Surf the Web for more than about five minutes and youll start to recognize a pattern: there are a small number of great sites that do fantastic things... and a very large number of me-too sites that try to make money by doing the exact same thing.

Now Im not saying theres anything wrong with those me-too sites. Im all in favor of competition and sometimes a me-too site can offer features that improve on the original. They might make less money than the original but even if they only make a fraction of the first sites income, that can often be enough for the copycat sites owner.

But when you come up with a brand new idea, you can really clean up.

Ive just launched a new site: www.500words.com. The idea is very simple. Ive put 500 words on a page and publishers can sponsor a link from that word to their site. The links stay up for two years, give traffic and provide a novel experience for both visitors and sponsors. For a slightly larger fee, publishers can also add their own keywords.

Within three days, 300 of the original words had been sold. Ive also been inundated with requests for the script I used to create the site.

I didnt sell those words because they were particularly valuable. I sold them because the site had created a buzz and thats what happens when you create a new idea online.

The Web is a very gossipy world. Whenever something new and exciting happens, word gets around very, very fast. Links are posted, emails exchanged and people start asking each other if theyve seen your site. In no time at all, youve got more traffic than you could have possibly imagined. That viral marketing is the real power of the Internet.

Coming up with innovative ideas isnt that hard. The idea for 500words.com was inspired by MillionDollarHomepage.com. I saw what I liked about that site, recognized where it was weak and came up with a whole new idea. I didnt put up another sponsored pixel site no one would have been interested in that I produced something new.

As youre surfing the Web, ask yourself what new ideas you can come up with. Make it exciting and innovative, and youll generate a ton of interest.