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Are You Marketing Backwards?
When you get in your car, you put it in forward gear to drive forward. You don't put your gear shift in reverse and expect your car to move forward! But that's how many folks market their services. In fact, most people market backwards. Most folks...
How a 7th grader taught me a valuable marketing lesson
I was seeing my younger brother (we're quite a few years apart), as I'm prone to do. He's a great kid. When he smiles, you've gotta smile along with him. It's just impossible not to. But this is about one time he got on my nerves a little. Ok, a...
Marketing Yourself Online: Freelancing 101
Before the widespread use of the Internet, working for yourself was a much tougher undertaking than it is today. With over 13 million people claiming the status of "self employed," sites have sprung up online to fill this niche and offer help...
Network Marketing Do's and Don'ts
Why did you become a network marketer? Most people immediately respond, “for the money!” However, this is not the real reason.
No one subjects them to the hard work of building a business just for little pieces of paper with the faces of dead...
Using Marketing PR to Promote Your Business
Public Relations is an important marketing tool, and should be considered carefully. It is a way of connecting with your customers, suppliers and distributors. The objectives of Marketing PR are to build awareness, raise your profile and build...
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Niche Marketing - An Internet Goldmine
If you haven't heard the word 'niche' being batted around by Internet Marketers then you haven't been listening. Finding a niche has become the antidote to competing in overly saturated online markets.
What is a niche?
According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary a niche is described as "a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted... a specialized market".
Have you noticed that despite the closing of many businesses in these sometimes harsh economic times that the local hobby train store is still around? That the 'hole-in-the-wall' eatery is thriving? Or that trends such as scrapbooking can start with a bang and then close within a year as four similar businesses start up in the same area?
The online business world reflects the same trends you'll see in the offline world - often with faster turnover and startup rates.. Those who promote a product or site that targets a small, select audience can tap into a market that is otherwise not being served. Despite the limitations of the client base, the targeted nature of the business creates a devoted and active market - the aim of any business.
HOW DO I FIND A NICHE?
Finding a niche requires diligent research. Whether you have access to software that harvests and sorts information, or you take a manual approach, you must start with ideas.
With a pen and paper (or computer, if that's more comfortable), brainstorm a list of businesses, products and industries. Start with a specific keywords in your fields of interest.
Using a software program such as WordTracker or a free resource such as the Overture Keyword Selector Tool, type your keyword in one at a time and search for words with a high amount of traffic. For instance, if you typed in the word 'golf', you'd discover that over 695,000 searches were done on that keyword.
Although a program like
WordTracker can give you further details such as how many sites compete for that market, you can also do your own research.
Go to google.com and do a search and you'll find over 97 MILLION websites pertaining to golf. Ouch. A little too much competition. So you need to narrow your search.
For instance, the phrase 'golf practice net' had over 72,000 searches done on it. When you search Google, you'll find only 13,000 websites specifically referring to that keyword phrase. That's a little more like it. In fact, if I knew anything about golf, I'd use it myself.
Are you starting to get the idea? You're looking keywords with a high Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) ratio. For an explanation of KEI, go to http://www.wordtracker.com/help/keihelp.html
Concentrate your attention on question phrases such as "how do I..." or "where can I...". These questions will clue you into potential markets that need servicing.
Next look in Google Answers. Type some of your keywords. What questions are being asked and how much are people willing to pay for answers? If you find a group of keywords with a high number of searches enter these words in your search engine.
What sites come up? Do they provide answers or solutions to the problem? How are they making money? Can you see an opportunity to serve these individuals?
Finding a niche can be an open door to a profitable online business. Research the market and be certain that your product or service is valuable to this group. Find forums or groups that target this audience and pay close attention to their concerns.
If you can help these people you WILL make money. The best of both worlds!
Steve Searls is the founder of PartTimeSolutions.com.
Now you can discover the "5 Key Ways To Build Your Traffic, Subscribers, and Customers Through Content."
This "Free Report" tells you how.
http://www.parttimesolutions.com/traffic
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KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
www.knowthis.com |
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Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
marketing.about.com |
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Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
www.marketing.org |
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Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
www.marketingpower.com |
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Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
www.brandrepublic.com |
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Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
www.brandrepublic.com |
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Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
www.marketingmag.ca |
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BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
www.bidvertiser.com |
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Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
www.clicksor.com |
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Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
www.marketingjobs.com |
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The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
www.cim.co.uk |
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Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
www.technorati.com |
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Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
www.marketingprofs.com |
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Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
www.gmarketing.com |
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Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
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Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
del.icio.us |
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ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
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Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
www.the-dma.org |
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