Home Business Wins

Nothing is worse than pouring your heart and soul into your marketing, only to be ignored.

It can trigger feelings of frustration, insecurity and fear. You might feel like all of your time is wasted and you will never reach your goals.

Not to fear. All is not lost.

What you need to know is WHY people are ignoring your marketing.

Here are three questions to ask yourself if you are not getting the response you want from your marketing. 

#1. Is Your Marketing Targeted?

To be found and heard online, all of your marketing has to be strategic and targeted. That means you need to identify a specific niche and focus all of your marketing on that niche. A "niche" combines your WHO (target market) with your WHAT (what solution are you helping your target market solve or what goal are you helping them achieve). To learn how to identify and attract your ideal niche, be sure to read my free report.

#2. Is There a Clear Call to Action With a Compelling Giveaway?

The Internet creates a level playing field for small businesses. Virtually anyone can implement a large-scale marketing program using blogs, article marketing, video marketing, and social networking.

Your goal is to get people to go to your site or landing page, and provide you with their name and email address.  In exchange, you give them something for free which they perceive as valuable. This is known as an “ethical bribe”and might be a free report that teaches them something they want to know about, an audio interview with an expert in your field, an e-course, access to your Ezine (newsletter), access to a live or recorded webinar, etc. Once you have their contact information, you can then use an autoresponder system to continue to correspond with them, and build an ongoing relationship of trust.

#3 - Is Your Self-Doubt Sabotaging Your Marketing?

Getting a less than desired response to your marketing doesn’t mean that you’re not good enough or that you’re not going to be successful. In fact, you could end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ask yourself whether you are allowing your self-doubt to permeate your marketing message. Are you watering down your marketing because you are afraid that you can't deliver the results?

The beauty of marketing online is you can switch your marketing message or call to action with just a few keystrokes. Don’t be afraid of what people will think. If they haven’t been paying attention they won’t notice anyway, so no worries.

Ask yourself these three questions and don't be afraid to reach out for help to improve your results.

 

Niche and Target Market Defined

There are different definitions of niche and target market, and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. Here is a good working definition of target market and niche.

A target market is the group of people most likely to buy your product or service. They are the people to whom your product is being marketed

A niche adds another dimension. A niche combines your target market with what you are helping them with. 

 

 

Niche =

 

target market (who)

+

the problem you are solving/need you are fulfilling (what)

For instance, if you are a business coach, your target market might be writers, while your niche could be writers who need to learn how to promote an ebook.

The key to understanding niche marketing is realizing that people don’t buy a service or product, they buy a solution. That solution can help them solve a problem or achieve a goal. When you become the solution provider for your target market, you are a winner.

Focus on the Solution

There are different ways you can identify your target market. You can use demographics (such as age, gender, education, income), or psychographics (e.g. lifestyle, values, psychological make-up). I would encourage you to think about your target market as a group of people who share similar challenges and goals. 

Think of it this way. Say you are a coach and you are trying to sell your coaching services. Most people don’t really understand what coaching is, nor do they have to. They just need to know what problem you solve. Maybe you help them lose weight, or have healthier relationships, or a deeper spiritual existence. They don’t really care how you do it, they just want to know what results you will help them achieve.

The same is true for network marketers. People aren’t interested in your opportunity or product, they just want a solution to their problem. Suppose you work with a health company and your target market is working mothers with school-age children. What is the biggest problem your target market faces?  One of their biggest problems is not having enough energy to get through their day. Your nutritional supplement can help them meet that need. Another of their biggest problems is the lack of a more flexible work schedule to allow them to spend more time with their families. Having a work from home business can help them meet that need.

Whether you approach things from a business or a product standpoint, you always have to first think about your target market’s needs, and come from the place of being a solutions provider.

Learn how to identify and attract your unique target market. Get a copy of my free report "Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche".