January 16, 2010

Day 4 :: Muse 1

Today I have started working on the micro-testing web site for the product. I am still working with the manufacturer to clarify how I am allowed to use the brand, and if there is collateral available. After starting to crunch numbers for Fulfillment by Amazon, it looks like they will be a solid partner for fulfillment. I will still need to see how I want to integrate sales from the web site into Amazon because there system is preferential to the transaction take place through Amazon. More or less if I let them handle payment, which I want to, they can completely manage refunds. Downside to this from what I know at this point is that my clients would have to be on Amazon.com to make payment. I am not certain I want that user experience as I feel it could cheapen the experience.

I also looked into using Shopify, but quickly learned all they are offering is an online store application. If I use them I still need acquire a merchant account on my own. Since I only am selling a single product the ability to manage many products and a store of goods is not necessary.

~Nathan Hein

January 15, 2010

Day 3 :: Muse 1

After researching a few different manufacturers for Muse 1 I decided it is not really worth my time at this point to find a lower cost manufacturer from the one I have. Instead I need to focus on analyzing the market for the product.

Today I am working on keyword research using Google Adwords. I have narrowed down about 11 different phrases which I will likely target in the Micro-Testing phase. This weekend I will get a web site up and running to start investigating my niche market. I am also intending to get Adwords completely setup and see what kind of traffic I can get driven to my site.

Muse 2 is still on the back burner until I get further along with Muse 1. Once I am setup with Muse 1 and receiving orders, then I believe I will again pick up Muse 2 moving full speed ahead. I will continue to jot down and track new ideas around this muse in the meantime, just in an effort to ensure Muse 1 happens I need to focus my energy.

~Nathan Hein

January 14, 2010

Day 2 :: Muse 1

Upon hearing back from the manufacturer/retailer of the product for Muse 1 regarding their marketing strategy, it looks like a pretty promising first Muse for the marketing plan I am assembling. Today I am looking into other manufacturers of the product, and even looking for a higher quality product that what is being offered by the current manufacturer I have lined up. I am hoping I can find a manufacturer that can product an equivalent product for either cheaper, or a higher quality product.

In my research yesterday it became somewhat clear the manufacturer I am working with does not really own any specific patents or rights to produce the item. From what I can see at this point there are no patent holders for the product, hence why I am taking a deeper look into my manufacturer.

On the fulfillment side, I am pretty happy at this point with Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon service offering and believe I will go forward with them should I take this product to market.

~Nathan Hein

January 13, 2010

Day 1 :: Muse 1 & 2

Today I am back from vacation and shall consider this day 1. I am looking into two very different muses. Muse 1 is a physical product from a small manufacturer. I have exchanged a few e-mails with them so far and it looks like it may be a promising first muse. The manufacturer does not offer drop shipping, but I am looking into Amazon’s fulfillment services to fill in this void. Beyond working on crunching some numbers prior to micro-testing, I am also working with the manufacture to understand their current marketing of the product to better understand my competition, and more importantly avoid being in competition with the manufacturer.

Muse 2 is a digital information product which will likely be more labor intensive on my end to get setup. Today I will be working on talking with a few individuals who would potentially be my experts for this information product. In the next two weeks I would like to get a some micro-testing started for the idea to really get an solid idea of where the market demand is. Being that experts will be needed to put the information together, this product will have a high start-up cost, but once the product is developed the cost should flat line.

~Nathan Hein
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