Daft Ideas That Are Raking It In

14 years ago

Check this out:

Spark of Brilliance: How Revolutionary, Offensive and Entertaining Websites Get Traffic and Make Money!

I wrote the above report in 2006, so some of the links may have since died. Nonetheless, it should give you a good glimpse of weird ideas, sites and products.

Cheers,
Becky

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VMN 14 years ago

Do you remember Barney the purple dinosaur?
Barney merchandise earned fortunes!
Strange creature he is!
Victoria
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Kim Standerline

14 years ago

I remember you writing this report Becky, It's where I first came across rate my poo. Yikes!
Kim

Originally Posted by R Hagel

Check this out:

Spark of Brilliance: How Revolutionary, Offensive and Entertaining Websites Get Traffic and Make Money!

I wrote the above report in 2006, so some of the links may have since died. Nonetheless, it should give you a good glimpse of weird ideas, sites and products.

Cheers,
Becky

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R Hagel 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Kim Standerline

I remember you writing this report Becky, It's where I first came across rate my poo. Yikes!
Kim

Heh. Some of those sites are/were pretty nasty. Of course that's four years ago -- just imagine what kind of sites you could add to that list now.
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Rezbi

14 years ago

Originally Posted by R Hagel

Check this out:

Spark of Brilliance: How Revolutionary, Offensive and Entertaining Websites Get Traffic and Make Money!

I wrote the above report in 2006, so some of the links may have since died. Nonetheless, it should give you a good glimpse of weird ideas, sites and products.

Cheers,
Becky

That's a good little report. I'm going to print it out and go over it properly - it's already given me a few ideas for one of my sites.

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Obilex

14 years ago

I was 3 when Barney came out, I loved that stupid dinosaur. Kids like the dumbest stuff, if you can make something that they can latch onto and it spreads, you can make bank off it.

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brchap

14 years ago

My son loved Barney, as he was about 3 when that stuff was around. I put up with it, and I probably watched each Barney episode 50 times over. Later we even owned some of the VHS tapes. LOL.

I can't complain. When I was a kid, I was all about Sesame Street.

I think Teletubbies were worse, though. I wouldn't allow that show to play in my house. You gotta draw the line somewhere.

Brad

P.S. This post was brought to you by the letter "M"

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mmurtha

14 years ago

Originally Posted by brchap

My son loved Barney, as he was about 3 when that stuff was around. I put up with it, and I probably watched each Barney episode 50 times over. Later we even owned some of the VHS tapes. LOL.

I can't complain. When I was a kid, I was all about Sesame Street.

I think Teletubbies were worse, though. I wouldn't allow that show to play in my house. You gotta draw the line somewhere.

Brad

P.S. This post was brought to you by the letter "M"

Hey Brad,

Sesame Street and Barney were different from Teletubbies. I think a lot of parents wouldn't let their kids watch Teletubbies because the characters spoke in baby talk. Sesame St characters and barney spoke like most people do, and actual teach children to do the same.

Lol my sister learned some spanish, how to count, and her letters when she was 3 while watching Sesame St.

Some stuff just works because it is beneficial, and other stuff works because the product or service is unique like the pet rock, chia pet, etc ...

Btw I loved your P.S. at the end of your post. It brought me back 40 yrs lol!

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CDarklock

14 years ago

Originally Posted by brchap

I think Teletubbies were worse, though.

Okay, so I'm watching Teletubbies because I have a new baby and I want to know what he's got available to watch, you know? And Po, the little red one, walks up a hill and bumps into a pole.

So he looks up, and they pull back to show this big rainbow pride flag flying from the pole.

No, I'm not kidding. The pride flag. The seven rainbow stripes. And I giggle a little.

And Po points up and exclaims delightedly, "Fag!" And I giggle some more.

Po picks up the flagpole and goes off, where he runs to LaaLaa. "Fag!" he says. "Fag!" she agrees. And they traipse off together, where they meet Dipsey, and there's all this pointing and exclaiming "Fag!" and off they go in their own little pride parade and I'm laughing so damn hard I can't breathe.

And then here comes Tinky Winky with his purse, and I'm literally rolling on the floor.

You will never convince me this was an OVERSIGHT. They did this ON PURPOSE. And it was hysterical.

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keefer

14 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

Okay, so I'm watching Teletubbies because I have a new baby and I want to know what he's got available to watch, you know? And Po, the little red one, walks up a hill and bumps into a pole.

So he looks up, and they pull back to show this big rainbow pride flag flying from the pole.

No, I'm not kidding. The pride flag. The seven rainbow stripes. And I giggle a little.

And Po points up and exclaims delightedly, "Fag!" And I giggle some more.

Po picks up the flagpole and goes off, where he runs to LaaLaa. "Fag!" he says. "Fag!" she agrees. And they traipse off together, where they meet Dipsey, and there's all this pointing and exclaiming "Fag!" and off they go in their own little pride parade and I'm laughing so damn hard I can't breathe.

And then here comes Tinky Winky with his purse, and I'm literally rolling on the floor.

You will never convince me this was an OVERSIGHT. They did this ON PURPOSE. And it was hysterical.

Lots od programs made for children contain adult humour which is wasted on the kids, well wasted on the young ones.

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Don Schenk

14 years ago

Just think -a genuine PEE keychain.

Actually, after having photographed babies for about a bazillion years, I can see many of their moms buying this stuff!

:-Don

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Epicurus

14 years ago

Here is a couple more which I guess don't really come under the 'stupid ideas' category but are just really simple and have made a fortune.

Banana Guard

Cyclops Sock Clip - Buy securely online with Paypal

Barney never really took off here in the UK but something that relly did spread like wildfire was the pokemon cards - never understand why to this day.

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Cosmo Demopoulos

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Epicurus

Here is a couple more which I guess don't really come under the 'stupid ideas' category but are just really simple and have made a fortune.

Banana Guard

. . .

banana guard - my wife bought several!

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BySilent 14 years ago

The "Pet Rock" was something that made a ton of money for the creator, then he/she came up with the follow up.. "Junk Box" which had a button, lint and other useless things that you would find in a junk draw or box... I don't think it was a successful as the "Pet Rock".
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- Epicurus 14 years ago
  
  A 'Pet Rock' ??? you gotta be joking :-/
  
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  Hasan Barbary 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Epicurus
  
  A 'Pet Rock' ??? you gotta be joking :-/
  
  Strange, but very true. When I was a kid in the 70's, I HAD a pet rock.
  
  The thrill lasted about as long as Sea Monkeys and Chia Pets, but my mom paid good money for the damn thing... go figure!
  
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  DanPE 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Epicurus
  
  A 'Pet Rock' ??? you gotta be joking :-/
  
  Some people need to care for things that don't need maintenance. 'Pet Rocks' were a craze at one time. So were Tamagotchi.
  
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Profit-smart

14 years ago

This one in particular has always stood out as a mind numbing example of "Daft" products that rake in the cash.

Everything Men Know About Women - Blank Book - Cindy Cashman

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knowwow

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Profit-smart

This one in particular has always stood out as a mind numbing example of "Daft" products that rake in the cash.

Everything Men Know About Women - Blank Book - Cindy Cashman

Had not heard this.

Pretty good idea. Selling a conversation starter or perhaps a personality identifier. The latter aspect would work probably even better if less copies were sold. ("I am so creative/humourous for having bought this.")

Idea: selling a blank e-book on how any computer-illiterate person can rake in $10,508 in a week with IM.

That should start some conversation at Paypal.

Not in the above, but I will definitely make use of this in my learning material. Thanks for sharing.

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DonDavis

14 years ago

How many of you owned mood rings?

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CDarklock 14 years ago

Originally Posted by DonDavis

How many of you owned mood rings?

What's with the past tense? I still own several.

I don't WEAR them, but I still have them.
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Loren Woirhaye

14 years ago

The banana guard and sock clip are examples
of products that would get knocked off in
Asia within 4-6 months of you bringing your
product to market.

The guy who "invented" the pet rock allegedly
made no real money on it. He did make some
on a book he wrote.

The speed at which successful inventions will
get knocked off and you'll get under-priced
out of your own created market is increasing -
the cycle is getting faster.

Sure, it's best to be first to market, but the
financial clout to manufacture and distribute
a lot of your product before the competition
swoops in and copies it is important to a
successful product.

Inventors take note - licensing your invention
is often the only way you'll have a chance to
make any real money from it.

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Killer Joe 14 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

You will never convince me this was an OVERSIGHT. They did this ON PURPOSE. And it was hysterical.

So it sorta makes you wonder why they would name a main character on a children's show "Mr. McFeely" :confused:

Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye

The banana guard and sock clip are examples of products that would get knocked off in Asia within 4-6 months of you bringing your product to market.

I was promoting a product at the ERA convention (infomercial trade organization) a few years ago and the guy a few booths down had his prototypes of the Banana Guard he was pushing. After looking at both products, the original from 7 years ago, and the one on the website, they are quite different yet very similar. I wonder if that guy ever made it or was ripped off. My money's on him being copied.

KJ
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gdrg

14 years ago

Pee&Poo; that really made me laugh. I expected something else but these guys are actually pretty cute.

Guys like Maddox and Dick Masterson brought home the gold too just by being genuinely rude and offensive but in a, to most people, hilarious kind of way.

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Todd S

14 years ago

Remember Ronco & Ron Popeil "The Pocket Fisherman" the man was a marketing genius. "But wait, there's more!" "Now how much would you pay!"

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Loren Woirhaye 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Todd S

Remember Ronco & Ron Popeil "The Pocket Fisherman" the man was a marketing genius. "But wait, there's more!" "Now how much would you pay!"

Malcolm Gladwell's article about Ron Popeil
won a National Magazine Award.

Here it is:
gladwell dot com - the pitchman
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CDarklock 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Todd S

Remember Ronco & Ron Popeil "The Pocket Fisherman" the man was a marketing genius. "But wait, there's more!" "Now how much would you pay!"

YouTube - "Weird Al" Yankovic - Mr....
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"The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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- arsde 14 years ago
  
  Pee&poo made me laugh hahaha
  
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knowwow

14 years ago

Was saving my 100th post for something else, but I am discouraged by the (non-)reception of the free resource I recently shared that one could easily charge anything from $197 to $2499 for.

So instead I wanted to share with you another product with the name peepoo, which in turn has been a wonderous idea for the developing nations in Africa...

...puts "needs" of people in some context.

Here it is: peepoople.com.

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Floyd Fisher

14 years ago

When I first looked at PPC, I actually thought it was a rather daft idea.

I figured paying for a top positioned compromised search engine quality, and believe it or not, didn't think it would last.

Now I wish I invented it.

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Sylvia Meier

14 years ago

I REFUSED to let any of my children watch teletubbies or Barney, there is just soo much crap a parent can listen to day in and day out (and remember where most parents only have to endure a certain stage of shows once or twice I had to 5 times).

I cannot believe how popular Barney and Teletubbies became. Sesame Street (or the now p.c Sesame Park...who would've thought it wasn't a good idea to tell kids to play on the street LOL) teaches children, as do ones like Blues Clues and Dora and Deigo and the merchandising on all of them is insane.

With the pet rock and some other ideas, it really goes to show you, no matter how lame or dumb YOU may think an idea is, it could be the next great money maker.

Sylvia

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Rezbi 14 years ago

I agree. In fact, I don't even have a TV at home.

I tend to get the old comedy classics from the 60s and before and my kids enjoy those.

Good clean fun.
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nyrsimon

14 years ago

Funnily enough I just got my Dan Kennedy newsletter and he is talking baout Pinhole Glasses to exercise your eyes.

Been around for years, continue to generate a revenue stream

Gotta love these 'limpers' as he calls them. Make money for DECADES

I would kill to have 20 or 30 'limpers' raking in a few grand a month each. Nothing huge. Nothing anybody is going to take the time to knock-off....

Think about it!

Simon

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Loren Woirhaye

14 years ago

Originally Posted by nyrsimon

Funnily enough I just got my Dan Kennedy newsletter and he is talking baout Pinhole Glasses to exercise your eyes.

Been around for years, continue to generate a revenue stream

I ordered some last week... after knowing about them for
years. I'll wager it takes months or years of exposure
to the IDEA of pinhole glasses for the average customer
to buy his or her first pair, like me.

... which is quite an insight. Most direct response marketers
are looking for what is hot right now, to make a bunch
of cash fast on a major trend... often having to do with
new technology or a current cultural meme (ie. "Avatar"
or "The DaVinci Code").

J. Peterman though started out selling a horseman's duster.
They aren't really hard to find, never were, but he people
to whom he was marketing his coats weren't the people
who went into western-wear stores, where dusters are sold.
His first ads ran in the hoity-toity intellectual magazine
"The New Yorker" - so he's selling a thing, the coat or whatever,
these people have only seen in the movies.

(Peterman's catalog, btw, is essential reading for anybody
who sells with words - sign up for it)

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Emily Meeks

14 years ago

One word: SNUGGIE.

Love it or hate it, the proprietor has made millions...

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R Hagel 14 years ago

Originally Posted by moneysoapbox

One word: SNUGGIE.

Love it or hate it, the proprietor has made millions...

No kidding! And because people "love to hate it," they give it lots of free publicity on talk shows, online, etc.

Just think about it -- how much do you suppose the company would have made if there wasn't a group of people constantly making fun of the product?

Cheers,
Becky
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Sylvia Meier

14 years ago

Originally Posted by moneysoapbox

One word: SNUGGIE.

Love it or hate it, the proprietor has made millions...

I saw a Youtube video making fun of it. And the video mentions all it is is a backwards robe, never realized that still I saw the video LOL...

And on that thought Snuggie for DOGS lol.

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Floyd Fisher

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Sylvia Rolfe

I saw a Youtube video making fun of it. And the video mentions all it is is a backwards robe, never realized that still I saw the video LOL...

And on that thought Snuggie for DOGS lol.

If you ever get a chance, goto youtube and watch the Pitchman series, starring the late Billy Mays.

There are some really wierd products on there....like a spray that turns those nasty brown spots on your lawn green...in seconds. It's basically eco friendly spray paint...who knew you could make millions off of that?

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JonMills

14 years ago

crazy stuff

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5Tool

14 years ago

The one that killed me was when my kids watched a TV show called "Oobi" which was a guy that attached 2 ping pong balls to his hand like it was a puppet... and probably raked in some big bucks with his show...

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CDarklock

14 years ago

Originally Posted by 5Tool

The one that killed me was when my kids watched a TV show called "Oobi" which was a guy that attached 2 ping pong balls to his hand like it was a puppet... and probably raked in some big bucks with his show...

1. They're real medical prosthetic eyes, not ping-pong balls.

2. Clowns used these for years, and most clown supply stores carry them.

3. The show has won a great many awards, largely because its cast are highly skilled and accomplished puppeteers. Stephanie D'Abruzzo in particular, who portrays Ooma, was part of Broadway's Avenue Q production.

Sorry, I just get annoyed when people trivialise brilliance.

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"The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers

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kf

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Epicurus

A case in point is the Pee & Poo website, if you haven't heard of it then check out the website at:

Pee&Poo - Plush Toys, t-shirts, underwear and more [Kiss&Bajs]

They even have their own YouTube channel - unbelievable.

Yes well I've heard that kids eat this stuff up ... :rolleyes:

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Sylvia Meier 14 years ago

Originally Posted by kf

Yes well I've heard that kids eat this stuff up ... :rolleyes:

That's an awful joke Kate LOL.
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- kf 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Sylvia Rolfe
  
  That's an awful joke Kate LOL.
  
  Well, you would know Sylvia
  ... with five kids of your own.
  
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sbucciarel

Banned 14 years ago

One of my favorites is Road Kill Toys

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philbowman 14 years ago

Pet Rock, Mood Rings...yes. I still have a "Slinkie" sitting on my shelf. I think that's
what they were called. Strange stuff.
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Eric Graudins

14 years ago

Apparently the guy from the Origami Boulder company is still raking it in.

If you haven't seen this site, you've gotta read through every page, especially the FAQ.
Here's a sample:
Q: Origami boulder? Aren't you talking about a wadded up piece of paper?

A: Yes dumb dumb! I already explain this at beginning. Why you too lazy to read first before you ask obvious question like this? People on Internet not very smart.
Q: Is this some kind of a joke?
A: You want joke? Look in mirror, you ugly person! This site real. You order wadded paper origami boulder and see for yourself.
This very nice artwork that come with card and make good gift for your friend. Your friend never forget you when you send fine art gift like this! I am famous Internet artist, so original wadded paper origami art become VERY VALUABLE some day. Especially haiku version, because it is double artwork.

Get your own origami boulder in a gift box from:

Origami Boulder Company -- Original Origami Gifts!

(The "Performance version" is especially clever!)

cheers,
Eric G.

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Loren Woirhaye

14 years ago

YouTube - Oobi DVR challenge

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