Establish Your Uniqueness!

Look, creating products is not that difficult, as I’m sure you’re aware of by now. But if you really want to make good money in this business and establish yourself as a respected expert, you have to be unique! This is so important that it’s worth repeating several times.

Come up with a unique product or service, or as mentioned earlier, a unique twist/angle to an existing product. (Of course, the latter is much easier and quicker to do.)

If you’re in a highly competitive niche, take existing ideas and products and find ways to improve on them considerably.

Look for an area within your field/niche that needs attention but isn’t getting any. Look for ‘holes’ in your niche.

What are the main problems and frustrations of customers that other marketers and business owners aren’t addressing?

Look for something that’s highly needed but not being addressed by others. Do surveys, visit message boards and forums, etc.

Target a sub-niche (a smaller niche within a large niche) that isn’t overflowing with competition, or one that isn’t being addressed yet.

Example: When I first got into online marketing, the ’spam’ laws were just beginning to come about. Marketers were just starting to get away from sending unsolicited email because they didn’t want to get in trouble. The online business was changing. New marketers were tip-toeing around the issue. They either got in trouble for sending unsolicited email, or were too afraid to even approach email marketing in fear of being labeled a ’spammer.’

I noticed the area that needed attention: permission email marketing. Email marketing was the easiest and cheapest way to build a business. But people were too afraid to use it. They needed a step-by-step guide to using email marketing the ‘right way’ - using opt-in methods so they wouldn’t get in trouble.

So, that’s what I wrote about. And, that’s the book that put me on the map… Email Marketing Strategies Revealed! was born.

Find out what’s missing from your market and fill that need!  Study your market. Find the holes, and then find a way to fill them.

If you don’t think you have the skills needed, find someone who does and market that person’s assets!

Example: think of celebrity agents. They don’t have the acting/dancing/singing skills themselves. But it doesn’t matter because they go out and find the talent, then they sell that talent!

A really powerful way to come up with unique ideas is to study other businesses that are NOT related to your market. If you’re in the online marketing field, look at the real estate business, the plumbing business or any other non-related business. If you look closely, with an open mind, you will find many creative and unique ideas that you can bring back to your own business and surprise your market! They will think you’re a creative genius!

Don’t hold back when you’re trying to come up with new and creative ideas. Let your brain take off - freely and unhindered. Think back to when you were 8 years old. Get back in touch with that “nothing is impossible” energy that children possess. That can be your greatest ally in business.

Every now and then I’ll come up with a completely original product idea, but usually it’s just stuff I see happening around me. I look at what’s already selling, what’s already (or is starting to become) popular.
I use my creativity to put new twists to existing “winning” ideas. That’s the shortest route to success!

By giving it a twist, it sort of becomes a unique product. Just learn to pay attention. Keep one ear on the ground. Notice what’s getting the most shelf space in bookstores. Visit discussion groups in your niche. Get on mailing lists, etc.

In short, get out there and hang out among your customers and competitors (either online, offline, or both.) Do that and you’ll never run out of ideas to write about.

However, I’d strongly recommend that you give your product idea a little “twist.”  Make it unique in some way so that it’s not the same ol’ product that everyone else is selling.

That little twist can make your product stand out and sell very well.

Here’s an example from the past…

When I first started my ‘Secret Collection’ of ebooks several years ago, no one was selling it the way I was. People were selling individual reports, on various niche subjects, but you rarely saw anyone put it together the way I had.

And there was a reason no one was doing it. It was difficult to group those products together and still maintain a “theme.”  I’m talking about subjects like online investigation, self defense, credit tips, beating speeding tickets, UFO’s, etc. None of these products had anything to do with each other.

Well, I decided to use the “secrets” theme. My main selling point (and headline) was.. “Discover Secrets You’re Not Supposed To Know About!”

And, in the package, I revealed online investigative secrets, self defense secrets, credit secrets, UFO secrets… and so on. Suddenly, all these products - on different subjects that normally could not be grouped together -  worked very well as a “package.”

My uniqueness in this case was the way I “packaged” the products, and of course the “secrets” hook that I used. The moment I gave it a “theme” it was a hit.

I got the “package/membership site” idea from Tom Hua’s “Free To Sell” package back in 2001. So it wasn’t an original idea. (Like I said, pay attention to the top marketers and you’ll get lots of ideas.)

But, I gave it a twist that was original. At least for the online crowd.

So… you don’t have to be an inventive genius to have a hot product. Just watch for what’s selling. Then, focus on solving problems, on providing solutions, on creating value for others, on making your product better than what’s already out there, and you’ll do fine.

Power Tip: Here’s another major reason for coming up with a unique product. Not only will the customers love your product (since they’re always after what’s “new” and “hot,” a unique product will also get other businesses in your field/niche interested in working with you.

Nothing can build your business faster than joint venturing (partnering) with other successful businesses. And nothing will get other businesses to want to partner with you more than a unique product that really solves the problem of your target market.

The Process

As soon as I get an idea for an ebook that gets me excited, I write it down. (Keep a pen and pad, or tape recorder, with you at all times.)

Then, I transfer it into a 14” by 17” sketch pad. It’s a drawing pad i.e. it contains blank sheets of paper, without ruled lines.

I designate at least one sheet to my new idea. And, then I just go crazy on it. The secret I’ve discovered is to forget about logic, linear thinking or organization. Just let go and pour out whatever is inside you at that moment.

In other words, my mind is usually going in 10 different directions when I scribble on the pad. One minute I’m writing a brief table of contents on one section of the page. The next minute, I’m writing a killer headline that just came to me, for that product. Pretty soon this large 14” x 17” page is filled up with scribbles, notes, gems that I brainstormed.

Everything that I can think of (relating to this product) gets recorded on this pad (table of contents, ads and salesletter titbits, cover design, formatting, etc.)

I also let the idea simmer in the back of my head for a few days (and nights) and each time I get bits and pieces of insight, I make a note of them all.

(It’s very important to let your mind relax and roam freely, in a limitless manner. That’s when some awesome ideas can come to you. After you’ve given your brain a goal to focus on, sleep on the idea and let your brain really go to work on it, unhindered.)

Ken Mathie
An Easy Way To Create A Popular Auto-Run CD Product For Family, Fun Or Profit - And All It Takes Is Just Two Hours more information click here

Coming Up With Winning Ebook Ideas

The standard way to come up with a winning ebook idea is to study your market. Find out what the problems and frustrations of your market is and pick a subject that people are desperately needing answers to.

You can also simply “ask” people what they want. If you already have a customer base, just ask them what kind of product they’re most interested in and are willing to pay for. Then, create that product for them.

The best way to ensure your ebook’s success is to choose topics that provide solutions to existing problems.

But there’s an easier way!

I’ll be honest… I don’t particularly like to work hard unless I absolutely have to. I don’t see a point to it. So, if there’s a shortcut to be found, I’ll find it - or I’ll create one!

Whenever I want to create a new product, I just look at what’s already selling well out there and I give that product/idea a unique twist.

Just follow the experts and top sellers, watch what’s hot on Clickbank.com’s Marketplace (i.e. what sells the most,) check out Amazon.com and see what’s moving there. Go to forums and look for common problems or complaints people are having.

Here are a few more resources you can use to do research for your product:

Copernic Desktop Search - This is a free software that searches multiple search engines simultaneously to find what you’re looking for.

NewsDirectory.com - Look at hundreds of newspapers all over the world.

Google Groups – See what’s hot and what people are talking about.

Planning The Outline & Content

Since this report is about creating products fast, you’ll notice me offering you some amazing shortcuts throughout this report that will help you get your ebook written super fast!

To get my outline and content setup, I just go back to the sketch pad (from above) and play with it. I’m one of those people who likes to see everything laid out in front of me if I am to arrange them in any kind of order or sequence.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be done on a large sketch pad, like I do. Find out what method works best for you and do that.

You can just as easily create a document on your computer and start jotting down ideas for the book there. Basically, you want to make a note of all the sub-sections you will want to talk about. Then, when you’re done listing these sections/chapters down, just arrange them in a sequence/order that makes sense. You’ve now got a table of contents, or at least the first draft of one.

Here’s an easy way to get some ideas on creating an outline for your book: just look at the existing books on the subject! Whenever possible, try to use what’s already out there, there’s no point in reinventing the wheel. Go to the library and pick out a book on the subject you’re writing about and see how they have it all laid out.

I’m not saying “copy” it word for word. Just get “ideas” on what to do. If the book you’re looking at has a good outline, you can model off of that. If the outline (table of contents, etc.) are hard to follow on that book, you can improve on it when creating your ebook! (So, you’ll get ideas on what to do and also what not to do by looking at existing samples of work.)

That should be the core mindset for you while you’re creating your own products:

Make your product better than what’s already out there!

I can’t tell you how much time to spend per day on each chapter because I don’t know what your lifestyle or schedule is like. Just spend some time working on the chapters, one at a time, and pretty soon you’ll have the ebook completed.

Here’s what I would suggest you do each time you sit down to work on your ebook: Look at the Table of Contents you’ve created and pick a subject/chapter that most interests you at that time. Work on that chapter!

You’ll enjoy the process a lot more if you’re writing about something that excites you at that moment.

There are many other benefits to doing this as well, which I won’t go into here. Let’s just say that when you’re excited about the subject you’re writing about, your reader will feel that excitement when she reads your ebook. And that’s always a good thing. There are too many boring writers (and books) out there. Yours won’t be one of those if you use the above technique.

Ken Mathie
An Easy Way To Create A Popular Auto-Run CD Product For Family, Fun Or Profit - And All It Takes Is Just Two Hours more information click here