Start
Your Own Internet Business With These Free Product Ideas,
Yours
For The Taking
I had
to chuckle when I recently came across this great quote by Ken Hakuta
("Dr. Fad", creator of the 1980's "Wacky Wallwalker"
craze, and founder of AllHerb.com)…
"Lack
of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle."
How
incredibly true! Here at the Internet Marketing Center, we get
calls and e-mail every day from people who are eager to grab their
share of the e-business pie, but who are lacking that one key ingredient…
A
hot selling, in-demand product or service *idea*!
I'm
always telling people that you don't need a million-dollar advertising
budget to be successful on the Internet. The truth is, you can
easily get started and begin earning a serious income with a
budget of less than a few hundred dollars if you're prepared to
do a lot of the work yourself.
But
how can you get started without that first spark of an idea? Good
question!
If
you are…
A)
Interested in starting your very own, profitable Internet
business, but at a loss for product ideas…
Or
B)
An online business owner looking to expand your product
base…
… then
LISTEN UP! I'm about to give you 5 powerful strategies for
easily finding in-demand product and service ideas.
However,
before we get to that, it's critical that you take a moment to seriously
consider the following questions. If you don't want to do this,
don't bother reading the rest of this article. It will be a waste
of your time.
I want
you to stop for a moment and think…
1)
What are you interested in?
2)
What are you passionate about?
3)
What subject or topic do you have a lot of knowledge about?
4)
What are people always coming to you for advice about?
It's
extremely important that you consider these questions very
carefully.
If
there is one key lesson that I've learned, it's that the greatest
success comes when you're pursuing something that you're passionate
about.
So
the product or service that you develop should be related to something
that you really enjoy or have a sincere interest in. (Plus, this
way, whatever you're doing will feel less like work, and more like
fun!)
And
don't worry if your area of expertise seems too obscure or specialized!
The beauty of the Internet is that it is the perfect medium for
niche marketing!
(For
those of you who are unfamiliar with the phrase "niche market,"
I am referring to a specific, targeted group of individuals who
need or want what you have to offer.)
Here
is a little secret that you may not know…
Most
successful entrepreneurs get their ideas for their businesses by:
(1) Studying
niche markets and then (2) Developing
a product or service that meets their needs or solves common problems!
It
makes sense, doesn't it?!
Not
only are you guaranteeing the success of your product or service
-- people are already actively looking for what you are about to
develop -- you will also be able to…
Efficiently
focus both your time and money on marketing to
those people most likely to buy from you!
Once
you know where your niche market is and what they want, all you
need to do is put yourself in their line of fire and your profits
will explode! Seriously!
So
choose your area of interest or expertise… and let's move on
to the good stuff!
Hot
Product Idea #1:
Research
potential competitors in your area of interest to find out what
their best-selling product is… and find ways to improve on it!
What
is their angle? What kind of solutions are they offering? Are
they successful? Can you find some way to improve on their solutions?
Are they missing something?
Why
reinvent the wheel if you can find a way to significantly improve
on it? Think of all the industries that make millions of dollars
simply by improving on existing products…
-
Video Games
-
Tooth Brushes
-
Running Shoes (Boing!)
-
Shampoo
-
Cars
-
Gasoline
-
Cell phones
-
Software (Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, ME, NT … where's it going
to end?)
… I
could literally go on for pages and pages, but I'm sure that you
get the picture.
Your
competitors may be your greatest source of inspiration. So once
you have chosen your area of interest, start doing some market research.
Get
to know your competitor's products inside out, and then improve
on them to develop a strong Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that
appeals to your target market.
Make
it faster, shinier, louder, quieter, safer, more cost efficient…
whatever it takes to make customers want your product or service
over your competition's!
Hot
Product Idea #2:
Check
out the newsgroups, discussion boards, and chat rooms where your
target market hangs out. Sit back and listen, and you'll discover
what they like, what they don't like, and what they're looking for.
People
regularly visit these areas seeking advice, and by monitoring these
discussions you will begin to notice that certain questions appear
again and again.
This
is a great way to locate potential product or service ideas!
I guarantee that if you see the same questions repeated in a forum
or discussion group, there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of
other people out there wondering the exact same thing!
You
see, only a small percentage of the online community participates
in forums and discussion groups. So if the question is popular
among these people, you can be sure that there are many others surfing
the web, searching for the same thing!
Some
good places to start looking for discussion boards and newsgroups
related to your area of interest include…
http://www.deja.com
http://www.talkcity.com
http://www.insidetheweb.com
http://www.theglobe.com
http://www.forumone.com
… but
a quick search in any major search engine should also produce good
boards and chat rooms to check out.
Hot
Product Idea #3:
If
you already have an existing customer base, do an e-mail survey!
Surveys
are not only a great way to improve on any existing product or service
you may offer (so that you can start closing even more sales!),
they are also a great way to discover fresh product or service ideas.
Once
you've sold something to people once, it is extremely easy
to
sell
to them over and over again.
In
fact, statistics have shown that your current client base is a gold
mine… and that as many as 36% of the people who have bought something
from you previously will buy again if you have something similar
to offer.
Think
of the potential here. This is how you can start earning a much
larger income… very quickly!
So
take advantage of this highly profitable relationship, and find
out what your previous customers are asking for with an e-mail survey.
Think
about it -- an e-mail survey isn't going to cost you anything but
your time!
Hot
Product Idea #4:
Check
out consumer review web sites to find out what people like and dislike
about your competitor's products.
People
go to these sites to either rave or complain, and that makes them
great places to learn exactly what the public thinks about your
competitors -- or even you!
Some
good sites to check out include:
http://www.consumerreview.com
http://www.consumersearch.com
http://www.consumersdigest.com
Hot
Product Idea #5:
Join
an Associate Program and promote someone else's product for a referral
fee.
(Just
to clarify, Associate Programs are also called Affiliate Programs,
Re-seller Programs, Commission or Pay-Per-Sale, Pay-Per-Click and
Click-Through Programs.)
Joining
an Associate Program is a great way to start earning a nice income
on the Internet… without many of the hassles that come with running
your own business.
All
you do is refer someone else's product or service, and then get
paid a "referral fee" for every sale that is made. (You
are assigned a special URL that tracks all of the visitors you send
to their web site -- and all of the sales that you generate!)
It's
extremely easy to do! You just post a link, a banner, or a short
recommendation letter on your web site… or perhaps recommend the
product or service in your newsletter or e-zine… and then collect
a percentage of the profits when a sale is made!
You
don't ever worry about…
-
Collecting the money
- Packaging
the product
-
Shipping the product
-
Customer service
… or
anything else for that matter! You just do the promotion and
collect your referral fee from the resulting sales!
It's
extremely easy to set up… there is really very little work involved…
and once the link is there, you are guaranteeing yourself an
extremely easy source of income for years to come! These "Pay-Per-Sale"
programs are usually really easy to join. Just make sure you pay
attention and read the terms and conditions, because they can vary
from program to program.
I should
also mention that there are a number of Associate Programs out there
that don't actually "pay-per-sale" but actually "pay-per-lead"
or "per-click".
In
a pay-per-lead program, you are paid every time your customer fills
out a survey, asks for more information, or gets a quote on a product
(in other words, you are paid for giving the company a "lead").
You may even get paid every time your customer downloads trial or
demo software.
Pay-Per-Click
is very similar. Basically, you get paid every time someone "clicks"
through the link from your site to the Associate Program owner's
web site (whether it be a text link or graphic link).
On
that note, make sure that you do business with a reputable company.
I know many people who have worked really hard, made a lot of sales
for a company, and then have never been paid for the sales they
generated (or have been forced to wait months and months to get
their money).
These
companies often don't take their Associate Program seriously, aren't
using the proper software, and are wasting time and money doing
tedious chores by hand when they need to get automated. So while
there ARE some really fantastic Associate Programs out there that
can earn you a sizeable income, you need to do your homework.
Our
own Associates tell us that there are only a handful of reputable
Associate Programs like ours that offer "the full meal deal"!
In fact, the Internet Marketing Center has been consistently rated
as one of the TOP Associate Programs online by major authorities
on the subject, including AssociatePrograms.com… so it shows that
we know what we are talking about.
We
work very, very hard to make our Program the BEST, which is why
we have thousands and thousands of very happy associates! (If you'd
like to learn how you can join our associate program and start profiting
from products that are earning current associates thousands of dollars
every month, click
here.)
Anyway,
if you are interested in starting your very own Internet business,
but want to avoid developing your own product or service, then joining
an Associate Program may be a great option for you.
Two
really good sites to visit to find high quality Associate Programs
that pay excellent referral fees are:
http://www.associateprograms.com
http://www.refer-it.com
In
my opinion, if you want to avoid the heartache and frustration of
the scams and frauds out there, peddling their "Get Rich Quick"
Associate Programs, you should only deal with the Associate Programs
which these two sites rate high or recommend.
Final
Note:
Just
in case you have not yet read the "Insider
Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet"
course, I wanted to let you know that it contains an entire section
devoted to hot selling product ideas.
And
I'm not just talking about places where you can find ideas… I'm
talking about exact ideas that absolutely anyone can use to start
their very own Internet business. (Some of the ideas are so easy
to start, you could be up and running by the end of next week!)
Anyway,
it's a great resource if you are interested in starting an Internet
business, but don't have a product or service to offer yet. Click
here now if you would like more information.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Corey Rudl is the owner of four highly successful online businesses
that attract more than 6 million visitors and generate over $5.2
million each year. He is also the author of the #1 best-selling
Internet Marketing course online.
To
check out his site that's JAM-PACKED WITH THE EXACT INFORMATION
YOU NEED to start, build, and grow your very own profitable Internet
business, I highly recommend visiting his website - The Internet Marketing Center. Click here!
This
guy really knows what he's talking about!
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