So you have the next big wave product, and you want to market it effectively. What should you do? Deciding where and how to advertise is a tempting approach, but it's also jumping the gun. That decision should follow from other marketing decisions on which it logically depends.

First, determine your target market exactly in terms of gender, age, location, occupations, whether it is individuals or businesses, families, single people, teenagers, etc. You'll want to target all of your marketing efforts to that market.

Secondly, have a marketing plan that starts modestly and builds up from there. If you have a retail product, your first step isn't to approach a huge retailer such as Wal-Mart. Big retailers are interested in established, proven products, not newcomers. Your marketing plan should include:

Sales Goals. These should be measurable, realistic, and specific. They should be based on the product and the target market, and be expressed in terms of so many sales in the first month and so many in the first six months.

Steps to Reach Your Sales Goals. Do you want to market directly over the Internet? Should your marketing be tailored to small, independent retailers? Will you be approaching small businesses directly as customers, relying on eBay, contacting people in person?

Timelines and Milestones. Having decided where you want to go and what steps to take to get there, establish a set of marketing milestones leading to a long-range goal.

If you are selling a retail product, you will eventually want to be established enough that you can present your products to larger retailers. Your timeline should have one step or stage following the last in order to reach this goal.

All of this planning isn't as fun as jumping right into a really cool ad to go out on the Internet, in print, or on the radio, but it's the way to make sure that your marketing efforts go in the right direction, the right way, at the right time, and reach the right people.