It has been said that marketing is about solving problems.

In other words, the solution to every problem is a potential product.

Do you have a problem in business, or in life, that crops up over and over again? Do you find yourself wishing that somebody would come up with a solution?

Chances are, if you're thinking that way, you're not alone. Millions of other people will almost certainly feel the same way.

Next time you find yourself in this situation, ask yourself whether or not you'd pay someone to solve the problem. If you would, others will too. That means the solution to the problem could well become a successful product.

So how do you go about solving the problem?

Define the problem

The solution to any given problem starts by defining it. Can you describe the problem in a single sentence? No? Then try again. And keep trying until you can.

As soon as you have a one sentence description of the problem, you've got the basis of a future ad headline. Because advertising is nothing more than a clear explanation of how to solve a specific problem.

And you need to be able to state the problem in a single sentence (i.e. an ad headline), to get people to read your ad.

Is the solution a viable product?

Some problems are easily solved. If you can solve it easily, chances are millions of other people can too.

The solution to an easily solved problem is unlikely to make you rich.

Some problems are easily solved if you spend enough money. An expensive solution may make you rich, if the problem is annoying enough. But you increase your chances of getting rich, if you find a way to deliver a much cheaper solution to the problem.

Some problems are difficult to solve. If you find a solution to a difficult problem, and your solution is reasonably priced, you're on to a winner.

Here's an example every advertiser will relate too...

Making a profit from advertising

Like every other advertiser, I've found it can be difficult to make a profit on advertising.

To make a living on the Internet, I need to make back twice as much in sales as I invest in advertising. That is, I need a 200% return on my investment to ensure I cover all my business costs, and end up banking enough money to live.

The problem is, Internet advertising costs too much for the sales it generates. Take the cost of bidding on a well-known search-engine. The useful key-works are priced far beyond the level where it's possible to make a profit.

I know for a fact I'm not the only person with this problem. Millions of people out there would love to get their hands on advertising that was guaranteed to deliver a profit. So I set out to find a solution.

The solution took me 2 years of testing and development. I tried many different product ideas, and developed some great ad products as a result.

Nothing worked as well as I wanted.

Then I hit on a way to deliver lifetime advertising.

Ads For Life delivers advertising that runs for life. As it never expires, the advertiser is certain to make a return on his or her investment.

At first, the idea seems unlikely. My business partner came up with a more colorful (British) word. He said it was bonkers!

How can I possibly deliver on such a promise? How do I continue to generate ad displays, over and over and over again, for life?

Solving a difficult problem

I know from experience, that an ad delivery system needs an ever-increasing number of visitors to deliver a consistent number of ad displays to clients. I knew a concept like AdsForLife could quickly turn into a nightmare if I didn't factor this in.

But I wasn't starting from scratch. I've been creating Internet ad programs for over 6 years now. I have more than a few tricks up my sleeve.

In the case of AdsForLife, I chose two of the best mechanisms for bringing visitors to a website. Mechanisms I knew would consistently bring in new people to whom I could display advertising. Mechanisms that can't easily be copied by my competitors.

AdsForLife clients get their advertising shown on the AdsForLife website itself. They also get their advertising shown in my ezine. And on top of all that, they get their advertising shown on the MailYourAd website.

In and of itself, the AdsForLife site can't deliver sufficient advertising, but does contribute some visitors. It's an important component in the overall mix.

My ezine is free, and offers an ongoing stream of high-quality Internet marketing articles. The subscriber list to my ezine continues to grow, ensuring regular visitors return over and over again.

This brings in an ever-increasing stream of visitors. What's more, it's difficult to copy because of the workload involved in running such a site (I have a competitive advantage here).

MailYourAd is a fast-growing, highly-effective free ad program. It attracts a high percentage of repeat visitors, generating more and more ad displays for AdsForLife clients.

What's more, members are encouraged to return to the site often. There are no restrictions on the number of messages they can send. As a result, MailYourAd is delivering a lot of advertising to AdsForLife clients.

Summary

As you can see from the above case study, even a complex problem like ensuring advertisers get their money's worth, can be solved.

Sometimes the first solution isn't the answer. In my case, it took two years to get it right.

Of course, I didn't devote every single waking moment to the solution. I would work on it for a while, and then take a break while I pursued other projects.

The point is, I stuck with it. And I was rewarded with an idea that sells like crazy! Advertisers love the fact that AdsForLife offers them certainty, and they're snapping it up.

So next time you find yourself grumbling about something, take a mental step out of the situation and start looking at what you're complaining about. You may well come up with the very thing that makes your fortune.