August 20, 2009

Easy Cash for Your Opinions... Establish Yourself as an Expert
in Your Field... The End of Big Spending?... Succeeding as an
Information Marketer in Tough Times... and More.

I've said it before and I will certainly say it again. With your age comes valuable life experience that could boost your earning potential.

And if you're anything like me, I'll bet you have opinions on everything from who sells the freshest foods to where to go for the cheapest everyday essentials. What I want to tell you about today is that you could be making some easy money for simply providing your opinions.

It works like this:

Before any major company releases a new product, they usually contact research teams to help them get the opinions of everyday people who could possibly be customers once the product is released. They then organize focus groups all across the country to help them collect feedback for improving their products.

You don't have to know anything about marketing and you won't have to worry if you've never heard of the product before. In fact, they would prefer you didn't know these things, because all they want is your straightforward opinions about what you like and don't like.

With years of experience buying items you need and probably trying out different brands, you've got a wealth of information, which these companies are looking for.
 
And the best part is; they pay you simply for showing up, maybe watching a commercial or tasting a few food samples and then providing your input. They rarely last longer than an hour or two and you could be paid hundreds of dollars for your time.

A friend of mine recently signed up for a group that had him looking at a new car that no one had seen before. He got to talk to some interesting people and had the chance to poke around inside the new car. He then shared his opinions about the car's features and walked away with $100.

That's what I call easy money!

A high-priced education from Harvard Business School isn't going to guarantee that you will make oodles of money. However, you cannot deny that people want some sort of guarantee on the service that you are providing them. They want to know that they are going to benefit from doing business with you.

It doesn't necessarily matter how much experience you have, or what type of education you have to back it up, as long as you are able to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Anyone can do it, even if you don't have the traditional credentials to back it up.

Your guarantee is that you know you can do the work, and that you will follow through on the promises that you make to your prospective clients. That is your guarantee. However, to attract them, you have to strategize a little more.

Relying on that guarantee is not enough when you're starting out. You have to find your first few clients before you can rely on your guaranteed results. You have to convince people to trust the results before there is any proof of them.

You also have to begin to establish yourself as an expert in your field. It's a daunting task to get people to trust you when they have never heard of you before or when there is no proof of your good work. Until you can say that you helped turn such and such companies around or until you have a portfolio of your work to show, you will need to rely on your own strategies to get through to potential customers.

Establishing yourself as an expert in your field boils down to getting your name out into the public's view. If you put your name out there, then people can look you up and find information on you. The key is to find effective ways to do this.

What you want to happen is for people to be able to see that you are, in fact, qualified to provide a service. You want people to be able to discover that you have 20 years of experience in marketing, or that you have been creating web sites for a long time. Whatever the case, you want people to be able to get to know you before they meet you.

How is this possible? Well, through advertising, word-of- mouth praise and even some local publicity, you could instantly be recognized as the go-to expert in your field. Take a look around; your local paper, stores at the mall and your chamber of commerce all provide ample opportunity for you to get the word out about your expertise.

These days, it's unlikely that you'll find a whole lot of people making big purchases. The days of big spending, for much of the population, have come to an end. People are no longer heading out in droves to the electronics store for a new HDTV or calling up their travel agents to book lavish vacations in order to add a little pleasure to their lives.

Just because people aren't spending on big-ticket items for pleasure anymore doesn't mean they aren't spending. After all, people will always want to feel good about themselves. Even more so, perhaps, in a depressing economy such as this. Instead of spending big money, however, people are spending on smaller items that bring them enjoyment. And if you're looking for a way to make some extra money, there could be plenty of opportunity if you can cater to life's smaller pleasures.

Some of the niche items that are seeing increased sales in this economic slowdown are unique food items. Things like chocolate, craft beer and other tasty treats are providing the enjoyment and indulgence people are looking for. They may not be much, but they do have the ability to make people feel good about themselves, as they are a step out of the ordinary. Food items like this are part of a larger experience that lets people escape from whatever problems they may be experiencing, while allowing them to do so for a relatively cheap price tag.

For example, a person who has experienced a big financial hit in the past year may find escape by sitting back with a book and an exclusive bar of chocolate. It may be a different form of escape than the vacation they went on two years ago, but at least it's something small that provides enjoyment.

Another industry that seems to have been experiencing steady sales through the recession is that of designer jeans. This is likely because, at the end of the day, people still want to feel good by looking good. Even though they may not be out spending the same big bucks on things that they used to, there are some things that will almost always be worth it. After all, a good pair of jeans is as American as apple pie -- not to mention, they're much cheaper than a vacation!

If you're looking for a way to make some money in the economic downturn, it might be worth your while to consider small, niche items that give people the ability to indulge. Start thinking of the little things you enjoy and consider if they are marketable to a wider audience.

** Succeeding as an Information Marketer in Tough Times
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

When I write these articles, I always try to give the clearest advice I can. Tidbits of information, no matter how small, are always something I look for and try to pass on to you, the reader, in hopes that they help you along with your business.

That said, I'm not much of a therapist or a bartender, or an old electric guitar in the corner that you strum to console yourself. Part of me wishes that I could have the talents of those people and items as, no doubt, in the last 12 months, you've needed a lot of consolation!

The truth is that things have been tough. The latter part of 2008 and the first half of 2009 have been some of the most pressing times in recorded economic history. Bailouts, jobs losses, cutbacks...it's been nuts. When talking with my father recently, he noted that it hadn't been like this since the latter part of the 1980s.

But my dad also noted something interesting: this stuff is always going to happen. Good times and bad times, money coming in and money lost, personal peaks and valleys...it's probably going to happen every couple of years or so and, sadly, there's little you can do to control it. It might last longer than you want it to, but it will not last forever.

Now, if you're an info marketer, you actually have a real leg up. Here's why: you're an info marketer. Period.

That's it. Just by default, being a provider of information to the public means that you can survive just about any social or economic situation.

Entrepreneurs often get into a professional rut in tough times and go about putting themselves down. They think they are not good enough, wish they had gotten more education, or think they are doomed to fail. This is a bad mode of thinking to have. You are just like everyone else; therefore, you are going to have to weather the bad economic storm, too. That's all. Once you accept that, you are ready to move on.

And a good way to move on is to get to work. Let tough times be the nudge from behind for you to rejuvenate and get your business going strong again. Try to revamp and reprioritize your business to meet the demands that are current for that particular time. Examine your content and ask: "Is this stuff relevant to people's modern needs?" You don't have to change your subject of information, take night courses, or seek out some self-identifying guru to assist you. You just need to look at things objectively and focus on what is most necessary to your business at that given time period.

The other truth is that, as my colleague Adrian Newman points out time and again, people will kill for information. They need it and are will to pay for it. It is essential to their lives and their livelihood. That alone should be enough for you to force yourself into delivering fresh information content that is necessary to the public's livelihood.

Once, for about a week, I entertained a job in sales. I did alright, but quit when I realized I wasn't really a salesman and a when a writing opportunity, which I had really wanted, came along. But I do remember a guy at the sales office saying: "Salesmen should never be out of work." He meant that if you have the flair to get people to buy things, you can always put bread on the table and gas in the car tank.

Agreed. But I might modify that by stating, "Info marketers should never be out of work. It's nearly impossible." Come high winds or calm seas, your talents of knowledge provision should always put bread on the table (or maybe a big festive dinner?) Use your talents to their fullest at all times and tough times shouldn't hinder you.