Today I’m going to briefly talk about your niche or target market. This is so important, and I wish more people got why it’s so important to have a specific niche you focus your marketing efforts on.

What is marketing, really?  Marketing is just communication. And who do you want to communicate with? Obviously, I’m going to say your target market – a group of people who have common interests and common problems and that you can find hanging out (online and offline) in the same places. And hopefully this niche or target market is something or someone you’re passionate about helping, glad to spend time with, passionate about working with.

So why do you need to pick a target market, why can’t you just market to anyone/anywhere? Because if marketing is simply communication, then NOT choosing a target market is like trying to get your voice heard by the rest of the world over all the noise being made by all the other people communicating (marketing). This is especially true when you’re communicating (marketing) online.

I recently read this book, and I loved how she put this. It really made it clear to me, so I’m going to put my own twist on it and use it for you:    Trying to reach everyone/anyone online, it’s like going out in your front yard right now and yelling at the top of your lungs that you have a fantastic teleseminar going on next week. Almost no one is going to hear you! Maybe your neighbor to the left or right will hear you, but they probably aren’t interested in your amazing teleseminar. You think you’re going to reach everyone (hey, I’m yelling really loud!), but you’re going to end up reaching no one that’s actually interested in what you’re yelling about.

If you want to communicate something to someone, whether it’s to get them to do or buy something, think something, feel a certain way or believe something, you need to know who you want to communicate that thing to. And the clearer you are about your target market, and the more passionate you are about it, the more likely your income is going to start growing.

So stop yelling in your front yard – go get yourself a niche!

If you want more information about picking and marketing to your target market, check out my free webinar this Friday. There’s no pitch, it’s not a preview call, it’s just good information that will help you market your business online. See you there!

Ok, I’ve been so busy this week getting everything set up for my teleseminar, that I almost forgot about my blog posts for this week. So instead of being ahead of the game and having them done already, I’m playing catch up this week. It happens to all of us at some point, right?

Anyways, I seem to be having a blogging theme going on this month, so I’m just going with it. Today I’m going to talk about some techniques to use that will make writing those blog posts every week just a little easier and smoother for you. Maybe even fun….

So here we go….

1. Write about something you love (or at least like a whole heck of a lot). The key to success in blogging is to focus your attention on something that you really love or something you’re truly passionate about. Writing your blog posts will become a lot easier if first of all you’re knowledgable in what you’re writing about and you’re confident about the information that you’re giving out. Not to mention, it makes writing those blog posts seem like much less of a chore if you actually enjoy what you’re trying to get down on “paper” (the computer screen).

2. KISS. (We all know what this means, so moving on.)  Online users are not looking for rocket science when they read your blog. They want it quick and easy to digest, yet at the same time something with good information. (That’s not too much to ask, is it?).  Don’t try to impress your readers with fancy words or technical jargon.  Use words and expressions that you might use in everyday conversation with your friends (well, it depends on which friends you’re talking too). By doing this, the readers that get you and like you will start to identify with you and will keep coming back.

3. Make it informative. Don’t hesitate to share in-depth information to your readers when writing your blog posts. This will not only impress them (are you impressed yet?) but will also convince them that you’re an expert in your field. Share solid information, secrets, insider tips, and even your personal techniques. Your visitors will surely love you for doing so.  Mine do, right?

4. Don’t make your posts just a bunch of thinly disguised, blatant ads. Avoid making your blog posts sound like sales letters. Instead of telling your readers to click on that “buy now” button, give them the information that they’re looking for. You’re readers aren’t going to come back if they feel like you are always asking them to buy something.

Ok, there’s your 4 simple tips. Hope you enjoyed them, hope it was simple enough for you, hope they taught you something, and oh yeah, if you want more simple tips – go sign up for my free teleseminar (see how I just did the opposite of tip #4, did that on purpose to show you what not to do).   But really, you’ll get tons of great information and get a plan on how you can build your business using some simple, easy and free online marketing techniques. And yes, I’ll be talking about blogs there too.

Have a great day!