I started following Internet businesses back in the mid-90's and continue to be amazed at the variety and sheer number of creative business techniques and selling ideas that I've seen during that time.
Of all the trends, promotions, sales, and marketing ploys I witnessed, I am continually amazed at one particular selling strategy I've seen that has enormous power and sales potential yet very few marketers ever consider using it.
Here it is:
One of the hottest "types" of information products online today are "how to" guides or instructions that let users accomplish tasks and projects that they didn't know how to do previously.
In every niche, it seems, there are opportunities for developing these types of products. People are somehow attracted or drawn to learning about subjects that will help them fulfill their dreams.
But that's not exactly the strategy that I want to mention here. People buy these "how to" products in great numbers; but there is even a more attractive strategy that some have developed that outsells the "how to do it" products hands down.
It's the type of product that actually accomplishes the task for you. You buy the product and it automatically provides you a result or an outcome.
Here are a couple of examples:
Instead of buying an ebook that explains "ten different ways to identify key words for your specific niche web site," you would sell a ton more products if you developed a piece of software that simply and automatically created that same list of key words for you - no fuss, no work, no hassle.
Here's another: many new business owners will buy information products about how to set up and develop a profitable web site. But the real money will be made by those creative types that offer to set everything up and get the web site running for you - without your involvement (or with minimal intervention).
People are impatient. They are anxious to be gratified immediately when they purchase a product (benefit.) Many want to learn; but many, many more want all the work done for them.
If you think about ways to make products and systems easy to use, "automatic," push a button and it's done, "system in a box," etc, you will be on the road to unlocking one of the Internet's great marketing strategies that many don't understand or think about.
