Let's take an example, albeit a fictional example. But I think you'll more than get the idea.
Let's say, for argument sake, that somebody comes out with a site on how to make money on the Internet by selling ad space using pixels. You buy a pixel and your site link gets put up on that pixel. Okay, as you probably know, this has actually been done, and it's been done to death. Everybody and their grandmother jumped on this thing after the first kid came out with the idea. But they all did the same exact thing. They sold pixels. There was no originality in the concept at all.
But what if we did this? What if we sold flash video space. That's right. We offered to place the advertiser's flash video up on a 500 pixel block and on the page you could have up to ten videos. For one thing, the exposure for a flash video will be a lot greater than a link on a pixel. Also, because there won't be as many ads per page, the chances of somebody seeing your video will be a lot greater. So what we've done is taken a concept and put our own little twist on it in order to make it unique.
The key is thinking outside the box. Look at what somebody is doing and see if you can't add your own little twist to it. If you sit down and think hard enough, you will come up with something. The main thing is not to outright copy the idea and make no substantial changes to it whatsoever. That's just plain theft and it doesn't do you any good anyway. Why? Because you're just reminding people of how much better the original is anyway. Make YOUR creation better than the original.
That's what separates the successful marketers from the rest of the pack.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim