10 Ways To Get New Product Ideas

1. Solve an existing problem for people. There are
   thousands of problems in the world. Create a product
   that can provide a solution to one of those problems.
   
2. Find out what's the current hot trend. You can find
   out what the new trends are by watching T.V, reading
   magazines and surfing the net. Just create a product
   that's related to the current hot trend.
   
3. Improve a product that is already on the market.
   You see products at home, in ads, at stores etc. Just
   take a product that's already out there and improve it.
   
4. Create a new niche for a current product. You can
   set yourself apart from your competition by creating a
   niche. Your product could be faster, bigger, smaller,
   or quicker than you competitor's product.
   
5. Add on to an existing product. You could package
   your current product with other related products. For
   example, you could package a football with a team
   jersey and football cards.
   
6. Reincarnate an older product. Maybe you have a
   book that's out of print and is no longer being sold.
   You could change the title, design a new front cover,
   and bring some of the old content up to date.
   
7. Ask your current customers. You could contact
   some of your existing customers by phone or e-mail
   and ask them what kind of new products they would
   like to see on the market.
   
8. Combine two or more products together to create
   a new one. For example, you could take a brief case
   and add a thermos compartment inside to keep a
   drink hot or cold.
   
9. Survey the people who visit your web site. You
   could post a survey or questionnaire on your web site.
   Ask visitors what kind of products they would like to
   see on the market.
   
10. You could create a new market for your existing
    product. For example, if you're selling plastic bottles
    to a pop company, you could turn around and sell
    those bottles to a fruit drink company.
    

Recommended Reading:Create Your Own Info Products

Blanket Buddies for Katrina Victims

A great idea from my friend Allie:

Like so many, I have been at a loss as to how to help those left homeless and so devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I've given money to the Red Cross, but basically I've felt totally useless. I've scoured the internet for alternative ways of helping to no avail.

Then it occurred to me that I have the ability to create a project myself. And "The Blanket Buddies Project" was launched. My committment is to organize the creation, collection and distribution of at least 1000 cozy handmade NO SEW fleece blankets for the children of this disaster. They only take a few hours to make, require no talent and are soft and oh so cozy. One can't help but feel security and comfort when wrapped up in one. They ooze love.

Will you help?

My thrown together homepage has information on how to make them.

Do you have others you can pass this on to?
Do you know places we can post a message?
Do you have contacts in groups like, sewing circles, church groups, school groups, ect, that you can contact and/or rally?

Five Ways To Win The Favor Of Search Engines

You've got a cool new website with all the works: cool Flash presentations, eye-catching colors, informative text, easy-to-use layout, and an interesting topic. You think your site is amazing, and you know that others will agree with you. If only they know it exists.

How do you make your website known? How do you make yours stand out among millions of others? You can spend lots of money on advertisement, but that will not work if you don't have the money to spare on advertising. So what do you do? Make search engines work for you, that's what!

Google, Yahoo, MSN, Lycos, Altavista - you want to be at the top of their results list. The higher your site is in a search results page, the better chances that it will be visited. The science behind making your site a popular search result is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Don't worry, though - even if SEO is referred to as a science, it is not all that complicated. You just need to take note of a few things, and before you know it, your site will have more visitors than you could ever dream of.

Here are five tips to ensure that your site would be a favorite of search engines all around the cyber world.

1. Give importance to substance over appearance
   Do you want to share your knowledge on a subject that you have authority on? Do you want to sell products? Do you want to build an online shrine for your favorite actress? Whatever topic you have chosen for your website, make sure that you are able to give useful information on it. Search engines work by scanning sites for keywords. They search text and completely ignore everything else. So if you have made your site rich in colors, don't forget to make it rich in content as well. After all, a beautiful layout can make people look, but relevant content is what will make them stay. Remember, in this day and age: content is king!
   
2. Know your topic well
   If you know much about your topic, you will know what people usually ask about it, and what they ask about it is what they will type in the search bar. When writing the content for your website, put yourself in your other people's shoes, people who will be your target audience or market. Know the possible questions they might have about your topic, and give answers in your site.
   
3. Learn from the best
   Take time to browse and read sites that get lots of visitors and have the same topic as yours. Take note of any recurring phrases in these sites' text. These phrases are most likely keywords. Incorporate them in your own site's content. Don't saturate your site with keywords, though. You don't want to sound redundant to your site visitor. A 3% density level would be enough.
   In searching for the right keywords, use Overture's services. It may take quite some time, as it is more of a trial-and-error method, but the results are conclusive, and a pattern can easily be observed.
   
4. Submit...and re-submit
   You will never get a certain job if you don't send in your application for it. The same thing applies to SEO. If you want your site to be recognized by search engines, then go out of your way to register your site with them. After a couple of weeks, search for your site by putting in the keywords you used in your content. If your site is still not coming up in the search results, do not give up, and just re-register and resubmit your site. It's possible that your initial registration was discarded without being processed. This usually happens because a lot of submissions are being done everyday.
   
5. Constantly update your site
   This can't be stressed enough: search engine spiders love sites which constantly change their content. You can't build your site and expect it to last forever without any updates. There will come a time when those search engine spiders would stop fetching your site for query requests. Here's a tip: integrate a blog program in your site. Blogs have a user-friendly interface that allows easy updates.
   

Additional Reading: Search Engine Ascent, Blogger's Edge

You've Written An Ariticle, Now What?

You've finally written your first article. Congratulations! Now what do you do with your article?

First you need to make sure to add a "how to publish" statement to the begninning of your article. You also need to end your article with a resource box.

A "how to publish" statement reads something like this:

"Please feel free to publish this article on your web site and/or in your e-book or newsletters with the authors resource box included and without any changes to the article. (Add your contact e-mail)" If you'd like them to inform you as to where and how your article will be used, just ask them to send a complimentary copy of the ezine, or a link to where your article is published.

A resource box appears at the end of an article. This is what makes your article a powerful viral marketing tool. It tells the reader valuable information about you, your services and the link to your website.

Here's an example of a resource box:

Debra Simpson, has been helping small business owners use the internet to market and grow their businesses. Her website, Magic In Words offers plenty of information to help you make "magic" with your words.

Next, begin submitting your article to article submission sites. These sites are specifically for articles and are where ezine publishers and web masters go for free content for the ezines and web sites.

Below are a few sites to get you started. The first few Article Submission Sites are Yahoo Groups. You have to be a member of the group and each group will have a subscribe address. Joining and submitting is very easy. Just go to their site and follow from there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ap-shorts --400 words or less

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/free-content

As you write articles, keep in mind that you can bundle the articles together to create an ebook. But, that will need to wait for another day!

Recommended Reading
Article Magic