Use These 9 'Fail Proof' Methods for Finding Hot Private Label Product Ideas WITHOUT Worrying About

What's Happening On Facebook!I must admit I was an early adaptor for Facebook. I opened an account long ago when I first moved to Asia. Although at that time I wasn't building a business. These days it'svery rare I even log into Facebook.

It's simply a huge distraction unless of course it's for the sole purpose of advertising. If I want to chat with someone I know, I pick up the phone, send an email or chat using SKYPE.

So what has Facebook got to do with finding new products to private label and profit with?

Well, I wanted to emphasize how lethal it can be to become distracted or even ignore the basic fundamentals. Even I sometimes have to remind myself that to keep profiting from a winning formula, doesn't mean you need to reinvent the wheel or worry about what others (--that's people who aren't your target market--) might think about your product or what pretty pictures might have been posted on Facebook today. (--in other words, ignore the 'bright shiny objects that surround you right now', keep implementing a system until it works for you, then keep implementing the same system that worksover and over again!--)

To begin building your system, you'll probably want to begin researching different products and identifying which products are hot sellers as soon as possible.

This cheat sheet shows you no less than 9 different ways to start gathering your information about what's selling right now and to give you inspirational new ideas.

Note: If you already have an ecommerce business or if you're already selling physical products it wouldn't make sense for you to start a brand new business with a completely new product range/category at this point. Instead you'll probably want to

think about which of your existing products you could convert to private label or what additional products you can private label to add to your existing business.

Copy Cats Are Doomed to Fail Before they Even BeginBefore we begin discussing alternative research methods, here's a quick important tip

to remember..

When you first start a new business model I understand it's easy to copy other people. Although doing this is definitely NOT the best or most profitable way to use this business model.

By all means DO 'overlap', compliment or even 'piggy back' with other products although the point of implementing private label branding is to build your own uniqueproducts that will attract buyers for different reasons.

Plus, I've found that if you're able to align your products with other exiting products in the market as being 'complimentary' to what's already being sold, then you'll have a much easier time later on if and when you want to double or even treble your business with joint venture partners.

For Example:-

a) If you copy existing products almost identically = you'll be picking battles with established competitors and trying to pull customers away from brand loyalty that might already exist.

OR instead..

b) Align your new unique product with existing products --(i.e. slot into the marketwithout steeling sales but by encouraging additional sales)-- = making friends in the market and potential new jv partners who can help each other to benefit mutually later on.

It will be in your own interest to try to make your products as unique as possible as well as adding value with your own branding to slot into a market (not solely with a new logo and brand name).

Something else I want to mention is that if possible try to look for non-seasonal products to begin with. It's OK to sell seasonal products although this means some seasons you might not have much business only to be flooded with orders during the peak season. For your first private label products I would suggest you stick to all year around products if you can.

This way you'll have the time to implement and track your progress and growth without major seasonal influences. Keep this in mind when you begin researching which products are currently in demand.

Now you know what to look for let's take a look at a couple of methods for finding hot products.

Please note that using the Product Score Calculator Tool in this module basically eliminates the need for 'thinking' about which products are the best products to sell and the Choose Your Niche tutorial shows you how to choose a niche that suits and leverages your natural advantage. However let's also take a look at some other tips and tricks for finding products that are hot and in demand right now..

1. Use Google's Keyword Planner Tool to Identify Related Keywords and Find The Most Searched Keywords

If you already completed the Product Score Calculator Tool training then you'll already know that you can type keywords into Amazon's search bar to get other related keyword suggestions. Here's the example we used for the keyword 'brownies'..

Amazon will show the most popular related keywords. (--the suggestions at the top of the list are the most searched related keywords--)

We discussed finding keywords to promote the 'brownie maker machine' although what if other keywords are also being used to sell this product that we didn't think of already.

To discover new related keywords you can use the Google Keyword Planner (formerly the Google keyword tool)

Goto http://adwords.google.com/keywordplanner

You'll need to login with your Google account details. Once logged in, select the 'Keyword Planner Tool' from the Tool menu.

Then select the 'Search for new keyword and ad group ideas' option.

Type in a few of the keywords you already see from Amazon's suggestions.

Click the 'get ideas' button and you'll be presented with groups of keywords. Open each of these grouped to find other keywords that might be used to sell the brownie maker machine. You can also use this keyword tool to get ideas on how to brand your own product. For example I found these keywords from this tool I might not have thought about before..

gluten free brownies

healthy brownies

brownie bites maker

electric brownie maker

brownie bar maker

brownie pop maker

brownie in waffle maker

brownie cupcakes

cupcake pan

brownie baking pan

baking brownies

Some of these keywords like 'cupcake pan' can be used as additional keywords in the Amazon listing to promote the brownie maker as these are related keywords. This list of

keywords can also give you ideas of how to brand your product. For example would selling a private label brownie maker with gluten free brownie recipes book be a starting point for a 'gluten free baking for kids brand?' I think it would. The keywords tell us that there's definitely a demand for gluten free brownie recipes and brownie maker machines.

There's a niche that overlaps both 'gluten free recipes' and 'baking brownies' and there's also room for a new brand to be the home depot for 'gluten free brownie baking'.

I hope you can see how we're using this keyword tool to build up a picture of a potential niche market you could enter with a unique product.

2. eBay Pulse is STILL Pulsating Under a Different Name - Use it!

Goto http://popular.ebay.com/

3. Search Best Selling Products Located in Other Countries

If I personally want to introduce a brand new range or even new line extensions I absolutely ALWAYS will look at what's selling well in other markets to get ideas of products I can possibly transferand introduce into new markets.

You can leverage popular products in other markets by being one of

the first to introduce similar products into new markets. (--this is a worldwide business after all!--)

One way to do this is to use eBay's advanced search functions. Goto your local eBay site, click advanced search and search for products and completed listings in categories for items only located in different countries.

It might have been a coincidence (--or not!--) that I just visited the Amazon.com home page to see Amazon using this exact same marketing strategy of bringing something popular form elsewhere and introducing the product into a new market with this example of a Home Cooker from South Africa.

(--In addition to advertising their own 'Kindle' brand, Amazon obviously see this cross border product marketing as a strong strategy to be displaying this advertisement that'staking up the showcase on their home page next to their beloved kindle--) I grayed out the rest of the page to highlight the ad to show this example..

This strategy works in any category and in any niche. Introduce a popular product from one market to another marketplace and that product then becomes a 'brand new idea' for the new market. (--more $$$ for you!--)

4. The 'No Brainer' Amazon Best Seller List

Goto http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers/zgbs

Amazon actually display the top 100 best selling products for every category. As an example, here's the first page I see for the top 100 products in the Beauty category..

WARNING: The top 100 list will show you the current best selling products although remember to take into consideration the number of reviews these products have. It's in your best interest to obtain as many 'legitimate' reviews on Amazon as possible to rank your product high in the Amazon marketplace although we'll discuss this in more detail in another tutorial. (--Use the product scorecard calculator tool supplied in the Private Label Blueprint System to determine all competing factors and difficulty level to profit as quickly as possible with your initial product list. Also, think about how you might be able to leverage the popular products list by selling a 'similar' product without directly competing. This way you can 'tap into' the popularity of existing products and introduceyour own 'complimentary' or 'better' product knowing there's a huge demand for the top 100 products in your chosen niche--)

5. 'Add to Cart' to Monitor Sales Turnover on Amazon

Here's a little secret trick you can use to see the turnover of product sales in any selected time period..

Add a product to your cart in Amazon as if you are buying the product. Amazon will show the current number of items available.

Do not complete the checkout. Instead come back to the Amazon checkout page showing the product after a period of time and hit the 'refresh' button in your browser. Amazon will show you the new current amount of items available. This can give you an idea of how many products are selling from a single listing over a period of time.

(--although this method CAN be fudged because the merchant may adjust inventory levels at any time or may even be using software that adjusts inventory levels, although it's still worth checking several times during the course of a week if you want to monitor how product inventory is being managed for any selected product--)

6. Spy on Independent Website 'Bestsellers' or 'Most Popular Products' Lists

If you already have an existing product or business OR if you've already decided on a niche that you'll be developing products for, simply visit other existing websites in your niche and look for the 'most popular' product lists.

Lots of ecommerce style website have these lists. Here's the bestseller list for the Vitamins category over at GNC.com

Again I must emphasize how important it is not to directly 'copy' a product since although this might make you a quick buck here and there, it's NOT the Private Label Blueprint method for long terms success and prosperity.

IMPORTANT! By standing on the shoulder of giants, adding value and innovating is ALWAYS going to trump the 'copy cat' brand.

Innovation is ALWAYS the ultimate winner that attracts other merchants and marketers in the marketplace to become your 'friends' who want to partner with you and indulge in your mutual success, instead of becoming your 'enemies' who would only want to see you out of the game!

When you begin to innovate and add MORE value to your products for a specific marketplace, the sooner you'll become untouchable in your market and your brand'ssuccess will be guaranteed.

7. Use Affiliate Networks to Find the Programs and Products with the Most Affiliate Payouts

You can visit the affiliate networks to find the products and programs that are most popular for commissions. This can give you ideas of what's currently hot in the marketplace.

Here's how to locate hot products in the Clickbank affiliate marketplace..

Goto https://accounts.clickbank.com/marketplace.htm

Select a category of interest. I'll select the 'Green Products' category for this example..

When you search Clickbank, instead of searching for the most 'popular' products that affiliates are promoting, instead you want to search affiliate programs by the highest 'Gravity'. The gravity scoreindicates the conversion rate or what's making the most sales.

Here's Clickbanks' own definition of gravity score..

Grav: Short for GRAVITY™ performance statistic, this number represents a unique calculation by ClickBank that takes into account the number of different affiliates who earned a commission by promoting this product over the past 12 weeks. Since more recent transactions are given a higher value, this number can give you an idea of what products are “hot” at the moment, in terms of being promoted by many affiliates and

making a good number of sales. However, high gravity can also indicate that there will be a lot of competition in promoting this product.

From the products with the highest gravity score, you'll be able to see what customers are actually paying money for right now. You can then get ideas of hot niches where customers are spending money. Could you introduce your own private label brand of products for any of these hot markets? There's no doubt you could!

8. Browse Magazines to Find Unique Niches and Lucrative Products

If you're still undecided on one single niche then it's a good idea (--it's a good idea in any case!--) to browse your local magazine store or even browse the magazine.comwebsite to find niches you might not have thought exist. Besides no-one would introduce a magazine unless there wasn't an

already established marketplace wanting to buy the magazine right!

Take a look at some examples of magazines in the Cooking, Food & Beverage category..

Gourmet Food for Travelers, American Cake Decorating, Wine Making.. are just few of the niche ideas on just one page from the Magazine.com website.

Here's a few examples from the Health & Fitness category..

Some more niches on just one of the first pages I looked at in the Health and Fitness category.. 'Vegetarian, Yoga, Pilates, Natural Health, Backpacker fitness, Healthy Pregnancy, Muscle Development etc etc..

These are niche ideas simply from one page. Explore these categories further to find something that suits you. If there's a magazine on the subject, there's also a niche market where customers are willing to spend money.

Could you make 10k per month by introducing your own brand range of ancillary products for the health conscious backpacker? I've no doubt that if you did, it could be lucrative. It's not a niche that everyone thinks about although there's definitely a demand for products in that niche. Food for thought?

These are simply examples, if these niches don't 'float your boat' simply find one that does. Then research the niche, enter the conversations that are going on in the niche and think about what private label products you can then introduce to solve those problems.

9. Begin to Pair Your Ideas with Suppliers Over at Alibaba.com

Turning ideas and dreams into real physical products has always been a challenge 9.e. turning designs into real physical things. Although that's why we'll be concentrating on the simple 'non-mechanical' products that do not require extensive manufacturing processes and that can be produced inexpensively.

Once you have your shortlist of product ideas. The next step will be to find suppliers. Wecover this subject in detail in Module 2 although to get you started, go over to Alibaba.com and begin researching manufacturers and products they are currently able to supply. In module 2 we'll continue the supplier procurement process to begin testing your products and building your branded products.