Make Sure People Are Actively Searching For Your Product or Service Idea
Once you have identified your market interest and that you've chosen your product / service to offer, you need to make sure that people are actually looking for your product. You do not want to spend months and months developing a product only to find that no one wants to buy it! So please, before you go any further, make sure that
– a lot of (or at least enough) people are actively looking for your product / service online
– you can make profitable sales
– the market is not oversaturated with competition
– you create or develop a product niche that is yours, one that you can own.
There are multiple ways you can use to find out how many people are searching for your product. But let me limit myself to one quite efficient that you can use to get answers very quickly.
I personally use KeywordSpy.com. It is very helpful, I find. So far, I'm still using their free version since I only use for keywords, but should you need further services from them, by all means, use the tool as you please. You can type in words or phrases which you think people may be using in search of your product. Make sure you use specific words or phrases. Although broader terms will have larger numbers, this is not necessarily great. Keep in mind that your goal is to get highly targeted and focused prospects. For instance, if your product is a book or a guide about "Kung Fu fighting", you would not want everyone who's interested in "fighting" visiting your website, would you? You get the idea.
Next thing you need to do is taking a look at your competition. Learn as much as you can about your competitors. You can use Google.com to do this. Just type in the same keywords you used in the previous activity. You will see a couple of recommended web sites. Check them out, their products / services, how do they compare to yours? Analyze them to find a gap, something that they are missing. It is that one thing that will make you stand out! Is it prices? Do they lack wider selection? Do they lack a specialty? … If you're lucky, you will find that so many people are looking for your product / service idea, but that there are not enough companies to answer to this need. In other words, there'll be a huge market / demand, but low supply. That would be your super aha! moment.
Here are some great ways you can use to conduct a product research:
– ClickBank.com – You can use this to find products already selling online. You obtain quite a lot of useful information there.
– E-zines – Through these electronic magazines, you get more specific and thorough information about just about anything (product reviews, advice, how-tos, articles, etc.)
– Forums – In these, you will find discussion groups where participants share common, specific interests. They'll be exchanging messages and ideas on those interests. Reddit.com or DigitalPoint.com are some of the most popular ones.
– Blogs – You can use blogs to find out more about your prospects 'or customers' interests and opinions. For instance, using our previous keyword example, you could type "Kung Fu fighting blogs" in any search engine you prefer, and this will pull some information you could use to your advantage.
Once you have completed this step, you will have a much clearer and better understanding of your product / service as well as its online possibilities. Do not worry if you still feel stuck. Always remember that your goal is to disappear a gap, a missing important element or a problem that online consumers have, and offer the best possible solution for it.