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The Great Ideas Letter - the ideal gift for any entrepreneur

Michael's "Great Ideas" newsletter got me thinking about a business possibility for 2003.

After all, a newsletter with great "ideas" targeted to the right market group is something that all of us niche information providers should explore.

My question is this: what techniques could a person use to come up with at least one great idea month after month?

For example, in writing a book, I follow Stephen King's advice: read a lot, write a lot.

So last night, guess what I did?

I spent almost two hours in my personal library (Barnes and Noble) just browsing and reading books about investing money.

Another technique for generating great ideas might be to use the "pick the brain of experts."
Have any of you writers tried to do this on a consistent basis? Any luck?

These, of course, are just two methods that I can think of off the top of my head.

Anyone else have any ideas for generating a steady flow of "great ideas" that could be used in a niche newsletter?

Michael, what is your secret?

Robert Campbell




Timing the Real Estate Market

> My question is this: what techniques could a
> person use to come up with at least one
> great idea month after month?

The easy way is to subscribe to The Great Ideas Letter.

> Anyone else have any ideas for generating a
> steady flow of "great ideas" that
> could be used in a niche newsletter?

What niche are you thinking here, Robert?

> Michael, what is your secret?

I could tell you, but then I would have to erase your memory.

Sorry, Robert. How the ideas we write about in The Great Ideas Letter are generated is a trade secret.

What you could do is subscribe to The Great Ideas Letter, and then see if you can figure it out. The worst that would happen is, you would get a whole bunch of ideas, with twists, and see the results of tests we conduct.

By going over the many ideas we cover, you will also start to generate your own ideas...

Michael Ross


The Great Ideas Letter

Michael -

I was asking the question about how to generate new and fresh ideas that apply to any niche, not just your niche.

If it came across that I wanted access to your ideas for free, I came across wrong.

My niche, you ask?

It's tracking real estate trends for the best time to buy and sell.

Best wishes,

Robert M. Campbell


Timing the Real Estate Market

Robert:

I knew what you were asking. And my answer still applies because they are the same techniques. They are merely applied to a different area.

And yes, you read that right... techniques... plural. We use at least 19 different techniques to come up with the ideas for The Great Ideas Letter. And writing about them would be a book in itself.

Some techniques require brain power and thinking. Some techniques are an acquired skill. And some techniques require certain first hand experience.

And while some techniques could easily be stated in five words or less (such as "identify problems to be solved"), the application of the technique (the HOW - how do you identify problems) is another matter. And the answer to that is less so straight forward and can require a certain mind-set coupled with "in the field" experience.

And then there is the identification of elements of the idea that can be enhanced - a new twist - to improve it, or make it uniquely yours.

Regarding your niche - real estate timing in relation to the rise and leveling off of prices - it appears to me your targets are the buy and holder investors. Not the "Subject To", L/O, or Wholesale crowd because how the price fluctuates over the years isn't as great a concern to them as cashflow is. Maybe even those who think negative gearing is a good thing. Or those just interested in increasing their knowledge about real estate investing in general.

Whatever. I think your product does solve a problem. And there's a fair bet you saw this problem because you were in the market. Maybe even experiencing the problem first hand. Or as a real estate agent/broker you had clients ask the question of you or express concern over buying at the wrong time.

Funny thing is, the real estate timing problem seems to also be a problem for stock traders - timing the trades.

Other real estate problems I see are:

• Selling your house fast without giving it away
• Not being taken to the cleaners by agents/brokers
• Getting the house "ready to sell" on a low to non-existant budget
• Getting good bang for your advertising buck
• Getting near on full asking price without stressful negotiating - when you're the seller
• Getting the seller to let you buy the house at a huge discount - when you're the buyer
• Doing real estate transactions without applying for a bank loan
• Doing real estate transactions without having a huge supply of your own cash
• Finding "good" escrow people - lawyers, etc.
• Finding ideal tenants
• Getting rid of trouble tenants
• Getting tenants to pay on time
• Keeping good tenants
• Turning negative gear property into positive gear property
• Being able to spot "problems" while doing an initial inspection on a property and without needing to hire a $200 an hour "inspector"
• Finding non-bank money lenders quickly and easily
• Do repairs without spending a fortune

and this is just the tip of the ice-berg. And these are just based on problems *I* see the budding real estate investor experiencing, or at least wanting to know the solution to.

Granted, some of these problems already have solutions. But the problem is... WHERE is the solution? I need an easy-to-use reference guide to point me in the right direction. Or at least someone (Robert C, perhaps?) I can pay a nominal monthly fee to, to be allowed to ask them WHERE I might quickly find the answer, or who could quickly provide the answer without me having to read pages and pages of stuff or having to buy their stuff first.

This give you some ideas?

Michael Ross

P.S. Robert, read this post a number of times. There is a hidden idea spotting technique buried within the text.

P.P.S. Subscribe to The Great Ideas Letter. Click the link below for details.


The Great Ideas Letter

Michael -

In business, it's always about the same thing, right?

Identify a problem ... then offer the solution.

This simple technique can be applied to any business.

Thus, even though an entrepreneur may have a product or service that solves one key problem for a clearly-defined target market, why not expand your horizons and solve other problems for that same target market as well?

Just a little different twist maybe on back-end marketing.

Great idea, Michael!

Thank you.

Robert Campbell




Timing the Real Estate Market

And it was that technique I was referencing in my PS... the hidden, unstated technique. And that was...

What applies to one market (niche) often applies to another market too.

In this case... two different markets experience the Same Problem (timing) - real estate timing and day trade timing.

Another example, which uses the product ideas I threw out before...

Getting nearly full asking price for your home without stressful negotiation.

Could easily be: getting nearly full asking price for your CAR without stressful negotiation.

How to check over the house without using a high-priced inspector could be, how to check over a car without paying a mechanic.

Michael Ross


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