Starting An Online Business From Scratch: Part Two – How To Research Your Idea

In part one of this article series you created a simple list around your interest and skills, and brainstormed a few basic ideas for starting your home based Internet marketing business. The next action step toward a successful online business venture is the research phase.

You may be tempted to skip this step, or to move quickly through it in an effort to launch your business as soon as possible. Please understand the most critical part of starting an online business is doing the proper research.

In fact poor or ineffective research is the main reason most online ventures go under. People are often so eager to start making money they rush forward without a good understanding of the marketplace and with little or no business plan.

Sadly, many individuals buy into the get-rich-quick mentality perpetuated by late night infomercials and other farcical advertisements. But the truth is an online business must adhere to the same basics of planning and execution that a successful brick and mortar operation relies on.

So don’t skip the research phase! Put your heart into this process and you’ll greatly improve your odds of success.

Your first step will be to find out if a market already exists around one or more of your general business ideas. Select what you believe is your best general idea. You should complete the assessment of this idea before moving onto another item from your list of possibilities.

Let’s return to the previous example of an interest in martial arts, with the possibility of creating and selling video tutorials that help beginners choose the martial system that’s right for them. In this scenario you need to find out if there is a substantial number of people online, actively seeking information like that which you intend to sell.

Basic Keyword Research

The easiest way to do this is through some basic keyword research. There are a wide range of free keyword tools online, and you can locate a good one by entering the term “keyword research tool” at your favorite search engine.

All keyword tools work in the same basic manner:

1. You enter one or more search terms based on what you think people seeking your product (or product idea) would query.
2. The keyword tool tells you how many times (if any) this keyword phrase was searched within a specific time frame, and from what search engines.
3. The keyword tool may also suggest related search terms and provide data about how often these terms have been entered.

This data will give you a very good idea of whether or not an interest exists around your product or potential product. Ideally, you’d like to discover that your best keyword phrases are being keyed in at least a few hundred times per month.

In our example of potentially selling videos to help new practitioners select their ideal martial art, you would want to find good activity around search terms such as:

• Martial arts videos
• Karate videos
• Learn karate online
• Beginning martial arts lessons

This activity indicates there is a potential market for your idea. It’s also possible that you’ll be really fortunate and find good data on your exact idea, i.e. “how to choose the right martial art”, etc.

If, after trying a number of keyword approaches, you can’t find data to support an interest in your idea, you may want to move on to a new idea. Or you can proceed with further research.

Browsing The Marketplace

In addition to keyword research, you should browse sites like Google, Ebay, Amazon, Squidoo.com, and EzineArticles.com in an effort to locate content and Websites related to your business idea. Each of these sites of course has a keyword search bar and will return highly relevant results.

This step is all about verifying the existence of business models like or related to the one you have in mind. Ideally you will find one or more sites already selling products very similar to your, as this is positive proof that a paying market exists.

If it seems nobody is doing anything even remotely similar to your idea, beware! Zero competition often means there simply is not a valid market for a concept.

Eavesdropping On The Conversations Of Your Target Prospects

Thanks to the increasingly social nature of the Web, it is now easier than ever before to learn what people in your target market are talking about. There are numerous Web 2.0 directories and forum search tools online that let you find chat sites, social portals, and online groups built around every topic you can imagine.

Use these social networking sites to find out if the very people who would be your customers have an interest in your product idea. See what people are talking about, particularly pay attention to questions being asked; in fact you could ask your own questions and find out point blank if people would be interested in the service you want to offer.

The goal of these steps is simple: You want to find out if a significant number of people online are likely to want your product/service. Going one step further, you want to know if these people are willing to pay for your idea!

Be prepared to spend several days browsing and digging if needed. Your efforts will absolutely pay off in the long-term.

You may find out your idea is without any real public interest. This information will save you potentially thousands of dollars and months of your time in wasted effort.

Or you could find out there is a hot, vibrant market ready and waiting for your fresh new idea. And this could be the start of a wildly successful new career for you!

In our next article, entitled Starting An Online Business From Scratch Part Three: Scoping Out The Competition, we’ll look at how to maximize your success by understanding what your competitors are doing.

Be sure to also check out these recommended resources:

Home Based Internet Marketing Business

Internet Marketing Home Study Course