I’m going to assume that you’re already working in a specific niche. If this isn’t the case, then your first step is to pick a niche. There are plenty of tutorials around on how to do this, so if you still need to pick a niche I suggest you start there.
The first planning step we’ll cover in this tutorial is how to pick a theme or topic for your bundle. Once you know this topic, then you’ll invite dozens of partners to contribute a product that matches your theme/topic.
So, what issues do you need to consider when picking your topic? Ask yourself these questions…
Do you have any ideas for a topic?
If not, the first thing you need to do is brainstorm potential topics. For the brainstorming process, don’t worry about whether the topic will work for a bundle event or not. Just brainstorm as many topics as you can without censoring or judging your ideas.
I’d suggest you just sit down and brainstorm for 10 minutes or so for starters. After you’ve brainstormed all the potential topics you can think of, then you can generate additional ideas using the methods below. Note that these methods are also the same methods you use for determining demand, so you’re basically taking two steps at once. (More on that in just a few moments.)
· Browse marketplaces to see the wide variety of products your competitors (and potential partners!) are selling. Pay particular attention to the bestsellers, as well as any topics where there are multiple vendors selling products, as those are signs that a particular topic is in demand.
· Check the websites belonging to your competitors/potential partners to see what they’re selling. Again, pay particular attention to any products being sold by multiple vendors in your niche.
· Use keywords tools to uncover what people in your niche want. For example, you can enter your broad niche keywords (like “bodybuilding”) into a keyword tool like Wordtracker.com. This tool will then show you the actual keywords people are typing into search engines, which will give you a feel as to what sort of information people want.
· “Eavesdrop” on your audience. This is where you read their product reviews, comments on blogs, discussions on forums and groups, and interactions on social media. The idea is to get a feel for what people in your audience want. For example, if you see that certain topics always get a lot of interaction (comments, likes, shares, etc.), that’s a sign that the topic is pretty popular.
· Check question sites like Quora.com. If you see the same types of questions popping up repeatedly on this site, that’s a sign to you that people are interested in the topic.
· Survey your audience. Here you create a survey and ask your audience what type of information and tools they’d like to see. Be sure to ask open-ended questions, as that way you won’t limit the topics and ideas.
Go ahead and brainstorm and use the steps above to generate even more ideas. Then move onto the next question…
Is your topic in demand?
As mentioned above, the steps you took to generate additional ideas are also the same market research steps you’ll take to determine if there is demand for a topic.
Take note that this step is important. There’s no sense in going through all the work of putting together a big even like this if no one is really interested in the topic. Indeed, if you put this event together and it flops, you’ll have a hard time getting your partners to work with you again in the future. That’s why you want to make sure your event is a success, both for your benefit and theirs.
So, as you discovered above, the key to finding an in-demand topic is to find out which topics your market is interested in. And the very BEST indicator of what interests them is to look at what they’re already buying. That’s why the focus of your market research should be on:
· Checking what people in your niche are selling (including what they’re paying to advertise).
For example, search for your keywords in Google, and then take note of what kind of products people are paying to advertise in the sponsored search results.
You can also check banners and other advertisements on major sites in your niche, as well as checking advertisements in print magazines.
For example: if you’re the weight loss market, then go to your local newsstand and check the topics and ads inside the major weight-loss and fitness magazines, such as the Weight Watchers magazine or the Shape magazine. Even better is if you can go to the library and look at past issues of the magazine, as that will give you an indication of what sort of ads appear consistently over time.
In all cases, you’re looking for evidence that marketers in your niche are consistently investing money over time to advertise certain types of products. Smart marketers don’t keep advertising products that aren’t selling, so checking out advertising is a good way to get a feel for what’s popular in the niche.
· Seeing what topics are bestsellers. This is where you check marketplaces like Amazon.com, Udemy.com, and ClickBank.com. That’s because these platforms rank bestsellers, so you can very quickly see what products sell the best in your niche.
· Noting which topics have multiple products built around them. If multiple vendors are selling similar products, that’s good evidence that there is demand for the topic in your niche.
Take note of which of your ideas show a lot of profit potential, and then move onto the next question…
Is your topic broad enough to accept contributions from dozens of marketers?
Simply put: if you choose a topic that’s too narrow, then you’re likely to have partners who contribute very similar products to the bundle. It’s better to have a larger topic so that you can accept a variety of tools and information.
Now, here’s a key: when you’re doing your market research, you’ll be taking note of which products and products are bestsellers in your niche. Many of these topics/products are going to be highly related. As such, one way to put on a good bundle event is to choose a broader topic under which several of the bestselling topics in your niche may be included.
Let me give you an example…
The various weight-loss niches have plenty of topics within them that could be bestsellers. Certain topics (like how to get flat abs) are too narrow on their own, as you’d have contributors offering similar products. However, a narrow topic like this could be included in a broader topic, such as “rapid weight-loss secrets.”
Now think about it for a moment. An event on the topic of “rapid weight loss” does two things:
1. It taps into a core desire of dieters. Dieters know deep down that they didn’t put the weight on overnight, so they’re not going to shed it overnight. Nonetheless, they want to start seeing results right away. They want to at least lose a few pounds in their first week (to jump start their motivation), and then keep up a steady pace of a couple pounds thereafter. Any product or tool you accept into this particular event should be geared towards getting that initial jump start with measurable results.
(And let’s face it, most nutritionally sound diets do that. That’s because as soon as dieters make major changes to their eating and exercise habits, they’re bound to see good results in that first week – and consistent results if they stick with it.)
2. It’s broad enough to accept a wide variety of tools and information. You may have people offering different kinds of nutrition information (low carb, low fat, low calorie), different types of exercise information (high intensity interval training, weight lifting, etc.), as well as information on supplements and “super foods” that may help people get their metabolism going. You can also accept tools that help with getting people on track, such as meal-planning apps and exercise checklists.
Let me give you another example. Let’s say you sell information to online marketers. And let’s suppose you’ve discovered that social media marketing is a hot, in-demand topic right now.
But consider this…
If you’re planning on having dozens of partners join your event, then a topic such as “social media marketing” is going to be a little too narrow, as once again you’re likely to have partners contributing similar products.
However, perhaps you’ve noticed that there are a lot of other in-demand traffic-generation products in your niche. You might then pick traffic-generation as the theme for your bundle, as it includes many of the other popular topics in your niche. For example:
· Social media marketing.
· Email marketing.
· Search engine optimization.
· Pay per click marketing and other paid advertising.
· Joint venture marketing.
· Starting an affiliate program.
· Viral marketing.
· Blogging.
· Guest blogging.
And other similar topics. Each of these sub-topics has plenty of demand, so when you put together a bundle of products on the wider topic of traffic-generation, you’re sure to get plenty of interest.
NOTE: people are going to take advantage of your bundle even if they’re not interested in every product in the bundle. That’s because you’re going to price it so low that it becomes a great deal even if a customer just wants a handful of products in the bundle.
For example, you might price your bundle at $27. Since many individual products (like one ebook) are often found at this price, it makes the bundle an awesome deal.
So, for example, let’s suppose you put together a traffic generation bundle. You may have some people who only want the products that address joint venture marketing, starting affiliate programs, guest blogging and social media marketing. No problem. They’ll still buy the bundle because any smart consumer will see that the bundle is a GREAT deal even if they only wanted two or three products.
And one more example…
Let’s suppose you’re working in a dog-related market. A topic like “housetraining” is way to narrow to accept multiple contributions. While “obedience training” is a larger topic, you may decide to take it one step further and include ALL types of training. For example:
· Housetraining (kennel training, puppy pad training, outdoor potty training).
· Socialization (getting puppies and fearful dogs used to new situations).
· Obedience training (sit, down, heel, etc.).
· Trick training (jump through a hoop, get something out of the refrigerator, etc.).
· Training problem behaviors (reactive dogs, aggression, etc.).
Another idea would be to create a theme around “raising a happy, healthy puppy.” In this case, your bundle would include an even wider variety of products. In addition to the various training products mentioned above (housetraining, socialization, obedience, trick training and problem behaviors), you could also accept products on topics such as:
· Nutrition.
· Health.
· Grooming.
And similar issues. Basically, you could accept any topic that would help people raise a happy and healthy puppy.
So, you get the idea. Here are the steps you’re taking:
· Brainstorm potential topics/themes for your bundle event.
· Check that the topic is in-demand in your market.
· Choose a topic that looks popular and profitable.
Once you’ve completed this step, then you can move onto the next step of the B.U.N.D.L.E. strategy.
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