How to Break Into the $20 Billion “Look and Feel Younger” Market

Aging baby boomers, who are retiring in droves these days, are fueling a $20 billion mega-market because they want to look and feel younger.

The market I’m talking about is nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. And you can make a lot of money selling these products on the Internet or by direct mail – even if you have limited capital to invest.

“Cosmeceutical” is a combination of two words: cosmetics and pharmaceutical. Cosmeceutical products claim to have “drug-like” benefits without the harmful side effects. Examples of cosmeceuticals include certain skin and hair care products, anti-aging creams, and moisturizers.

“Nutraceutical” is derived from the words nutrition and, you guessed it, pharmaceutical. Neutraceuticals include dietary supplements and nutritional ingredients that promote optimal health in a natural way.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have a lot of power as far as what you can and can’t do in this market. The most important thing to keep in mind is to avoid making unsubstantiated product claims in your marketing materials. Just play by the rules and you’ll be fine.

As I said, aging baby boomers are driving this multibillion-dollar “feel good and look good” market. But that doesn’t mean baby boomers are the only ones using these products. There are products in this market that appeal to every demographic.

Entrepreneurs are reaping windfall profits in this market by concentrating on and selling to “A” prospects. In other words, by focusing on people who have recently purchased similar products at approximately the same price point as theirs. These repeat buyers are pre-qualified and primed to buy.

The easiest and fastest way to enter this huge industry (and start turning a profit) is through direct marketing – by reselling products for other companies or becoming an affiliate.

Reselling products for other companies is easy. You offer their products to your “A” prospects on a website or via direct mail. Consumers place their orders with you and you ship (or have the manufacturer drop-ship) the products to them.

Affiliate marketing is similar – but, in most cases, you won’t handle any products, customer service, technical support, or billing. The company you become an affiliate for will take care of those things.

Believe me, affiliate selling works. You can get started with very little money. You don’t need to stockpile products in your garage or spare bedroom. Plus, when you sell products as an affiliate you don’t need employees, accountants, lawyers, or even a formal office space. And there is no face-to-face selling, no customer service headaches, and no back-office junk. So you don’t have to worry about database management, online shopping cart issues, software glitches, or refunds/returns.

Instead, you can focus all of your energy on your direct-response marketing efforts.

This could mean running Google, MSN, and Yahoo! keyword advertising campaigns, or even mini-infomercials. Or it could mean marketing your cosmeceuticals and/or nutraceuticals directly to consumers via direct mail.

If you choose to go the direct-mail route, you’ll need a mailing list of repeat buyers for those types of products. A good place to locate lists like this is at SRDS.com.

When you have products to sell and a mailing list of repeat buyers, you can send out a catalog (the manufacturer’s or one of your own design) and/or a sales letter. Most of the companies that offer distributor and reseller programs for affiliates already have pre-printed catalogs that you can use.

If you prefer to create your own catalog and/or sales letter, you can get lots of ideas by subscribing to Who’s Mailing What.The Who’s Mailing What archive includes more than 1,500 successful direct-mail campaigns, and most of them are for consumer beauty and nutritional products.

You should also add your name and address to as many cosmeceutical/nutritional product mailing lists as you can find so you can start receiving other marketers’ promotional pieces. Do this by buying one or two of the products in this category that you see advertised – and, before long, your mailbox will be loaded with catalogs, brochures, etc. That will give you an edge over the competition, because you’ll see what’s working. (You can be pretty sure that the promotions you receive over and over again are bringing in lots of money for the people mailing them.)

If you mail a catalog or a powerful sales letter to “A” prospects – repeat cosmeceutical/nutraceutical product buyers – the probability of making substantial sales is quite high.

If you market on the Internet by running keyword advertising campaigns, you’ll need a website to drive interested people to. And you’ll need strong copy on your website to persuade them to buy. You can educate people on the attributes and features of your products on your website. But the main objective is to sell them. Hire a freelance copywriter if you need help coming up with compelling copy for your site. Better yet, make a good investment in a copywriting program for yourself.

Once you have the copy, there are four ways to market your products online: search engine marketing (via pay-per-click advertising and organic search), e-mail newsletter ads, and dedicated e-mail promotions.

You can also post your products on all of the high-traffic marketplaces, including Amazon.com, eBay, Yahoo Shops, Buy.com, and ClickBank.

However you choose to market cosmeceuticals and/or nutraceuticals, the profit potential for these products just keeps growing and growing. The desire to look and feel younger – and maintain good health – spans generations and won’t be dissipating any time soon.

[Ed. Note: Marc Charles is an expert at discovering low-effort business opportunities with high profit potential. And now you have the chance to meet him in person… and pick his brain about the best entrepreneurial ventures around today. Just sign up for ETR’s 2008 Information Marketing Bootcamp. Not only will you get to hear about Marc’s freshest business opportunities, you’ll also get insight into the Internet’s hottest trends from 11 other money-making masters. And be prepared to be blown away. We’ve insisted that each speaker share at least one idea that could place $100,000 cash money in your pocket within just 12 months or less… regardless of your current level of skill, expertise, or the state of your business.