While looking for a guide to nail down what to sell online, I came across the Thirty Day Challenge training from Caroline Middlebrook’s website. With a sign-up, I gained an invitation to pod casts and audio recordings of the tutorials which were delivered each work day over a period of 30 days.

Days One through Three of this online training course were primarily focused on places to get ideas on what to sell online. While the trainers do not specify which products specifically would make money online, they make a good attempt in providing tips and tools for users to figure this out on their own. Holistically, the coverage of the entire 30-day program encompasses:

• Market Research
• Build Traffic
• Conversion Strategies
• Creating a Product

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One of the most inspiring methods I’ve found online is the potential of Blogs as tools to help us sell
online. While blogs have become tremendously popular, this channel of self expression has been successfully turned into a money making tool.

Most money making bloggers often utilize blogs as publicity and promotional tools for their other products. However, with the stiff competition from the millions of blogs online, each of them fighting for attention, bloggers have to work hard to carve a niche for themselves. They need to be creative in their traffic generation strategies.

Pay per click advertisements are often a source of side income for these blogs. While this money making channel may seem puny at the beginning, large volume of incoming traffic has the potential to help the blogger earn thousands of dollars.

A recent great example of this is Shoemoney, who recently shocked the Blogosphere by revealing the outrageous income he is generating from Google Adsense alone. He raked in a whopping $132,994.97 just for the month of  August. This was generated from 125,175 clicks, about 1% of the 13 million page impressions. (Oh, apparently Google Adsense income is just his side income. His blog is
actually his publicity tool for other products that he sells online.)

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Visiting trade shows is obviously one of the possibilities anyone would look at when seeking for products to sell online. I’ve been to several of these, with the latest being the April 2007 Global Sources China
Sourcing Fair in Hong Kong.

Logo from Global Sources

As fashion accessories and lingerie were amongst the products I was considering to sell online, China was then an obvious source. This country is synonymous with contract manufacturing, with thousands of factories selling millions of items across the world. Global Sources is, of course, great with their  marketing abilities.

I had received an attractive Global Sources brochure, and was just thrilled at the idea of meeting hundreds of China suppliers under one roof.

I was about to be disappointed. The following were the reasons why:

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Image from Engadgets

While this new and interesting PMP by Acelabs was worth a feature on Engadgets, I wondered if this product could be worth selling online. So, I ran a search for Acelabs products on eBay and found no results returned for my search terms. Next, I Googled Acelabs and found no company information on the first page of search results. Obviously, the first link listed was the review by Engadgets.

In my experience in searching for products to sell online, I’ve come to the conclusion that only branded electronic products are worth promoting on eBay or even other shopping sites (at least in the beginning). There are several obvious reasons for this:

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I read about this on Engadget and thought that it was a pretty good idea from Google. Local brick and mortar businesses would definitely be able to gain a head start from their competitors. The question now is: Is there an opportunity here for online Internet Marketers?

The way I see it, new online start-ups can utilize this to build their brands. This would be just one of the various avenues they could use to promote themselves offline. Then again, their decision could also depend on the costs involved, and the specific target market the map would go to.

An example would be, if a person is looking for directions to a restaurant a gas pump Google map, alternative information on online restaurant reservations services, online hotel agents, online travel agents, and even local online tour information could be advertised on these coupons. Special promo codes could also be easily incorporated to encourage quick online access.

Additionally, with 80% of US citizens going online, there is no doubt on the blurring of the boundaries between offline and online marketing channels.

ne of the most endearing things on the Internet is the abundance of money making courses, programs, subscriptions and packs that literally GUARANTEE profits. By including snapshots of their “proof” of profits, they seem to have the best and only answer to anyone looking for a short cut to online riches. These sites are easily distinguishable by their persuasive and often a lengthy one-page sales copy, accompanied by time-limiting sale closing techniques.

I have to admit that I’ve also somewhat been a victim of these “holy grails” for internet marketing success. Often, I’ve been disappointed with less-than-satisfactory content after making a purchase. Also, information provided in these e-books could easily have been attained online, if only I had searched harder. At other times, the product was just a lead to another more expensive product that I had to buy if I wanted to learn more. This is especially true for low value downloadable digital products.

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In part 1 of Discovering What Sells Online, we explored the two major areas:

1) The need to generate online traffic no matter what product you are selling and

2) Researching on product demand over the internet.

In this article, we explore other elements that help in discovering that ideal product you can sell to make money online.

• Sell what sells, not what you like

Amateurs are usually advised to start with selling what they know and like. While doing this would make it easier to get started, this may not necessarily be the right thing to do.

Selling a product that you are familiar with does not necessarily mean that there is a market for it. Although you may be an expert in your product, you won’t make any money if no one is interested, or if no one is willing to pay you for it.

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You are sick and tired of working out of an office Mondays through Fridays. You are sick of the office politics, sick of buttering your boss and just the entire routine. Your dreams have been kicked aside as you work your butt out for your paycheck. What’s worse, your salary is hardly enough for a comfortable life. What you need is a plan to get out of this dreadful cycle.

Step 1: Pay off short term debt

Before you can have extras to spend, you need to pay off your short term debt (e.g. credit cards, payday loans, etc). Spend less on eating out and the movies. Set aside the extras for debt repayment.

Step 2: Learn a skill

With your debt cleared, you now have more money to learn something new. Is there something you’ve always wanted to do, but don’t have the skills for? Enrol yourself in a part-time class, and acquire a skill at something you can utilize later. Read a variety of books and adopt some basic knowledge about the Internet.

Step 3: Start something part time

You need to build another source of income, which does not take up more of your time. The problem here is that, you may not have enough savings to invest into a business. In this case, look for low investment businesses to work on – e.g. selling real estate, selling insurance, multi-level marketing, or freelance writing, or programming, etc

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This is a popular question, asked especially by those who are just starting out in their online business. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a fixed answer to this. Google this phrase and you’ll get a list of search results that seem to be answers. Read on, and you’ll likely discover that there aren’t ANY definite answers. You’ll probably get ideas and suggestions on what you CAN sell online, but no one shows you solid proof on the returns you can expect to get.

Of course, if you are considering information products, you’ll find loads of them from affiliate networks such as Clickbank.com or Paydotcom.com. Your point of evaluation would probably be the one-page pitch page, which more often than not, is filled with overzealous copywriting vying for your attention. In fact, each product is positioned to be money-making solutions that are close to being miraculous and instant. Everyone seems to be making a fortune online easily, except you! Also, while Clickbank.com provides data such as % gravity, % affiliates to help you select a product, it’s still a challenge to pick out a product that truly works.

In the end, you take the plunge and start promoting some these products anyway. It’s tough as you change from one product to another, draining some of your exuberance (and capital) away each time. Finally, you wonder if it’s ACTUALLY possible to make a living online.

Does that sound close to an experience you’ve had? Perhaps you have been selling tangible products on ebay.com, but to the same effect?

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