How do you fill a need?

There are lots of ways to fill needs - here are just a few:

1- Do it yourself. Even if you are not an expert in the field, you can read, study, observe, and learn what you need to know. This task becomes a major challenge if your choose a market that's too broad. But if you find a very deep niche that focuses on one thing, you can become the expert with some effort. How much effort it will take depends upon what skills, knowledge, and experience you already have (another reason for going into a niche that you know something about.)

2- Hire someone else to provide the solution. There are lots of experts that don't want to start a business but would be approachable about sharing their knowledge (audio interviews, answering questions, sharing their ideas, etc.) It doesn't have to be just one person, either, as often solutions can be found in "surveying" a number of people.

3- Use available resources and glean what you need. Many products have been made by people that are willing to search for answers. How many products have you seen that are compilations of other people's work written by one who is a good researcher and organizer? I'm not suggesting that you steal others' work but people will pay for lists of resources, well organized bibliographies, and other compilations that save them time and the hassle of doing their own research.

4- Public domain information. One of the great untapped, IMO, resources online is public domain information - books, images, video, audio, magazines, etc. Many people think public domain equates to "vintage" but that's a very narrow view. There is a treasure trove of public domain info available to those that want to use it and are willing to learn how to find it.

5- Licensing other people's work. I see ready-to-sell information online all the time in the form of books, software, music, courses, etc, that can be licensed for a fee. You sell the item and keep 100% of sales. I know of smart business people that search for, and sell, nothing but licensed information and do very well with it. Sometimes you can find great products that people will buy if presented in the right way.

6- Partnerships. Many people can create a very "expert" product in a niche but have no clue how to sell it. Why not partner with someone who has the product and you do the marketing? It can be a win-win if you do it right.

7- Purchase a product, buy a business, or bring an old product back to life. Sometimes you can buy your way into a solution that you can sell to other people. Maybe the previous owner has lost interest, is retiring, or is focusing on other income streams. You have to know what you're doing, but you can find bargains that still have life in them that you can sell and you can bring them current by updating the information since you have purchased the product.

8- Repurposing a product. Lots of opportunity here . . . learn how to take a product geared to one niche, change it up a little so that it's appropriate for a different niche, then sell it to a brand new audience. The possibilities are endless because niches are endless. It's actually pretty easy to do this if you start with the right product and have some imagination.

There are other ways to fill a need. You just have to use your brain, get a little creative, sometimes think outside the box, and not be afraid to do some work. Some smart folks do this kind of stuff for a living. They create products in many different fields, add a sales letter and some marketing material, do a little niche research, and sell their product as PLR, or with MRR, or even outright. They are product developers that sell to people like you and me.

The best to your all,

Steve

Steve,

Fantastic answer that a lot of people are going to find very useful. Can't wait to try some of your suggestions.

As well as the great pointers offered already, you have to remember that people are fundamentally lazy. They can't be bothered to find the information themselves. They would rather pay for something already available.
That is where you come in. You do the research etc and provide the solution and charge for it.

Sometimes you have to create the need. That's something i know about from some illegal stuff i used to be involved in... offline.

To fill a need, search for small niches that most people ignore, and that marketers feel that the inhabitants in this niche aren't worth doodle. They have a real need, and are willing to pay money for it. Start with a niche finder tool. Or head over to ebookwholesaler.net for a start.

I always teach the formula...

Learn It, Do It, Teach It...this gives you the best platform from which to become an authority on a given topic.

You may draw upon experience you already have, in which case the learn it and do it phase is done...the move to teaching it can be harder than it sounds because you already know the topic so well. It often takes stepping back and not taking for granted what you already know but instead bring the market along with you.

On the other hand, you may not have learned it or done it yet - in which case, you get busy and put yourself on an accelerated plan to learn and become active in your market. You can leverage others here to accelerate that learning and you can often incorporate the DOING it along with course development to cut down the timeframe.

Jeff

I would say that a big part of finding out how to fill a need is to have the need yourself.

you may have to "Profile" this person and their need so you can understand the pain it causes. If you can put yourself in the mindset of the people who have this need then you can "feel their pain" and understand what it is you need to do to for the need to go away.

Once you do that then it's time to figure out a way to teach others how you solved the same problem that they have.