If you want to get rich you should seriously consider studying unconventional business models. Simply put, if everyone is doing it, it is probably not that profitable. By studying those in our field that are not following the crowd we can begin to gain inspiration for our own revolutionary ideas.

I realize some people may not want a “revolutionary idea” because such ideas carry with them a large deal of risk. However as marketing expert Seth Godin puts it in his wildly popular book Purple Cow, “Being safe is risky.” Taking risks whether they be in marketing or designing a business model can result in facial ticks, nervous tremors, sweaty palms and occasionally angina. These risks will not make your life more convenient in any way shape or form, but as we like to say here at Feedback Secrets, “convenience is expensive”.

So since we are a site that is interested in internet marketing, one of the best ways for us to get un-convenient is to study those in our industry who are using unorthodox business models of their own. The inspiration for this post comes from fellow internet marketer Michael Conquest. Michael informed me of a technique for making money with eBay that I had not heard of previously.

The technique revolves around making money as an eBay affiliate. The eBay affiliate network was previously maintained by a site called Commission Junction, however over the last few months eBay has been in the process of switching to its own in-house affiliate network. eBay’s new network is now online and working and you can find it here.

Obviously there’s more than one way to drive traffic as an eBay affiliate, but the method which was suggested to me was to search Craigslist.com for people looking to buy specific items. After compiling a list of potential buyers you could email them with the link to an eBay auction for the item they were looking for in hopes of collecting the affiliate commission. Of course you could also use this method to promote your own eBay auctions.

I am not suggesting that this method is a path to riches, or even that you should try such a method. What I am saying is that this is an excellent example of “thinking outside the box” when it comes to an eBay based business model. That is to say, when people think, “how could I make money on eBay” this strategy is probably not the first thing that comes to mind.

Seek out wacky and unorthodox businesses models and study them, the practice may well lead the creation of your own million dollar idea. For more information on Michael Conquest you can check out his site, ConquestEmpires.com.

Tags: eBay, Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, eBay Affiliate Program, Craigslist, Unorthodox eBay

E-Commerce Case Study #2: The SEO Expert

Lead me to it!

A One Legged Table

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 4:33 pm by Phil Weslow and is filed under eBay, Affiliate Marketing, Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.