How to Think Like a Marketer…

August 1, 2008 by Jon
Filed under Everything Else

Here’s a post I wrote in the Wealthy Affiliate forums. I thought it would be helpful to my blog readers…

How to Think Like a Marketer:

Here’s the key in my opinion…

Stop trying to find a niche or a product to promote. Instead go find a problem. Seriously, just think about a problem people have in life. It could be a very generalized problem most everyone has at some point (e.g. not enough money, trying to find a boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) or a specific problem affecting only a certain amount of people (e.g. owing the IRS back taxes, adults with ADHD, etc).

Whatever, just find a problem.

Then go research your problem. Pretend that you suffer from the problem, and that you desperately want to find a solution to it. You want a way out. You want to find relief from the pain and burden this problem is placing on you.

So you go out and start doing Google searches. Not keyword research! Just pretend you’re a real person with a real problem, and start finding a solution like a normal person would through normal search engine searches (very few people have problems and seek solutions from the Google Keyword Tool ).

Start taking notes about what you find. What are the main web sites that deal with the problem? Are there support groups? Are there forums? If yes, join the forums and start reading and eventually asking questions.

Also through this searching you will naturally discover if there are products being promoted to resolve the problem. What are those products? Do they have affiliate programs? How good are the sites doing in offering the products as viable solutions to the problem?

Only after you have picked a problem and done this type of research will you begin to know if it’s something that you’re interested in pursuing, and if it will be viable. You’ll also pick up on how hungry people who really suffer from the problem are for a solution (i.e. do they just like to whine or are they really seeking a solution). Finally since you didn’t start with keyword research, your notes should contain many different areas of the problem, questions people are asking, tips and suggestions people offer, etc. You take that list and do your keyword research based on it (not the other way around).

So to recap, you don’t find a product to sell, or even a niche itself. You find the problem first. And you don’t have to think like a marketer. Instead you think like you’re a person with the problem, and you go out and find a solution to it. Then you can sound authentic when you finally begin writing articles and putting up a blog or a web site, or starting a mailing list, or whatever. Maybe you don’t have the problem yourself, but you’ve immersed yourself in it long enough to truly feel for the people that do, and you’ll have an attitude of helping them find a solution so they can get out from the pain and burden. When you truly can relate to and understand the mindset of the people who have the problem, and actually care about them and want them to find relief, you won’t have to sell anything. You’ll come across as authentic by default and they’ll be much more likely to trust anything you recommend.

My 2 cents…

PS. If you can’t find a quality product that solves the problem, then maybe YOU can create one!