I do believe one of the stumbling blocks people run up against is this—that most of the information on the topic of product creation is written by and for “internet marketers.” That is, it’s written by people that only make products that teach internet marketing. And it’s sold to people that can’t think of anything to make except more products teaching internet marketing.

The proliferation of this type of material can make it seem that all you can make and sell are ebooks, audios and software on internet marketing.

But the truth is that the internet makes it possible to make and sell an almost unlimited number of products. There are literally no limits! And great ideas for products you can make and sell are always at hand.

This week, on my local news channel, I saw a couple from a neighboring county showing off a product they developed that was inspired by swine flu. Steve and Cristie Aaron, the parents of triplets, were worried that the attention their triplets attract –along with the inevitable cheek pinching and handholding—could pass on swine flu germs to their babies. But they found themselves reluctant to ask people, out loud, not to touch the tots.

Their idea—a sign that said it for them. They developed and produced a waterproof tag that says, “Wash Hands Before Touching Baby.”

The business, Hands Off Baby, sells through their own web site (http://www.handsoffbaby.com/index.html ) as well as through the gift shops of two dozen hospitals.

The development of this product didn’t require any complex keyword research with expensive software. All it required was the realization that the solution to the Aaron’s problem could be the solution to many people’s problems. In other words, they followed the dictum of good business—identify a problem and sell a solution.

Their great ideas was right at hand—and that hand was potentially harmful to their babies. Rather than just worry, they took action.

There are many businesses that make it possible to produce and market your own physical products entirely on the internet. And there are many target markets, from anxious parents to pet owners to hobbiests, that share your problems and would buy your solution. I introduce many of these businesses in my book,  "Tapping Into Trends To Create An Endless Stream Of High-Profit Products"" It will inspire you to be your most creative, successful self  by showing you just some of the many ways I use the internet to make creative cash.

Visit http://www.tapintotrends.com to learn how you can get started Tapping Into Trends To Create An Endless Stream Of High Profit Products!

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Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine for people, especially small business owners,  that want to create their own products and market on the internet. To join in her adventures, add your email address to the subscriber box in the upper right corner.

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To me, the phrase "digital publisher" encompasses much of what I do within my business. I create and publish articles and books and blogs and web sites. I make and publish videos and animations.

These things exist in digital format. That is, they’re not printed on paper or transferred to video tape. They exist only as electric signals travelling from computer to computer across the internet.  They are digital. I am, therefore, a digital publisher.

But a title is only useful if it conveys information, and the phrase "digital publisher" clearly does not communicate to most people. I have therefore crowned myself with the new title, "Maker of Stuff," and when people ask me what I do, I say, "I make stuff and market on the internet."

My new title lets me add in some of the things I do that are non-digital. Now I say, "I make digital products like ebooks and I also make hard goods like T-shirts, and I sell them all on the internet."

That’s turned into my "elevator speech,"  the 30-second introduction I pull out when I only have  seconds to explain who I am and what I do. And that 30-second introduction turned into an ebook that explains how I use digital publishing and manufacture-in-demand services to make and sell all sorts of stuff–and how you can do it, too.

The need to market that book inspired me to make the video shown below that introduces me as a maker of stuff. And because I’m using all the sorts of simple ( but powerful and secret) ways to make simple videos and use them to drive traffic, I thought, "Hey, I bet other people would like to know how I do this!"

And that thought has turned into a new product, one I’m

I’m working on now. I think that’s a perfect example of how applying creative thinking to a problem —in my case, the problem of how to introduce myself —can lead to all sorts of unexpected ideas and products.

Visit http://www.tapintotrends.com to learn how you can get started Tapping Into Trends To Create An Endless Stream Of High Profit Products!

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Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine for people , especially small business owners,that want to make stuff and market on the internet. To join in her adventures, add your email address to the subscriber box in the upper right corner.

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"I know you can’t believe that….I always hear "Squidooo your product…do a campaign" but on what??? What is a product??? something I sell? And how would I find that out? I have a brain, a desire, I am a total people person….but I am stumped!! Product, product…what product?? Help!!"

Kati, the reason I’m slapping my head and making Homer Simpson sounds is because I should have addressed this question long ago.  It’s the same question I asked when I first started reading internet marketing material. "What is a product?" And keep in mind, at the time I was working as a freelance product designer and developer!

I was creating all sorts of things, from books for print publishers to craft kits for manufacturers. I was designing boxes, doing photography for magazine ads, writing books and magazine articles. I was a product-creation-machine! But when it came to the world of internet marketing and all those emails and sales pages telling me, "The real money is in owning your own product!" I got totally confused.

What did they mean when they used the word "product"? It was clear they didn’t use that word the way I did. In my line of work, a product was a piece of hard goods that could be manufactured, boxed and shipped. It was sold wholesale and then retail. And it took a team of talented professional people to get it made and marketed. It was a PRODUCT.

But everything I read from internet marketing gurus referred to people "slapping a product together in two hours" and making millions overnight. They talked about people with no experience in book publishing  "knocking out an ebook in four hours" and then "throwing up a web site" to instantly make $100,000.Meanwhile, I was freelancing for small print publishers who’d be very happy to make $10,000 off a single title.

If there was one thing I knew, it was product design and development and no part of that process involved slapping things together, throwing them up and knocking them out. So surely, surely there was some definition of "product" that was used in the world of internet marketing that I simply did not grasp. And that left me struggling with the question, "What is a product?"

I answered my question by buying an ebook. And that first purchase left me speechless. After making payment, I was sent to a web page where I downloaded a simple pdf file which, when printed, was a "report" all of 8 pages long. Four of those pages were filler, like a disclaimer and ads for other "products."

I was flabbergasted. Was this what all those internt marketing experts meant when they said "product"? I couldn’t believe it.

eSo I bought more books. They were all crap. Then I bought some audios. The sound quality was so bad I couldn’t understand half of what was being said. At the time, I was in production on a television commercial, struggling with thousands of dollars worth of gear to produce broadcast-worthy audio, and here were people "slapping together and kicking out" what they called an "audio product" with no concern whatsoever for quality controls.

And they dared to call what they were making "products."

I found it insulting ….and also mystifying. It took me a long time to bridge the gap between those two very different worlds and put them into perspective. Here’s what I came to understand:

Most everything that is sold can be assigned to one of two categories: goods or services.

Services are things that people do for one another, like cleaning houses, trimming trees, making cabinets and providing medical care.

Goods are things like apples, tools, birdcages and books. Goods are "products." An apple is a product produced by an apple farmer. A rotary saw is a product produced by a manufacturer. A book is a product produced by a publishing house.

An ebook is a product. There are profound differences between ebooks, their quality and value, depending on who produced them. An ebook may be produced by someone who comes to it with vast experience in writing and publishing, or it may be produced by someone with no related experience.

These differences do not mitigate the fact that an ebook, any ebook, is a product.

Other examples of products often sold by internet marketers include audio products, such as recording a conversation between experts on a topic, and video products, such as recording a seminar. But internet marketers are not the end all and be all of the world of ecommerce. Step outside their corner of the web and you’ll find a vast universe of people selling all sorts of goods, all sorts of products.

In my own business, I create products ranging from hard goods like t-shirts, mugs and clocks to digital products like ebooks and videos.

I still create box designs for products like DVDs. I create these designs in an image editor and deliver them to a printer by email. In my hands, they are an entirely digital product.  But once the printer receives the files, he prints my designs on paper or cardboard. In his hands, they are a physical product.

I have a product– an ebook in pdf format titled Tapping Into Trends– that contains examples of more than 50 products I make and sell across the internet, both as hard goods and digital goods. It explains where I get the idea for a product and where I sell it. If you’re creative and have artistic skills or writing skills you can do the same. Then you’ll be a product developer just like me. Because a product, after all, is just something people make and sell.

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Bonnie Boots is the publisher of The Internet Wizards Magazine where she brings together decades of experience in writing, product design and marketing. Register for a subscription in the upper right-hand corner to explore the magic of making stuff and marketing it on the internet.

If you want to spread your creative wings and make stuff to market on the web, her book, "Tapping Into Trends To Create An Endless Stream Of High-Profit Products"will inspire you to be your most creative, successful  self by showing you just some of the many ways I use the internet to make creative cash.

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The magazine is a platform for long articles and tutorials. Here in the blog, I post more spontaneous material. Either way, the subject is the same–the business of creating products and marketing them on the internet.

Creating products is something I know a great deal about. I’ve spent more than thirty years as a freelance writer and designer, creating products for all sorts of corporations ranging from newspaper and book publishers to manufacturers of toys and gift items.

When the internet opened up the world of ecommerce, I saw an opportunity to not only create products but market them as well. Today, I’m fully involved in creating products that can be marketed and often delivered via the internet.

Product creation and internet marketing make for a fascinating occupation, one I’m delighted to share with others though my publications and workshops. You can keep in touch with my world by filing in the subscribe form in the right-hand column. I’ll be delighted to have your company!

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