Hey All -

Hope you’ve enjoyed the new site and redesign.

Just wanted to call attention an awesome, new, information-rich portion of the site: the “LEARN” tab.

I’m not trying to give anyone reading homework or anything, but if you haven’t checked it out yet, the info in there may be worth a quick read. Specifically, check out the “best practices” section for advice on the best way to submit your product ideas, vote, connect with other users, use social sales, and earn overall influence.

And now, I thought I would share my favorite tip for those of you who are thinking of submitting your own idea:

Don’t Name Your Own Product:

You’ll get a chance to do this later. The community loves to name products. In the earlier stages of development, keep your titles descriptive and illustrative of the purposes and advantages to selecting your idea.

Of course, if you have any questions about any of this, hit up your community ambassadors at questions@quirky.com !

1) Find a good problem to solve. People don’t buy products, they buy solutions.

2) Do your homework. Google is your first step.

3) Keep it simple. The best ideas are the ones that are so simple that they are elegant.

4) Carefully craft your pitch. Get inside the head of the consumer and try to tap into the emotions associated with the problem you’re solving.

5) Make it like a bikini. Your idea submission should be large enough to cover everything but small enough to keep it interesting.

Stephen also invites Quirky users to run their ideas past him; he promises not to steal. That’s the kind of community spirit we like! Thanks, Steve.

Read the full post here.