The biggest challenge facing any online marketer is creating a winning product. It might be a new blog, ebook, online or offline tool, we all have to start somewhere. So what's the best way of coming up with a new product?

Copying.

There is very little of anything that is new today. A big part of that is because just about everything has been done before. That may seem like a bad thing, but it's actually an opportunity waiting to happen. The key to creating a winning product is to copy the best ideas from others, which combined with your own ideas delivers something new.

Inspiration

The first thing I do when I think I've got a winning idea is to find every other site or product being offered in this space. As I go along I'll jot down what I like and dislike about each site, and I'll check what is working for them, with an emphasis on traffic. At the end of the process I'll have a strong idea of what works and doesn't work when I go about creating my new site.

Reinventing the Wheel

In part copying is about reinventing the wheel in a way that delivers superior results to you. Sure, the wheel may be perfect, but can your particular vertical be improved on?

Gooruze

A good example is Gooruze Online marketing advice and help have been around for a long time. Gooruze (via the Vibe Engine) brings in various aspects of other sites into a new package that is geared to produce something better. It's not a direct copy of another site, but it copies aspects of other sites. I think it does a great job, but it's also a good example when looking at what can be done when you sample and take other ideas for something new.

Improve Your Existing Offering

Copying isn't just for new ideas either, it's a great way of improving existing products. Get on Google and see what your competitors are doing. Don't ever copy everything, but find yourself inspired and implement the parts you think might help your site or product.