Increase Your Value and Explode Sales Through Niche Marketing
By Ruth Kuttler, the "Web PuzzleMaster"

Lose Sales When You Market to "Everybody"

When I ask my clients who they are marketing to, I often hear “everybody.” Even though you can provide products and services to a general population, it is not a good idea to direct your marketing to everyone. The more you can define your target market and target market to niche groups, the more likely you are to be successful. When you focus on one or more select populations, it makes you more valuable to these groups. They will pay more because they perceive you to be the expert that knows exactly how to solve their problems. Even though you do the same thing for them as you do for everyone else, your marketing is directed to them and their particular needs.

Let say for example that you are a financial planner and you’re targeting people in the Baby Boomer generation – ages mid 30s to 60s. You could make your market more niche by targeting female executive Baby Boomers. Even though your service stays the same, all of your marketing would be specific to female executives. This makes you more valuable and will help you to drive more business to you – people who will pay higher fees and generally be better quality clients.

How to Reach Your Niche Market

Once you determine the niche market or markets that you wish to attract, find out what associations they belong to and what publications they receive. Find out what online newsgroups subscribe to and e-zines that attract this market. Consider joining their associations and advertising in publications they receive, both online and through the mail. Offer free tele-classes and submit articles to their publications.

Become an Expert and Explode Your Sales

Advertising can work but what really drives business to you is free publicity. I'm talking about the publicity you receive when you become known as an expert in the eyes of your niche market. This is not nearly as difficult as you think it is. It does however, require a commitment to do some things that you don't ordinarily do - things that most of your competition does not do. This is what gives you a dramatic marketing edge!

When you submit articles to your target market's online and offline publications and solve their problems, you become regarded as an expert. It's that simple. Your articles cannot be a sales pitch. You should not even mention your company and what you do. Your articles should specifically address the problems that this market has and how to solve those problems. It doesn't matter that their problems are the same problems that everyone else has. Focus your article on them as if it is their unique problem. Your resource box at the end of the article is where you promote yourself along with your contact information - this is your golden opportunity to include the name of your e-zine, how to subscribe and a special incentive for joining your list. It is critical that you have an effective website to send them to. Make sure that when they go to your website, the form to join your list is on every page - close to the top right is best.

By getting your articles in front of your target market, you have an incredible advantage. You have just given this audience something they desperately need and convinced them that you know how to solve their problem. You just established rapport and trust with them. They don't have to wonder anymore, who they should choose. Now you need to take it one step further.

Another great strategy for becoming known as an expert is to advertise free tele-classes to your niche market. You can get 100 people on a bridge line for free that allows you to make a powerful connection, establishing your credibility and interest in helping them solve their problems. Use this opportunity to educate and get them to join your list. Mention how you can help them at the end of the call. The best call to action is to ask them to go to your website right now and join your list. Getting in front of this captive market again and again is worth much more than making a single sale.

Publishing Your Own E-zine Makes you an Expert and Makes you Money

You are an expert in your business. When you publish your own e-zine, people get to know what you know and they value your expertise and willingness to help them. Don't worry about your competition finding out your secrets. If you are the first to do this (and there is always a way to be the first or set yourself apart), this makes you the leader - and the leader is always regarded as the best. Your e-zine can be the stepping stone to all kinds of opportunities for free exposure - opportunities that are free and much more effective than any ad can ever be. I'm talking about television and radio interviews, articles in newspapers and in magazines that attract your market. Think of the cost savings when you can slash your advertising budget. This is the kind of marketing that will get you results and exponentially grow your income!

You Don't Need to Be a Writer to Publish Your Own E-zine

Don't worry that you are not an expert in copy writing. And don't let your ego interfere with the success of your articles and e-zine. What I have found is that many people who think they are great writers, are not effective at writing copy that gets read and gets results. Articles must have effective headlines, sub-headlines and a combination of stories and facts. They should interrupt, engage, educate and end with a call to action, just as a sales letter does. They should also be free of spelling and grammatical errors. Your articles and e-zine can be responsible for $10,000 - $250,000 or more in monthly revenue. Would it be worth it to pay a professional to maximize the results you get? Think of it as an investment in marketing your business. And with the money you save in advertising costs, you can easily pay someone to write your copy and even publish your e-zine and submit your articles.

I know that you have always done what your competition does, even if it doesn't work that well. What I'm suggesting that you do is to change the way you think and to change what you do. It's all about thinking outside the box. If you want to increase your market share, the smart way to do that is to set yourself apart by becoming known as an expert to a niche market. Niche marketing will change your business and change your life.

© 2008 Web PuzzleMaster, LLC, Ruth Kuttler, the Web PuzzleMaster, All rights reserved.

Online design and marketing specialist, Ruth Kuttler, “the Web PuzzleMaster,” is the creator of “Winning Marketing Secrets” E-zine. Get her FREE SPECIAL REPORT, “10 Simple Secrets for Making your Website into a Selling Machine!” at www.WebPuzzleMaster.com. You are welcome to ‘reprint’ this article online, provided it remains complete (including the contact information at the end), and you send me a copy or link to your reprint at ruth@webpuzzlemaster.com. Thanks!

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