For the past 2 months I have had this bug riding my !@#$%. For a few weeks I just couldn't put a finger on it. Then one day during a MCL show I had a thought. "Headless", I said "Yes?", "You must go mainstream my lad", said the voice in my head.

From that point on I have been toying with the idea of going "mainstream". But what is mainstream you ask? The non-adult world. No tits and ass, more like cards and gifts. But cards and gifts aren't my thing. My thing is fishing. That's right. I eat, sleep, and fish. That is of course when I'm not on the pc. LOL

So now that I have my "niche", I needed to research and research I did. I have spent many hours exploring the fishing industry. I know where a lot of the traffic is up for grabs; I know how I can exploit it to the fullest with my skills I learned in adult. But I needed a product. That is the final part of my "research".

Dmoz, google, here I come! I searched and searched, but couldn't come up with a damn thing. Then I toyed with the idea of manufacturing my own product line of custom baits. Such as jigs, soft plastics, and spinnerbaits. Now I know some of you might have absolutely no clue what I am talking about when I talk fishing, but you get the point.

I think my major problem right now is the product. So far I have concluded that I do not want to manufacture a damn thing. Too much time involved. I personally would prefer to just do my web thing and market the product. So this leaves me with only one option, drop shipping. Now don't get me wrong, I have produced some custom baits, and have enjoyed it. But I don't think I would enjoy producing the numbers per day to make the venture profitable. Now I know what you're saying, outsource the manufacturing part. But then that defeats the purpose of marketing "custom baits". It kind of takes the hand crafted custom feel out of them.

As of right now I am currently waiting on a response from a big wholesaler/distributor who will drop ship. They already deal with some big companies, such as Wal-Mart and Kmart. I tried calling them, but only got voicemail from there web department. Email has been sent, so hopefully I get a response back soon. I am very anxious to move onto the next step.

What's the next step? Building the site. Setting my marketing budget. Getting my general business plan ironed out to the max. There is still a big road to travel down, but once the product line is secured then its all a go, you know what I mean?

Before I wrap this article up, I just wanted to mention one thing. There has been a decent discussion over at WebOverdrive concerning mainstream. A lot of people seem to think that in order to go mainstream you have to become an affiliate. Let me tell you something, you don't! Right now in my opinion the mainstream market is definitely a merchants marketplace! Why you ask? Well I can't give it all away now, but here are a few reasons. 90 day paydays, 5% revshare fees, these things are NOT in favor of an affiliate.

If your head is spinning with everything I have jotted down already, don't worry mine is too. There is A LOT involved with going mainstream. Merchant accounts, scripts, products, money coming in and out, shipping, setting webmaster payouts (this one is gunna be cool).

In closing I'd like to welcome you to the wonderful world of mainstream. I hope you enjoyed your stay, make sure you grab a drink, sit down and enjoy the ride! Cause this is just the first in a series of articles I am going to write that will follow me along in my path to concur the mainstream fishing market.

Laters....

Headless