Q & A: "How Do I Get Started as a Product Marketer?"
by Marty Foley
This article is based on a question I received from one of my web site visitors.
[Question from anonymous]: "Please tell me how to test market a product to see if there is interest in buying a product. I want to get started in direct marketing & drop shipping, but am a little confused on test marketing a product first."
[Marty]: You've got the right perspective: "Test before you invest." Before you spend money on any test ads, you should do some homework. Smart marketers find a want or need first, and then - only then - find the appropriate products(s) or service(s) to fill it.
Research the field to determine if others are marketing similar items successfully, as well as how and where they are reaching their prospects. You'll improve your chances in most cases if you creatively imitate what's working for others, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
After you've gotten some indication that others are selling similar items successfully, consider how you can reach your target prospects without blowing your marketing budget. You have the option of using paid advertising or other, more creative means of reaching your prospects, such as various forms of free publicity.
Some of your greatest expenses in a typical direct marketing business besides product inventory (and even if you're marketing on the Internet, you're essentially in the direct marketing business), are marketing, postage, and printing. Of course, the Internet can eliminate some or all of these expenses, but some may still be involved, depending on your situation.
Drop shipping has the advantage of letting you test market products very inexpensively, without investing in inventory, but the profit margin (generally 40-50% at best) is not that great. Drop shipped products therefore generally work best when marketed as a related sideline to other products or services you have exclusive rights to or otherwise control.
Note that these guidelines can also be applied toward affiliate programs, the Internet equivalent of drop shipping. And you can usually join them free so you can test market the products with very little risk.
It's easier and cheaper to test market something if you already have a means in place for reaching prospects. Let's say you publish a print or email newsletter, have a web site, a print catalog, a mailing or opt-in email list, or other means for reaching prospects. Having such a means already in place is the ideal situation. You can then approach your increasing customer base with new related offers, while your per-item marketing costs continually drop.
In such case, the items that will sell best are those that fit the target audience you're currently reaching. For example, it wouldn't make sense to try to sell golf clubs to buyers of automotive tools; you'd try to offer other things related to car buffs, such as auto magazines, car books, or other related products and services.
In other words, don't even try to sell products/services unrelated to what you're already selling, unless you're willing to build a related line of offers in the *other* field in which you are test marketing. Diversification is smart, but do so in a cohesive manner, making sure everything you offer fits a certain theme and synergistically reinforces everything else.
But let's say you don't already have a means for reaching prospects. That is the hardest and riskiest scenario, because then your marketing expenses are greatest, yet your knowledge of the business is slimmest, making these guidelines that much more crucial to follow.
Instead of looking for that rare smash hit "dream product," look at the big picture. Select a field that you're interested in, and which you are willing to develop a line of related products and/or services around.
Once you've started making some money, don't run out and get that yacht just yet. Plow at least most of your income back into the venture and immediately start looking for related items to add to your line.
In a nutshell, first identify a paying market (or markets), determine how you can reach the market(s) repeatedly while keeping your costs low, diversify your line of products and/or services, and keep at it. That's a success formula you can bank on.
Discover proven products and services you can profit from through the winning Internet affiliate programs revealed at: http://AffiliateProfitInfo.com/programs/best.htm Also get Marty's popular book, Internet Marketing Goldmine, in print or electronic (PDF) format with Visa/MC/Amex/Discover at: http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?IM6502_IMG or by phone: 713-467-8626 or 713-467-3933
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