| by: André Anthony | | | | competition is fierce and it's hard, if not |
| | | | impossible, for the little guy to get a |
| Unless you've been living under an Internet | | | | foothold. |
| rock, you've probably heard the buzz about | | | | |
| Niche Marketing. Right now it's the hottest | | | | When you narrow down the size of the market |
| marketing topic online. | | | | you eradicate most of the heavy hitters with |
| | | | bottomless advertising budgets, because these |
| Is it a new concept? | | | | guys aren't interested in making a few |
| | | | thousand bucks a year from these tiny |
| Well on the Internet maybe, but if like me, | | | | specialized markets, they're after millions |
| you've been involved in direct response | | | | from mass markets... |
| marketing in the 'Bricks and Mortar' world | | | | |
| then it isn't - that's the way we've done | | | | ... And let's face it if you're a little guy |
| things since time immemorial. | | | | you simply can't be everything to everybody, |
| | | | so you must pick a specific focus (Niche) for |
| So what's this Niche Marketing thing all | | | | your business. For example don't target |
| about? | | | | "Fishing", instead target "Fishing Baits" or |
| | | | "Fishing Lures" both of which have a much |
| If you have ever taken Marketing 101 then | | | | more specific focus... |
| you'll have heard of the old marketing adage | | | | |
| : "Find a need and fill it" - that's what | | | | ...Get the idea? |
| "Niche Marketing" is all about. Finding a | | | | |
| "focussed" group of people, with a | | | | Once you narrow down the size of the market |
| specialized interest, eager to buy (The | | | | you have an automatic advantage over larger |
| Niche) and promoting a suitable product or | | | | companies. Here's why : |
| service to all those interested in buying it | | | | |
| (Marketing). | | | | - You can quickly become an expert in your |
| | | | niche (if you're not already) |
| Let me give you a few examples of these | | | | |
| Niches : | | | | - It's easier to keep current with a narrowly |
| | | | focussed market niche |
| - Recipes | | | | |
| | | | - You can respond faster to changes in the |
| - Golf | | | | market |
| | | | |
| - Fishing | | | | - You can build close relationships with key |
| | | | customers that will be hard to compete with |
| - Health and Fitness | | | | |
| | | | This is something I learned from experience - |
| - Travel | | | | if you're interested you can read my story |
| | | | here |
| - Collectibles | | | | andre-anthony-value-of-niche-marketing.htm. |
| | | | |
| - Dating | | | | By now you're probably wondering about the |
| | | | mechanics of this niche marketing stuff. In a |
| - Dog Training | | | | nutshell here's how it works : |
| | | | |
| - Satellite TV | | | | - Find and research profitable niche markets |
| | | | |
| - Beauty Tips | | | | - Locate or develop suitable products |
| | | | services to market |
| - Astrology | | | | |
| | | | - Set up a web site to market the products |
| - Cats | | | | services |
| | | | |
| - Bartending | | | | - Establish a marketing system that works for |
| | | | you |
| - Alternative Health | | | | |
| | | | - Repeat the process over and over again with |
| - Hand-poured Candles | | | | a different niche each time. |
| | | | |
| - Gourmet Foods | | | | Imagine having a niche site producing one |
| | | | sale a day at say $20. That's $7300 a year - |
| - Gambling | | | | how many sites could you set up and run 10, |
| | | | 20 ....? |
| - Mortgages | | | | |
| | | | But before you get too excited, I have a word |
| - Credit Cards | | | | of caution for you: |
| | | | |
| - Music | | | | Niche marketing is not a magic bullet. It |
| | | | isn't a matter of putting up a web site and |
| - Jewellery | | | | then sitting back and waiting for the money |
| | | | to roll in - "build it and they will come" |
| ...... the list just goes on and on and these | | | | may have worked for Kevin Costner in Field of |
| are just the main headings, there are niches | | | | Dreams, but it doesn't work that way on the |
| within each of these niches ... Think of a | | | | Internet - if you do that you'll be waiting a |
| subject and there's likely a niche market for | | | | long time. |
| it... | | | | |
| | | | If you want a successful niche business, you |
| But the name of the game is to find a | | | | have to work at it just like any other |
| "tightly focussed" niche. The reason for this | | | | business - if you're prepared to put in the |
| that if you target a general market the | | | | effort though the rewards can be significant. |