If you’ve been in online marketing for any length of time, you know what it’s like to be flooded with ideas.
New angles.
New projects.
New “this could be big” moments.
Ideas are never the problem.
The real challenge is deciding which ones are actually worth your time — and which ones quietly fade away.
Over the years, I’ve started to notice some patterns in how I evaluate them.
Why Some Ideas Feel So Exciting
For me, the ideas that create the biggest spark aren’t always tied directly to money.
Sometimes they’re just… interesting.
Sometimes they feel clever, different, or oddly satisfying in a way that’s hard to explain. The kind of idea that makes you stop and think, “That’s actually pretty cool.”
I recently had that exact feeling with a concept for tracking activity on safelists. It may never generate a dime by itself, but that almost feels beside the point.
It’s a genuinely useful idea.
It’s something I haven’t seen anyone else doing.
And most importantly, it’s the kind of thing that helps me stand out, build my brand, and strengthen my authority.
Those are often the ideas that end up being the most energizing — not because of what they earn, but because of what they represent.
Where I’ve Learned to Be Careful
Experience, however, has taught me that excitement alone is a terrible decision-making tool.
Some of the ideas that look great at first glance fall apart quickly under closer inspection.
The biggest warning sign for me is simple:
If I don’t fully understand it, I slow down.
That doesn’t mean I abandon it immediately. But it does mean I’m cautious. Complexity, hidden dependencies, or unclear mechanics have a way of turning “great ideas” into long, frustrating detours.
Another major filter is audience fit.
Trying to force people into something they don’t naturally want is rarely a winning strategy. I’ve seen this mistake play out countless times — not just in my own projects, but across the entire industry.
No matter how clever an idea seems, if it doesn’t align with the people you’re actually serving, it becomes an uphill battle.
What Makes an Idea Worth Building
When an idea does survive those filters, a few traits almost always stand out.
The strongest ideas tend to fit naturally into my existing systems.
They don’t require reinventing everything.
They don’t introduce unnecessary complexity.
They build on what’s already working.
I’m also drawn to ideas that feel unique in a practical way — something that fills a need people may not have clearly recognized yet, but immediately understand once they see it.
Those ideas have staying power.
They don’t rely on novelty alone. They provide real utility.
The Hard Truth About Ideas
After years of chasing, testing, building, and occasionally abandoning projects, I’ve come to believe something that sounds obvious but is surprisingly easy to forget:
The best ideas are usually wasted if you don’t make them happen.
An idea sitting in your head has no value.
Execution is what gives ideas meaning.
Not perfection.
Not endless planning.
Not waiting for the “right moment.”
Progress.
Movement.
Action.
Because in the end, the gap between a good idea and a successful one is almost always the same thing:
Someone actually built it.