Niche Marketing: Tactics to Use To Make Money With Niche Marketing

Copyright © 2004 Brooks House LLC

Niche marketing has always been a key any success in marketing but lately it has become quite a prominent force in the online marketing world. Many books, manuals, courses, and web sites have been developed that focus on niche marketing. It is easy to find solid resources on the Internet that can teach you how to make money with niche marketing.

Niche marketing online is a distinct segment of Internet marketing and is the quickest way to get maximum exposure if you know how to leverage the search engines to draw attention to your niche web site.

There`s many things to learn to be successful and profit from niche marketing and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) will dictate exactly how to plan your attack to successfully market to customers in your niche.

If you plan to use niche marketing to draw visitors to your web site, here`s a few tactics that you can use to make money:

Niche Marketing Tactic #1, "Research"

Fully utilize all of the research mechanisms that you can find in order to make sure that you truly understand your niche and all of its nuances.

This requires understanding what tools are best to use so you can understand what your target niche market does day to day, where they spend their time online, and what makes them tick from a personal and business perspective.

Niche Market Research (http://www.nichemarketresearch.com) offers free reports and articles to help you make the most of your research time.

Niche Marketing Tactic #2, "Define your paying niche"

Clearly define who will make up your niche market and make sure that the people in that niche market are willing to pay for the solution that you provide to their problems.

A niche is a clear subset of a larger category.

An example of what a niche market is not: "People who want to learn how to shoot better scores in golf."

In this example, there are far too many people within the main category (golf) to make this a true niche. Virtually everyone who plays golf will want to play better and shoot better scores so this wouldn`t qualify as a niche, much less a category worth pursuing.

An example of a niche market: "Women who play golf who want to learn how to drive the ball longer and straighter."

This would be a niche because it clearly defines and segments who you`ll cater to and why they would need your service.

After clearly defining your niche market, you should make sure that they are willing to pay for your services. The easiest way to determine this in the online world (other than using common sense) is to find web sites that may be close to, or even in your niche, and see if those web sites charge a fee for their services.

In addition, you should look to see if there is a reasonable level of competition between those web sites. If you see more than a few sites listed on a SERP (Search Engine Result Page) that cater to female golfers for a fee, chances are the people who are your target customer will pay for your services for solving their problem - women who can`t consistently hit long straight drives in golf.

Niche Marketing Strategy #3, "Choosing keywords and domain names"

Research and choose your keywords carefully so you can acquire the best domain name for your site. Niche marketing most often includes maximizing the way search engines work to make sure that your web site gets listed on the first page of the SERP`s from your chosen keywords.

Your domain name contributes to getting those first page results.

Go to Digitalpoint`s keyword suggestion tool

http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/ and type in keywords that you feel people would use to find the product or service that you offer within your niche. Look at the number of searches performed per day for those keywords and review the other keywords listed.

Type the keyword phrase that you think best suits your USP`s target customer into Google and assess whether or not you can reasonably compete with the sites that are listed on page 1 of the SERPs.

Can you get a page 1 ranking knowing that you`ll have to compete with the sites already listed?

Repeat the process until you have decided what your main keywords will be for your product or service within your niche.

Those keywords should be in your domain name and preferably, they should be your entire domain name.

Example: if you`ve concluded that `blue widgets` best suits your USP and you feel that you can compete for page 1 listings on the SERPs with the sites that come up on page 1 for the keyword `blue widgets`, then a good domain name for your niche marketing site would be `bluewidgets.com`.

Niche Marketing Tactic #4, "Posting keyword rich articles or reports throughout the web"

Niche marketing doesn`t differ from any other online search engine marketing, posting relevant content is the best way (bar none) to get the right type of traffic to your niche site.

Writing keyword rich articles or reports and posting them to high traffic web sites is a great way to make sure that you get maximum exposure within your niche market. People will use your keywords to search for information about the topic that they have interest in, and they will come across your web site on the search engines results.

Niche marketing caters to a distinct and select group of people who need what you have to offer. If you define your niche properly and make sure that your ability to solve their problem is something that they will pay for, you will have established a "money maker".

Utilize the search engines to make it easy for your niche market to find your service or product. Niche marketing is the easiest way to be successful on the Internet if you do the proper research.

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Karl Augustine
Publisher, "Starting Smart!"
http://www.9mistakes-online.com/nichemarketing.htm

15 Commandments Of Creating A Wealth Pulling Niche

Copyright © 2004 Roy Primm

Niches are like bathrooms; you never notice them until you need one.”
- Primm (From NicheBrain.com)

Fact: The person who finds or creates a special niche gets the cream of our societies financial rewards. Whether you’re Bill Gates or Joe Average.

The niche, and the person who creates them, is the main factor that separates one product from 12 others.

To out-niche your competitors you must focus on these “15 commandments” of niche creation at all times. Observe the ones you can apply to your business, product, or service - and watch your profits soar.

15 Principles of Creating A Niche
(In alphabetical order)

1. The Principle of "Adaptation" - The easiest way to create a new idea is to do what others in another business or industry is doing. Next, see if you can adapt it to your own business, product, or service.

2. The Principle of "Addition" - Can you add something extra to your product or service that your competition doesn’t have or isn’t doing?

3. The Principle of "Combination" - “What positive elements can you combine from another product or service to make yours better?” A candy bar did it with simple peanut butter and chocolate, and made a successful new product. So can you!

4. The Principle of "Customization" - Can you find little ways to personalize a part of your product or service for your customers? People love the personal touch - that means so much. Can you make your product or service more personal and less cookie-cutter?

5. The Principle of "Easier" - Can you find more ways to make your product or service easier to buy, use, own, recommend to others, or attract repeat customers?

6. The Principle of "Elimination" - What negative or inconvenience can you eliminate for your customer with your product or service? Today people not only pay extra for more, they’ll pay extra for less. Less irritations, less waiting, less inconveniences, less risk, less pain, etc.

7. The Principle of "Enlargement" - Do people like your service or product? Then it’s a sure-fire bet there is a segment of your market that would like even more of it. Can you super-size something?

8. The Principle of "Entertainment" - From cradle to grave, we all have this inner urge to be entertained, amused, or fascinated - especially before we spend our money. A relaxed customer spends more. Find little ways to amuse your customers before, while, and after they buy your product or service.

9. The Principle of "Longevity" - It’s making some feature of your product or service last longer. It can also include making a positive experience or feeling last longer.

10. The Principle of "Portability" - People hate to be tied down. can people use your product or service in more than one place? Or Can you find a way to take your product or service to your customer instead of them having to come to you?

11. The Principle of "Reduction" - If you sell a product or service, is there any way to reduce a certain feature to make it more convenient? More portable? Easier to store or carry? Or easier to use? Can you reduce it and make it more affordable?

12. The Principle of "Reversal" - Look at what features or services your competition is offering or not offering and reverse them. If they close on weekends, can you be open? If they cater to seniors, target more young people. Or if they cater to high-end customers, target more low-end volume customers, etc.

13. The Principle of "Safety" - Show others how your product or service can add safety or reduce risk. People hate to experience loss, feel insecure, or waste money. Try to think of little ways you can help people avoid the above with your product or service.

14. The Principle of "Speed" - Today more than ever people hate to wait. You should always be thinking, “What could I do faster than my competitors-without-losing quality?” Can you fill your orders faster? Can you give faster service? Can your product get faster results? Can you resolve customer issues faster? Can you ship your orders faster? Think speed!

15. The Principle of "Yucky" - A billionaire once said the secret to success is to be willing to do what most people don’t like to do. So find out what people don’t like to do, find irritating or disgusting, and charge them to do it. If you have a business, find out what your competition doesn’t like to do for their customers and you start doing it. You could literally steal customers from your competition overnight.
Try it.

By following the above suggestions, you’ll be able to create powerful money-making niches. And leave your competition in the dust.

---

Roy Primm (The Niche Man) has written hundreds of articles on how to create a money-making niche. To get his latest report "14 Ways To Create A Niche-And Grow Rich" go to NicheBrain.com

Carve Your Niche By Dominating One

I was recently interviewed by a print magazine about niche marketing. In it, I offered several tips and ideas on how to carve a niche in the marketplace. Here are a few of them:

1) Michel, what do you do? How do you do it?

If you know my personal story, you know how niche marketing played an important role in my career. (See another interview in which I discuss this, along with the strategies I used to propel my career.)

Long story short, I feared rejection immensely, which led to a reclusive childhood. I wanted to overcome my fears and decided to dive into the world of sales in order to fight them. Years passed and many failures ensued until I finally became the top producing salesperson in Canada for a Fortune 500 company.

How did I accomplish that? Since I hated prospecting, I found and developed more effective marketing strategies that caused high quality prospects to come to me instead of the other way around. I no longer had to prospect. I no longer had to be rejected. In short, I went from prospecting to positioning.

In other words, I decided to specialize in a specific niche -- even though my employer did not require it of me. I positioned myself as an expert in a specific area (for a specific target market). Essentially, even though I could sell everything to everyone from this employer, I decided to specialize in only one product line for one particular category of prospect.

As a result, I attracted pre-qualified prospects to my door.

People today are bombarded with information, commercials and competition. Prospecting online is not only difficult but also impossible, nowadays. Thus, you have to market in such a way that causes those kinds of people to come to your business or website, and not the other way around -- like a magnet.

Therefore, rather than prospect for clients you must position your business as unique in a particular category or industry, or for a specific audience or market. And by being unique, you will naturally become the leader. With all the competition out there, it is no longer possible to be better than the others. The goal, therefore, is to be different -- and not better.

2) What is niche marketing? Why is it important?

Today's world has become overcommunicated and hypercompetitive -- one huge blur of sameness, in my estimation. If you attempt to be too general or too wide in your approach, you will only dissipate among the blur. And people will not see any greater value in buying from you than in buying from the competition.

One of the greatest errors committed by most new businesses is that they fall into a trap: they try to be "all things to all people." And they do so because they are mislead by the notion that, by offering more (or by serving more people), they will generate more sales. That's understandable for the survival of any new business depends on the number of sales it makes.

Based on the law of averages, you will have to advertise quite heavily so to be in front of as many eyeballs as possible, all with the hope of attracting an adequate amount of prospects that will in turn translate into a certain number of sales.

Undeniably, this requires a gigantic advertising budget.

For most new and especially smaller businesses, this is quite a challenge if not impossible. Admittedly, it is true that, the greater your reach is, the greater the potential quantity of responses will be. But what about quality? Would it matter if your business or website generates a large quantity of uninterested visitors that will simply never buy from you?

Let's look at the Internet. If your online business targets everyone, then your marketing message (and that includes your website) must therefore be painted with broad brushstrokes as to appeal to everyone. And the challenge with such an approach is the fact that you will lose a large percentage of visitors.

They may fall into your target market, but visitors that leave your website do so because they likely feel left out or become uninterested fast. Others simply choose competitors that might provide them with greater perceived value. In other words, the broader you are in your appeal, the less relevant you will be to any and every individual visiting your site.

If your site sells everything, chances are that your audience will not perceive any greater value in shopping from you any greater than from anyone else. In fact, the only common denominator, with which they have to work, is price. If there are no other points of comparison, naturally the cheapest alternative wins.

Sales will increase dramatically if your site is centered on a specific theme, product, industry, people or outcome. A niche, in other words. Put in a different way, the more focused you are, the less you will need to produce a sufficient quantity of website visitors to produce similar results. (For more, visit another article I wrote on the subject.)

3) How can someone find a good niche?

A good niche is one that:

1. exists
2. is easily identifiable
3. is easily targetable.

The most commonly asked question I receive from aspiring entrepreneurs is this: "What product should I sell?" (Or "what sells well on the Internet?") Quite frankly, everything sells (and can sell well) -- from pet food to travel packages -- in some way, especially online.

In fact, everything is being or can be sold, somehow, in some form or another. But that's not the problem. It's not what you sell -- it's to whom. In other words, don't look first for a product to sell. Look for an easily targetable market with an easily identifiable need -- a need for a specific product, be it a good or service -- and provide them with that product.

In order to achieve this, you need to be observant and listen to the needs of the marketplace. If people seem to be asking for a specific solution to a problem, obviously it is because a niche exists that has yet to be filled. Once you have found a niche, everything will flow from that point. In fact, if you follow this tactic you will constantly find products to sell.

Simply put, don't carve a niche. Rather, find one and fill it.

4) What are ways to become an expert in a particular niche?

If you offer a customary service or if your competition offers the same thing you do, catering to a niche helps to project an aura of uniqueness and superiority instantaneously by virtue of the fact that it doesn't appear as customary. Rather than copying your competition, you isolate yourself from them.

For instance, if you required brain surgery, would you choose a dentist? Would you choose a general, medical practitioner, even a general surgeon? Not really. You would probably choose a neurosurgeon. It's the same thing for other products. If you owned an imported car that needed new brakes, would you choose any general mechanic? Or would you choose one that not only specializes in brakes but also specializes in imported cars?

Expertise is in the eyes of the niche. Specialization is in itself a marketing process that, as a byproduct, generates the perception of expertise. It's amazingly effective in creating "top-of-mind" awareness among a specific target market.

For instance, an accountant specializing in car dealerships will acquire more clients than a general accountant will. An advertising salesperson specializing in home furnishing stores will sell more advertisements than a typical advertising agent will. A photographer specializing in weddings will get more bookings than a regular photographer will. Ad infinitum.

As more businesses get started, and the more inundated with marketing messages our society becomes, the less time, energy and money people will have to spend in choosing the companies with which they will do business. Thus, specialization helps to solve that problem by projecting an aura of expertise.

Take the mechanic, mentioned earlier. Rarely would you call a general mechanic an "expert mechanic," unless she has invested a considerable amount of resources in branding herself that way, or in educating herself deeply in the world of mechanics, backed by many, many years of experience. On the other hand, it would be easy to dub a mechanic -- even a new one -- that specializes in imported car brakes as an "expert mechanic."

Similarly, by finding and dominating a niche, you can become an expert by design -- not by default.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.

Choose The Right Business For You In Less Than 15 Minutes

Copyright © 2004 Charles Kangethe

-----------------------------------------------
3 Characteristics Of "The Right Business" Model
-----------------------------------------------

=> The business must service a large market.

Niche markets are also very profitable but require
specialist products and customer service. Target
niche markets when you are more confident in
your business abilities.

=> The business must adapt and change with the market.

Be aware faddish businesses can be very difficult
to operate because of the rapid rate at which market
perceptions change.

=> Initial start-up capital requirements must be minimal

Many new business owners work to tight budgets and have
limited resources to start-up. Ideal business models
should therefore have low start-up costs.

------------------------------------------
What Business Fits These Characteristics ?
------------------------------------------

A (home based), direct response marketing business, dealing
in Information has all these characteristics and offers
unparalleled flexibility for the serious Wealth Creator.

Direct response marketing is all about the targeting of a
specific market by use of mail shots.

Mail shots can be sent by post as happens in mail order or
by e-mail as happens in the online Internet world.

Let`s get specific and see how direct response marketing
fulfils the characteristics of "The Right Business"

------------
Large Market
------------

Direct Response is a multi billion dollar industry and
growing.

The US leads the world in direct response marketing,
principally due to the geographical spread of the country,
and the almost universal acceptance of direct response
marketing as a valid means of buying and selling products.

The UK is a very sophisticated direct marketers environment,
where many US trends manifest themselves as a result of the
close cultural, economic and political ties between the two
countries.

5 Reasons Why The Business Should Deal With Information.
--------------------------------------------------------

=> People like Information. They seek it everywhere. On
the TV, on radio, at the cinema, in newspapers, in books
and reports and increasingly on the Internet.

=> The need for Information seems insatiable - the more a
person knows about a particular subject, the more they want
to know. It is also true that the less someone knows about
something which is of some interest to them the more they
will seek out information to expand their knowledge.

=> Advances in technology in computing and desktop
publishing means it is now unbelievably easy and cost
effective to engage in Information provision businesses.

=> People will pay money for access to good, useful sources
of information. They have little time to do the required
research themselves and will pay someone else to distil the
information they require into useable forms.

=> There are numerous Information product types and it is
more than likely you will find one or more of the following
financially rewarding. E-zines, audio tapes, video tapes,
CD-ROM, DVD, Live tele-conferences, workshops and Seminars.

------------------
Adaptable Business
------------------

A direct marketing business working with Information affords
you the opportunity to change with your market as quickly
as it takes to produce a new Information product.

This can literally range from a few hours for new, short
shelf life information products to a few days or weeks for
longer lasting Information items.

In some cases the changes you need to make to your products
to stay ahead of changing market trends may be as simple as
title changes and a few amended paragraphs in the content.

---------------------------------
Low Start-Up Capital Requirements
---------------------------------

Many of your good ideas go by the wayside for one simple
reason. It costs too much to successfully float the idea,
and then to sustain it through the early years as it becomes
established.

An Online direct response information product business can
be started for less than $300 per annum in the USA or £200
per annum in the UK.

At the very minimum, you will require

=> A domain and website on a professional hosting platform
=> An Autoresponder Service to send out e-mail
communications to your prospects and customers
=> You will also require some means for accepting payment
for your Information Product.

One of the truly remarkable things about this business is
that these requirements can be achieved for the low capital
outlay described above.

----------
Conclusion
----------

Information marketing is not the only "ideal" business
model, and I am sure you can think of others that fit the
characteristics noted at the beginning. However,
Information marketing via direct response offers you the
perfect Business setup to ensure a positive start-up and
a healthy business model.

---

Charles Kangethe of http://www.simplyeasier.com is a leading
new wave Netpreneur and a published author from England. The
"Simply Easier" brand name is your guarantee of high value,
quality Marketing Products, Services and Resources.

Simple Steps to Success

The one thing that I am asked the most is: "How does one successfully market on the web?" The answer that I usually give, one that is as effective, as precise and yet as straightforward as possible, is this (read carefully because it's the big one)...

Marketing, both online and off, comes down to three basic, foundational processes -- no more, no less (although since I wrote this article, I did add a fourth one in my latest book in order to reflect some of the changes we've seen in the last few years, especially online).

Nevertheless, if you follow these three basic rules, you've got it made pure and simple -- and ironically, they are also the ones that are the most often ignored. What are they? Here they are, in order:

1. Focus,
2. Target, and
3. Multiply.

To be short, let me give you a brief explanation of each one. "Focus" means to "niche-pick." Niche marketing is incredibly important and especially on the web. Narrow your focus to a single, central theme and, as the paradox goes, you'll find more with less. The narrower your market, the more people will visit your site -- and oftentimes almost effortlessly.

I've dealt on this in my article, so I won't go any further.

Second, "target" means to promote your site in front of those people who will not only have a genuine interest in your offer or business but also likely have greater chances of becoming your clients. I'm specifically referring to your business' demographics and psychographics.

Demographics are the basic characteristics of your target market. For example, they include age, income level, sex, nationality, geographic location, employment, industry, marital status, and so on. Basically, they are the qualities of those who *need* your product or service -- they are not prospects but "suspects," for you only suspect that will become your clients.

On the other hand, psychographics are the behavioral qualities of your target market. For example, they include buying histories, emotional qualities, personality types, other similar purchases, special interests, hobbies, and so on. In other words, they are the qualities of those who not only need your product or service but also *want* it -- they are your "expects" since you not only suspect that they will buy but also expect that they will.

Once you've clearly defined the psychographics of your core (and most likely) market, you've isolated the true prospects from your suspects. You then target that market. You find out where they are and market your offer to that specific audience more than any other -- and as often as possible.

For example, I often consult hair transplant surgeons. The demographics are obviously made up of those who have hairloss, which typically are men. Now, we can only assume that they need more hair, since not all bald men want more hair (it's a question of personal priorities, of course). Therefore, finding ways of marketing to those who may want more hair is much better than trying to target everyone with hairloss let alone the public at large.

While I agree that it is somewhat difficult to find such an exclusive market, the trick is to place your marketing message (e.g., buy banners, publish articles, post classified ads, participate in discussion lists, and so on) in locations where bald men seeking (or interested in) hair replacement alternatives will likely congregate. Here are some examples.

Write articles and submit them to ezines read by men who are looking for ways to replace their lost hair. Or advertise in newsletters catering to, say, men who have unsuccessfully tried some fancy hair growth potion and, being dissatisfied, offer each other support -- trust me, they do exist! Mailing list suppliers described in another of my previous articles provide some great starting points -- many offer searchable online list archives.

Place banners and classified ads on sites or other locations that are visited by such a specific audience. For example, men who feel that they "suffer" from hairloss are those who also feel less self-confident or those who are self-conscious about their image. Therefore, place ads in ezines or on web sites dealing with such topics -- like male self-esteem, for example.

Focus also on sites, newsgroups, discussion lists, forums, and ezines focusing on men's health, sexuality, or grooming. Besides hair and image, I ask doctors: "What other common characteristics do these men have?" Some work in image-based industries (like the sales, media or entertainment fields), and others are recently divorced men who seek to court a new partner. Therefore, advertise in locations that appeal to those areas as well.

The third and final element, or "multiply," is the viral marketing process I often discuss in my work. And it is a great tool since no one knows your audience more than... Your audience! In other words, "multiply" means to leverage your marketing efforts in such a way that the knowledge of your presence propagates easily and literally by itself.

To that end, you can set up strategic marketing alliances with other website owners, ezine publishers, forum administrators or discussion list moderators that cater to a market that logically fits into your own (and do not directly compete with you). Using the same example above, you can create a joint venture or exchange special offers with a website selling shampoos, cologne, men's vitamins, self-confidence courses, or image consulting services.

Also, joint ventures, affiliate programs, reciprocal links and strategic alliances developed in concert with others that fit together nicely with your site will thus increase your hits and your sales. Whether you're in the hair field or not, this also includes specific tools that you can implement on your site for helping your current visitors (who literally act like your network of independent salespeople) to refer your site to others let alone to return again.

For instance, you can offer free reports, provide free samples, distribute gift certificates and even use automated referral systems. Creating your own affiliate program in which others can sell your wares for you is another great example. There are also contests, quizzes, games, polls, article archives, greeting cards, continually updated, in-demand content, and ezine subscriptions.

I could go on, and on, and on... And I do have several "other" steps that you can follow. But it all boils down to those three. Follow those three simple steps, and success is virtually guaranteed.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.