Marketing Guide Secrets

There are many steps to finding a potential niche. Each one of them is an important consideration. The first three steps are: find a niche that appeals to you. Find a niche that has good demand, meaning that many people are looking for that information. And finally find a niche that doesn’t have too much supply or competition.

Once you find a few prospective niches that fit those considerations it’s time to evaluate them based on their profit potential. This is a subjective process because there are many different ways to monetize a niche and you likely have unique goals for your online business.

#1 How long will it take you to establish a following?

The more people who know about your website and visit it the better. However, if you’re in a competitive niche then it’s likely going to take you a bit to get noticed both by the search engines and your prospects. That’s okay if you’re a patient sort. If you’re in the niche for the long haul and have lots of time each week to work on your website then a business with a bit of competition is fine. You can make it profitable eventually.

On the other hand if you are in a hurry you want to look for a niche that doesn’t have too much competition. It’ll take you less time to get noticed by your audience and the search engines. It’ll take you less time to start to profit. Faster isn’t always better, it just depends on your vision, available time and your goals.

#2 Who is the audience?

This is important to consider. Some niches don’t lend themselves to high profits. For example if you’re marketing to a budget minded crowd then they’re not likely to buy expensive products and they may actually resent you selling them products. That doesn’t’ mean the niche isn’t profitable. You might monetize your site with advertising and affiliate memberships to coupon sites. It’s just important to think about whom your audience is and how you can monetize the site effectively before you decide on a niche.

#3 Is it a trend?

If you’re looking at a trend it’s important to weight the longevity of the trend. Of course you can’t pull out your crystal ball and predict when the trend will fade away but you can weigh it into your decision. Many people make good money on trends. That’s because they were able to take quick action and capitalize on it. They also understood that trends fade away and a long term business isn’t in the picture.

If you’re uncertain about the viability of a niche consider creating a fly catcher page for each potential niche. You’ll need to register a domain name and create a page for each niche. On that page you’ll put a sign up form on the page and offer a freebie product. You might also use PPC ads to drive traffic to that form. If a lot of people sign up for the information you k now that the niche is a viable one with a potential to profit. If you get very few if any visits and sign ups then you know the niche isn’t the right one for you.

Use both your instincts and your resources to evaluate each potential niche based on its potential to profit. Consider your audience, monetization opportunities, duration and competition.

Once you have your niche business up and running it’s time to turn your attention to growth tactics. Presumably you want to attract visitors and profits to your business. And that’s actually the first step to any new growth tactic. Decide what goal you want to achieve. What’s the purpose of the tactic? Let’s take a look at a few potential goals and some ideas to achieve them.

#1 Grow Your Opt in List.

One of the first things most successful business owners will advise is to focus on growing your subscriber email list. This list can provide profits for years to come. So how do you grow an opt in list?

Give something away – this is usually in the form of a download. It can be an ebook, a report, a how to video, an interview with an expert.  You decide what your audience would value most.

Sweepstakes or contest – You can also hold a contest or a sweepstakes and collect email address, and permission to market to the email. For example, you might give away a free membership to a relevant site, a gift card, an electronic device or a magazine subscription.

PPC Advertising – PPC advertising is actually a great way to drive traffic to an opt-in form. Make sure you’re advertising your giveaway offer and not the subscription itself.

Make sure that you’re also connecting with the people on your email list. This is how you earn profits and grow your business. Send them valuable information and market products, services or information that they will appreciate and buy.

#2 Increase your Traffic

In theory the more website traffic you have, the better. Certainly you want to reach as many people in your prospective audience as possible. Traffic can be increased in any number of ways. In addition to publishing content on your site consider:

* Guest blogging
* Print publication
* Press releases
* Article marketing
* Social networking

Keep an eye on your analytics. You can then see which tactics are most effective in helping you reach your traffic goals.

#3 Increase Profits

Profits can be increased in any number of ways. The key is to choose a tactic that supports your existing business model and the needs of your audience. Consider:

* Membership marketing – create and sell a monthly membership.

* Partnerships – partner with another relevant company to create a product or promote each other’s products or services.

* Information marketing – write a book, create a home study course or a video product and sell it to your audience. Make sure it solves a pressing problem your audience is struggling with.

* Affiliate marketing – find a few companies you’re familiar with and respect and promote them for affiliate commissions.

It is strongly recommended that you choose one goal and tactic and put all your energy into making it successful. Too many people juggle multiple tactics at once and the results can be chaotic and underwhelming.

Once a tactic is implemented successfully and achieving your desired results, then you can move onto the next business building goal.

Once you have defined a niche and launched your business website it’s time to create content. In fact you may want to create a bit of content before you launch your website. Then you can launch it and already have something to offer. When writing content for your new website it’s important to make sure you’re creating the right content. What’s the “right” content? Content that appeals to your niche.

Writing for your niche can be a bit of trial and error. That’s okay. Simply install analytics and pay attention to what draws people to your website and what types of content they read. Then you can modify your content to fit their interests, needs and desires.

There are, however, a few keys to consider.

#1 Your Voice

As a business owner you’ll likely establish your own voice. Your voice is your personality or the tone of your content. For example, you might have a very sarcastic sense of humor or you might be opinioned. Establishing a strong voice will likely put some people off of your content. However, it’ll also attract others. It’s a bit of give and take. A voice does help brand your business and helps establish liking. Liking is a very important buying trigger. We buy from people and companies we like.

#2 Need

What does your audience need? Articles don’t have to be limited to how to formats. Though this format is very popular and often very useful. You can also create lists, write reviews, publish opinion or editorial pieces or simply offer information. Pay attention to what your audience actually needs from you. And then give them what they need.

#3 Format

You’ve probably already noticed that online content is formatted much differently than print content. Or at least it should be. It’s difficult to read large blocks of content online. Additionally, because people are often in a hurry and they’re exposed to so much information on a daily basis, people tend to skim articles. They look for keywords and nuggets of information rather than reading an entire article. Your formatting can help support their reading style.

Bullets, lists, subheadings and bold lettering all help guide your reader through your content. This article in fact is a good example of online formatting.

As you begin to learn what your audience responds to you can formulate a more consistent content plan. In the beginning do your best based on the three suggestions listed above. Format for your reader. Try to offer value that fits your audience’s needs and establish your own voice.

Are you familiar with the process of mind mapping? A mind map can be an excellent brainstorming tool. It can also be used to formulate plans and create a logical flow to any business building tactic. Many people have found great success by using a mind map to brainstorm and find their niche.

What is a Mind Map?

A mind map is a free form structure that can be used as a planning tool. You can mind map on a piece of paper. Or you can use one of the many free and paid mind mapping tools found online or on mobile devices.

A mind map generally starts by placing a main idea in the center of the page. Then branches or sub ideas are created that stem from the main idea. The sub ideas can then have their own branches.

Why Mind Maps Work

Mind maps work because they allow you to use both your logical and creative thinking skills. The structure is loose and therefore you’re not boxed into any thinking pattern. It essentially makes it easier to think more freely.

How to Use a Mind Map to Choose a Niche

#1 Choose your format. The first step is to decide what type of mind map process you’re going to use. Paper and a pencil are one option. However, if you want to retain your map you might consider using a software program or mobile device application.

#2 The center space. If you’re just getting started with the niche finding process you might put the word “Niche” in the center of your map. If you already have a few general niche ideas you might place one of them in the center of your map. For example, if you are considering the topic of “Tea” you might put “tea” in the middle of your page.

#3 Your first tier branches. Now the brainstorming process begins. If you’re starting your niche finding process you’ll begin brainstorming possibilities. For example, you might place “tea” on one new branch.  Maybe you are interested in barefoot running so that would be another branch. Brainstorm based on things you know, like, want to know or are skilled in.

If you already have a few basic ideas then brainstorm those. For example if “tea” is in the center of your map your branches might include: green tea, growing tea, herbal tea, therapeutic tea, making your own tea and so on.

#4 Second tier branches. Now you’re going to delve deeper into each niche idea or possibility. You may have ten or twenty second tier branches coming from any first tier idea. Your map may likely start to take on a very crazy appearance. That’s okay. That’s what the map is for.

Continuing with the tea example, your second tier branches from your green tea branch might be:
Health benefits of green tea, how to buy green tea, making your own green tea, visiting green tea farms, green tea diets and so on. Each one is now a very specific niche idea.

You can structure your niche mind mapping any way that suits you. You may decide to create a separate mind map for any niche idea you have and brainstorm that or you may decide that one multiple tier map is the best solution. Note: mind maps can be difficult to read and print when they become too complicated. Mind mapping is a wonderful way to explore the possibilities. Use it to brainstorm and find your ideal niche.

Searching for your ideal niche can be a lengthy process. Rest assured it is well worth the effort. When you find a niche topic you’re interested in that can generate profits your business building dreams will come true.

Step One: Create a System to Organize

One of the problems that will quickly pop up is organization. As your brainstorming and researching you’re going to generate a lot of data and ideas. Tracking this information from the beginning will save you time and energy. Consider using:

* Spreadsheets
* Mind maps
* Three ring binders
* Notebooks

To keep track of all of your information. It really doesn’t matter what system you set up as long as it supports you and you’re able to use it consistently.

Step Two: Brainstorming

This is a step that you may come back to several times. Begin by creating four columns:

* Things I’m passionate about – For example, maybe you absolutely love Belgian beer.
* Things I’m interested in learning about – For example, maybe you want to learn more about writing romance novels.
* Things I’m good at –For example, maybe you’re good at painting.
* Thinks I know – For example, you may know a lot about grasshoppers. It

Don’t censor yourself. Write down everything that you can think of. Have fun with this step and take your time. Sometimes you may think of a great idea while you’re driving or in the shower. This may be a several day process. That’s okay.

Step Three: Brainstorming some more

Chances are that your initial brainstorming phase just touched on basic ideas. Painting for example. That’s not a niche. Painting cats might be a niche or water color painting flowers might be a niche. So now it’s time to further brainstorm each potential idea.

Step Four: Research

Once you have an exhaustive list of possibilities, and you may have 100 or more, it’s time to start the research phase. You’ll be using a keyword tool here like Google AdWords external or Wordtracker. Research each possibility based on supply, demand and profitability. You may also generate new niche ideas during this phase. For example if you type water color painting flowers you might get a list of keyword possibilities like water color painting flowers for beginners or books for water color painting flowers. Research these niche ideas too.

As you research each niche possibility you’re going to be throwing away most of them. Hopefully, a few ideas will have good potential. If not, and this happens often, you’ll need to back to step two and start the brainstorming process over.

Finding a good niche can take time and patience. Trust the process and know that when you find your ideal niche everything will start to come together. Your niche is the foundation of your online success.

If you want to learn more about searching for that ideal niche be sure to pick up my free report, Niche Research Return: Why Research Benefits You in the Long Run. This free, easy to read report gives you a solid foundation in the whys and hows of niche research.

Once you’ve chosen a niche and researched it to make sure it will help you achieve y our online goals it’s time to establish an online presence. Logically that means the next step is to build a website or blog. Depending on your personality this can be a fun thing to do yourself or you may decide to outsource all or part of it. Regardless of how you approach it, there are a few important things to consider.

#1 Your Domain Name

Ideally, your domain name, aka your website address or URL, will have your primary keywords in it. For example, if your niche is used historical romance novels then your website address might be www.usedhistoricalromancenovels.com. This automatically helps people find your website. It’s not uncommon for people to simply type in a URL that matches what they’re looking for and to see what shows up. This tactic also helps boost your page ranking or where you show up on the search results when someone is searching for your information.

If you cannot get a .com with your keywords in it look for other extension or combinations of keywords. You might also consider using dashes. For example, www.used-historical-romance-novels.com. There are many sites you can use for this, I typically use Go Daddy or Namecheap to get my domains.

#2 Your Platform

Do you want a blog, a website or both? This is no light decision. There are many pros and cons to each option. Many people choose to blog because WordPress is free, it’s easy to use and it’s easy to customize. Also, you can make it look like a website with landing pages, forms, and plug-ins.

That being said, you may want to start with a website and add a blog later. They can help support each other and each serves a unique purpose. Your decision is based on your goals, budget, niche, and vision for your business. For example, if you envision a community where you’re actively interacting with your prospects and readers then a blog is likely a better idea.

#3 Your Structure, Navigation and Content

This is where many people get tripped up. You’re building a niche business which means that you’re intentionally targeting a specific group of people. The best way to target them is through keywords. Make sure to use keywords in the structure of your website. For example, used historical novels might have a few article or content categories. Each category will be a different button on your website. The categories will be defined by keywords – generally also keywords with low supply and high demand. For example, WWII historical romance novels, regency romance novels etc…

Once you have your structure you can start creating content to support that structure and to appeal to your audience’s needs and interests. Creating your website is a fun time but don’t allow yourself to get sidetracked by the look of your site. The look is important but not nearly as important as the structure and content.