Online Marketing: How to Learn What to Sell?
Widely spread mistakes
When people decide that they want to become online retailers, there are a number of initial errors they make. These errors are:
- New sellers get into highly-competitive areas. It means that they start to sell what everyone else does (DVDs, electronics, designer clothing etc.). The major problem about such markets is that if one wants to become successful there he will have to sell products in huge quantities.
- New sellers sell the products they know a lot about. In fact, it can be a successful strategy only in one case – when the products they know a lot about are in demand. Otherwise, they end up selling items no one wants to buy.
A few words about IDEA HOTSPOT
Lisa Suttora (WhatDoISell.com) has introduced the term “idea hotspot”. What’s that? According to Lisa it is a place that “provide[s] you with an unending source of new product ideas, of market trends, of developing niches, and product line education…It is a fertile ground for product ideas.”
Such places give you the information on what people are eager to buy (plus the things which are likely to be in demand in the near future and things which are already on their way out).
When you have decided which products to sell, you need to find a reliable source to buy them from. I suggest using dropshiparea database, which features dozens of worthy wholesale suppliers from all around the US.
In order to be successful you need to use more than just 1 or 2 sources of ideas:
- Newspapers
The sections that are of a great interest for you: lifestyle section business section and advertisements of big stores
- Consumer publications
Each niche has its own publications. These publications can be great sources for your ideas.
- Malls/brick-and-mortar stores
By talking to sales people you can gain valuable information on what is selling well at the moment.
- Web-pages
There are a number of internet sites of great interest (like www.trendwatching.com, www.influxinsights.com, www.trendhunter.com)
- Entertainment sources
There is a web-page, Imdb.com, that can supply you with the list of movies which are one their way out. You can buy the products related to the successful-likely movies in advance and then sell these products with high profits.
Put the ideas down
It is very useful to carry around a notebook or a phone where you can keep all you ideas.
Suttora continues:
“90% of ideas that you don’t write down will get lost…When you’re at these idea hotspots, if you see a hundred ideas for products to sell, you won’t be able to remember those. You’ve got to write them down in your product sourcing notebook and then go back and start researching them.”
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