We’ve been talking with Marc Charles, creator of The  China Wholesale Trader, about a new program for Early to Risers.

It deals with domain trading for profit. “Domain trading… hmmm, what’s that?” you’re probably thinking.

The basic concept is quite simple: You buy a domain name, say “xyz123.com.” Then you sell it for a profit to somebody else. Of course, there is much more to it than that. And that’s why we’re considering offering this program. It’ll tell you:

• How to buy low and sell high
• Which types of domain names have the most profit potential
• How to capitalize on trends and the news
• How to take advantage of expired domains
• How misspelled domains can be quite lucrative

The big dogs in the domain trading niche are making millions. This program will focus on lower level opportunities, at least at first — but there is still plenty of money to be made at this level. For example, one of our colleagues just spent $1,000 to secure a domain that he just had to have for his business. That would be the target market.

All in all, it looks like a great way to make a decent side income. And Marc tells me that you don’t need to be “tech geek” to make it work. It’s just like buying and selling any other commodity.

We’ll keep you posted as this product is developed.

| Status Report |

Michael Masterson’s new book, The Pledge, is getting ever closer to publication. We just reviewed the final cover and page layout from the publisher, Wiley.

Unlike his most recent books, this one is all about self-improvement and success — not so much about wealth building. But it’s definitely not your typical self-help “guide,” full of platitudes and pseudo-spiritual affirmations.

The center of the whole thing is a system — Michael calls it the Master Plan — for re-orienting the way you live, work, interact with others, and play so that everything you do brings you one step closer to achieving what you want.

We don’t yet have a set release date for the book, but it will probably be in November. Meanwhile, I’m going to give you a short exercise from the book that will help you craft your own Master Plan. (If  you do it now, you’ll be ready to go as soon as The Pledge comes out.)

Here’s the exercise:

You are going to avoid the very common problem of losing momentum on your goals by considering the full spectrum of your life — not just your health or your wealth, but also your hobbies, personal relations, social obligations, and so on.

Here’s what you should do now:

1. Take out a piece of paper and divide it into four boxes.

2. At the top of those boxes, write Health, Wealth, Self-Improvement, and Social Happiness.

3. Inside each box, write down statements in that category that you would like to have said about you at your funeral. These should exhibit your core values.

For example…

Under Health:

“He was the fittest 80-year-old I ever saw.”

Under Wealth:

“Of all the people who graduated from Riverdale High School in 1972, she turned out to be the wealthiest.”

Under Self-Improvement:

“He was the best chess player I ever knew.”

Under Social Happiness:

“She was a strong supporter of breast cancer research.”

Write down at least two such statements in each of the four categories. The purpose of writing them down is twofold: to fix them in your mind, and to have something specific you can refer to later.

You will be referring to these core values many times in the coming years. They should be a source of continuous inspiration. And they will form the basis of the goals you set. Treat them seriously. They are the crux of your master plan.

As I said, the book won’t be coming out for at least two months. That seems like a long time to wait, I know. But right now, we can send you a lengthy excerpt. When you sign up, we’ll also put you on our Pledge Hotlist, so you’ll be notified as soon as the book is officially released.

| What a Theme Park Can Teach You About Business |

Say what you will about theme parks. (Too expensive! Too cheesy and artificial!)

But they do get at least one thing right. They bend over backward to make the customer experience as good as it can possibly be. Take visitors with young kids, for example. Here are a few conveniences for them that I noticed on a recent trip to an unnamed park in Orlando:

• Baby care stations with private rooms for nursing mothers, diaper changing tables, and comfy couches for quick naps for fussy kids.
• Special seating in the back at shows for parents with infants in strollers.
• A variety of play areas for every age group, from infant onward.

Sure, you could make do with changing a diaper in a regular, crowded bathroom. Or have one parent wait outside a ride with the baby while the other takes his big brother through. But it wouldn’t be pleasant, and it would probably make you think twice about a return trip until your kids are much older.

And that’s a lesson you can apply to your own business. Identify your customers’ special needs and see if you are addressing them.

Are you making it difficult for them to order? (Maybe your older customers don’t feel comfortable giving credit info over the Internet.) Could your products be tweaked and made easier to use — making them more appealing to a larger portion of your target market? Are your marketing messages filled with too much jargon — so much that your prospects don’t understand what you’re trying to tell them?

The questions you pose about your own business might be different than the examples I just gave. And your list should certainly be much longer. But by taking a critical look at your business in this way, you could recapture millions in lost revenue.

| Down on the Farm |

As she mentioned in last week’s Insider, our COO, Laura Rodini, recently traveled to the Midwest. She roamed through the heartland, on the lookout for red barns (yes, red barns) and great home cooking. And while she was in the neighborhood, she stopped in to see Joshua Boswell and his family at their farm in Missouri.

Joshua is a veteran copywriter and marketing strategist. He’s also a go-to consultant for many Internet marketers. That’s why we invited him to this year’s Bootcamp to reveal his strategies for creating profitable new products.  And that’s what Laura spoke with him about in the video below (between tours of the homestead with his wife and kids). Just click on the screen below to get a free product creation tip from Joshua.