleseminars / CDs? And mean jackal that I am, I don’t answer their question until they answer mine. Because their answer to my question is FAR MORE CRITICAL to their success. And I am stunned how many times my own question is answered with silence. Or with an overly simplistic answer like, “To create passive revenue.

”Well passive revenue doesn’t grow on trees. And simply creating a product doesn’t insure it will begin flowing to you. The more specific you can be on HOW MUCH revenue, generated over WHAT PERIOD OF TIME and what you are willing to do to create that revenue, the higher your chances for success.

3. Are you doing this because YOU WANT TO, or because some HOT-SHOT said you need to?Entrepreneurs worldwide are spending an increasing amount of money on information they will never use and is ill-suited for where they are right now. Its not that those products can’t help you . . . its that YOU need to supply that commitment and belief yourself, rather than simply riding on the coat tails of the latest bandwagon.

My own belief is that audio products can help just about anyone. And I can help you do that. However, the fire that creates a successful product must come from you. It’s the one thing I simply cannot create for you. I can help you to tap into or rekindle that passion and belief. But if it ain’t there, it ain’t there.

Look, I really appreciate the fact more and more folks respect what I have to say. I am grateful for your trust and hope to do business with you in the future.

But I don’t want you to commit any of your time to creating audio products unless you really GET from inside yourself just how powerful they can be.

Overwhelm generally happens for three reasons:

1. We don’t have a big enough reason for doing something2. That reason comes from outside of us, rather than inside of us.

3. We simply don’t have enough space (or are unwilling to make the space) for projects that ARE important to us.

So how do we solve this problem?A. Make sure you have resources available for success BEFORE YOU BEGIN Even if you outsource the whole process, blockbuster products don't happen by themselves. BE sure you have most of the emotional, financial and scheduling bandwidth (or can create it) to complete your project before you start.

B. Make sure you’re not hijacking someone else’s visionSuccessful real estate investor Todd Dotson says, “Hope is not a course of action.

” Sure, there are no guarantees in life. However, there is often a direct correlation between how successful we are at something and how important it is to us to be successful at it.

I realize there are times in life we need to take a leap of faith. And that the fuel of hope is often what gets us out of bed. However make sure the dream is mixed in with enough resolve and knowledge so you can handle any obstacles that come your way. Make sure the vision of success comes from inside, rather than someone pontificating on what you need to do.

C. Prioritize You simply CANNOT do #C unless you’ve first got A and B.

Because the biggest reason entrepreneurs are overwhelmed is FAILURE TO PRIORITIZE: Trying to do too much with too little.

Yes, if you have a bunch of stuff to do, and its all equally important, you’re going to be overwhelmed.

Your ticket out of this hell is deciding what you must do, and what you can let slide. To realize you can’t do everything, but can do what’s important by letting go of what simply isn’t worth your time.

And you’re going to find this hard if you’re not willing to line up the resources to make something happen, and you’re not committed enough to what you do decide to focus on.

The critical realization is you simply don’t need everything. In fact just a few strategies, successfully implemented can help you make the breakthrough you’re looking for.

Without this clarity, your attempts to prioritize will fail because everything looks equally important. It will be impossible to let any of them go.

And the ability to let things go is the key to dropping overwhelm in its tracks.

Look, I know you’re having a tough time digesting the fact that techie stuff is not the biggest obstacle to creating highly profitable products. What I’m hoping is that you find incredible encouragement from the fact that what IS most crucial is ENTIRELY within everyone’s grasp, no matter how technophobic you might be.

Copyright (c) 2005 by Robert Schultz. All rights reserved.