Have you ever heard of seniors who invented something amazing? If you have a great idea, why not try and market it, no matter your age? Benjamin Franklin was nearly 80 years old when he invented bifocals, which allow so many people to see clearly, both near and far away. You may be sitting on a great idea, but you may not be sure how to market your new invention. Here are some great tips for marketing your new invention.

Creating a Marketable Product

One of the first steps you need to go through when you have an idea is to make a physical example of your idea. This is called a prototype. Prototypes can be a scale model, or an actual example of what you want your product to look like. The more lifelike your product is, the easier it will be to show to prospective marketers.

Financing

One of the most difficult aspects of marketing your invention is to get a prototype done. This will enable you to talk to interested investors with your product in hand. However, marketing a prototype can get expensive. If you’re not sure how to fund the initial stages of your invention, you may want to think about a reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgages allow you to get a lump sum of cash or a monthly payment without a mortgage. You can figure out how much money you might get for your home by putting your data into a reverse mortgage calculator like the one found here https://reverse.mortgage/calculator.

Think About Your Audience

Now that you have a prototype, you need to think about the audience for your product. This will require some research on your part. Not sure where to start researching? Start with simple searches of similar products to yours. Who do they sell to? Are there areas of the country where this product will sell better than in others? What age group is more likely to buy the product? Are there companies who are willing to buy products like yours? If you don’t want to do the research for your product, there are companies that do the product research for you, but it may be costly.

Start Small

Once you are ready to begin to sell your product, you need to start small. There are websites online that you can sell your product on. You may want to look at companies such as Amazon, Ebay, or Etsy. All these companies will let you sell your product at minimal cost to you. If you don’t want to market your product yourself, there are marketing companies available that will take your product and sell it for you. However, these marketing companies will charge you up to 50% of the profits from the sales. You may not want to give away that kind of money, so think about what you want to do before you sign on the dotted line.

Promotions

When you begin to sell your product, you will have to spend a lot of time promoting it. One of the best places to promote your product is on social media. Many inventors have found success on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. These platforms allow you to advertise your products for little to no upfront money.

If you are looking to market to a local audience, there are all kinds of ways you can market your product through emails or postcard mailers. These marketing companies are great for marketing your product to people who may be interested. Depending on your product, this local advertising form is great when you are just starting out.

Today’s marketing platforms allow you to pinpoint customers who may want to buy your product. You can filter by area of the country, income, age and tons of other filters. However, you need to know that the more product you sell, the more you may need the platform’s help, which will mean you need to make a larger investment.

Packaging

Now that you have begun selling your product, you’ll need to package it well. The more professional looking your packaging is, the more likely you are to get referrals. Think about enclosing a thank-you note or even a coupon for future orders. You also need to think about setting up a website for your orders and allow for customer reviews. If you are selling your product on a platform such as Amazon or Ebay, you’ll want to make sure you encourage customer reviews. The more you put your name and product out there, the more likely you are to market a successful product and make money to add to your retirement fund.