Getting Started? Why Your 1st Step is Finding a Niche Market
© 2003 Nava Bromberger
The most common thing I hear from people is that they don't know where to begin building an online business. Well, it's no wonder... The internet is an enormous place also a huge opportunity. But if you don't pick a piece of it then you will not only soon be overwhelmed however worse, probably not see much success.
Let me explain.
Building a business on the internet is just as real as in the brick also mortar world. In many ways it's easier once you have a good system in place. But that does not mean you should skip the most basic decision of what your business has to offer also if this is a viable business to have.
This is called niche marketing also taking the time to decide what your niche market is the smartest way to get started.
In case you're not clear on what a niche is, it's a very specific portion of a much larger market. For instance, internet marketing is a market. But, book marketing, listbuilding, also traffic conversion are niche markets.
What this means is that you need to take the time to decide what information or product you're going to offer. From there, you can find out if there is a market for this product, how large it is, also if they spend money. In other words, is there a target market for this product?
Take the time to measure your market also if any of the above items aren't true for the niche market you want to go after, then find another niche also be glad you didn't invest too much in this one.
Why target a niche rather than a large broad market?
Well, for one thing it will give your site a purpose also focus. Anyone coming to your site will be able to instantly identify what it's about.
You'll or else have a much easier time getting a decent ranking in the search engines because your keywords will be more specific which means less competitive. And, if you do a pay per click campaign, specific keyword phrases are always cheaper than the broader general keywords.
Using highly targeted keyword phases will or else bring much more qualified traffic to your site. For instance, wouldn't you rather have a site that is the definitive source about Porsches than just a site about cars in general? Imagine how much more valuable your visitors would be if you had a such a site also they found you by typing "porsche 911" into a search engine. You may have less traffic however it will be more qualified which means your conversion will be much higher. Which would you rather have, a site that gets alot of traffic however has no sales or a site with half as much traffic however consistently makes sales?
Using this example, several things would be accomplished:
First of all, you'd be targeting a very specific audience also giving them exactly what they're looking for.
Second, this particular niche of Porsche enthusiasts tends to have money to spend which is good since you will have products to sell.
Third, if you can write articles about Porsches that provide alot of valuable information you will quickly become a recognized authority on the subject of Porsches.
And fourth, being a recognized authority on Porsches you will attract joint venture partners who have related products or services.
Here's how to find a niche market:
1.) Ask yourself some questions. What do you already know alot about or have a passion for? This can be anything at all.
2.) Do some research to find out if people are looking for this type of information or topic.
Overture has a keyword suggestion tool which lets you type in a keyword also see how many times it was used in a search. There's or else a free program that does the same thing called Good Keywords. Both or else give you related keywords also phrases so you can get a better sense of where to narrow your scope.
Wordtracker provides the same type of service however offers tools to organize all your keywords so you can later upload them into a pay per click campaign or use them on your website.
If you want to do some serious research then check out Nichefinder. This software not only lets you know what people are searching for however or else does a supply also demand analysis so you will or else know how much competition is already out there.
Visit some message boards or newsgroups where your target market hangs out also listen to what they're talking about. Look for issues or problems they're having -- these are all potential products just waiting to be created. Take it a step further also start answering questions also you will have a following for when your product is ready to launch.
3.) Get a catchy domain name that has a keyword your target market will recognize also design your site entirely around this niche.
4.) Start capturing emails also building a list that offers valuable free information this market wants.
5.) Write also publish articles on your website about your particular topic.
6.) Create a link directory also exchange links with complimentary sites. This will increase your link popularity which will improve your ranking in Google also other search engines.
7.) Find products that would be useful to your market also recommend them to your list. Most have affiliate programs also you will earn a commission.
8.) Create your own product also sell it on the front-end. Then use the affiliate products for back-end sales.
9.) Most of all, be honest also serve you market well. Never recommend anything you haven't tried or used yourself. Give them the best information you possibly can -- in fact, over- deliver in this area. It will payoff because you will gain credibility, trust, also respect which over time will translates into more sales.
Basically, once you know that a niche market exists for what you want to offer your next goal should be to dominate it. If your site is tightly focused on your target market's needs, you're consistently writing good articles, also offering products that solve their problems -- then dominating this space will happen automatically.
Focusing on a niche may be a little more work in the beginning. But, once you decide what niche you're going to target everything will fall into place. You'll have products that you know are in demand, a site that increases in value every time you add related content, also a business that continues to build over time.
Links to Resources Mentioned Above: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ http://www.goodkeywords.com/ http://www.marketingtwist.com/wordtracker http://www.marketingtwist.com/nichefinder
© 2003 Nava Bromberger
------------------------------------------------------------ Nava Bromberger publishes Marketing Twist ezine. Why do some people struggle to make money online while others just rake in the cash? You'll find out in each issue of Marketing Twist. If you make less money than you want to, you need a twist ... a Marketing Twist. http://www.marketingtwist.com
