My Top WordPress Plug Ins For Internet Marketers

July 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Blogging

Everyone has been asking me for a list of plugins that I use, so I thought I’d take a few today and list them all here. They are in no certain order, but these are ones I install with every blog I install no matter what niche it’s in or purpose it has!

These plugins rock!

TweetSuite - Automatically sends a tweet when you post to your blog, allows people to tweet your posts, displays your latest tweets, and more! KILLER!!

Auto Hyperlink ULRs - Automatically makes any links in your post clickable.

My Category Order - Allows you to list your blog categories in any order that you want.

Askimet - When you install WordPress this is automatically installed. You just have to activate it. This thing is a must have as it catches the SPAM you have to deal with on your blog.

PowerPress - Can you say free iTunes traffic? Not only will you get free traffic from iTunes, but this plugin will allow you to do a ton with podcasts to help you get traffic!

Tagalize It - Use this post to tag your keywords in your post and stay at the top of technorati for your keywords.

What Would Seth Godin Do - Allows you to post a message at the top or bottom of your page for first time visitors, and then a different message for return visitors. Great to use to advertise special offers, your optin form, and more!

Google Sitemap Plugin - The Google Sitemap Plugin automagically pings Google, Yahoo!, and MSN Search at regular intervals, notifying them of new content and/or changes to your site. You literally don’t have to do anything in order to make it “work.”

All In One SEO Pack - I only get about 20% of my traffic from the search engines, so I do little with SEO. However this plugin allows me to do what little I do VERY quickly and easily. Another must have!

Subscribe To Comments - When someone leaves a comment giving them the option to subscribe to it will get them back to your site. Recycling traffic is a VERY good thing. You’ll get a return visitor to do more for you than you will a new one!

This post will be continually updated….

Affiliate Marketing Videos

June 13, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Affiliate Marketing

This entire post is related to all the videos I do related to affiliate marketing. This is a great way for you to get a free education in affiliate marketing.

Each time I create a new video related to affiliate marketing, I’ll post it here for you. :)

How Outsourcing Can Grow Your Business

January 11, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Outsourcing Your Biz

The term “outsourcing“ refers to hiring others to complete a portion of your business workload. While this is a great way to free up some of your time, or complete projects you are not necessarily skilled in. Outsourcing some of your tasks can also help your business grow by leaps and bounds.

For instance, if you are in direct sales, you make money by selling products and recruiting people. Instead of spending your time answering emails, creating newsletters for your team and customers, or posting recruitment ads online, you could hire a virtual assistant to do those things for you. You will be able to take the time you would normally spend on those tasks and use that time to book extra parties.

If you are an internet marketer who creates and sells information products, a virtual assistant can handle administrative tasks such as distributing articles and press releases, answering emails, and researching new topics. You can hire a ghostwriter to write your articles, special reports, etc. This will allow you more time to market and sell your product.

If you feel as though you cannot afford to outsource, there are actually many ways to do so on a budget. You can start outsourcing one or two tasks a month; you can add to this number as your profits grow and you can afford to outsource more tasks.

You can also trade your products or services in lieu of payment. For example, if you specialize in designing graphics, you can offer to design a logo instead of sending cash payment. If you are in direct sales, offer to exchange something from your catalog. You may find a writer or virtual assistant who would be willing to make that trade.

Finding someone to outsource your work to is very easy. If you belong to a message board or forum that is business focused, you can ask other members that you know and respect for referrals. Some of the members that you know may be service providers, themselves.

You can also visit sites such as www.elance.com or www.guru.com and post a job opening for free. The site’s members can communicate with you through a messenger system and bid on your job. If you do list your job, you are not obligated to hire anyone. You can also post your job opening through a service such as www.craigslist.org.

Whichever way you go about posting your job, you will want to interview several candidates before you hire anyone. This can be done via email or phone. You should ask for referrals from others they have worked for in the past and to see samples of their work. Make sure they have a clear understanding of the project you want completed; both of you should understand the price that you will pay and when the project is due.

How Joint Ventures Can Increase Your Business

January 11, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Joint Ventures

When two or more people work together on a project in order to promote their services together, they form what is known as a joint venture, also known as a JV. This can be on a digital product, such as an e-book or MP3 recording or it can be on a tangible product. Joint ventures are a great way to increase your business and gain new customers.

When you work on a JV, you will be able to offer your current customers a new product; you can also attract new customers with your joint venture product. For instance, if you have a website targeted to people that would like to start a home business, you can team up with a successful virtual assistant and create an information product that explains how to start and manage a successful VA home business.

Your current clients may never have known what a virtual assistant was; and people who were specifically looking for information on becoming a virtual assistant, but didn’t know about your website, may now find you, simply because you are offering that product. Plus, you can become an affiliate for other products a virtual assistant might be interested in, and offer those products to your clients as well.

For instance, someone who is starting a virtual assistant business may not realize the importance of having a website. You can create a small report that explains the benefits a website will bring and include your affiliate links for a website builder or hosting company. Perhaps you can form another joint venture partnership with a web designer and they can help you write the report, or possibly offer you a commission per lead affiliate program.

Using the above example, if you wanted to create an information guide on becoming a virtual assistant, you could seek out successful VAs and send them an email with some information about the project you are seeking a partner for and ask if they would be interested in working with you. You can also find message boards and forums that are devoted to the work at home community and post a message letting people know what kind of joint venture you are seeking a partner for and ask if anyone is interested or knows someone that may be interested, in partnering with you.

Once you have a list of potential people to work with, you can start interviewing them. You’ll want to make sure that your personalities mesh, as you’ll be spending a bit of time working together. You’ll also want to make sure that they are competent and serious about their business. You will be relying on them to meet you half-way; you don’t want to get stuck doing all the work.

When you find the right person to team up with, working on joint venture projects can be fun and profitable. They can bring your business to a whole new level.

Want to use joint venture to sky rocket your sales? Then check out www.JointVentureSeeker.com

How To Install A Blog, Theme, And Plugins

January 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Free How To Videos

In this video, you’ll learn how to install a blog. Blogs are very important to your business in many ways. They can drive traffic, sell your products, brand your business and more.

The following videos will take you through installing a blog, editing your blog, changing the theme of your blog, and installing plugins for your blog.

Enjoy!

Watch The Install A Blog Video

Resources:

WordPress Plugins That I Use:
tomeymarketing.com/im-truth-newsletter/my-best-word-press-plugins

Get Massive Amounts Of Traffic With Blogging: tomeymarketing.com/recommends/TrafficHurricane

Are You A Chicken With It’s Head Cut Off?

January 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Internet Marketing

If you’re just getting started online, odds are that you are “running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off”. Let your imagination run wild on that one. :)

Seriously, you’re probably buying this and that, and just have no idea what you’re doing or where to go.

Well the first thing you have to do is decide what you want to be when you grow up.

Meaning decide HOW you want to make money.

Do you want to create products and sell them?
Do you want to promote other people’s products and get paid?
Do you want to do the “get paid to” things like surveys, offers and the like?
Do you want to create websites and collect advertising dollars?

Whatever it is that you want to be when you “grow up” you can get plenty of free information on the topic simply by visiting www.GuruMarketingArticles.com

Say you want to promote other people’s products for a commission. Then head over to www.GuruMarketingArticles.com and do a search for “affiliate marketing”.

Dive in, start reading, and take notes.

Once you’ve read all you possibly can, take a look at your notes, and create a plan of action so you can start making money as an affiliate marketer.

Have questions about some of the steps?

Then visit an Internet marketing forum like WarriorForum.com and ask for help…

It all has to start with your decision on the way you’re going to make money, which leads to you getting an education on how to do it.

You can’t just run around buying this and that waiting for your riches to come in. It doesn’t work like that.

No matter how you decide to make money online, you’ve got to learn to do it and then work at it to make it work.

Get started with deciding today…

How to Pull In As Much Profit As Your Wallet Will Hold

January 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Email Marketing

The fortune is in the list.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that said, well, I’d already have a fortune! :-)

However “broken-recordish” it may sound, it is a truthful statement. The fortune REALLY IS in the list.

Fact is, if you possess the knowledge of how to grow and profit from opt-in lists, you can pretty much write your own ticket.

And, if you’ll read the remainder of this article, I’ll pass that knowledge right on to ya.

It comes down to getting folks to do four things…

1. REQUEST. First things first, you need to convince people to “opt-in” to your list. That is, get them to join your list of their own free will.

Usually, this involves giving away a mini-course, report or newsletter from your web site. All you need is..

- An Attention Grabbing Title. (I could have chosen “4 Keys to Successful Email Promotions” for this article, but is that as attention-grabbing as “How to Pull in As Much Profit As Your Wallet Will Hold From Opt-In Lists”?)

- A Handful of Bulleted Benefits. (A short list of 4-6 desirable things subscribers will learn if they join your list. Think “what’s in it for me?”)

- An Opt-In Submission Form. (Your autoresponder system will provide this for you.)

NOTE: The BEST way to get folks to join is to embed the above mentioned items DIRECTLY in the most prominent place you have your site visitors’ attention. Usually this is 3-5 paragraphs into your sales letter or 1/3 of the way into an ezine article.

2. RECEIVE. After visitors to your site have “requested” information by joining your list, it’s critical that your emails be delivered successfully to their inbox. With all of the filters in place (among other hazards) this can be quite a chore.

One thing you’ll want to do for certain is check your SPAM rating to make certain it’s in an acceptable range. Again, most of the better autoresponder services offer this feature for you.

You can also do things like…

- Get your subscribers to “approve” mailings from you.

- Authenticate yourself as a legitimate mailer when you receive a “response challenge” from protection services such as Spam Arrest.

- Use alternative formats of your email messages such as “downloadable email messages” in PDF format.

3. READ. When your emails successfully arrive at the inboxes of your subscribers, another task awaits - getting them to actually open your message and read it.

This is going to depend upon your “subject line”. It is paramount that your subject line be intriguing enough to convince your readers to stop what they are doing and take a look inside.

One way to get this done is to create a swipe file of email subject lines that have convinced YOU to read the messages and then modify those subject lines for your own use.

Ex. I received an email that had the subject line of “This affiliate tip is almost too easy” that caught my attention and forced me to read the associated message.

This subject line could easily be used in a variety of different niches…

- This dieting tip is almost too easy
- This time management tip is almost too easy
- This marriage saving tip is almost too easy

4. RESPOND. When you have convinced your subscribers to open your email message and read its contents, the only remaining “task” is to get them to respond.

You want them to take action. Click a link. Go somewhere. Ultimately, spend money with you.

The only way you’ll be able to do this is follow a simple catch phrase I’ve been teaching for years: “useful, but incomplete”.

It simply means this: your messages must provide content that is useful to your subscribers (otherwise, they’ll unsubscribe faster than you can say “oops”!), but is also “incomplete” in that there is some additional offer that could enhance or maximize that content.

Ex. You might write an article that shares “7 Ways to Profit With Autoresponders” to send to your list. That’s “useful” information to those who are interested in that particular topic. It’s also “incomplete” because they need an autoresponder service to put the information into action. That’s your cue to promote your recommended autoresponder service.

See how it works?

If you want to pad your wallet with profits by using opt-in lists, this is how you do it:

Get people to do these four things

- Request
- Receive
- Read
- Respond

This is a system that has never failed, will never fail. I’ve used it. Others have used it.

Now, it’s your turn to use it.

——————————
For the first time, ever, Jimmy D. Brown is sharing his simple, yet powerful 6-step system that will show you how to grow your list, provide your readers with the content they crave and start making more money than you ever expected from your list. Do I have your attention yet? Then visit MyEasyListProfitSystem.com to get your copy of the List Profit System today.
——————————

3 Incredibly Simple, but Outrageously Powerful Keys To Guaranteeing Your Email Messages Are Read

January 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Email Marketing

There’s nothing that comes close to its power in online marketing.

In fact, many of the most critical elements of eBusiness are tied to it: joint ventures, newsletter publishing, automated follow-up, article distribution, free reports, autoresponder messages and eCourses, networking… the list could go on and on.

Of course, I am referring to EMAIL MARKETING. It is impossible to be successful online without some form of marketing via email.

Nothing else can boost your business like a good list and an understanding of how to use it.

You can *literally* send a mailing in the morning and earn several thousand dollars by the end of the day with email marketing.

What I want to share with you in today’s lesson is how to increase your email marketing leads, sales and profits. So, let’s get at it…

–> Develop an attention-grabbing subject line.

Russell Crowe would have never won an Academy Award for Gladiator if no one had watched the movie. Britney Spears wouldn’t have gone quadruple platinum with her latest CD if no one listened to her music.

And you ain’t gonna earn a single penny in profits from your email marketing if folks don’t read the message you send.

It’s one thing to send an email out to 50,000 prospects, it’s another thing to get any of them to read it.

And whether or not you need to start writing your Oscar acceptance speech depends upon how well you craft the “subject” line of your email promotion message.

There are three keys to writing subject lines that are so compelling that the recipient is practically forced to click and open your email.

1. Personal. There is something both attention-grabbing and exciting about seeing your name in the subject line of an email.

For one thing, we just love to see our own names. Nothing grabs our attention quicker than something that is specifically about us or for us.

And, for another, personalization *typically* means it isn’t SPAM. While some spammers do have access to databases with our names, for the most part their lists are built by harvesting emails.

So, when we see our name in the subject line, we immediately are drawn to it…

“Jimmy, here is the information you requested”
“Jimmy, I’d like to give you a free copy”
“Jimmy, did you forget about this?”

Almost every good autoresponder or email distribution system will have a “personalization” feature that will allow you to automatically insert your prospect’s name into your email messages when sending your mailings. It works like this…

A. Person joins your list through a subscription form, which captures their name and email address.

B. You insert a predetermined code (like ) that your autoresponder or mailing system provides you, into the email message.

C. The system automatically converts that tag into the actual recipient’s name before delivering the email.

Voila – you’ve got personalized emails. You can generally use these personalization features in both your SUBJECT line of the email and the BODY of the actual email message itself.

An additional attention-grabbing feature to the ‘ol subject line is to TARGET your audience. Of course, you will *always* want to send your emails to a targeted audience. I.E. Don’t send your Wrestling email to a homemakers’ list. :o)

For example: I recently sent a mailing out to a smaller list I have of folks who are interested in reprint rights to products. I had made reprint rights available to my new product, and I wanted to let them know about the licenses. Here are some sample subject lines that I might have used…

“New reprint rights released today…”
“Reprint rights are available…”
“Sell this new product and keep every penny”

You may receive 500 emails a day, but if you are interested in reprint rights (and you would be, or you wouldn’t be on that list) then this particular subject line is going to stand out when you download your emails.

When you combine personalization AND targeted audience, then you have a very compelling subject line…

“Jimmy, new reprint rights released today…”
“Jimmy, reprint rights are available…”
“Jimmy, sell this new product and keep every penny”

That’s an email I’ll read every time. :o)

2. Powerful. Another key to writing an email subject line that entices the reader to take a look at your message is to use “power words.”

A “power word” is a word that appeals to the senses. It’s been shown over and over that we do not buy based on logic, but rather on emotion. Email marketing works on that same premise.

A few “power words” include: Free, New, Exclusive, Amazing, Fast, Results, Guaranteed, Unlimited, Step-by-Step, Overnight, etc.

Etc. means “and so on.” Don’t put “etc.” in your subject line. That’s not a power word. :o)

“Power words” are strong motivators for reading further. Why? Because they trigger our emotions. They create curiosity. They are compelling.

So, use them.

— Sidebar —

Since I’ve mentioned something you SHOULD include in your subject line, let me also mention something that you SHOULD NOT use.

Avoid two things like you avoid an angry rattlesnake… hype and in-your-face symbols.

Don’t make outlandish claims like “Earn $50,000 overnight.” If it isn’t believable, then folks will simply delete your email without ever reading it.

And for goodness sake, don’t use “in-your-face” symbols!!!!!!! No one reads *****URGENT******* or (((((Read Now))))) or
@@@Newsflash@@@

Kind of gets the same response as that obnoxious alarm clock at five in the morning.

In other words, it’s a turn off! :o)

— End of Sidebar —

Another “type” of power words is a DEADLINE: 24 hours only, next 3 days, only 5 will be accepted, the first 10, etc.

Power words, especially the word “FREE” are particularly effective in getting people to read your email. Combine a power word with a deadline and you’ve got a winner.

3. Promising. The third key is to present a desirable result. Your subject line must make a promise. It must inform the reader, in that split-second that they view it, that there is something that awaits them if they read your email.

And that something must be desirable. It must be something that the reader does not want to miss out on. It must appeal to the emotions and pull the reader to the edge of their seat like they were waiting for the climax of a really good movie.

Your subject line should create expectation.

Understand this: folks don’t buy products because they want your product… they buy products because they want the result of your product. We buy exercise equipment because we want to look good. We buy candy bars because we like the taste. And we visit the dentist because we ate too many candy bars. :o)

We revolve around results. We work because we want the paycheck. We drive our vehicles because we want to get somewhere. We play golf because we enjoy it. We are a results-driven society.

By creating an email subject line that promises results you create expectation. Look at the difference between these two subject lines…

“Free 7-day eCourse released today…”
“Free 7-day eCourse you can obtain in 5 minutes…”

Both have a power word. Both are fairly interesting. But…

…which one creates expectation? The second one makes a promise… I can have it in 5 minutes!

This is one of the biggest keys in email marketing, and yet is often overlooked. It amazes me how many ezine publishers, for example, have this subject line…

“Bob’s Newsletter, Issue 212?

Whew, hold me back. I can’t wait to read that. :o)

Sure, some folks will read it anyway — especially if you have a loyal readership who knows your stuff is first rate.

But, I don’t care WHO you are, you will ALWAYS have better results with a subject line that creates expectation.

You can apply these three keys, “Personal, Powerful and Promising” to any form of email marketing you use… autoresponders, newsletters, free reports, solo mailings, joint venture offers, virtually anything to do with email marketing.

Get this right and it will be time to start working on the ‘ol Academy Awards acceptance speech for your Best Email Oscar. :o)
…………………….
Ready to learn more from Jimmy D. Brown about getting your subscribers to open, read and act upon the messages you send them? Then grab your copy of Subject Line Secrets today at www.MySubjectLineSecrets.com Not only will you find out which words trigger your readers to click on your emails, you will also get 20 proven templates you can start using right away.

How I Get Subscribers To Read My Emails

January 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Email Marketing

Did you notice the title of this article? It’s going to be important in just a minute, so glance back at it one more time…

“How I Get Subscribers To Read My Emails”.

Any list publisher in the world knows in order to get subscribers responding to their email messages, those subscribers must first READ those email messages.

The question is - how to pull it off?

Let’s face it, just blasting out a message to your list won’t make the grade these days. It’s hard enough getting the darn thing delivered properly. Getting subscribers to actually read your mailing takes a bit of work.

And yet there IS a very systematic, very scientific formula for getting list members to take a look at your emails and read what you’ve got waiting for them.

It’s called - PRAYER!

Well, maybe that’s not the formula but it certainly couldn’t hurt. LOL

Getting back to the point, it’s all about crafting powerful “subject lines”.

The reason you’re here reading this is because the title in this article got your attention long enough to get you to take action.

So, it obviously worked.

Which prompts two important questions:

1. Why did my title work well enough to get you to read it and respond?

2. How can you apply the same technique I used to see results with your emails?

Let’s break down the subject line I used, “How I get subscribers to read my emails”, into three important keys as we answer those two questions…

Key 1 : Focus On The End Result.

One of the things that undoubtedly caught your attention when you originally read my title was the fact that it spoke of some enticing results that I was achieving, that YOU would like to achieve as well…

“get subscribers to read my emails”

That’s an end result that every email marketer wants to achieve, getting their subscribers to actually open up and read their emails.

So, from the beginning there is this indication, this hint, that I am about to share something that has already been proven to produce desirable results.

That’s all ad copy is, folks, whether it’s a salesletter or a classified ad or an email subject line. The primary objective is to get the reader thinking about the END RESULT.

Start with the end in mind.

What potential results can you promise to your subscribers if they open your email and take a look inside?

I assure you, when a man or woman on the other end of the line gets your email, that’s what they want to know - “What’s in it for me?”

You should never click the “send” button until you have made dead certain that something in your subject line appeals to the wants and desires of the individuals who are on your list.

Specifically, focusing on a desirable result (or lack of results, if you are using the “fear of loss” approach) that is so interesting to your subscribers that they stop in their tracks to read what you’ve got inside.

Start with the end results in mind: “get subscribers to read my emails”.

Whatever results YOUR specific list wants to achieve - as it relates to the mailing you are about to send -

* Speed read 150 pages an hour
* Get free airline tickets
* Raise a child model
* Take an extra day off each week
* Stop headaches for good
* Lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks
* Cut wedding costs in half
* Save your marriage
* Quit smoking in 30 days

After you’ve decided what “end result” you want to focus on, there is a second key to consider…

Key 2: Give Them An Example To Follow.

Learn this and learn this well: nothing - absolutely nothing - speaks louder than personal results.

How many times have you asked a man or woman who has lost a lot of weight…

“How did you do it?”

Just the other day the youth pastor at my church invited me to speak to the youth during a Wednesday night service. I accepted and for forty-five minutes those teenagers sat quietly, hanging on my every word.

After the service was over, the youth pastor came to me and said those magical words, “How did you do it?”

He went on to explain that they are rarely quiet with him and he has a hard time getting them to pay attention. He was so interested in learning how I did it that he dropped by my home the next day to ask me more questions.

Nothing - absolutely nothing - speaks louder than personal results.

* How did you lose that weight?
* How did you get those youth to listen to you?
* How did you get your lawn so green?
* How did you raise two great kids?
* How did you get that promotion?
* How did you teach your toddler to swim?

You get the attention of your subscriber by hinting at results, but you reel them in by giving them details on how you personally achieved those desirable results.

If we have a pattern to follow, we can do it ourselves.

And that’s what we really want.

Notice my subject line: “How I get subscribers to read my emails”.

* How I speed read 150 pages an hour
* How I get free airline tickets
* How I raised a child model
* How I take an extra day off each week
* How I stopped headaches for good
* How I lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks
* How I cut wedding costs in half
* How I saved my marriage
* How I quit smoking in 30 days

Every single one of us that desires a result, wants to know how to achieve it. And we’d rather not go to the pains of trying to figure it out ourselves.

We’d much rather have someone who has achieved what we want to achieve show us how to do it.

That’s why you are reading this article. Does my system work? You tell me. :-)

You wouldn’t be here unless it did.

But, there’s a third key as well…

Key 3 : Use A Proven Template To Save Time And Increase Results.

Now, to be completely honest with you, this technique won’t work if you continue using it every single time you do a mailing to your list.

While you do want to hint at results and even mention personal results, you cannot simply plug in the same subject line over and over again…

* How I make money as an affiliate
* How I make money with joint ventures
* How I make money with my ezine
* How I make money with pay-per-clicks
* How I make money with banners
* How I make money with autoresponders

I mean, that’s gonna get old after a while. It’s gonna lose its luster. It’s not going to be nearly as effective after folks continue seeing it over and over again.

That’s why you need to keep a set of proven effective subject line templates on hand, so you can “copy and paste” them every time you need a “grabber” subject line for your mailings. Watch what your favorite ezine authors do and you’ll come up with some good ones, or you can purchase a set of hot subject lines that you can use any time.

So, that’s how I get subscribers to read emails. I encourage you to do those three things with your own opt-in list…

Focus On The End Result.
Give Them An Example To Follow.
Use A Proven Template To Save Time And Increase Results.

…………………….
Ready to learn more from Jimmy D. Brown about getting your subscribers to open, read and act upon the messages you send them? Then grab your copy of Subject Line Secrets today at www.MySubjectLineSecrets.com Not only will you find out which words trigger your readers to click on your emails, you will also get 20 proven templates you can start using right away.

Idea Hangouts: Where to Find Hot Product Ideas to Use For Creating Your Next Best-Selling eBook

January 7, 2009 by Liz Tomey  
Filed under Product Creation

Idea Hangouts: Where to Find Hot Product Ideas to Use For Creating Your Next Best-Selling eBook

46,094.

That’s how many times I’ve been asked “Where can I find hot product ideas to write about in my next eBook?”

Really. I’ve been keeping count. :o)

OK, so it’s probably not quite that many times, but you get the idea.

I get asked that question a LOT.

And so, I’ve decided to share my favorite “idea hangouts”. That’s right … “idea hangouts.” It’s been my experience that there are specific places where hot product ideas are always gathered. I call them “idea hangouts.”

*** Idea Hangout #1 ***

One of the “idea hangouts” that I’ve identified is Amazon.com.

Amazon.com is the web’s largest bookstore.

It’s also a community center for new product ideas. I use it as one of my top brainstorming resources. Again and again I visit this site to come up with topics to write about.

What makes Amazon.com so useful as a research tool for getting new ideas is their searchable database of books. There are thousands of great ideas lurking in there if you just know how to use it.

And that’s what I’m here for. :o)

I’m going to show you how to find hot product ideas with Amazon.com anytime you want.

It’s really a matter of three simple steps …

STEP 01 : >>> Decide Upon A Broad Category. When brainstorming ideas, you must begin with a broad category to work with. Some examples might be: weight loss, marketing, dating, travel, baseball.

So, you need that ahead of time. Figure out a broad subject that you know is popular (I.E. You know that losing weight is ALWAYS going to be a popular subject, as is “making money.”).

As an example for this article, I’m going to choose GOLF.

STEP 02 : >>> Search Amazon’s Database. After picking your broad topic to research, it’s time to visit Amazon.com.

Specifically, you’re going to SEARCH their database of books they are selling.

Upon arriving at their site, locate their SEARCH form. At the time of this writing, it was in the upper left hand corner of their main page. Pull the menu down and select BOOKS from the options.

In the space provided, type in whatever broad category you chose. I’d type in “Golf”. (You don’t need quotation marks)

If you did indeed start with a broad category, then hundreds (or even thousands) of book listings should appear as a result of the search.

STEP 03 : >>> Brainstorm Ideas From The Listings. Let the brainstorming session begin! Now it’s time to look at the books that are listed and write down as many possible ideas as you can find.

Look for the different TYPES of books written about the subject, identifying different THEMES, STYLES and SUBCATEGORIES.

Let’s look at an example …

When I searched for “Golf”, I was able to immediately spot dozens of great ideas. Here are a handful …

1. Becoming a better golfer. There are many golf books available in this area, covering everything from “A-Z of Golf Shots” to specific topics such as “Improving Your Short Game.” There were lots of different themes from “learning to break 100” to “shaving 10 shots off your score” to “7 shots that will change your golf game forever.”

2. Guides to Golf Courses. Again, we have many different ideas here. Specific golf guides like “Florida golfing”, “golfing in Tennessee” and “golfing the Robert Trent Jones trail” appear, as well as books on “the best golf courses in America,” “best kept secrets: great golf courses you’ve probably never played,” and “golf vacation guides.”

3. Profiting from Golf. More ideas pour in with “opening a golf repair business,” “becoming a golf retailer,” “learning how to caddy” and “buying & selling used golf clubs.” What about “running an online golf auction”, “organizing a golf tournament for profit” or even “writing information products about golf!”

4. Golf and Business. There are millions of dollars in business deals negotiated on the golf course every single year. And there are books available to teach folks how to get it done. “How to negotiate business deals during golf outings,” “Legal golf tax deductions for businesspeople,” and “business seminars and golf: how to mix training and fun for maximum profit” are just a few more ideas worth exploring.

5. Golf Products. My, my, my there are so many ideas floating around in here! Everything ranging from reviews of the latest golf equipment to ratings of golf courses to discounts on golf packages. Resource guides to finding the best deals on golfing products, how to negotiate discounts, and how to find the best products for your specific golf game also come to mind as product ideas.

One Broad Category (Golf)
+ Amazon.com Searchable Database of Books = 28 Potential Product Ideas

See how easy that was? I found TWENTY-EIGHT potential new product ideas (and there were MANY MORE that I didn’t mention in this article) from a simple brainstorming exercise using ONE “idea hangout.”

There’s got to be a best-seller in that bunch somewhere. And certainly with a little “mix -n- match” I can come up with a hit product with these ideas.

Not bad, eh?

So, now it’s YOUR turn. It’s a simple system for coming up with product ideas anytime you want.

Like right now.

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Small Reports Fortune” - if you can write 7-15 page small reports, you can earn a living online working just a few hours each week from your home. Look for his EXCLUSIVE formula “Creating A Six-Figure Income With Small Reports” at www.ReportsForCash.com

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