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 -