Steve-3PO
12-31-2008, 03:02 PM
Hi there,
I'm trying to decide the best format in which to deliver my muse which is a 'How To...' guide (I'll be posting a link to the site when I've tested the market a bit more).
My background in Learning & Development taught me to create and deliver learning materials in as wide a range of formats as possible to cater for as wide a range of learning-styles as possible. Therefore, the way I see it, the options for delivery are:
- A downloadable video and/or e-book package
- A shippable hard-copy dvd and/or book package
I can easily adapt the material into both the video and text+picture versions and from reading other posts/sites I have gathered the following info':
Hard-copies
Pro's
- More of a hassle for the consumer to make a return
- Can look more professional
- Harder to pirate/steal (n.b. not sure if this is necessarily true)
- Some consumers prefer tangible products
Con's
- Higher monetary & time cost to create and therefore...
- Higher cost for the consumer
- Longer delivery time
- Means I may need to deal with professionally managing stock, fulfillment, manufacturing etc. at some point (barrier to scaleabilty)
Downloads
Pro's
- Easier, quicker and cheaper to produce
- Faster delivery time (dependent on the consumers connection-speed)
- No physical stock, just data (therefore easily scaleable)
- Some consumers prefer digital products
Con's
- Video-length must be limited to enable smaller file-size for easier downloading
- Easier to steal/copy (n.b. again, not sure if this is necessarily true but Realplayer Downloader now has the ability to steal pretty much any video I currently watch online)
- Consumers generally wary of buying downloadable video (not sure if this is true either but the Youtube generation is used to free video)
My instinct tells me to test delivery of the guide in all four formats to see which comes out on top and, if there is a massive preference for one format, go with that. However, I was wondering if there is a format which would be considered best from a business point-of-view i.e. Is there a business-case for deliberatley limiting the options to one or more formats regardless of what tests best?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
:confused:
I'm trying to decide the best format in which to deliver my muse which is a 'How To...' guide (I'll be posting a link to the site when I've tested the market a bit more).
My background in Learning & Development taught me to create and deliver learning materials in as wide a range of formats as possible to cater for as wide a range of learning-styles as possible. Therefore, the way I see it, the options for delivery are:
- A downloadable video and/or e-book package
- A shippable hard-copy dvd and/or book package
I can easily adapt the material into both the video and text+picture versions and from reading other posts/sites I have gathered the following info':
Hard-copies
Pro's
- More of a hassle for the consumer to make a return
- Can look more professional
- Harder to pirate/steal (n.b. not sure if this is necessarily true)
- Some consumers prefer tangible products
Con's
- Higher monetary & time cost to create and therefore...
- Higher cost for the consumer
- Longer delivery time
- Means I may need to deal with professionally managing stock, fulfillment, manufacturing etc. at some point (barrier to scaleabilty)
Downloads
Pro's
- Easier, quicker and cheaper to produce
- Faster delivery time (dependent on the consumers connection-speed)
- No physical stock, just data (therefore easily scaleable)
- Some consumers prefer digital products
Con's
- Video-length must be limited to enable smaller file-size for easier downloading
- Easier to steal/copy (n.b. again, not sure if this is necessarily true but Realplayer Downloader now has the ability to steal pretty much any video I currently watch online)
- Consumers generally wary of buying downloadable video (not sure if this is true either but the Youtube generation is used to free video)
My instinct tells me to test delivery of the guide in all four formats to see which comes out on top and, if there is a massive preference for one format, go with that. However, I was wondering if there is a format which would be considered best from a business point-of-view i.e. Is there a business-case for deliberatley limiting the options to one or more formats regardless of what tests best?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
:confused: