Brad…sticking your literature in magazines does not work. I have done that, little business card size brochures with pictures of Handi-Straps in books so they use as a book mark.

Illegitimate advertising or in the wrong place makes a product look inferior, a scam or some other problem because they can’t advertise the legitimate way other products do.

Also, big box stores is not always the goal with experienced. I turned down Home Depot two years ago. They wanted to sell my product too cheap which means I would have to go to China to make and they would have too much control over me. They would have “ran” my whole show.

The way I am doing it, I drive…I have control and as I increase sales, then I have more leverage with the big box stores and get more of my way.

I will NEVER drop the price of Handi-Straps. I may add something like a case or maybe the hooks will be included but Handi-Straps is a high quality tool and is worth $60…in fact it’s worth $500 and more to someone who has an injury or someone that would have got one.

I won’t drop the price for a big box store. Why should I? Handi-Straps is too special to have to and I want that price so the consumer understands it is a quality tool that will last many years.

Ron Komorowski
Inventor of Handi-Straps
www.handi-straps.com

A couple of things I’ve read about are EBAY, but you have to cancel the auction before it ends. But it will give you some feel for demand and price. Another thing is to set up a webpage that has description- a sales message basically- and then set it up so there is a button to click for purchase, and then you’ll have to say you’re on backorder- maybe offer them a signup by email to be notified or something. Of course you have to spend some money on web advertising to get people to your page, but you can set your limits- if you only want to pay $300 for the marketing test, you can establish those limits. You run risks, but they are inexpensive ways to get an idea of demand out there.

Google Adwords can also be a good tool for this type of research. Say different things in different ads and associate them with different keywords and compare the response they get.

I generally agree with the premise of Bradley’s post. Any advertisement that works well for branding purposes can be succesful in generating a buzz, and I’ll add that is not unethical nor will cast you in a negative light if you place an add in a magazine which seeks nothing more than for interested consumers to visit a website to “learn more.” If done properly, in theory, this could be very successful.

Criterion, that’s an interesting idea… place a small ad in the back of an appropriate mag, with a link to a site:

New Whizfiddle—visit http://www.whizfiddle.com for more info.

On the site show a prototype, and have a form:

“The Whizfiddle is currently in development. We would like to get your input to make sure this is the best possible product. Please fill out the form below. If you incloude your email address, you’ll be eligible to buy a whizfiddle for a special low introductory price, and your name will be entered into a drawing for a FREE Whizfiddle.”

Even if you don’t get form entries, site traffic can be monitored.

Brad,

I think this approach might work well for B2B or nich market sales. Especially if you could target specific publications dealing with your target market.

This looks like it might be good:Best Kept Marketing Secrets:

http://h30038.www3.hp.com/getasset.php?lang=1&a…