what every winning product needs

Hi {NAME}, Everyone was FREAKING out on my newsfeed over the past few days. The market's a blood bath!!! Bit coin is crashing!! I had the urge to check my portfolio. It's kinda like driving and watching a car crash. But I took a deep breath and stopped myself. It doesn't matter. I'm investing for the next several decades. The markets going down for a few days doesn't matter if I can't withdraw until I'm 59 years old. I knew that checking my portfolio would only cause negative emotions and distractions. So I got back to work, and saved myself from an hour of the distraction vortex. It's easy to protect your time because that's so measurable. No, I don't want my brain picked for 30 minutes! It's way harder to protect your attention. You have some of the smartest engineers in the world trying to capture more of your attention through apps and platforms. So what can you do? Here are some quick tactics that work for me: First, I pause. I ask myself, "is this useful or not useful?" That space is what keeps you from being so reactionary. Not useful? Move on. I say out loud, "I'm a focused motherfocker who doesn't have time for this" Second, I have a scratch pad on my desk. If I get distracted by an internal thought, I'll just write it down. This works. Sometimes we chase our distractions because we're scared that we'll forget. Writing it down scratches that itch. And finally, I do something called the ten minute rule. I tell myself I can check my portfolio in ten minutes. After ten minutes, the urge usually goes away. In an age of infinite distraction, having more control over your attention is a superpower. It's not easy. But this "resistance" muscle is trainable with practice. Thanks for giving me a bit of your attention by the way. Unique Mechanisms I’ve been running an experiment for the past year. Every time I catch up with an entrepreneur friend, I’ll ask them: “What do you think makes a great product? What criteria are you looking for when you’re creating or promoting a product?” These are all seven- to eight-figure ecommerce brand owners. Here are some of the answers that I’ve gotten. - Customer Research: We survey and talk to our customers on the phone. We’re trying to figure out their biggest pain points and see how we can improve our products to address them. - Data: Everything’s based on Amazon data. We use different tools to identify gaps in the market. Where is there a high search volume, but low competition? - Reverse Engineer Competitors: I’ll look at what’s selling well for my competition. If it’s selling for them, then there’s already a product market fit. But I’ll work with a manufacturer to see if there’s any way to improve the product so that we’re not just copycats. - The Math: I’m looking for either high average order value / low frequency of purchase OR low average order value / high frequency of purchase. The math has to work out since we’re running paid traffic. If you’re a seasoned marketer, you’ve probably encountered all of these before. There was one answer that I loved the most. And it fits into my own experience over the past 13 years. “I won’t launch any product unless there’s a unique mechanism.” So many people are focused on conversion tactics or trying to find the latest Shopify apps. It’s kinda like putting lipstick on a pig. The most important thing in business is to have a desirable product. The question becomes: what makes a product desirable? Its unique mechanisms. They are the best ways to differentiate yourself from the competition and tap into their buying desires. I’m going to explore what a unique mechanism is, why it’s so important, and how we can utilize this concept. This is one of the most important mental models in marketing. [Unique Mechanisms: Why They Matter and Why You Need Them]( Cool Stuff: I'm tweaking a landing page / pre-sell page of mine and wanted to see if I was missing anything. I found two amazing guides on the modern pre-sell page. 1. [Marketing Examples Landing Page Guide]( 2. [Julian Shapiro Landing Page Handbook]( - Peep the section on Value Props. I haven't seen anyone explain it as well as he does. Whenever I'm learning something, I try to find the best resources. And from there, I'll look for "patterns" in what they're saying. For landing pages, I recommend using the [Unbounce]( software. You can't built decent Landing Pages in Shopify. So build the landing pages in [Unbounce](, then integrate Shopify on the backend and you got powerful combo. I'm obsessed with [LMNT electrolyte mix](. I take it every morning with 24oz of water and it makes me up more than coffee does. I love the Orange flavor. Tastes better than a Gatorade without all the sugar. I found an amazing video on [Product / Market Fit]( by the founder of Weebly. Stay focused, Charles p.s. I'm about to set a date and get married in 2022! It was supposed to be this year but something happened in 2020 that kinda effed everything up :-). It made me realize that kids are coming soon, hopefully. I started looking up different parenting books and holy shet I am overwhelmed. I know a have a bunch of parents reading these emails, and you're all overachievers. So help me a brother out! Any resources on raising good kids? I'm starting from ground zero. Any books, podcasts, or thought leaders are appreciated. I'm more into books that explain the science and research behind the methods. I know I'll never feel prepared, but that's not going to stop me from trying my best! [Unsubscribe]( AFFcelerator, LLC 199 E Flagler St #398 Miami, Florida 33131 United States