To all marketers (whichever your level of experience is at this moment) – there is a change in the online marketing scene and this change may affect you sooner than you think!
I have been reading and following on the movements of some trend-setters and many are making the change and based on my opinions, I hope I can give you a clearer picture of the past, present and future!
Past – Long Live Giving Away Information!
The past is the era where many people are just getting onto the Internet in search for solutions (information) to their problems. Back then, technology advancement is not there and whatever information (that really works) there is simply turn precious. Those who know how to monetize these pieces of information became rich.
They, in turn, became Gurus who started teaching people on
- how to come out with their own information (making them the expert in return),
- how to present them (membership, ebooks, DVD & Videos, etc) and
- how to attract people to come to their site in an instant (PPC, Backlinks, Articles, Blog Comments, Forum)
The learning curve for each step became simpler and this in turn became a good chance for those who have learned to share with those who are starting out…
Present – You, He/She, Me – An Expert In Your Own Field And Thus Information Overloading Started…
Want to know how easy it is to find solutions to your problems – just type your problem to any search engines and voila, you have tons of sites waiting for you to give their answers. Some may be totally irrelevant (thanks to power of SEO) while those that are relevant may have the same answers plastered all over the site.
You have a tough question and there’s no answers to it – try social networking! Post your questions on Twitter or update on your Facebook’s profile status that you have certain issues that’s bothering you… and you will just get an instant reply. Problems may be solved in an instant!
Actual problems started arising: those who provided useful information should be rewarded and they deserve every bit of it because they provide value and help save time and efforts. But in reality that’s not the case! One can easily copy the information, repackage it in their own way and resell it. So the actual expert is given less reward.
So this is what is going on at this moment. For any piece of information that’s being shared (especially being sold), check out those who have reviewed them… and you can start seeing a trend… there’s nothing new to the information shared now! But more of such similar information are still being released!
Coming Future – The Trend-Setters And Their Software Tools & Applications
This is the shift that I am talking about. Trend-setters are converting many of these available information into software or tools (I’ll be making lots of reference to iPhone Apps from here on) that will work out a solution for you, for e.g.
- Weight-conscious people. There are good information that share tips like tracking your calorie or to go on a specific diet. You can have the information available at your finger tips but to apply them take some efforts. So what the trend-setters are doing now – Applications that can help you keep a diary and keep track of the calories as long as you have your phone.
- Believers of Feng-shui. You can have the information as to which direction brings you the luck but to get that direction you may need a specific tool. Not too sure about it, you are in luck now as there can be a tool that’s simplified enough for you to use in an instant.
- Exercise Freaks. Similarly, you can have lots of books on the different exercises. Too busy to compile them? Never fear, there could an application that’s already done for you. You can now even do exercises while you are working!
These are just some examples but they are good enough to capture your attention!
So What Can You Do Now…
- If you are totally new to providing information and want to really make money online, speed up on your learning curve and get your products out as soon as possible. Then start learning how to present your products as application that your customers can use/interact on a regular basis
- If you have experiences and have your products – stop pinning on coming up with new versions. Competition is too stiff. Be innovative. See how you can create an application out of your current range of products. Lack of ideas – surf around the iTunes store or Android Marketplace or Ovi Store – you may just get inspired!
There’s fair bit of learning curve on this area but it will be worth your every efforts. And this can be something that you can be proud of – You manage to become an expert in providing solutions to problems and have your own products (can be created through outsourcing) to showcase your expertise and now, Applications that work out the actual solutions!
What are you waiting for? It’s time to get cracking and to start releasing those applications. Information loading is and will be out!
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