What Goes Into Creating a Product?

Whether you run a service-based business or you’re starting an online shop, deciding to create your first product can be exciting. Also overwhelming. And the questions… they never end. Should you make this or that? Will people actually buy it? Which materials should you choose for the product? Will you need to store a bunch of product in your home?

While we can’t answer all of your product creation questions, we can answer quite a few! Here’s what we want you to know about creating a product.

First: Why create products?

In a digital world, creating a physical product might seem a little unnecessary. If you’re an entirely online business — and especially if your business provides online services — you might not see the value. But the truth is, physical products are incredibly popular.

A great physical product can increase revenue and help diversify sources of income (look at us, being so fancy). More importantly, though, it can help create an amazing customer experience and extend your brand culture from online to IRL.

We love helping clients create physical products, everything from printed and bound workbooks for their newest course to welcome kits and client gifts. The physical experience is novel and exciting for your customers or clients, and can make them feel extra special. 

Of course, just because physical products are fun to create… doesn’t mean they just create themselves. So now let’s talk about the phases of creating a product.

The 5 phases of product creation

The most important thing to remember before creating products is that a “product” can be as big or small as you want. Maybe you’re starting out with a couple of drop-ship products like mugs or T-shirts, or maybe you want to launch a full online shop and bring your dream product to life by working with production samples and a fulfillment warehouse.

Whatever type of product or shop you’re thinking of creating, here are a few things to think through:

Viability

We know that, once you come up with a product idea, the next thought is usually, “Will anyone even buy it?” That’s why it’s important to run through a few viability questions before you start creating your product: 

• Is this a product people want?
• Can I afford to create and sell this product? 
• Do I need to create a beta version or a focus group?

Regarding the affordability of the product, remember that there’s more that goes into a product than the product itself. You have to consider shipping, drop shipping, labels, packaging, and more. If you’re not sure about how to price your product for affordability, check out our Product Pricing Calculator!

Operations

Knowing your product will sell and actually knowing how you’ll sell it are two different things. Especially if you’re a service-based business, you’ll want to make sure your operations are set up properly to deliver a product (instead of a digital service). They’re two very different worlds!

Make sure you’ve thought through questions like:

• Where will this product be sold? Do you need to open an online shop?
• Where will it ship? Domestically and/or internationally?
• Who will pack and ship orders?

Creation

Now for the fun part: creating your product! This is usually a fairly involved phase, one that many people don’t anticipate taking so long. There are a few steps in this phase, including:

• Collecting inspiration images
• Determine what you want it to look and feel like (and what size it should be!)
• Start designing your product
• Employ designers or copywriters for packaging/labeling 
• Create product specifications

Manufacturing

Once the design of your product has been finalized, it’s time to actually manufacture or make it. You’ve already chosen the specifications for your product, i.e. size, materials, designs, etc. Now, you’ll need to:

• Determine if proofs or samples are needed
• Send off your designs to be made
• Get it shipped to you or your drop shipper

Merchandising

You’ve got your product designed, manufactured, and it’s on its way to you or your drop shipper. Now, it’s time to start selling! Before you tell the world you’ve got a product for them to buy, work through these questions:

• What will the product be priced at?
• What does the product description need to say?
• What images will help sell this product? What details do I need to show?
• What packaging will it go into?
• What launch materials do I need?
• Does anything need to be sent with this item, like an order thank you card, or an instruction manual?

Depending on your answers to the above, you might need to use additional graphic design or copywriting help. Or, at the very least, you’ll need to set aside more of your own time to create the things you need. The merchandising phase is arguably one of the most important, because it’s how your products will get out there and continue to sell.

Want a step-by-step guide to creating a product?

If you’ve been toying with the idea of creating a product for your business — or starting an online shop full of products — hopefully this blog has helped answer some questions for you. Of course, the product creation process is truly specific to the type of product you’re creating.

If it’s a workbook, a T-shirt, a mug, or something more robust, you’ll want to have a product creation checklist to help you cover all your bases. After all, there are few things more annoying than ordering something in bulk, only to realize it’s not the size/color/shape/design you really wanted.

Let’s avoid all that wasted money and drama, with our guide, How to Create a Product From Start to Finish.

This guide will walk you through the steps required to take your idea from conception to launch, prepare you to build in time for testing and promoting, and address small-but-crucial steps for making your product launch as smooth and effective as possible!

Inside the guide, you’ll also find a Product Timeline template that will help you work backward to create deadlines for product milestones.

You will receive a link to download your guide immediately after purchasing — and it’s just $10. Get your product out of your brain and into people’s hands. Download this guide now!