Put Your Time Where Their Money Is (Get Paid To Do Your Market Research)

Max the Math Mutt Market Research Crystal Ball
Are you sick of developing products only to see dismal sales?

Do you feel like you’re playing Russian Roulette when you develop a new service?

Do you wish you could afford to do market research?

Good news – I can help.

Learn how to research your target market, and get paid to do it!

Market research isn’t out of your reach. In fact, any business, even a new business, can research their market and make money doing it!

Market Research that Pays You: The Concept

When you want to create a new product or service you start with an idea. Whether the idea is to offer an eBook on how to make the best darn paper airplane, or to be a personal hiking guide to the top of Kilimanjaro, it all began with an idea.

The trick to being a successful business is knowing which ideas are the real money makers, and then delivering like crazy to your customers. How do you know which ones will be successful?

Let your clients tell you!

Build your product or create your service after they’ve purchased it. Think about it. When someone puts their money down on the table you know they’re serious. Conversely, everyone could say what a great idea it is and then not buy it.

You may be wondering, Nicole how do I sell something that doesn’t exist yet? Easy, you offer pre-sales, early bird discounts, and founding member packages. If no one buys your offer,the market has just told you not to waste your time. If you do sell a bunch you’re getting paid to create that product!

Let’s walk through a few examples.

Market Research that Pays You: eBook Pre-Sales

You’ve decided you can write the eBook to end all eBooks on constructing the perfect paper airplane. But is there really a market for another (or even the first) eBook on paper airplanes? Before you invest time and resources to create the eBook run a pre-sale and find out.

Easy Peasy eBook Market Research Pre-Sale

Create an outline of the book, key selling points and a title
Create a simple pre-launch sales page of the book. Let your market know the book won’t be available until a certain date in the future. Offer a substantial discount or meaningful bonuses if they pre-order.
Promote the pre-order sales page to your list, as well as on social media. Use your network to get the word out.
If you begin to make sales, then it’s time to write the paper airplane eBook you’ve been dreaming of. It’s critical to deliver the eBook on time. Keeping your commitments is the foundation of any successful business.
Launch the eBook, put it on Kindle, and market it like crazy! You’ve already been paid to create it, and you know a market exists.

Market Research that Pays You: Founding Member

Perhaps you want to offer a mastermind group to along with a book you’ve already published. If the book has been successful you already have a warm group to which you can promote the idea. Better yet, ask them.

I know, it’s crazy. Asking the customer what they want. Or listening to them when they offer ideas. As you may know, I recently launched my book called How to be a Finance Rock Star: The Small Business Owner’s Ticket to Multi-Platinum Profits. While it is written as a stand-alone tool, some readers expressed an interest in a mastermind group to do a hands-on walk through of the book.

Great idea! Only I didn’t have a such a thing created. The traditional approach would be to spend the time to create it and then offer it. Of course that means I’m not earning money, and more importantly the people currently interested have nothing to purchase.

OR, I could tell them I’m launching a new service, and a limited group of people will get a chance to be the first ones through it. Since it will still be a work in progress I will offer it at a discounted price. In this case my regular price will be $247 for an eight week small group mastermind covering my book.

However for the initial participants, my small VIP group, they can get this same service for only $100. Yes a Finance Rock Star VIP Mastermind Pass for only $100. (Gratuitous self-promotion: As of the date I wrote this one slot is open, so feel free to sign up using this link).

If no one actually paid to join the Finance Rock Star Mastermind Group then I would know it wasn’t really a service that was of interest to my market. However since people have signed up for it, I will be getting paid to develop the course. The participants receive my same great service as a significant discount. It’s a win-win!

Market Research that Pays You: Crowdfunding Your Offering

Let’s say you want to create a new paid community. However there is significant development cost, both in software and in time. You really, really, really believe its a great idea, but are worried if no one joins you’ll be out a ton of cash.

Why not crowdfund your community? Not only will it cover your development costs, it tells you if people are really willing to pay to be a part of the community you plan to offer.

How to test and fund your kick butt community

Determine the costs involved. That will be your project fundraising goal.
List out the benefits a paid member of the community will receive
Go to Peerbackers.com or a similar crowdfunding site and start a project. Be sure to offer special benefits or free membership for a certain number of months to those who fund your start-up costs
Promote to your list, through social media and your network. Heck even tell you mom, you know she’ll spread the word.
The monies are only disbursed if you hit your funding goal. Otherwise they are returned to the backers.

This is another win-win. If you hit your goal you have the money to build your community, the knowledge that there is a market willing to pay for it, and a built in core of people who will participate.

Final Thoughts

Have you ever tried one of these ideas? If so, what were your results? If not, would you? Why or why not?

This post is part of the March Word Carnival — a monthly group blogging event specifically for small business owners. (It’s the most fun you’ll have all month!) Check out the rest of the fabulous carney work here.

© 2012 Small Business Finance Forum LLC | All rights reserved.

Tea Silvestre - March 28, 2012

Yes! This is great advice. And I’ve done it twice now — with two different classes. It is SO much better to capture some initial revenue while you’re in development. We all need to make money, and this is a great way to grease the wheels.
Tea Silvestre recently posted..7 Ways to Use Facebook to Find and Research Your Target Market (dofollow)

Katina Pfannkuch - March 28, 2012

All fantastic ideas! I’m totally guilty of creating and waiting for the money to come in, which is such an archaic way of working, really. Thanks for the reminder and the inspiration to rethink how to approach personal promotional projects for my business!
Katina Pfannkuch recently posted..The Power of Getting Hooked on a Feeling (dofollow)

Melanie Kissell - March 28, 2012

Very energizing post, Nicole!

Love this concept …

” … knowing which ideas are the real money makers, and then delivering like crazy to your customers”

You’ve helped me to shift my thinking in a big way — thank you.

I’ll have to admit I’m super “conservative” and until I read your post, I would have considered pre-sales pretty risky. But now I see the rock solid principle behind this approach.

Just curious …

Let’s say your pre-sales are pretty dismal — maybe only a handful of people bite the bullet. How do you handle that situation? Do you proceed anyway? Or do you simply issue refunds with an explanation? (“So sorry. This idea flopped. Here’s your investment back.”)

Totally enjoyable and enlightening read!

kylie gusset - March 28, 2012

Crowdsourced fundraising is totally THE BOMB. Using crowdsourced fundraising means that not only do you get the money should you be successful, you also get PR, a turbo charged subscriber list of people who have given you money, a waiting list of people who weren’t game until the product came out, and much much more.
Your post has got me thinking Tea – I really need to write that ebook about crowdsourced funding and give the nitty gritty of how to be successful, so that everyone can share in the joy. Meanwhile, I’ve linked to the crowdsourced fundraising part of gusset.net with some of my learnings.
kylie gusset recently posted..pinteresting: pinning with pinterest. (dofollow)

Sharon Hurley Hall - March 28, 2012

Sell it before you create it is great advice, Nicole – wonderful to know you have a market before you begin to put it together.
Sharon Hurley Hall recently posted..Why My Clients Think I’m Psychic (dofollow)

Clare Price - March 29, 2012

Can I say how much I totally love this approach! Pre-sales definitely work and so do having beta customers kick the tires and give you feedback. I did that with 5 Easy Pages and it changed development. Also crowdfunding is a great way to go. Thanks Nicole!
Clare Price recently posted..Fast and Easy Market Research – The Social Way (dofollow)

Nicole Fende - March 29, 2012

@Tea – Well I learned this lesson the hard way. I wrote an eBook way back when and it did NADA. Now I test the waters and everybody wins.

@Katina – You’re welcome. You’ll find some people appreciate, even prefer being the beta testers. And it’s not just a potential discount, they love the idea of being first.

@Melanie – I generally try to build up to a really big product or service so no one thing requires a huge commitment. That way, even if only a few people sign up I can still deliver. Keep in mind you’re not doing heavy marketing and you have no testimonials. Don’t expect 100′s of people from the get go.

Nicole Fende - March 29, 2012

@Kylie That’s a great point about the built in PR, another wonderful benefit about crowdfunding. Keep me posted on the eBook, would love to have you on my radio show when its ready.

@Sharon – Thanks

@Clare – Yes the beta testing tire kickers is also wonderful. When they know that is part of the package they really give awesome feedback.

Jaz - March 30, 2012

I learned something more with your post!

nice one!

and more powers to you!

Nicholas - March 30, 2012

Great idea. It can actually work both ways, but you have to really know your items, or else you may lose money. Thanks for sharing your sites.
Nicholas recently posted..land of nod store (dofollow)

Rachel Blaufeld - March 30, 2012

pre sell — if you sell a lot, you are getting paid to create a product == genius!

love that thought….now to implement, implement
Rachel Blaufeld recently posted..Pinterest: The capital of the ID. (dofollow)

Nick Armstrong - March 30, 2012

Such a scary idea when it comes to pre-sales.

You actually have to have the wherewithal to finish the project. I’ve had this burn me on non-paid projects before (I seem to recall having a WordPress book “in progress” since 2009).

Another problem here – and not to poke holes, I actually think the idea is terrific – is where to draw the line between “useful” and “nice to have”. If you have 5 orders, does that count? Maybe it’s just not the right season for what you’re offering – or maybe it just is “nice to have” and not really an added benefit to the market.

Hard to tell the difference sometimes, for me especially – people beg me for things but then become unwilling to pay for them – even if it’s a specific piece of knowledge that requires years and years of training or experience.

Kinda silly – but then again, my demographics are scattered all over the map, so it’s more indicative of my audience than of a failure of the strategy in whole.

Great ideas – I’ll give this a try for my next project! Then write really fast, I suppose
Nick Armstrong recently posted..I Hate That – How Extreme Niches Connect You with What Your Ideal Customers Really Want (dofollow)

SandyMc - April 1, 2012

So much to research here Nicole, great post, and one of those I need to revisit.

Does crowdsurfing work for information products? Naive question I’m sure, but I am a ingenue with regard to this. I wonder if you have any advice in terms of research for those of us who have already completed a valuable (even if that is by our own assessment!!) ebook – without research. Tsk Tsk!
SandyMc recently posted..Can I solve your problem? (dofollow)

Elena Anne - April 3, 2012

I have never thought about doing a presale. That is an awesome idea. If you are only giving a product just to get the traffic why waste your time and build it for it only to crash and burn and nobody wanting it. Great post thanks!
Elena Anne recently posted..How to Treat and Prevent Muscle Cramps (dofollow)

Pete Goumas - April 9, 2012

Hi Nichole,
I liked your money making ideas and especially we should follow the suggestion to build our product or create our service after the client purchased it.Pre-sale is a safe approach.Thanks for sharing this informative post.
Pete Goumas recently posted..Penguin Coupon & Review (dofollow)

Syeda Mehwish - April 9, 2012

Hi Nichole,
I am thinking about pre-sale option because this tip really clicks me. I learnt good points from this post on how to research target market, and get paid to do it.Thankyou soo much for sharing your information with us.
Syeda Mehwish recently posted..Webhosting Plans (dofollow)

Charles - April 11, 2012

I am planning to to a pre-order of an e-Book that I am writing. This guide of yours are great since I can be able to promote it better following the points you made.
Charles recently posted..review of jamorama (dofollow)

Pamela - April 16, 2012

A portion of your budget each month should go directly to financial goals, such as getting out of debt or saving for retirement. A portion should cover your necessities, and you might also allow some money to go toward luxuries or entertainment..
Pamela recently posted..Avoriaz Skiing Information (dofollow)

Marrielle Morrow - April 16, 2012

Hi Nichole, this is somewhat like a good advice to each and every one of us. Making money online is one the best thing to do in earning money yet time consuming. Thanks a lot for this information!
Marrielle Morrow recently posted..Timber French Doors Brisbane (dofollow)

Alice - April 17, 2012

Nice idea. I guess it will give out a much better advantage if I know what my consumers prefer. Bigger profit for me and good outcome for the clients. A win win situation that is.
Alice recently posted..land of nod (dofollow)

Pamela - April 20, 2012

Thanks for sharing this inspiring post to us..You share a lot of great ideas..
Pamela recently posted..Public Relations Devon (dofollow)

Carmen - April 21, 2012

I guess it will give out a much better advantage if I know what my consumers prefer. Thanks that you’ve shared.
Carmen recently posted..Online Dating Today (dofollow)

Donna - April 22, 2012

I haven’t tried those ideas, so I am somewhat hesitant to do so.

Just a question on the pre-sale. What am I going to do if the projected sales is not viable? Do i scrap the product or something?
Donna recently posted..ballroom dancing lessons (dofollow)

Sharon Koenig - May 1, 2012

Marketing Research is a great Idea. I don’t do it myself, but I have used a service for a blog that I’m doing.

Pretty much if it exists, it can be researched, which is what’s so great about this!
Sharon Koenig recently posted..How to Market Your Blog For Residual Income (dofollow)

Jake - May 24, 2012

“Asking the customer what they want. Or listening to them when they offer ideas.” This is not easy at all as it seems like, but this is the fastest way to the heart of your customers.

viec lam long an - June 11, 2012

Wow, this post gives out a lot of advices, but it depends on you yourselves to make all your success in business.

Bidify - August 15, 2012

everything has a price no one should do anything for free its of no use when people dont value your work you loose confidence so dont work for free ever

27 Comments

Tea Silvestre - March 28, 2012

Yes! This is great advice. And I’ve done it twice now — with two different classes. It is SO much better to capture some initial revenue while you’re in development. We all need to make money, and this is a great way to grease the wheels.
Tea Silvestre recently posted..7 Ways to Use Facebook to Find and Research Your Target Market (dofollow)

Katina Pfannkuch - March 28, 2012

All fantastic ideas! I’m totally guilty of creating and waiting for the money to come in, which is such an archaic way of working, really. Thanks for the reminder and the inspiration to rethink how to approach personal promotional projects for my business!
Katina Pfannkuch recently posted..The Power of Getting Hooked on a Feeling (dofollow)

Melanie Kissell - March 28, 2012

Very energizing post, Nicole!

Love this concept …

” … knowing which ideas are the real money makers, and then delivering like crazy to your customers”

You’ve helped me to shift my thinking in a big way — thank you.

I’ll have to admit I’m super “conservative” and until I read your post, I would have considered pre-sales pretty risky. But now I see the rock solid principle behind this approach.

Just curious …

Let’s say your pre-sales are pretty dismal — maybe only a handful of people bite the bullet. How do you handle that situation? Do you proceed anyway? Or do you simply issue refunds with an explanation? (“So sorry. This idea flopped. Here’s your investment back.”)

Totally enjoyable and enlightening read!

kylie gusset - March 28, 2012

Crowdsourced fundraising is totally THE BOMB. Using crowdsourced fundraising means that not only do you get the money should you be successful, you also get PR, a turbo charged subscriber list of people who have given you money, a waiting list of people who weren’t game until the product came out, and much much more.
Your post has got me thinking Tea – I really need to write that ebook about crowdsourced funding and give the nitty gritty of how to be successful, so that everyone can share in the joy. Meanwhile, I’ve linked to the crowdsourced fundraising part of gusset.net with some of my learnings.
kylie gusset recently posted..pinteresting: pinning with pinterest. (dofollow)

Sharon Hurley Hall - March 28, 2012

Sell it before you create it is great advice, Nicole – wonderful to know you have a market before you begin to put it together.
Sharon Hurley Hall recently posted..Why My Clients Think I’m Psychic (dofollow)

Clare Price - March 29, 2012

Can I say how much I totally love this approach! Pre-sales definitely work and so do having beta customers kick the tires and give you feedback. I did that with 5 Easy Pages and it changed development. Also crowdfunding is a great way to go. Thanks Nicole!
Clare Price recently posted..Fast and Easy Market Research – The Social Way (dofollow)

Nicole Fende - March 29, 2012

@Tea – Well I learned this lesson the hard way. I wrote an eBook way back when and it did NADA. Now I test the waters and everybody wins.

@Katina – You’re welcome. You’ll find some people appreciate, even prefer being the beta testers. And it’s not just a potential discount, they love the idea of being first.

@Melanie – I generally try to build up to a really big product or service so no one thing requires a huge commitment. That way, even if only a few people sign up I can still deliver. Keep in mind you’re not doing heavy marketing and you have no testimonials. Don’t expect 100′s of people from the get go.

Nicole Fende - March 29, 2012

@Kylie That’s a great point about the built in PR, another wonderful benefit about crowdfunding. Keep me posted on the eBook, would love to have you on my radio show when its ready.

@Sharon – Thanks

@Clare – Yes the beta testing tire kickers is also wonderful. When they know that is part of the package they really give awesome feedback.

Jaz - March 30, 2012

I learned something more with your post!

nice one!

and more powers to you!

Nicholas - March 30, 2012

Great idea. It can actually work both ways, but you have to really know your items, or else you may lose money. Thanks for sharing your sites.
Nicholas recently posted..land of nod store (dofollow)

Rachel Blaufeld - March 30, 2012

pre sell — if you sell a lot, you are getting paid to create a product == genius!

love that thought….now to implement, implement
Rachel Blaufeld recently posted..Pinterest: The capital of the ID. (dofollow)

Nick Armstrong - March 30, 2012

Such a scary idea when it comes to pre-sales.

You actually have to have the wherewithal to finish the project. I’ve had this burn me on non-paid projects before (I seem to recall having a WordPress book “in progress” since 2009).

Another problem here – and not to poke holes, I actually think the idea is terrific – is where to draw the line between “useful” and “nice to have”. If you have 5 orders, does that count? Maybe it’s just not the right season for what you’re offering – or maybe it just is “nice to have” and not really an added benefit to the market.

Hard to tell the difference sometimes, for me especially – people beg me for things but then become unwilling to pay for them – even if it’s a specific piece of knowledge that requires years and years of training or experience.

Kinda silly – but then again, my demographics are scattered all over the map, so it’s more indicative of my audience than of a failure of the strategy in whole.

Great ideas – I’ll give this a try for my next project! Then write really fast, I suppose
Nick Armstrong recently posted..I Hate That – How Extreme Niches Connect You with What Your Ideal Customers Really Want (dofollow)

SandyMc - April 1, 2012

So much to research here Nicole, great post, and one of those I need to revisit.

Does crowdsurfing work for information products? Naive question I’m sure, but I am a ingenue with regard to this. I wonder if you have any advice in terms of research for those of us who have already completed a valuable (even if that is by our own assessment!!) ebook – without research. Tsk Tsk!
SandyMc recently posted..Can I solve your problem? (dofollow)

Elena Anne - April 3, 2012

I have never thought about doing a presale. That is an awesome idea. If you are only giving a product just to get the traffic why waste your time and build it for it only to crash and burn and nobody wanting it. Great post thanks!
Elena Anne recently posted..How to Treat and Prevent Muscle Cramps (dofollow)

Pete Goumas - April 9, 2012

Hi Nichole,
I liked your money making ideas and especially we should follow the suggestion to build our product or create our service after the client purchased it.Pre-sale is a safe approach.Thanks for sharing this informative post.
Pete Goumas recently posted..Penguin Coupon & Review (dofollow)

Syeda Mehwish - April 9, 2012

Hi Nichole,
I am thinking about pre-sale option because this tip really clicks me. I learnt good points from this post on how to research target market, and get paid to do it.Thankyou soo much for sharing your information with us.
Syeda Mehwish recently posted..Webhosting Plans (dofollow)

Charles - April 11, 2012

I am planning to to a pre-order of an e-Book that I am writing. This guide of yours are great since I can be able to promote it better following the points you made.
Charles recently posted..review of jamorama (dofollow)

Pamela - April 16, 2012

A portion of your budget each month should go directly to financial goals, such as getting out of debt or saving for retirement. A portion should cover your necessities, and you might also allow some money to go toward luxuries or entertainment..
Pamela recently posted..Avoriaz Skiing Information (dofollow)

Marrielle Morrow - April 16, 2012

Hi Nichole, this is somewhat like a good advice to each and every one of us. Making money online is one the best thing to do in earning money yet time consuming. Thanks a lot for this information!
Marrielle Morrow recently posted..Timber French Doors Brisbane (dofollow)

Alice - April 17, 2012

Nice idea. I guess it will give out a much better advantage if I know what my consumers prefer. Bigger profit for me and good outcome for the clients. A win win situation that is.
Alice recently posted..land of nod (dofollow)

Pamela - April 20, 2012

Thanks for sharing this inspiring post to us..You share a lot of great ideas..
Pamela recently posted..Public Relations Devon (dofollow)

Carmen - April 21, 2012

I guess it will give out a much better advantage if I know what my consumers prefer. Thanks that you’ve shared.
Carmen recently posted..Online Dating Today (dofollow)

Donna - April 22, 2012

I haven’t tried those ideas, so I am somewhat hesitant to do so.

Just a question on the pre-sale. What am I going to do if the projected sales is not viable? Do i scrap the product or something?
Donna recently posted..ballroom dancing lessons (dofollow)

Sharon Koenig - May 1, 2012

Marketing Research is a great Idea. I don’t do it myself, but I have used a service for a blog that I’m doing.

Pretty much if it exists, it can be researched, which is what’s so great about this!
Sharon Koenig recently posted..How to Market Your Blog For Residual Income (dofollow)

Jake - May 24, 2012

“Asking the customer what they want. Or listening to them when they offer ideas.” This is not easy at all as it seems like, but this is the fastest way to the heart of your customers.

viec lam long an - June 11, 2012

Wow, this post gives out a lot of advices, but it depends on you yourselves to make all your success in business.

Bidify - August 15, 2012

everything has a price no one should do anything for free its of no use when people dont value your work you loose confidence so dont work for free ever