Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

A Free, Powerful, and Credible Method to Promote Your Online Business
I'm a big believer in making smart investments -- that is, I won't hesitate to pay for marketing if I have good reason to believe that I'll reap big profits from the campaign. But at the same time, if there's an effective, free method of promoting...

Evaulating Web Site Performance
Setting up a website is the very first step of an Internet marketing campaign, and the success or failure of your site depends greatly on how specifically you have defined your website goals. If you don't know what you want your site...

EXIT Marketing Strategies... "keep selling after they've left."
EXIT Marketing Strategies... "keep selling after they've left." Marketing ONline or OFFline is about your MIX. MIX means the variety of strategies you use to promote yourself/ your site/ your wares. The purpose of a Marketing MIX is to attract...

How To Use The About Me Page On eBay
No matter what you sell online, or how you sell it, you will need to build a measure of trust with your customers. When selling through eBay, building that trust can be quite difficult – people worry about being scammed quite a bit. However,...

Internet Searching Hits Close to Home
Search Engine Marketing Convention in New York drew thousands of attendees eager to hear the latest news in online search, one of the hottest topics in marketing today. Why is it so hot? Consider this simple statistic: at the forum on local search...

 
Profit from Your Idea

Idea planning to come up with a moneymaking concept is much like creating a painting or writing a book. It starts with a blank canvas and visualization.

Brick by Brick

Write down the seed of your idea in one sentence. Describe three ways in which this idea could generate a profit. Ask yourself if this product, plan, or service will meet a need? Who will use it?

Use an exploration tool such as the following to brainstorm your idea:

Stick in there. Gather in a room with a blank wall or a whiteboard and give each participant a set of sticky notes. Then state your goal or idea. Let's say the goal is to generate ideas for XYZ Division to increase productivity levels. Have everyone write down three to five solutions and stick them on the board.

The facilitators should then designate three appropriate categories, such as Immediate Action, Pre-Planning and Not Appropriate - or something similar - and have the participants come up and arrange the sticky notes into the appropriate categories. This is an excellent technique for finding out what everyone is thinking.

Hammer It Out

In this phase you'll produce a plan for implementing your idea. The following processes will help you define the practical details to address.

Strategy definition. From the analysis you did in the structuring phase above, you'll be able to identify the resources you will need to implement these ideas, such as manpower. Does the idea create a viable solution? Is it unique? Can you move quickly with it?

Resource


planning. List all the resources you'll need to develop the idea into reality. Visualize its completion. How will you get there? Using the answers to the questions you asked in the definition phase above, set a timeline and a strategy for implementation and put this plan into an outline format or a project planning software tool. Or do another brainstorming session.

Will It Fly?

How will you know your idea planning has been successful? From the work you did in the building phase above, you should have enough information to come up with the following:

A value proposition. What benefit will your idea bring to your potential customers? To your company?

A format description. Just by pulling together the basic structure of your idea, you'll be able to consolidate it into a format that describes the idea in detail.

A promotion strategy. Your previous work will help you identify the steps you need to take to promote your idea, and you can brainstorm strategies that will do the best job. This part takes thought, research and focus.

Remember, right around the time you have an idea, someone else will have the same one. Who will be the first to develop it -- and sell it?


About the Author

Diane's online specialty is digital marketing. She is CEO of LocoNotion Idea Studios, Inc. (http://www.loconotion.com, a web development firm. She has years of prior experience in broadcast media, but has spent last nine year working online. She is located in corporate headquarters, Seattle, Washington.