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I’m amazed at how many people believe complaints, reviews or complements they read online. It’s marketing, you know?

Remember when people used to think what they read in newspapers and magazines and saw on TV shows was real? Then we discovered the whole industry of Public Relations (PR) and realized for $5,000 a month a good PR company can have anyone on Good Morning America, as an expert.  I won’t pay that kind of extortion just to look like everyone likes me.  The truth is, not everyone does…. but MOST PEOPLE DO.

Coaches promote signed licensing agreements for product that were simply tested but failed; never making the inventor a dime.   Inventors should not believe everything written online for the good or the bad.   Use your common sense and intuition about people and soberly discern the right next steps for your product.

Most people who write bad reviews are just mad their product failed our test.   Please call or write me yourself before you decide your opinion.

Here’s how REAL PEOPLE review Carrie Jeske.  click  Carrie Jeske Profile

Related:  Inventing Home Run or Single Income Product

It’s the same thing with online reviews now. I recently read a list of very positive reviews for a company every industry insider knows is a scammer. They sounded wonderful. Five Stars. People loved them! There were glowing reviews starting with the initial call by an inventor and what great phone service was provided. Then another reviewer discussed the contracts and how simple to understand they were. I read on to find what fantastic customer service and order fulfillment processes this company had. Then, more about how satisfied and happy with the specific services (written keyword friendly, how convenient.), even sighting employee names, as if they were long lost friends, who’d been reunited.

Seriously? Do people really believe this? It’s a Social Networking Expert, you know. For $5,000 a month (or $5 on Fiverr), you can hire a company to write positive reviews and post them all over the internet. It’s just business. Specifically… it’s todays marketing. Lets go negative.

The Wild Wild West of Online Complaints & Reviews

Anyone can say anything, anytime. Do you think some people might actually be crazy, unbalance, manic? As a semi public figure who’s just posted a few educational videos online for inventors, in a pretty small market segment; I get hassled online all the time. People make all kinds of comments, tweets, reviews based on whatever popped into their head at the moment. True, untrue, fact, fiction, opinion, emotional response, bad hair day…. who knows why? I’ve been threatened by people I’ve never met or worked with in any capacity.

The sad thing is it hurts people and it hurts business. Back in the day, the Better Business Bureau used to be the gold standard of who’s who in the scammer company zoo. Business didn’t like them much because no one wants negative information shared, but at least they required a specific injustice be sited. They required a confirmed real person making a real complaint of a legitimate contractual infraction. Also offer a real opportunity to rebut or make restitution. They provided a true chance for customer satisfaction where parties could agree on how to make a situation right. It was an uncomfortable pain in the butt (as fixing all true
mistakes is), but it worked. Now, they are a relic.

More comments from real people I’ve worked with and helped.   Facebook Album of Testimonials.

Be Careful!

We have every manner of Rip Off Report, Pissed Customer, Consumer Advocate, Watch Dog, Social Network where anyone can post anything at anytime. What a great platform for disreputable competitors and the temporarily insane.

These sites will post anything, any time, by anyone. Real, anonymous or made up people with real or made up facts. That seems disreputable to me.

They promote slander under the disguise of public helps. Under the banner of justice. Once names of the accused are locked in, “never to be removed from the public domain”, the real scam begins. Many start an email campaign warning the accused that their company name or personal name may on the verge of “irreparable damage if you don’t act now!” For a small fee, they guarantee to bury or remove all negative information for a price. Hmmm, how convenient for them. The ole’ scammers scam. I hope all the class action law suits against these sites sort out the honest truth.

Are Some Inventors Temporarily Insane?

Lets discuss the “temporarily insane”.  That’s something I and most inventors have fallen victim to at one time or another. We love, love, love our own ideas and when we put money into them, the emotional connection borders on worship. (You know it’s true.) When others don’t value it or recognize it’s splendor, that makes no logical sense. Snap. Temporary insanity begins. It happens all the time and now there’s an internet where people can post…. WHAT? Anything, anytime, as anyone. Bottom line…. my grandma used to tell me to have Horse Sense? I’m not sure really how much sense that actually is, but if a company wants money to provide a service for your great new product and has no current product success stories, you might want to reconsider. It may be as simple as that.

Whatever you do you can count on me to tell you the truth, as my experience sees it. I’ll be candid and direct. You won’t always like my advice.

The Truth Hurts!

When you spend money on an invention, it’s a high risk, high return play. Most inventions fail. Most patents don’t produce a financial gain. Never spend more then you can afford to lose and realize sometimes it does take money, to make money. Show some Horse Sense about it. Whether you’re an independent inventor or a big company, the game is the same. Find and/or develop a product mass market consumers buy and get a small piece of the upside.

If you’re a fair minded, reasonable inventor, call or write me anytime. I value long term, honest relationships with real people. I hope we get lucky on a product together. If not, I guess I’ll skim past your posts online (whoever you are) and not let the door hit me in the back.

Onward & Upward,

Carrie Jeske

Related:  A Tale of Three ASOTV Licensing Discussions

Related:  Licensing – The Other Side Of The Table

RipOff Report Sept 23, 2016 Update

What a racket RipOff Report has going.  They post anonymous slander, then sell services to remove it.   Seriously, can a RipOff Report be posted on them?

From: RipOff Report – IMPORORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT <ripoffreportremovalservice@hotmail.com>
Organization: Ripoff Report Removal
Reply-To: “ripoffreportremovalservice@hotmail.com” <ripoffreportremovalservice@hotmail.com>
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 10:39 PM
To: Carrie Jeske <Carrie@willitlaunch.com>
Subject: A NEW Effective Way to REMOVE Your Ripoff Report

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT RIPOFF REPORT

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to STOP it doing any more damage to your Reputation!

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This is a B2B communication for anyone who has a Ripoff report. If this is sent in error please accept our apologies

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Product Competition

In today’s world, there is so much competition for the consumer dollar.  People have many choices about where and how to spend their money.   Getting them to put it on an inventor product takes marketing skill and a fair bit of luck or Divine Providence.

Product licensing isn’t easy work.   It takes time and is filled with redundant tasks and rejection.  It’s not for everyone, but over the years, I’ve learned a lot from both sides of the table.    I experienced the wide eyed optimism of being and inventor, the sober minded hope of running a small business, the disappointment of failure and the surge of responsibility bought by success.

My goal is to make a difference and add value as inventors consider the pros and cons of each next step in the inventing sequence.   Here’s a page with helpful information.

Nowadays inventors have many options for whom to choose as a partner.   You can Do It Yourself (DIY) or hire a professional.   Either way, securing a licensing agreement is a combination of hard work and luck.

Product Licensing

Licensing is a fun business.  Over 20 years, I’ve had the unique perspective of watching licensing agreements from both sides of the table.    This last few years, more of my time has been spend on the phone with inventors.    There is so much room for growth and opportunity now for everyone.

I enjoy long term relationships built on trust and mutual profit.    Please give me first look at your product ideas and let me help if I can.   I enjoy making money in teams.   No one person can take a product from concept to market on their own.  We need one another.   I love being on this side of the table where I see so many products and have a much clearer understanding of just how hard it is to succeed at making money on a product idea.  The launch costs are excessive.  Far higher then most inventors realize.  Certainly more time consuming then I imaged, as an inventor.

I look forward to getting to know you on social networks.  It’s very helpful when you participate and ask questions on the public domain for the good of all.

If you’re into social networking, connect with me on:

FACEBOOK      LINKEDIN        YOUTUBE       TWITTER

Carrie Jeske

The post Product Licensing – From the other side of the table by Carrie Jeske appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Today (about 3 years ago) was an interesting day in ASOTV licensing.    Those of you who know me realize my heart is the educate and inspire inventors to create great new products that can be licensed into the As Seen on TV distribution channel. that goes into mass market retail.

I’ve been at this for about 15 years total and three years ASOTV with serious focus growing this year because I believe it’s the fastest. least expensive way an inventor can make money on a product. even at concept stage.    I enjoy the freedom of not having to charge service fees. which gives me peace of mind since I don’t have to charge anyone any money.  Most products fail and about 90% of patents issues by the USPTO never see a store shelf so the invention business is not normally a quick or easy path to riches, but it is a path nonetheless.

I have quite a bit of experience in business, in general, and launching my inventor husband’s ideas but sitting on this side of the table is an eye opening and really fun experience.      I share the conversations below as a training tool for innovators.

A Tale of Three ASOTV Licensing Discussions

They start bad but end really well.

Let’s call the product, PickThick for training purposes….   This is a “Not So Great” Example for the MANUFACTURE and SELL invention strategy.

We had an initial conversation where a Term Sheet was sent to the Inventor of PickThick. A product already on the market selling in limited distribution.

This is an example of someone who wants to manufacture and sell their product and build a business around it.  They’ve experienced some sales success toward that goal.

I know this route well because it was my strategy for our SportsShade Canopy Awning product.     You can make more money in the long run, but the path is normally much more costly and difficult than you expect.   Having a strong background in business. strong capital reserves and a lot of persistence and tenacity.    Access to a pre-established distribution channel and sales teams is a must.  Funding product liability insurance, managing increasing manufacturing costs and expenses. protecting profit when faced with aggressive buyers who are trained to gain discount. managing massive vendor shipping requirements and navigating accounting issues are the norm.   Not to forget merchandising.  It’s one thing to get a product into the store and it’s quite another to merchandise it in a way that makes people buy it.     Single product vendors have a difficult time getting inside retail and doing well, once they do.

Pick Thick

Enter… a conversation with the inventor of PickThick. A product seeing some early sales success in limited distribution.    We like the item for TV and it makes it through three subjective committee reviews and a due diligence market analysis.  We’re ready to contact the inventor and offer a term sheet and licensing agreement with a guaranteed minimum first year royalty of $250,000.     If the product tests well, he makes millions in under a year.  If it fails, then released from the licensing agreement in under 3 months.

He was a very arrogant and rude man with a giant chip on his shoulder.  He said we’re all talking down to him because he’s this very accomplished businessman, which maybe he is????    But…. he’s spouting his relationship with Kevin Herrington from Shark Tank. (Which is the first clue he has no understanding of our industry because everyone inside knows Kevin is mostly selling services now.)

In any case, he seemed peeved that we are all trying so hard to get him on board and gave me a quick, “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.  I’m a very busy man.” brushoff… so…. he has our number and I’m not holding my breath.    As of July 17, 2016, I checked back with him.  He’s selling a whopping $30,000 in revenue a year and missed his window.  There are lots of similar products on the market now.  It hurts me more then it hurts him I think, because I know how much money we both lost, by the delay.

Furnace Friend

Started off rough but ended really well.    It began with him playing coy about his meetings with all the big name buyer (which is almost always a lot more hope, than actual sales opportunity.)   Then he went into the “if it makes sense, I’ll entertain it” mantra.    Even so, I pressed in and connected with him because I sensed he was a nice man who deep inside knows he needs an opportunity break.

Once the walls came down and I sensed we were having real conversation rather than guarded salesmanship, it really went well.   I called from the Will It Launch office and hunted Ed down, then had a three way call, where Ed was stellar and Paul was honest.     It ended with Ed agreeing to send the term sheet for Paul to review.    Seems like the product, inventor and investor may be a great match.    I liked the whole thing and believe the product has a real chance.

write to me at carrie@inventiveideas.com and let’s see if the next winner can come from you!

See you on the shelves!

Carrie Jeske

ASOTV Licensing

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DRTV Licensing Step One – Carrie Jeske

As Seen On TV (ASOTV) The fastest, least expensive way an inventor can make money on an idea.

The royalties paid are huge, the product development cycle fast and the life cycle short.

So inventions thrive before competitive products siphon away profits.

As Seen On TV (ASOTV) is a category, not a company.   

The red and white logo is public domain but don’t use it because it makes insiders think your product was tested and failed.  

That  is the kiss of death for a licensing agreement in this category.

There are no submission fees and inventors earn full inventor royalties when working with an industry insider.   

There are also partnership distribution agreements for business savvy inventor/entrepreneurs that want add skin to the game for a seat at the table.   

Every product ever done on TV, by anyone is a matter of public record.

 The proprietary algorithms and consumer interest metrics are astonishing.  

It’s wise for anyone moving forward with manufacturing to complete this testing prier to investing in the high and unchanging costs of molds and final goods.

We review hand made mock-up prototypes, finished goods and imports.  

Just send a link to a demo video or website with the Product Name listed in the Subject line. 

  Our email date and time stamps your submission.    

We’ll review the idea in a few days and reply with specific feedback.  

Term sheets to test market viability can be offered in under 30 days with tests completed in under 120 days or less.  

To find out more, watch my video, Sell Your Invention With No Patent and a Simple Prototype.

See you on the shelves and lets talk online.

Stay close,

Carrie Jeske

DRTV Licensing Step One

© 2015 Jeske.    Do not copy this content.   For reprint rights contact Carrie Jeske.

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Market Viability Testing Saves Money.

Of course you trust the potential success of your product.   It’s your idea!  

For an investor, that trust must be earned before they believe the same potential is true.  

Testing a product for market viability BEFORE you spend money producing it increases the inventor’s ability to gain support from investors.  Testing reduces the financial risks and increases the investors comfort that the product will actually provide a return on investment.   Consumer buying habits are complex with many options for spending and demands on every dollar earned.   Tiny tests in low cost ways provides quantifiable data, imparting trust to investors that your product meets a market need significant enough that people are willing to pay for it.

As an inventor looking for funding, you have two main goals to attract investors:   Reduce risk and provide an exit plan.   Tiny tests transfer trust that your product or market ready product will provide a return on investment in a reasonable time frame and demonstrates your own financial savvy.

For more about test marketing items for TV to mass market retail see Our Approach.

I look forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.     Read other blogs at the W.I.L. Inventors Corner.  

Finding and developing strong relationships, built on trust and shared profits is very important to me.   I see many inventors spend too much money on patents and manufacturing of products that really were not good bets.    Inventing is like gambling.  No one can predict what consumers will choose to buy or reject.    Make sure you never bet more then you can afford to lose and place your money into the highest potential payoffs. 

Onward & Upward,

Carrie Jeske

Learn about market viability testing

   (c) 2013 Jeske.   For reprint rights please contact Carrie Jeske for written approval.

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Become a better TV Product Inventor by earning $27,500, as product scout.    We’re looking for items in limited distribution already in the public domain.  Many inventors get patents, prototypes and manufacture a garage full of items they never end up selling.    They find out the hard way how expensive building consumer awareness for a product is.    People can’t buy, what they don’t know exists.

Often, they do gain early stage success in limited distribution channels such as online drop shipper retail outlets, catalogs, small specialty retailers and others.    As sales rise, the need for cash to fund growth becomes more and more important.   In addition, the market begins to squeeze profits with wholesale buyers negotiating greater discounts and retail consumers looking for lower prices.    With small success, the demand for quality control, accounting, customer service, order fulfillment and of course, marketing also rises and many of these start up entrepreneurs end up feeling overwhelmed with what seemed like a success.

They just didn’t connect to or maybe wouldn’t let go enough to get the help they needed for their product to really add value to mass market consumers and result in a financial success.

These entrap ensures end up limping along with a warehouse or garage full of inventory that they can’t sell fast enough.    That’s where you can really help, as a product scout because you connect them to the resources and infrastructure needed to move millions of units of product, in a very short time.

If you’re an inventor, you’ll find that the quality of your own TV items will improve significantly because you’ll learn to overcome rejection fast, keeping your mind free to expand creative energy to the concepts that have the greatest potential to succeed.

Where to Look for Products?

The internet is vast with many great new products buried on page 148 of Google.      YouTube is filled with new product reviews and video demonstrations by inventors.      The emerging social network craze make connecting to people, products and groups easier than ever.

“Keep Your Eyes Open and Your Mind Sharp.  New Inventions Are Everywhere.”

“It’s not who you know, it’s who you know… knows.”  Carrie Jeske

PREREQUISITS to Product Scouting

Why should you educate your friends about TV products? – BLOG

How to Earn $330,000 Inventing Products for TV – VIDEO

Characteristics of Successful Products – BLOG

8 Kinds of Prototypes and When to Use Them – BLOG

Protect Your Ideas with the Inventor Notebook – BLOG

Before You Submit – BLOG

How to Submit My Product – BLOG

What Happens After I Submit My Product? – BLOG

The post PRODUCT SCOUT PROGRAM appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

The opportunity available to inventors now, through TV distribution, is the fastest, least expensive way to earn money on a product innovation.

You should mention this opportunity to your friends and family.  It’s amazing how many good ideas are out there, but often, people just don’t know where to start.  You do.  Very powerful.

Someone you know may have the winning invention.   You can help them and earn money yourself, in several ways:

1)      As joint inventor.  If their concept needs work that you add value to, agree to be joint inventors and split royalties 50/50%.

2)      As a licensing agent.   You earn 25% of their royalties for connecting them to me and my partners.    It’s fair, they wouldn’t find me with out you.

3)      As a product scout.   You earn ¼ % royalty when you find market ready products, already selling in limited distribution.    What a blessing you can be to an inventor that’s taken their product into early stage sales.

Submit A Product

Learn More

How To Earn $330,000 Inventing Products for TV – VIDEO

Characteristics of Successful Products – BLOG

8 Kinds of Prototypes and When To Use Them – BLOG

Protect Your Ideas with The Inventor Notebook – BLOG

Before You Submit – BLOG

How To Submit My Product – BLOG

What Happens After I Submit My Product? – BLOG

Register here for FREE Webinars

TV Products

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Learning to spot current trends and make a guess at future behavior is an important part of inventing a good As Seen on TV product.

Recently, I was up late watching  PAID PROGRAMMING, enjoying the latest As Seen on TV items available for 19.95 where I stumbled upon

a new show about public opinion.   Sure, is politically inspired but it contains public opinion information that leads to buying patterns and

behavior.    I was most interested with the idea of scanning the HEADLINES to gain a basic “feel” for the American mindset.

Under their website under “Most Recent Releases” you can scan a list of recent polls taken from the Rasmussen Report Public Opinion Polls.

I think it’s a good idea for anyone inventing for TV or scouting for products to stay current on public opinion.

A few examples found on their Most Recent Releases page 

The post “What America Thinks” – another tool for inventing for TV appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

There are many places to submit product for ASOTV or other distribution channels, but none as fast as As Seen On TV.  Here’s the steps you can take.

EVALUATE / VALIDATE / RESEARCH the concept yourself.   

1.   

Search Google “Images” and Amazon.com by keyword descriptions.   Consider what words buyers would use to find your product and make a note of them.    

2.    

Estimate the cost and retail price based on other products with similar materials.   Goal is $2-5 in cost of goods, $11 wholesale, $19.95 retail.  We buy in mass volume and can make things much less expensive, but it’s good for you to have an understanding of the cost.

3.    

Review competitive solutions:  Find your unique advantage, gather marketing verbiage, assess the size of the problem.  Explain how your product is better.

4.    

Consider products with similar materials and begin making an Inventor “Mock-Up” prototype.  Keep the mechanics simple.

5.    

Protect Your I.P.  – Use an Inventor Notebook and NDA’s.   If you don’t understand the laws, seek legal counsel.

Don’t try to hire someone to live your dream.  Do this yourself.

Carrie Jeske

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