Internet Retailer - Internet Marketing

I was asked the following question by Carlos Escobar in a response to one of my recent posts and while writing the answer I decided that it would make a good post in it’s own right… The question was:

“I would like to identify the right products to be sold on the web. Can you please help me with this process?”

The question is actually almost impossible for me to answer and I hope the following clarifies why.

From a personal viewpoint it’s essential that you have a genuine interest and some degree of knowledge in whatever it is you intend to sell.  You’re going to be spending a lot of time working with your product, writing about your product and talking about your product.  It’s therefore very important that you have a passion for the line of business your in and for the product you sell.

From a commercial point-of-view your budget and resources will definitely have some bearing on your chosen product.  If you have a very small budget it maybe prudent to avoid mainstream markets.  If you have a larger budget and some ideas on how you can improve on what the competition in that market place are doing, you may wish to tackle an industry where you know a vibrant market exists.   However, I myself always look for niche markets, product ranges where I can expand the business into related areas in a sustainable and timely fashion.

Let me give you an example: Pakatak – Security Cameras started with a single wireless spy camera product.  Once I realised there was a market for the product we expanded the range to cater for security cameras and surveillance cameras.  Six years later, the business now sells a complete range of CCTV and surveillance equipment and has a turnover of over $750,000.

There are hundreds of similar markets that can be taken advantage of.  When researching potential markets I use this product analysis technique.

It’s very difficult for me to be specific and tell you precisely what product line you should sell.  It’s a very individual thing that involves personal preferences and beliefs and as mentioned the amount of funding you have available will play its part. 

I personally like to start small with just a handful of products.  I normally test a product on eBay to see if there is a market for it and once I’ve established a market exists, I may then build a website to retail them.

Just recently, I’ve been working on a venture that sells headphones nothing more nothing less.  This site has grown very quickly over the course of 2-3 months and already sells 20-25 units per day with a mean $6 profit per unit.  So it’s already a very nice little earner.  Specializing on one product allows me to ‘home in’ on potential sales, perfecting my search expressions specifically for people looking for headphones.  I can afford to be far more targeted than other electronics resellers because that’s all the website sells.

It also means that there is far less competition for the organic expressions.  This means your site is far more likely to receive a steady flow of highly targeted free traffic.

I’m also considering a site selling ‘remote controls’. Anybody who wants to beat me to the punch feel free, there’s plenty of other niche markets out there and more than enough business to go round.