Can Ideas be Sold?

Inite.io
7 min readDec 24, 2021

Nowadays there are thousands of ways to earn from selling products and services, but whatever is offered, roots in human creativity. Gadgets, books, clothes, songs, medicines — all these things are the result of brain activity, ideas, and step-by-step implementation. Consequently, everything we pay for is based on concepts. But can one really turn ideas into finances? With companies buying ideas, new startups being born daily, and NFT platforms getting viral, this is deep-dyed real, and we will try to spell it out to you.

The World Has Changed

Ten years ago nobody could imagine that offices would be closed and most of us would be working from home or, for example, from such sunny places as Bali. The pandemic has changed the situation, and now 92% of people are interested in quitting office jobs and finding some alternative sources of income. Demand begets supply: now there are dozens of ways to earn online, and everyone can find the sphere that fits him or her. Even ideation has become the proper way to gain.

Materialized Ideas are Selling

To begin with, we want to assure you that idea-sellers are not rainbow-chasers. People have always been waiting with their arms out for the innovative creators who can bewitch them with their products, services, and thoughts. The evidence of this is the huge number of companies ready to pay for extraordinary ideas. For example, Mattel, the famous producer of Barbie kids are nuts with, buys ideas for toys, games, and baby gear that fit the brand’s values. Fila and New Balance pay for patented concepts for new clothes, accessories, and shoes. Suck UK, General Mills, Sharper Image, Nautilus, New Soda, and many other companies are also on the list of ideas buyers, each with its specific requirements and terms.

Unembodied Ideas are Money-Making Too

So, if you have a product concept that matches some exact company, you can try to sell the result of your creativity to it. But what can one do if the idea itself has nothing to do with its material implementation in the form of a product? What if this is the plan of spending a week somewhere, a new technique of swimming, or the brand-new discovery related to cooking? Well, you can establish a startup based on your idea, invest in it, and get a full-time job devoted to its development.

This road is complicated, unpredictable, and messy, but still can be very efficient with such billions-worthy examples as AirBnB, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Uber to get inspired with. But if you don’t want to get stuck in the same idea or this is not big enough to turn it into a business, or you dream of turning ideation into your full-time job, you can switch to NFT platforms.

NFT Platforms

NFT platforms are digital markets that enable people from all over the world to sell various digital assets in the form of non-fungible tokens. This method is worthy because it popularizes art, connects like-minded fellows, boosts the development of the decentralized economy, contributes to the effective competition between talents, and, most important of all, helps creators to earn money without paying over $5000 on patenting and, most importantly, without being scared that their works will be stolen. Buyers, in their turn, are welcome there to invest in any worthy pieces they want, to broaden their collections, and to art by reselling their purchases. In a word, NFT platforms change the image of the contemporary Internet that is flooded by pirates, stealers, and copycats.

With numerous NFT platforms well-known to nearly everyone, people may get lost while choosing between, for example, OpenSea or Rarible. The thing is that all the platforms are focused on the representations of digital assets related to art, but Inite is literally one of a kind. Yes, this may sound like some aggressive advertisement, but still, this is true because Inite is the only platform to sell ideas in whatever format they have. Meanwhile, here you receive daily tasks to generate them, discuss them within the community, evaluate, upgrade, and, finally, sell or buy.

Idea Selling Guide

With all our evidence that the right time to sell ideas has come, do you feel inspired to command your concepts? If you don’t have any, you may download Inite right now and explore our techniques of ideation. If you already have some, you still need to find out whether they can be sold for a fortune. And to do this, you should follow 8 basic steps.

Step 1

Give an exact representation of your idea, what problems it solves, who can be interested in it, why it is unique, and what problems it brings. In a nutshell, you should make a draft of your concept where you outline everything clearly and briefly. Though you may put it down in any order you want, we recommend you to start the following way.

Firstly, put the core of your idea in a few sentences. For example, you may write «A machine that utilizes smoke-free cigarettes». Secondly, you need to describe your target audience: «Avid smokers who are interested in ecological issues». Thirdly, you are to point out your originality: «Smoke-free cigarette users have no special stations for the utilization of their gadgets. This will be the first one». Next, you outline all its expectative negative post-effects: «Such stations are to be pricey».

Step 2

Not to be blamed for stealing somebody’s creation or to waste your time on something already known, you should check whether your idea is really unique and innovative. For this, you may google your concept, read relevant articles, and watch videos related to your topic. If you see that you have just reinvented the wheel, don’t get upset. You can put it aside and develop another concept, try to imply your solution to another field, or seek ways of upgrading it. Additionally, remember that many concepts have been generated by two or more people nearly simultaneously. Such cases are called multiple discoveries, and we will discuss their origin later, in another article.

Step 3

After you’ve made a draft of your idea and checked its originality, you are to evaluate it and find out its pros and cons. If you see your weak points, highlight them and think about how you can turn them into benefits. For example, you may have an exact understanding of what problems your idea solves in the ideal consequences, but have a vague knowledge of how it may work if things do not go as expected. So, you should simulate various conditions and find the most versatile method of your idea implementation.

Step 4

Go for efficient feedback from like-minded people. You may explore your concept through the length and breadth of it, and still have a vague understanding of how to upgrade it. You need fellows to tell you how they would improve your idea and to point out whether they regard your cons as cons, or see them as your key pros. Though you may hesitate to be afraid that people may laugh at you or steal your concept, be sure to share: the more points of view you get, the more detailed, complex, and efficient your final product will be. The thing is that you need to find the right people on the right platform. And here we are to shout silently: «Give a try to Inite»!

Step 5

Calm down, take a breath, and spend enough time reading and analyzing all the feedback you’ve received. Be sure not to take it too personally: your points may be criticized, but this is not about you. So. Don’t pause an unappreciated genius, instead, make a plan for a further upgrade of your idea. For example, with the help of your advisers, you’ve realized that the implementation of your idea may be too pricey. So, you need to check how to reduce its costs.

However, do your best to make only the crucially important changes, and don’t forget to listen to your intuition: sometimes the best is the enemy of the good.

Step 6

With all the practical work done, write down a fair copy of your structured idea. The key thing is not to forget that the Devil is in the details. If you present your idea as a text, you should vividly express yourself with catchy words that really have meaning. Don’t talk in circles and be straight to the point, advertise, but do it wisely. In a word, write it as a marketing text, but not the «keywords» one.

If you have problems with expressing yourself verbally, you can either read some special literature, such as «Content Writing Handbook 2021» by Kounal Gupta, or «Everybody Writes» by Ann Handley.

If writing is not your cup of tea, you can make a video or a presentation, but be sure to learn the visual language. For example, learn how various colors influence people or what camera angles work for you. The package of your detail makes 25% of its success for this is your chance to attract buyers, to intrigue them, and to make them watch your content from beginning to end.

Step 7

Finally, reread or rewatch your wonderful concept and get proud of yourself, your message, and your innovation. You should sincerely believe that you’ve made a masterpiece, otherwise, if you are not in love with your own idea, nobody will like it even if it is as revolutionary as the electricity in the year 1800.

Step 8

Finally, post your idea on inite’s marketplace and wait for the buyers to fall in love with your idea. Be sure to set the right price for your masterpiece, and never underestimate yourself.

Conclusion

To sum up, ideation is a bold way to earn money, and the modern world is contributing to this daily. To monetize your creativity wisely, you should learn how to evaluate your concept, to upgrade it, and to present it on a relevant platform, such as Inite.

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