Niche Marketing CourseIn Today's Lesson... Marketing Your Niche Site ____________________________________________________
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Hi, How Are Ya! Today we are going to talk about some key marketing tactics and the ways you "should" be using them in the promoting of your niche web site. The tactics I am about to share with you will sound quite basic to you, however, it is these fundamentals that people overlook. I don't know if it is because we are always trying to make something harder than what it seems or what, but if you stick with the basics first, you'll have yourself a marketing machine that is working for you on a consistent basis. Let me explain what I mean by that. Marketing is an ongoing process. You don't just stop or drop it because business is good, like many people do. Marketing needs to be done during the peaks and valleys. What you need to have is a little arsenal of tools that are working for you ALL THE TIME. An arsenal that pulls consistently for you. While this arsenal is always out there drawing customers to you, it gives you more time to test new tactics to add into your marketing mix. Marketing-wise, you NEVER want to leave yourself behind the 8-ball. You NEVER want to scramble because you dropped the ball. You want to keep a consistent marketing program working for you ALL THE TIME, during good times and hard times. Ok, I'll get off my little box now and let's go over some of the fundamental marketing tactics that should be in your marketing mix.
ADVERTISING People have it in their heads that if they place a small 5-line classified ad in a newsletter, with a readership of say 100,000, then their site stats are going to blow through the roof. THEN, they get totally ticked off when it doesn't happen, and lay the blame with the advertising medium itself. First mistake with advertising is thinking that a little 5-line ad is going to sell for you...or make people beat a path to your door. It can't do it, and it won't. When it comes to your advertising, you need to work smarter...not harder. Understand that there is competition within that newsletter, that you may have 25-30 other classified ads ALL trying to get the attention of the reader. Also understand that if you are using the ads that the affiliate program provided you, then you risk saturation. Meaning that readers have already seen the ad, know what it is about...so they won't visit the site advertised just because you are presenting it to them. The next mistake is NOT looking at the focus or the target of the newsletter you are putting your classified in. Let me give you an example... My Used Golf Equipment site targets golfers, so obviously it would be more of a benefit for me and my niche site to advertise in golf related newsletters and publications, because that is where my target market is. Many people don't think about things like that. They see a newsletter and think..."ok I need to be in that one because they have "x" amount of readers". They don't take the time to think about what niche that publication targets or serves. You NEED to target your advertising to fit the newsletter you are advertising in. WHAT'S MORE is that you also need to know that just because a publication has "x" amount of readers, it doesn't mean they will all beat a path to your site and buy. One last thing is TRACKING. You are spending good money on advertising and you want to make sure that the places you are advertising in are giving you a good return on your money. In order to do that you need to TRACK the effectiveness of your ads. To track you sign up for a tracking service. What happens is that you cut and paste in your ad, and the tracking service will give you a coded link that you use instead of the link you would normally use. The tracking code is set specifically for the publication you are advertising in. So each time that specific code is clicked on, then it registers the click and you know how well that ad is pulling in that specific publication. If the ad isn't pulling, then you have some choices to make. You can adjust the ad and try again, or you can pull the ad and go somewhere else. The thing is that, if you don't TRACK you don't know and again are spending good money on a lost cause. Don't fall into that trap...set yourself up with ad tracking. Here are a few options for you: A1eBiz.com A1eBiz.com A1eBiz is bascially a one-stop service for autoresponders. With a PRO Account you get unlimited autoresponders, tracking service, plus you receive 50 megs of hosting. Hypertracker HyperTracker This is another service which is essentially a one-stop service as well. You can get an autoresponder via GetResponse.com and a load of other little options that will help you market and maintain your site(s). LinkCounter Link Counter This is an ad tracking service that will provide you with a report that details all your links. There is a free trial - so take a test drive and check it out. ARTICLES MY FAVOURITE MARKETING TACTIC I can't tell you how effective writing articles has been for my niche site! Actually, yes I can. Articles RULE!! Think about this, for one issue all eyes are on you. Your article (which is essentially you) takes center stage. Writing articles as it relates to your niche is a fantastic way of generating trust and rapport, and gives you credibility. We mentioned about targeting your advertising, and Articles work in much the same way. Find those newsletters who reach your target market then write good, informative articles that "talk to them." Share your knowledge and they will come and see what you have to offer, sign up for your reports and courses. They spread the word about you. I know that many people will not write an article because they feel they aren't writers. "Don't eat that Martha, it's ca ca!!" Anyone can write a simple "how to" article. Just do up an outline for yourself and use it as a guide to gather your thoughts. And then, just take your "how to" process and put it into steps for people to follow. Articles not only promote you and your site in a subtle way but the Resource Box provides you with the PRIMO classified ad spot there is in the newsletter. See people will read your article, understand what you are saying and THEN read who wrote the article. That's where the resource box comes into play, because that is essentially your ad. There they find who wrote the article, your site-address and then of course with the hotlink there it makes it easier for them to come and visit your site. Keep in mind that your ONE ARTICLE can reach more people than you could ever possibly imagine. You aren't limiting yourself to just one newsletter...you can send that very article to several publishers within your TARGET MARKET and reach tens of thousands of people all at the same time. The great thing about using articles is the fact that it doesn't cost you a cent...just takes a little time in putting your knowledge to paper...oh, I mean to disk. Remember that we are all about 'multiple income streams', right?? These articles can be put up on your web site as added good solid information. This 'content' is then indexed by the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others. Then Google will use these indexes to know what Adsense ad to put on each web page that you code. DEVELOP YOUR OWN INFO PRODUCTS I LOVE the concept of ownership. I mean really! why rent if you can own. What I mean by that is, why use someone else's information products when you can quite capably write your own and use it to it's full advantage. Developing your own eReport provides you with SUCH AN ADVANTAGE. You can use your own knowledge and create a product, and then leverage your marketing through the efforts of others...AND like articles, you can reach far more people than you can possibly imagine!! Let me explain what I mean about leveraging ... Using my Used Golf Equipment example, I could write a report on what to look for or think about when buying used equipment. I offer the report as a download on my site. For the cost of an email address and name, they get the report and I get a warm body to market to. A warm body that is interested in golfing - my niche - so that later, I can send out targeted information to him/her and then weave in offers. THAT IS PRIME MARKETING!! In addition to that, it is a PRIME way of building the trust and rapport that leads to having a good solid relationship with your customers. I don't have to stop there. By leveraging I can take that very same report and perhaps, approach some other sites in the "golfing" niche. Let them give my report away as well. They get to use my good quality information and I get exposure through them. See how that works??!!! JOINT VENTURES We just talked about a form of Joint Venture above with writing out own report and letting another niche site use our report. That is a form of leveraging and it is a Joint Venture. Another form of joint venture would be using a list, like the one you are building through your report download - and then approaching other "golfing" niche sites and setting up some form of ad or offer swap. You can send an offer to their customer list and vise versa. The best thing about Joint Ventures is that this form in particular is EXPOSURE for you at no cost!!! How cool is that? OFF-LINE MARKETING DON'T FORGET about using off-line marketing strategies as well. As there are 100,000+ newsletters on-line covering every niche you can imagine, there are also many off-line publications. Advertise in them and direct targeted traffic to your niche site. So many people get those blinders on and see only on-line marketing without thinking that there is a whole other world out of prospects who also fit within your niche... They need to find you!! REMEMBER ... develop a marketing "system" that will be working for you 24/7. A system that, no matter what, you will make sure stays its course. What I mean is, whatever you do, don't cut back from this system. Put the time, effort and budget into it (and these tactics are not large ticketed items) get them running and keep them running. You NEED TO HAVE CONSISTENT MARKETING WORKING FOR YOU. Start with these fundamentals, and then add new ones to them as you test and track the new ones. If they pull for you, then add them into your "system" and keep them rolling as well. We're coming around the bend and going down the home stretch! In our last day coming up, I want to give you a few ideas on how to keep the momentum going ;o) Catch you then... Fred Farah www.bestaffiliateproducts.com CONTINUE TO DAY 7 of Niche Madness eCourse: ________________________________________________ Copyright 2004 (c) All rights reserved. This eCourse is available at no cost and may be freely distributed to your list, as long as the requirements below are adhered to. 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PLEASE use this eCourse in the manner it was designed...to help you get a better footing towards success and to help you build a list of your own. Zero toleration for those who SPAM. This eCourse is for informational purposes only. The information presented within represents the view of the authors as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the authors reserve the right to alter and update their opinion based on the new conditions. ____________________________________________________
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