EDITOR

*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************

THE ONLINE INVENTOR
since 1998

http://www.marketlaunchers.com/customer-testimonials.html

Publisher: Paul Niemann

*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************

EDITOR'S NOTES:

Fellow Inventors: As a reminder …

1. IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN WEB SITE: (i.e. www.widgets.com, as opposed to a web page on the MarketLaunchers.com site), you can now have your web site listed on MarketLaunchers.com WITHOUT having to pay extra for a web page on our site. Here’s how:

We have a special web page that lists the "Featured Products of the Week" on our site each week. We rotate 3 different products as the "Featured Products" each week. The "Featured Products" page gives you a lot of exposure for your invention; it has been a regular feature on our site for more than 2 years now, and it's been averaging 152 visitors per week since the week of January 6 -- 12.

WHAT'S THE COST?

Only $50 per week. And if you order 5 weeks of being listed as a "Featured Product," you get one extra week FREE – that’s 5 weeks for $200.

To have YOUR INVENTION listed as a Featured Product on our site, visit http://www.marketlaunchers.com/gold.html or call me at (800) 337-5758.

2. FOR SALE -- THE INVENTOR'S 3-PACK:

If you DO NOT have a web page on the MarketLaunchers.com site, you can now purchase what our web page customers have already received:

* A copy of "Web Sites for Inventors." This list of more than 50 links is "The Ultimate Links Page" -- pre-screened and arranged in an easy-to-follow format.

* A list of companies who have either licensed in new products from outside inventors in the past, or are believed to be open to looking at new products from outside.

* The past 2 years worth of articles that I wrote for Inventors' Digest (12 great articles in all).

The total cost of "The Inventor's 3-Pack" is only $75, and it comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. This is a great deal, and since it comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee, you have absolutely nothing to lose. For details, visit http://www.marketlaunchers.com/gold.html

Call me if you have any questions, or to order either the "Featured Products" page or "The Inventor's 3-Pack."

Best Regards,

Paul Niemann
(800) 337-5758

************************************************************

FAMOUS / INFAMOUS Quotes …

"Necessity, mother of invention" – William Wycherley

"Invention is the mother of necessity" – Thorstein Veblen, as seen at famousquotes.com

“The very greatest things -- great thoughts, discoveries, inventions -- have usually been nurtured in hardship, often pondered over in sorrow, and at length established with difficulty” – Samuel Smiles as seen at famousquotes.com

************************************************************

Article # 1: "A Success Essential -- Join A Mastermind Group," by Willie Crawford

Article # 2: "How To Name Your Company or Product in 5 Easy Steps," By Lauren Teton

Article # 3: "Seven Reasons Why a Manufacturer Should Consider Licensing YOUR Invention," by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com for the March / April issue of Inventors’ Digest

************************************************************

EDITOR'S NOTE: This next article wasn't written for inventors, but you can be easily adapt it to your situation as an inventor because we can all use a group of like-minded people to network with.

Article # 1: "A Success Essential -- Join A Mastermind Group" by Willie Crawford

In the quest for secrets to internet marketing success some very obvious factors are often overlooked. One that you may have noticed but not acted upon is the mastermind principle. Since so many people don't use this principle in building their business, you have a tremendous advantage if you just begin using this simple tool.

It's a recognized fact that when you have several people brainstorming and working on a project you get more breakthroughs and unique perspectives than you would if just one person were working on it. A mastermind group is simply a group of people bonded together to work on a common objective. This objective can be as simple as to share knowledge on what is or isn't working to grow members' businesses.

In working with and studying six and seven-figure income earners, I don't know of one who is not a member of a mastermind group. They all also have mentors or coaches. They often even coach each other since we all have unique skills and perspectives that can benefit others. Mastermind groups brainstorm, inspire, prod, and joint venture the group members to a level of accomplishment they could never achieve individually.

The mastermind group can be structured many different ways. You can meet in person if practical. You can meet via teleconferences or web casts. You can meet once a week, once a month, or even once a year. How and how often you meet depends upon what's practical and what is needed to keep the all group members on-target. The structure is very flexible.

There is a lot of literature available of joining or locating a mastermind group. I personally belong to 4 separate groups ... each with a slightly different purpose. I located or formed these groups by exchanging emails with like-minded individuals. I also met several members of my mastermind groups at conferences. The face-to-face interaction confirmed that the chemistry was right. What is critical is that the groups purpose be very clear to each member, and that the group adhere to that purpose.

How do you, find or join a mastermind group, and begin achieving much more than you ever could individually? I would begin by asking those I frequently communicate with if they would like to work together on projects or form a group. I would also approach someone I admired or respected and seek their advice. If they were not part of a mastermind group open to new members, they could probably point you in the right direction. They may also be open to serving as a coach or mentor for you.

Working closely with and contributing to a mastermind group has been a big part of my success and that of all of my very successful acquaintances. It's one of those obvious things you can't afford to overlook. Begin seeking out and cultivating relationships today. Instead of going it alone, learn to harness the incredible power of the mastermind!

# # #

Willie Crawford is a recognized internet marketing expert. He is the organizer of the Internet Marketing How To Workshop, which completely steps you through the process of creating and marketing your own products. The workshop brings together experts who have developed many highly successful products to show you step-by-step. Get more details at: http://internetmarketinghowtoworkshop.com

************************************************************

Article # 2: "How To Name Your Company or Product in 5 Easy Steps," By Lauren Teton

Before she opened Heffalumps and Woozles children’s clothing store, Tracey Baines stopped walkers on the street near her new store site to ask which name from a short list they preferred.

She might have chosen the name she did even if it did not win in her survey, because it pleased her, and sent the message she wanted to send. Do you have to name something -- your company, your new product, your newsletter, your goldfish?

Here is a process in 5 easy steps that can help you come up with a great name.

1. Describe: Sit down, and explain it simply to someone who has no idea what it is. The process of talking about it is invaluable at distilling out the most important aspects of your product. Jot down a concise description, and use it as a framework.

2. Expand: Look at your description, and jot other words that come to mind and describe your product.

Let’s say you are naming a disposable wash cloth. You might note these words: soft, hygienic, inexpensive, practical, convenient. The longer the list, the more creative ammunition you will have. Now we start putting your right brain to work.

3. Create: Looking at your notes, play with the words. Combine words into created compound words or combine features of your product to create new (coined) words. These are extremely popular these days since most "natural" words are already taken. Use alliteration, rhyme, vowel harmony. Use the thesaurus to find under-utilised words equivalent to the ones you’ve written.

Write the names you create (neatly, no use if you can’t read them later). Go for volume. Try to come up with 20, or 50 if you can. As Linus Pauling said, "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." If one of the names you have just created causes a little shiver down your spine, your instinct might be telling you it’s a winner. At least that has happened to me.

4. Pick and Test: Find the 10 best names from your list. Then the top 5 from there. Make sure the "finalists" you choose please you. Don’t "fall in love" with any one of them until you do a bit more work. Test each one. Is it easy to pronounce? How will it sound on the phone or radio? Will people be able to spell it after hearing it? Not considering these questions carefully can be costly or devastating.

5. Trademark: Now comes the really hard part. That is ensuring that you can trademark the name.

Read the full article in the ‘Naming your business’ section of HowToAdvertise.co.nz at www.howtoadvertise.co.nz/lauren.shtml

# # #

Lauren Teton is a partner at Name One! of Pound Ridge, New York where they name products and companies. Wow! Potato Chips for Frito-Lay and SpringHill Suites for Marriott are two of the many names the company has created.

Lauren Teton Name One!
Pound Ridge, NY
Phone: 914 764-0115
Better Names for Business
http://nameone.net (our business site)
http://talkingnames.com (my site)

************************************************************

Article # 3: "Seven Reasons Why a Manufacturer Should Consider Licensing YOUR Invention," by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com for the March / April issue of Inventors’ Digest

One of the hardest things for inventors to do is to pick up the phone and call a prospective licensee. Why is this so tough when the call may be the key to getting the invention to market? It's tough because of the fear of rejection.

If an inventor has a developed concept, he has a lot to offer to a licensee. "Developed" means that the invention is at least patented or patent pending with a working prototype that has been market tested or with other market research data.

Optimally, the product is already being manufactured and on the market -- even it's a test market. A successful sales record is the greatest thing you can have in your favor when approaching potential licensees. The more positive information about the invention, the less chance of rejection.

While it’s impossible to know that your product will succeed, you can maximize your chances by targeting the right manufacturer. In many cases, the "right" manufacturer may be a small or medium sized company ... not a mega corporation ... because they're usually more open minded about working with inventors than large corporations are. Also, individual inventors have a lot to offer to a small or medium sized company.

SEVEN REASONS:

1. Working with individual inventors allows a company to compete against the larger companies in their industry. It levels the playing field because smaller companies typically don't have large engineering staffs, but they need new products to sell to existing customers as well as to new markets that they may be targeting.

2. Manufacturers will have more potential new products from which to choose if they look outside their company. The average product has a shelf life of approximately three years, so companies are continually seeking new products to remain competitive. Some companies intentionally give their products a short life span, which explains why auto makers introduce new versions of the same car every two or three years and clothing designers introduce new styles every year. This is called "planned obsolescence."

3. The manufacturer won't lose as much on "new product failure," as companies that rely exclusively on internal research departments to design new products. Since the product developer (describe yourself as a "product developer" rather than as an "inventor") is the one who pays for the development costs, the manufacturer only pays for those products that it licenses, usually in the form of a performance-based royalty.

4. A product developed outside the company can be brought to market quickly because the product developer has already done the market research or testing.

5. Another reason why companies need new products is copycat artists. "But isn't that what a patent is for?" you ask. I used to think so, too, until a patent attorney friend of mine told me that there are classes that patent attorneys can take to learn how to get around patents. Plus, some unscrupulous companies see infringement lawsuits as merely part of the cost of doing business.

6. According to a 1982 study of 700 companies by Booz, Allen & Hamilton, ten percent of new products were "new to the world" and 20 percent were "new-product lines," yet these high-risk products were 60 percent of the "most successful" new products. Products licensed in from outside inventors are more likely to be "new to the world" rather than a simple product extension of a company’s existing products.

7. Even the best engineers at a company only create four or five new products in any given year, and most of those never go far enough to receive serious consideration by management.

What does all this mean for you, the independent inventor? It means that there is more opportunity for you to license your inventions than you may have realized and that your best opportunities for licensing are probably with small and medium sized manufacturers. It also means that by placing that phone call you may well be offering the prospective licensee the phone call that he's been waiting for!

# # #

Paul Niemann is president of MarketLaunchers.com, specializing in building web pages for inventors, where they can be seen on his web site's Invention Database (www.MarketLaunchers.com). Their Invention Database is seen by companies looking for new products to license in. He also builds complete web sites for inventors and small businesses. To get your own web page or web site, visit www.MarketLaunchers.com or call Paul Niemann at (800) 337-5758.

************************************************************
************************************************************

If you wish to distribute this issue of "THE ONLINE INVENTOR" to your local inventor group, as well as your fellow inventors, please send the *entire* issue by clicking Forward.

If you change your e-mail address, please subscribe with the new address in order to continue receiving it each month. To unsubscribe, (now why would you want to do that?) please reply with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. You can view past issues of "THE ONLINE INVENTOR" at http://www.marketlaunchers.com/archives.html. Thanks.

Until next month, Successful Inventing To You!

Best Regards,