What's hot in 2005
Every now and then I get a question that goes, "Mr. X, direct
marketing sounds great, and I want to jump right in. I'm a bit confused, though--what's 'hot,' what product should I sell?"
This is a pretty good question, so I thought I'd take a bit of time today to answer it.
First off, you want to sell a product to an "evergreen" category- this means a category that will be around forever because people are always interested. Some examples are, how to make more money, how to lose weight, how to get in shape, how to pay less taxes, how to profit in real estate, how to play better golf, etc., etc. What you don't want is a "trendy product" that fades quickly--anyone remember "Oliver North" T-shirts? That's an example of a product not to sell.
Secondly, you want a product that leads to repeat sales, or sales of similar products. All the money in your business is in the "back end"--repeat sales to existing customers. People who want to play better golf will buy golf product after golf product because they're passionate. Bodybuilders will spend fortunes on supplements and information that will help them put an ounce of muscle on their body. Martial arts guys are always looking for new and clever ways to win a fight.
Thirdly, you want a product you can charge a lot for. That's why "gadgets" are hard to make work--people will only pay so much for a can opener, or a blender, no matter how much better they are than an existing gadget. That's why I love selling information products--people will pay hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousand of dollars for information that will make them healthier, wealthier, and happier. The great thing about information products is the "cost of goods" is very low, so there's a lot of profit.
Anyways, that should give you a few ideas of "what's hot" in 2005.
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
PS Start your skills building knowledge for way less than a semester of college--go to www.michaelkimble.com/toolkit right now
marketing sounds great, and I want to jump right in. I'm a bit confused, though--what's 'hot,' what product should I sell?"
This is a pretty good question, so I thought I'd take a bit of time today to answer it.
First off, you want to sell a product to an "evergreen" category- this means a category that will be around forever because people are always interested. Some examples are, how to make more money, how to lose weight, how to get in shape, how to pay less taxes, how to profit in real estate, how to play better golf, etc., etc. What you don't want is a "trendy product" that fades quickly--anyone remember "Oliver North" T-shirts? That's an example of a product not to sell.
Secondly, you want a product that leads to repeat sales, or sales of similar products. All the money in your business is in the "back end"--repeat sales to existing customers. People who want to play better golf will buy golf product after golf product because they're passionate. Bodybuilders will spend fortunes on supplements and information that will help them put an ounce of muscle on their body. Martial arts guys are always looking for new and clever ways to win a fight.
Thirdly, you want a product you can charge a lot for. That's why "gadgets" are hard to make work--people will only pay so much for a can opener, or a blender, no matter how much better they are than an existing gadget. That's why I love selling information products--people will pay hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousand of dollars for information that will make them healthier, wealthier, and happier. The great thing about information products is the "cost of goods" is very low, so there's a lot of profit.
Anyways, that should give you a few ideas of "what's hot" in 2005.
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
PS Start your skills building knowledge for way less than a semester of college--go to www.michaelkimble.com/toolkit right now
