Testing Testing - Is This Thing Turned On?

don't be afraid to test your idea ... using email

Have a new idea for a product? Test it before you invest in it. Please.

Testing your idea saves you time and money and headaches.

Now you’re asking - how? How do you test an idea?

You know I’m going to say with email, right?

But first, let me confirm that there are a lot of different ways to test your idea. Some are low cost. Some aren’t. Over the years I've used different tools to test both an idea and a product...

• to see if the current market wants it or likes it

• to test headlines in ads

• to determine what aspects of the idea or product they did/didn't like

The tools I’ve used include

• $5/day on Facebook ads

• Focus groups - in person and online

• Postcard to small portion of a market with incentive to show up in person

• Booth space at an expo

• and email.

For marketing purposes, as someone with a background that includes direct mail, I like to use email to test ideas. Ideas like -