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THE ONLINE INVENTOR – November Issue

(c) 2005 Market Launchers, Inc.

http://www.marketlaunchers.com

Editor:  Paul Niemann

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In this issue …  

Article # 1:       “Narrow Your Focus – and Increase Your Odds of Success,” by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com  

Article # 2:       “11 Reasons to become an inventor”

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“Narrow Your Focus – and Increase Your Odds of Success,” by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com

When inventors call me and ask for advice in marketing their new inventions, one of the first questions I ask them is, “Who is your product intended for?”  

Ninety percent of the time, their answer is, “EVERYBODY.” Well, unless you have a monopoly on the rights to food, shelter, clothing or air, then your product is not for EVERYBODY.  

Now that we’ve identified the problem, it’s time to come up with a solution, and this is right out of the advertising class that I teach at Quincy (Illinois) University.  

No product is for everybody, so you should pick out 1 or 2 main groups (called target markets) to approach. These can be the groups of people who need your product the most, or they can be the largest groups or the groups in which you would face the least amount of competition, etc. That’s for you to determine.  

For example, if your invention is a towel that cleans up spills, common knowledge says that EVERYBODY could buy this product. But who really needs it the most – and is most likely to buy it?  

That group is probably parents with young children. More specifically, it would be moms with young children. This becomes your main target market. What about a secondary target market? That could be caregivers who take care of senior citizens. It makes you look more professional when you can tell a potential licensee who your product is intended for.  

Are you targeting consumers or businesses? If you’re targeting businesses, then it is relatively easy to identify potential licensee because nearly every industry has 3 things:

You can find out about your industry by either doing a Google search for “trade association + your industry,” or you can go to the reference section of your local public library and look it up in the “Encyclopedia of Associations,” which is a thick book that is located in the library’s reference section.

There is far much to cover on this subject to do it justice in this newsletter, but now you know a few of the basics. Once you know how to define your markets into 1 or 2 specific, well-defined target markets, you increase your chances of selling or licensing your new product.

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Paul Niemann runs MarketLaunchers.com, building web pages for inventors. Having your own web page allows you to show your invention to companies when you’re unable to present it to them in person. It can serve as your “online brochure.” Plus, there are companies who search MarketLaunchers.com's invention database for new products.

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11 Reasons to become an inventor:

If you’re feeling a little un-motivated about inventing these days, then I present you with the “11 Reasons to Become an Inventor” by our friend Bob Sheinkman, President of the Inventors Association of St. Louis (I.A.S.L.).

11 Reasons to become an inventor:

1.         Become famous with its perks.
2.         See my name in print. Notoriety.
3.         Get recognition for doing something that no one has accomplished before.
4.         Getting rich!
5.         Always having ideas for improvements.

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If you contact companies about licensing your invention, then it makes sense to get your own web page so they can SEE WHAT YOUR INVENTION LOOKS LIKE AND HOW IT WORKS.

MarketLaunchers.com builds web pages for inventors, it's affordable and we're easy to work with! Visit our site and see what other inventors are doing. www.MarketLaunchers.com

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6.         Challenging my mind to think great thoughts.
7.         Discovering the world around me.
8.         Being on the cutting edge of science and technology.
9.         Being physically challenged but not mentally challenged.
10.       Having a valuable property asset in my invention.
11.       Benefiting Mankind.

If you ever find yourself asking, “Why do we invent?” well, now you know the answer!

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Paul Niemann runs MarketLaunchers.com, building web pages for inventors. Having your own web page allows you to show your invention to companies when you’re unable to present it to them in person. It can serve as your “online brochure.” Plus, there are companies who search MarketLaunchers.com's invention database for new products.  

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