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GordonJ
March 21, 2007, 10:28 AM
That being said. I'm skeptical about most supplements. Some are even dangerous, like ephedrine. Anyhow, I want to answer Jason's post:

Aloha Gordon,

I would like to see all three of those topics covered...

1. Nutrition supplements from concept to market.

My opinion is MARKET FIRST. Except for one a day type vitamins, all supplements should be targeted. Take "arthritis" type formulas, with glucosmine, chondroitin and perhaps hyaluronate (today, these formulas have mostly 3 ingredients).

OK. There are TONS of supplements for "joint pain", right? But who has the joint pain?

LARGE market: Boomers. Segments: Golfers. Subsegs: Male Golfers in FL.

A full page ROP ad might pull in leads for a pain killer product. An ad in a golf magazine might pull in leads for the golfers. A DIRECT MAIL piece, one that is targeted to Male Golfers in FL...might pull in DOLLARS.

The one advantage YOU may have over the big companies is this very niche specific market, because the big boys have to cover their overhead. But a personal letter, maybe even a greeting card type promotion might work and of the millions of male golfers in FL, getting 500 or so on an Auto-Ship program for their arthritis "pills" can happen very quickly.

Now you have some idea of TARGETED marketing. How do you develop your proprietary formula? Search for "designer" supplements, private label supplements, etc.

A few phone calls or emails today, and you'll find scores of companies ready and willing to build just about anything you want. Maybe you add a very small amount of White Willow (as an example) Bark to the big 3 tested and proven arthritis formulas.

Or just use what the company has "off the shelf"...you'll need a good name for it...Golfer's Joint Ease...or something like that...and for Tennis Players, maybe Tennis Player's Joint Ease...same product, different labels...and you'd have enough lists from SRDS to keep you mailing small targeted lists for the next decade.

That is a way to go about developing a SUPPLEMENT...MARKET first.



2. A list of reputable companies that are in the business of formulating, labeling and drop-shipping.

I think this is readily available with some google searching. Search for "private label supplements" with the quotes and you'll see a place to start.

http://www.supplementsresource.com/dietarysellingsupplementtop.html

is another resource to get anyone started.


3. How to market to Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

Let me start with the How to Market part first.

If I were getting into this, I'd locate niche MARKETS first. Or subsegments of a segment market as with my example of Golfers, Boomers, FL.

There are lots of ways to market. James Vincent talks about the AUTO-Ship program...and this would be the only way to get into this market.

Gary Shawkey used a Network or MLM approach, and this has worked for over 70 years, Nutralite began this way.

You could target a segment of a niche again, Overweight Christians. And you would design your promotions to appeal to this sub segment, that might be reached through a list of Ministers, heads of churches, who "sell" to their congregation...a whole lot of this is going on, a lot of info type products like CD's, audio and now DVD's...

Again, these are examples of how to market...using a niche approach. Many companies and their small fry owners make billions doing this and never bother with the Wal-Mart thing. BUT,

you have to know how things work. Wal-Mart has X amount of shelf space for, say, dietary supplements...a couple of years ago MOST of that space was given to Trim Spa and the Anna Nicole promotion. There has been a surge in Anna Nicole interest...and the shelf space has recently increased at the Wal-Marts I check. And it is a great RESEARCH center for product development too.

The products I've been associated with had very little shelf space, and it was hard to pick them out...so the label and design of the bottle is an important KEY to shelf marketing...walk down the laundry detergent and see how TIDE still jumps off the shelf after all these years.

PACKAGING is a subject all in itself...with colors, eye appeal, product placement, etc.

So to get into a Wal-Mart, you have to know how they work, how they buy, what they are already selling...and most of this info is available at their site for any would be marketer to read.

But, there are local stores, regional chains, super chains, and many different opportunities to get into. Today, there is a Multi-Channel push for products...

An Infomercial. AS SEEN ON TV spaces in retail outlets. Web Sites. Direct Mail. Space Ads. etc.

But having a product on the shelf of Wal-Mart MAY be a good thing, but you'd better be good at the Shelf Level.




There is a lot of competition in the field.

Yes there is, and because it is so PROFITABLE.



I think in order to get traction, a marketer would have to find his niche.

Or have deep pockets. OR to direct market to the segment niches and establish your own identity.

I think Vincent James's 12-month millionaire course was damn good. It covered all the fundamentals of direct marketing within this niche.

Not all the fundamentals, but it was pretty solid in what he did. He did cover a lot of the basics of parts of direct marketing and demonstrated how just about anyone can get into it.

Although he went to Federal prison, it is obvious he does know his $#!t when it comes to marketing nutraceuticals.

Ah. I think most of the survivors know how to push the HOT buttons, not much secret in that. Vincent James brings to mind Paul Monea (M. and A. father and son) of Tae-Bo fame...but also of "The Stimulator" sale...

which sold close to 90 million dollars in the same time that Vincent sold his purported 77 million in supplements. OH, and Paul Monet might be serving his FED term for money laundering. OH BOY, these guys.


Most people don't know that Joe Polish (http://www.joepolish.com/memberships/) (famous Dan Kennedy protege in the carpet-cleaning niche) was behind much of the success of EAS and Bill Phillips. He was Bill's marketing consultant.

You have a case study right there. We talked about Bill Phillips a few years ago on SowPub, some of us were actually going to DO IT. What a well thought out campaign...

See, it starts something like this:

MARKET. Front End. Lead Generator. Targeted Marketing. AUTO SHIP? Back end? What else?

The BOOK as the front end is about the same strategy we see today with The Secret. DVD, then all kinds of things.

The Book then EAS supplements. Works like a charm.


Aloha,

Aloha back. Ya know Jason, I'm a former student of Hawaiian Folk Lore and know that there are some unexploited products that might have a little HUNA Magic to them...not unlike the Hunza Magic of the NO HUNGER BREAD campaign...still being discussed 3 decades later.

I think you need to take an extended vacation and search the islands for the next great pineapple/coconut/seaweed that grows only off the Maui coast diet/pain killer/anti-aging Nutraceutical. Let me know, I'm ready to write on THAT (after some intensive research of my own HA!)

Jason

PS: I am listening to those guerilla tapes you sent me a couple years ago on the 7 Secrets... good stuff!

Guerrilla INDEED. Was it you that said I sounded like an Ape choking on a bananna? You should have seen the DVD...YIKES!
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