People like you are asking me… All I do is work on my truck, or bake cakes, or build birdhouses. How do I know what I’m good at? What should I sell? How can I find a niche? What should I do?
Here is an excerpt from the GooBert report that helps you find the answers to those questions.
Ideally, it should something you know a lot about. Something that comes easily to you. Something you’re familiar with. Something you do or use every day.
It could be your cell phone, your car, your hobby or something work related. It could be your area of expertise, degree or study.
If you already know what you want sell, go ahead and jump to the next chapter. But if you’re stuck, and don’t know what to sell, we’ll do a little discovery process to tap your inner desires and passion.
Let me ask you a question…
What do you love to do?
That is the secret question where opportunities lay. It’s so simple that its constantly overlooked. But seriously, what do you spend your time doing?
Some people love their work. For them, its easy to write about their experiences, training and expertise. For others work is just a job. If you’re in that category, look to your hobbies, or things that you enjoy doing.
I’ve done this discovery process with hundreds of people. Even those who claim they’re dumb as a stump and don’t know anything.
Everyone has something that they get comments on. People notice you and tell you that you’re good at it, or know a lot about it, whatever that “IT” is for you.
Case Study #1
Lets take the dumb as a stump guy first. He doesn’t do anything except watch sports on TV and work on his jeep. Ok, lets take the jeep.
As soon as he started talking about it his eyes lit up. He talked of his off-road four wheeling adventures. Stories of how he winched himself out of disasters.
Then he started talking about the dings and dents as if they were trophies. He was especially proud of the parts he had to machine himself.
Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Dumb as a stump huh? It looks to me as though this person would be great at selling and telling the world about jeeping adventures.
Digging a little deeper, he knows about first aid kits. Camping and fishing. Fixing and maintaining his jeep. Wilderness survival. And how not to hurt a tree, as you’re using it to winch yourself out of a hole.
Do you see the opportunity here? He could get an inexpensive video camera and record some of these events.
They could be simple like changing the oil in his jeep. How to make a first aid or survival kit. Or advanced concepts like winching yourself across a raging river.
He could sell survival supplies and camping gear. Parts for the jeep. Jacks, winches and accessories. Metalworking & machining tools. Outdoor clothing…
He could start an off road adventure club in his local community. He could set up a private site or community for jeep enthusiasts, where they share maps, fishing holes, off-road tips, emergency repairs, stories and adventures.
He took my advice. Fast forward six months….
Now he adds to his blog and updates his site after work, instead of watching so much TV. He can’t go off-roading until the weekend, but at least he can talk about it until then.
He gets to share his enthusiasm with people like him. It’s a small market, but its devoted and loyal.
He sells a lot of survival kits and winches. His videos get watched by four wheeling enthusiasts. They can hardly wait to set out on adventures of their own.
What are YOU going to do after work today? Watch TV? Or will you choose to invest in yourself and your future?
Case Study #2
Cindy bakes cakes. She loves to bake. She has a small family, so she donates most of it to friends, family, bake sales, yard sales and the church.
Get out the video camera. Show us how to mix it up. Show us how to frost it. Show us how to do the writing and make those wonderful roses.
Tell me where – through your affiliate links – I can get the supplies to make the cakes like you do. Where can I get the bowls, spring form pans and piping bags.
Show me a photo of what each cake should look like. Sell me your grandmas recipes in an ebook.
Once I’m a customer, follow up with your next ebook on cookie recipes. Then sell me the pans, cutters, moulds and special ingredients, aprons, rolling pins, tables and ovens.
Then reach out to the community that you’re donating the cakes to. Ask them to feature you on their websites and promote your ebooks. You can return the favor by donating part of the proceeds to the needy in your community.
Case Study #3
Brad makes birdhouses. He loves to feed and house all the birds around his yard. He’s got houses of every shape and size, from tiny little boxes to giant hotels.
Brad thought about selling birdhouse kits to the local hardware stores. Good idea, but it’s a long, tough, uphill road. What if you ramp it up a bit using the internet?
Why not sell the kits online. He could precut all the pieces. Include the instructions, screws and glue. Then ship it all over the country.
He could make videos on how to do the carpentry. He could sell the blueprints in an ebook for do-it-yourself types.
And don’t forget the video teasers! It’s a good idea is to add one or two freebies so they can see how good the videos are. Then sell ‘em on the rest.
He could photograph the types of birds that use his houses. He could start a bird watching community, with tips on how to attract favorite birds of all types.
He could sell plans, kits and the finished houses. He could sell seed, books, guides and how-to videos. He could sell binoculars, high end cameras, even camouflage clothing for real enthusiasts.
Case Study #4
Karl is lazy and only likes his 1960 Corvette. It’s all he knows and all he likes to talk about. It’s the best car ever made and he’s very opinionated.
If you join AllPosters.com, you could sell both the poster and the framed art print on your site. Join CafePress.com and you’ll find everything from t-shirts to mouse pads. Amazon has shelves of Corvette goodies and a trusted name.
You’ll find tons of Corvette stuff on eBay. You’ll even get a hefty referral fee if you get someone to join through you.
Go search Google for Corvette “affiliate program.” Be sure to put the words affiliate program in quotes. You’ll find everything from hats to car parts.
Do you have any ideas yet?
The whole point of this discovery exercise was to jumpstart your brain. To get you thinking about what you love to do, even if you didn’t know it.
The bottom line is this… The more passionate you are about a topic, the less likely you are to burn out on it. You’ll approach each day with enthusiasm and positive attitude, doing something you love to do.
You’ll get a sense of fulfillment and contribution. You’ll be helping others get what they want and earn commissions for doing so. It doesn’t get any better than that…
If you liked this excerpt you can get the entire GooBert report, along with over 3.5 hours of affiliate training to help you find a niche, pick good keywords and bring your ideas to market.
GooBert is the fastest way to get free traffic and start generating revenue from affiliate programs. There’s nothing risky about it. It’s easy to do and it doesn’t involve PPC (pay per click) advertising or any additional expenses.
All you need is access to the internet, a domain name, basic hosting and a WordPress blog. That’s all you need and it works like magic.
It takes about 30 minutes a day, but you can spend more time on it if you like. It’s up to you. Just remember, the harder you work, the luckier you’ll get.
So why not turn on the TV a half hour later? Wouldn’t you rather be building your future instead?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I couldn’t agree more! A wise person could easily take hold of their future and invest into something more worthwhile.
Indeed, for some it is easier than others. However, there are opportunities in anything, it is searching in those acres of diamonds.
In reality, it is smarter to invest in your future, than work for someone else, and devote your hours to the TV. In this time of current affairs it is obvious that a job, isn’t secure as teachers told us at school.
Become an expert in your field, is a fantastic situation to be in. Building your own community and creating an audience, where you could support yourself for life.
Devoting your time to something you do not love means your not making your best effort. If you love your job it will be easier to get better results.