If you want great ideas, you could wait for them to pop into your head one day. However, if you prefer a systematic approach, here is it in three easy steps:
Get knowledge in the area in which you want the ideas.
Use idea-generating techniques.
Choose the best ideas from the results.
Great Ideas Start With Knowledge
No one would expect to come up with a new theory of relativity without having knowledge of physics and mathematics. In order to develop new ideas, you need some understanding of the subject matter. Knowledge is the key to creating truly great ideas.
For example, if you were going to create a new transportation device, you would need both general knowledge and more specific knowledge. It may be helpful to know a bit about all current modes of transportation. In addition, you might add a list of things that have been tried and failed, and a list of what people want from their transportation.
Great Ideas From Techniques
Inventions and ideas begin in the mind, which follows certain patterns and rules. This is why problem solving techniques and other idea generation techniques work so well. As an example, let’s take a look at the “concept combination” technique. Tell your mind that you want to combine a plane with a motorcycle, and it will search until it finds the perfect combination for you. I had to think for twenty seconds before my mind was able to conceive of wings that extend out from a motorcycle at high speed, allowing that motorcycle to glide right off the cliff’s edge as it sped up.
By redefining problems in different ways, we can be able to explore whole new territories. As a result of redefining “inexpensive homes” as a means to help people afford a home, new financing methods have been developed that have made it easier for people to purchase a home even while the cost has increased. When “better job” is transformed into “better way to make money” you have access to a wide range of options. There are dozens of great ideas generating techniques to choose from, each with its own advantages.
Many Ideas To Choose From
The more ideas you come up with, the more likely you are to find good ones to work with. This is why you should learn the systematic ways to produce new concepts. Finally, if “great” means “important” to you, you need to work in important areas. There’s nothing wrong with inventing a better clothes hanger, but if you want to change the world, start working on new ways to save the environment, ways to end hunger, new political processes that avert wars and other great ideas.
This idea has been proven to work GREAT for insurance agents, and it can work phenomenally well for other businesses as well. Imagine you walk into Joe’s insurance to sell your marketing services. Joe is sitting at his desk, looking bored and sad. “Joe,” you say, “How’s business?”
“Not great, he answers.”
“Joe, I’ll bet you a steak dinner that I can get your phone ringing off the hook in days.”
Joe takes you up on your bet. You then launch an advertising campaign via social media or traditional media, in which Joe offers a big steak or shrimp dinner if he can’t save a customer money on his or her insurance. Because the offer is so attention getting and so bold, the phone does indeed ring off the hook.
Just make sure before you run a promotion like this that Joe can indeed save most people money.
You can do something similar with other trades, too, such as tax preparers, travel agents and even auto repair shops. That’s right – auto repair. The offer might be – “Bring in your estimate from any other shop. If we can’t do the work for less money, we’ll buy you dinner.”
Can you do something like this with online marketing? Why not?
“Follow my step by step system. Show me you did all the steps, and if you aren’t making “x” amount of money in 6 months, the course is one me.”
Or…
“Follow my recommendations, keep an exercise and eating journal for 6 weeks while following the program, and if you haven’t lost 10 pounds, I’ll send you my competitor’s program for free.”
The possibilities are endless. By making an offer no one else is making, you will stand out from the crowd, get noticed and make sales.
It’s said that money does not grow on trees, but I think you can grow it on a much better thing! You will have to create your own website to give your money tree a place and a home to grow. Here are some basic steps for creating your own website:
Pick a domain name. Make sure the name relates well to your website information. If you can, make it short and easy to remember.
Create your website using WordPress, there are many videos that will help you do this.
You will need to sign up for a hosting account to get your website online.
Next, you will need to plant the money tree seed by developing your product so it can grow:
The fastest and easiest way to create a product to sell on your new website is to create an information product (e-book, audio, etc.). It’s very low cost or free to create, and everything is automatic and electronic. That means there is no overhead and no products to ship!
You may also want to consider borrowing some seeds while you make your own. You can do this but signing up with other companies that sell information products and selling their products for a commission. This is a great way to get started and test the markets to see what’s selling. You also build relationships with companies and that very well could be a marketing advantage after you finish your product.
Finally, you will need to nourish your tree by watering it with traffic.
There are three main ways to get traffic to your website
You can buy traffic through sites like Google. With this method, you pay each time someone searches for your keywords and click on the link to your site. Through Google, you will be paying $.05 for each click and up.
You can email you mailing list you made over time. Send out a promotional email and get your previous traffic coming back. Just be careful not to send out too many, or they will become annoyed and turned off to all your other emails.
Partner up with your competition. You can get your competitors to send out your promotional emails by offering them a commission. Your competitors can become one of your best assets!
Maintain your tree by watering it with plenty of traffic for easy traffic try this, and give it plenty of love by updating your material! Follow these easy steps and your money tree should be ready for harvest in no time.
The fact is, most people have an expertise that would make a good product others would happily pay for. But some people either don’t feel confident enough to charge for what they know, or they really don’t know enough to charge.
So what kind of product can these folks create? That’s easy – software.
With software, you don’t have to record videos and write PDF’s and give case studies and examples and so forth, other than what you need to sell the software.
All you need to create a software product is basically two things: A good idea and a coder. Coders are easy to come by – just go to any of the freelancing sites and take your pick.
So how do you get a good idea for software? Study your market. See what people need. Make a note when you wish you had software that would do ____, because odds are other people are wishing for the same thing.
Look at the new software introduced in your niche – how could you improve it?
What are the latest, biggest, fastest growing trends? What software can you make to piggyback on these trends?
The fact is, new ideas for software are everywhere if you’re looking for them.
And software generally has a higher perceived value than information. This means you can either charge more than an information product, or keep your price low and get more buyers.
Either way, you’re making sales and building a list of buyers.
All you need now is an idea and the guts to see that idea through.
Let’s say you promote an affiliate product and it does pretty well, earning you some nice sales. The question is, now that you’ve found a product that is selling well to your list, how do you make even more sales? Here are 3 methods:
1. Send another email to those who opened your last email but didn’t click the link, and to those who didn’t open your last email. Offer them the same product, but with an additional 7 days of free email support from you.
This works if you’re familiar with the product, which you should be if you’re promoting it. The addition of real live support can often double your sales or better. And it can be fun making new friends with people on your list.
2. If it’s your product that you’re promoting, send out another promotion to those people on your list who didn’t click the link or open the email, offering the same product with a twist for more money.
The twist might be a special bonus, email support, a coaching call, etc. You can charge more because you’re offering more value. Again, some people will take you up on this offer who wouldn’t otherwise have purchased.
3. Send out the “bugging” email. This is the email that you again send to those who either haven’t opened your other emails or opened them and didn’t click the link.
Admit right up front that you are bugging them with your emails, but you have a very good reason for bugging them. You know this product can make a real difference in their lives. In fact, you’re so sure this product can make a difference that you’re willing to risk your friendship and their patronage just to get them to look at it. Because that is what friends do.
And if you think about it, that IS what friends do. If your friend knows you would be far better off if you only did ___, wouldn’t your friend bug you to do it? Of course. Your email list should be no different. Because you only promote the products you KNOW will help them, and because this product is a life-changer, you’re sending this email.
This technique flat out works – try it.
What NOT to do: Do not be the person who sends that annoying, “Frankly, we’re puzzled why you haven’t bought “x” product yet.” This conveys the message that you think they’re idiots for not buying it and is an instant turn off to any thinking person who receives the email.
Instead, always take the high road of, “I completely understand why you might be skeptical, which is why I’m throwing in free coaching, or which is why I’m offering email support to help you get started, or which is why I keep writing to you.”
By using any one of these 3 techniques, you can double your sales without a lot of effort. This means you can promote half as many products and yet make just as much money, or promote the same number of products and quite possibly double your income.
Working from home was once merely a dream for most people. Until the onslaught of the Internet and home PCs, it simply wasn’t feasible for companies to hire employees to work from home. And starting a small business took special know-how, a large initial investment, and a lot of advertising and marketing. But now, working from home is a reality for thousands of people, and you too can realize this dream.
The first goal for your home business should be to find ways to create a steady cash flow. You’ll need cash flow to operate and promote your home business, and to secure a lucrative income for yourself. There are many different ways to create a cash stream for your home business. Here are three ideas to get you started.
Buy a Pre-Existing Profitable Business
One way to create an immediate cash flow is to buy a pre-existing home business that is already making a profit. Of course, you will not enjoy a profit immediately because you must invest initially. But once you are able to recover from the initial investment, you can continue receiving profits year after year.
The key benefit of buying a pre-existing work-from-home business is you will gain knowledge from the previous owner about what works for the business and what doesn’t work. The main disadvantage is you will have to follow in the footsteps of another instead of building your own home business from the ground up. There’s a great sense of pride when you can truly call a business “your own!”
Follow a Profitable Business Model
Another way to create a cash stream for your work-from-home business is to follow the profitable business model of another. You can learn a lot from others who have already been successful with a home business. Many long-time entrepreneurs are creating e-books and global networks to help new home business owners succeed. They are revealing little-known secrets about work-from-home businesses that would likely take you years to discover on your own.
Look for entrepreneurs who have owned work-from-home businesses in a field that interests you. Use their ideas and examples to create a profitable business model for your new home business.
Internet and Network Marketing
A third way to create a cash stream of income is to utilize the Internet and network marketing to your advantage. Find and join a team of individuals who have similar goals and work with them to build a successful online business. With the Internet and network marketing, many are realizing their financial goals faster than they ever imagined.
Network marketing online can be accomplished through email and a website while working from home, and it can bring more people together with similar goals in a very short period of time. Many global network companies will promote your online business for you and take every initiative to help you become a success. There are even international resort networks that enable you to travel to exotic places while earning a substantial income.
Whatever method you choose to create a cash stream as you work from home, set some goals for your business, and start realizing your dreams today!
There is a super simple way to create products people want to buy. It’s so simple, in fact, that you might have heard of this technique and quickly dismissed it. Yet it works like marketing magic just about every time it’s used.
Here’s the secret: Write your sales page BEFORE you create the product.
That’s it. Now here’s why it works:
– The headline and bullet points basically give you an outline of the product to create.
– You don’t have to think of the bullet points yourself – just go to forums and find out what people are asking. Those are your bullet points.
– It is far easier to write the sales letter first and then create the product, rather than the other way around.
– As you write your letter, you can think about what your customer wants to know. Put yourself in their shoes. This almost guarantees a great sales page and product.
– If you outsource the product creation, you can simply hand your writer the sales page and let them create the product from that. You’ll get a far superior product created in less time than if you ask them to do it from scratch.
– There’s no need to hire an expensive copywriter using this method.
Here’s another secret – copywriters use this method all the time when creating their own products. And if they do it, you KNOW it works.
“But if I’m writing the bullet points first, how will I get the information?”
The same way you would do it the traditional way – research. Either way you’ll be researching your product if you don’t already have the knowledge. But if you’ve already written your sale letter, then you’ll know exactly what information to look for, saving you time.
And if you find some gems of info as you do your research, you can always add those to your product as well as to your sales letter.
Write the sales letter first and you will nearly always produce a product people will want to buy.
In order to grow your internet business, one of the most overlooked strategies is adding value to your site, product, or service.
Modern technology and the internet allow anyone to offer a little extra that nobody else does, and usually at no additional cost.
Here are some reasons why this is a good business practice.
Profits will increase if you do this!
The next step is to understand what value addition is!
Value adding is giving surprise high quality and useful gifts.
Giving your customers something they can’t get from your competitors.
We are promising the world and delivering the universe with it.
It’s about taking care of your clients and providing them with what they need and want, when and where they want.
Now let’s look at the different ways we can do this.
When you receive a free gift from someone you didn’t expect, do you remember them?
Answer: Yes, most of the time.
How can we do this?
Look at the example below for an idea!
If you subscribe to a newsletter or ezine, what do you expect?
You expect to get what you subscribed for, right?
Now imagine that you subscribed to a newsletter that distributes information about Poodle breading in France, and when you open the confirmation email you find you’ve also received a free ebook containing 20 poodle grooming tips and Grandma’s secret poodle pampering techniques. (a book that normally sells for $29).
Wouldn’t that make you more likely to open and read the next issue and the next etc?
That’s one simple example, but where do you get the ebook from? You make it! If you are distributing a poodle breeding newsletter, you might know something about grooming, or know some people that could help you put together the necessary information. Then you can wrap that up in an ebook cover and then send it around to a variety of sites that will post it for you for free and you can sell it on your own site if you have one. (I can see that there are several more articles just on making e-books, posting them on other people’s sites, and setting up a shop front.)
Back to the Poodles! So you can see that by offering this free gift you have achieved several things.
You have developed a product (at no cost to you) that you can sell and make a profit on.
You have used that product to increase the chances of your new subscriber opening your next email.
You have promoted your site/service to other internet marketers that you may wish to do a joint venture with at some time.
Another way to add value for less effort is to offer a 110 percent guarantee instead of 100 percent.
Another is to make your 20 tips into 30 or more etc, get the idea? It’s all just a matter of finding ways that you can give more.
The majority of people are trapped in the rat race, working for others but having no idea how to escape. In this article, you will learn how to earn passive income to achieve freedom. The best home based business is an Internet business because it is exciting, rewarding, and profitable. There are tips provided for home-based professional businesses.
If you’re given a choice of making $500 as a one-time payment OR getting only $100 but paying this amount every month for 20 years if not for life, which would you choose?
If you work only once and get paid many times over, you’re earning a RESIDUAL INCOME. Of course, you’d choose the latter.
Elvis Presley today “continues” to earn residual income even after death because his records continue to “work” for him due to continued demand from his fans.
Therefore it goes without saying that in order to build wealth, you need to tap into RESIDUAL INCOME.
Very often this is also referred to as “PASSIVE INCOME” because you could afford to be passive or non-active (i.e. not having to work) and still continue to receive income.
If you’re like most people, you’ve been conditioned your whole life to think about income as a process of trading time and effort for money. Like the majority, you have been brought up to have only one major objective in life – JOB! Incidentally, if you don’t already know, to many, JOB stands for “Just Over Broke”.
You work hard in schools so that you could get good grades to advance to colleges and universities where you work even harder so that you could get a good and secure JOB. Once you’ve got the jobs you want, you continue to work very hard in order to maintain them and to climb the so-called organizational ladder of success.
As a result, many have fallen into the trap of the RAT RACE and you know very well you can’t afford to stop because if you did, so would your income!
Although some of us could be drawing quite a handsome income, we’re not truly “wealthy” because we’re not free to do what we want and when we want with our money.
I’ve heard many sad stories of “rich” EMPLOYEES not being able to spend badly needed valuable time with members of their families who’re sick in hospitals because they could not afford to be away from their place of work for too long as their services are urgently required by their employers. Doctors could not even really relax and enjoy a long vacation for fear of the loss of income or patients while their clinics remain closed.
Can I really have PASSIVE INCOME? You might ask. Indeed you can!
About 160+ million people have access to the Internet. Every month millions of newcomers and thousands of businesses are reported to be setting up online. With this huge and expanding audience coupled with the fact that marketing and advertising can be done on the Internet so easily and at only a fraction of the costs of traditional methods, we now have a fantastic opportunity to be successful in online business.
Many companies have now aligned themselves with the Internet which has created many new paradigms in the past few years. Residual Incomes are made available to people from all walks of life. You can now make money online with the simple and proven formula used by many to earn multiple streams of residual income.
However, don’t believe what you’ve heard or seen on the Internet. Skepticism is encouraged because there are some dishonest people creating a lot of hype, unfulfilled promises, and scams going around the Internet.
Fortunately, however, these are the exception, rather than the rule. You must be able to feel absolutely confident about using the services offered by “Internet Business Gurus” to help you make money online before you sign up. If you have any slightest doubt at all, drop it and move on to another.
There’re many who belong to reputable organizations such as iCop™ and Better Internet Bureau™ as part of their commitment to upholding the highest business and ethical standards possible.
Many programs are designed for newbies who have no time or interest to learn HTML, Java, PHP, and ASP. With a simple Control Panel, you’re only a few clicks away from having a complete and professional website to start your online Internet home-based business!
You need not have sleepless nights worrying about programming, web or graphic design, scripts, or content and product creation. Furthermore, with some programs such as AFFILIATE PROGRAMS, all the order processing is handled behind the scenes on your behalf. This includes credit card authorization, order fulfillment, product shipping, and customer service.
Also, there’s no worry about inventory. There’s no staff to hire and pay, no merchant accounts to set up, and no costly and time-consuming application process for licenses and permits to go through.
You have a website that sometimes could be created free of charge. It captures visitors automatically and follows up with them 24 hours a day and 30 days per month for 365 days a year! Your visitors’ names and email addresses are automatically recorded for you and follow-up automatically with a pre-written email marketing campaign.
However, like any venture earmarked to be successful, you need some planning and consistent effort.
To help you in this effort, here are a few guides you can follow in order to develop good habits for achieving your goals:
PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN
Like any other form of work, you must have a plan for your Internet business. Set achievable short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives, prepare a budget, and stick to them as far as possible. Carry out periodic checking to determine any deviations from the plan and take the necessary remedial actions.
BE ORGANIZED
You need to download a lot of software, ebooks, or PDF books from specific individuals or organizations for your continued education. You’d have a lot of contacts who could be your potential leads or customers. Chances are that you’d belong to many membership sites that require passwords which are first cited in their “Welcome” letters.
You, therefore, need to have a systematic procedure to keep all this vital information and data in the right and proper folders for quick and ease of retrieving. This would prevent loss of time and undue frustration.
You could create a simple home page of your own with hyperlinks to all the important websites. This could be kept on your desktop for easy access
BE FOCUSED WITH CONCENTRATION:
Although this is a home based business with all the freedom in the world, it’s prudent to have some form of discipline.
Once you’ve decided to sit in front of the computer to start working online, you must stay focused and not allow any distractions to affect your concentration. Treat it as your business and not a hobby. It’d be nice to stick to a schedule that is also made known to other members of your family so that they’d know when to leave you alone.
However do not get carried away and spend too much time in front of your PC because your loved ones, including your pets, also deserve your attention and time.
BE CONSISTENT
You’d be tempted with countless seemingly very attractive offers and promises from the Web to help improve your business. Do not fall into the trap of some of these promises. Just stay with a handful of strategies that work and stick with them.
For example, if you’re submitting articles to drive free traffic to your sites and it’s showing positive dividends, stick to it and continue with this strategy while improving and fine-tuning others.
IF FAILED TRY AGAIN
Like any other conventional business, there’d be times when you’d encounter failures and disappointment. Do persevere as this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time to see the fruit of your effort although it’d definitely come. Use any failures to your advantage by learning from them. See success in every failure and opportunity in every threat.
”Intention decides what you want but action determines what you get”. Please persevere with your action and don’t give up.
I wish you all the best in your Internet journey towards the continued flow of PASSIVE INCOME!
Imagine if your products were as addictive as some drugs – only in a good way. Your customers derived tremendous satisfaction from using your products, and continued to buy and use them for months and years.
Your business would thrive, your customers would receive tremendous benefit, and everyone in this scenario would be happy.
But how do you build addiction into your products and services? And in fact, can it even be done?
The short answer is that not only can it be done, but it already has been done many, many times over. Look at any product or brand that people rave about and continue to buy over and over again and you’ll have a product or brand that people are in some way addicted to.
The Apple brand immediately comes to mind, as well as many video games, foods, certain authors and so forth.
In fact, bloggers and authors can use addiction to tremendous advantage, getting their readers to come back time and again for their latest post or book.
So the question is, how can you build addiction into your products and services? The answer is by meeting as many of these six human needs as possible. The more of these your product satisfies, the more addicted your customers will become:
– Certainty and security – avoiding pain and gaining pleasure. For example, the certainty of a continuous stream of income that means you never have money problems again.
– Uncertainty and variety – good surprises, positive changes, new stimuli. For example, when you play a video game there are always elements that can take you by surprise at any time.
– Significance – feeling unique, special, important or needed. A service that pampers makes us feel special. A new job title makes us feel important.
– Connection and love – feeling close to someone or a group of people. Social media helps us feel connected. An active forum centered on a product or goal can provide a strong tribal feeling.
– Growth – expansion of capability, capacity or understanding. Many information products can provide growth opportunities.
– Contribution – a sense of service and of helping others. A forum in which members help each other reach their goals can be especially effective for this.
We know if we can incorporate all 6 of these needs into a product, we’ll have something that is potentially addictive to our customers. So let’s try it with a membership on how to make money online, and see what that might look like:
– Certainty and security. This one is easy – if they learn how to make money online, they will have security. And in our sales information, we’re going to highlight the successes of current members to demonstrate the certainty that our program works.
– Uncertainty and variety. We can add special bonuses and surprises in the member’s section to keep things interesting. Plus we can run challenges and competitions.
– Significance. We find ways to acknowledge individual members as often as possible. We also respond quickly to all communication with personalized answers. And we continually let our members know how important they are to us, and remind them of the contributions that only they can make to the world.
– Connection and love. We provide a forum or a private Facebook page where members can interact and become part of our ‘tribe.’ We highly encourage this interaction and have key people who answer questions and help everyone.
– Growth. We can have different levels of mastery that members work through, so they can see the progress they are making. Their levels of achievement are displayed inside the members’ area (significance.)
– Contribution. In the forum we encourage and reward members for helping each other. And we remind them of the contribution they can make to the world by using their new skills.
As you can see, it’s not all that difficult to touch on all 6 needs within your product or membership. Many times you’ll see overlap from one need to the next. And the better job you do of meeting these 6 needs, the more people will become addicted in a positive way, and possibly even become your customers for life.
So next time you create a product or service, or start a membership site, ask yourself – how can I get my customers addicted – in a good way?
