| Basically, a niche market is a very specific market | | | | proven track record, age-old target market positioning |
| within a group. A target audience within a target | | | | strategies. |
| audience so to speak. | | | | Let's say you've chosen a niche. You have chosen to |
| Let's say you sell running shoes. To niche that down, | | | | start a rare comic book site. And you have the |
| maybe you sell running shoes specifically for | | | | merchandise. So far it's a vessel that holds niche |
| marathoners and triathletes. Or maybe you choose to | | | | merchandise. It's not a niche site until you fashion it as |
| have running shoes for people with foot problems like | | | | the ideal sales and marketing tool for this target |
| bunions or other charming foot abnormalities. | | | | market. |
| The trouble is people are putting up things like kitchen | | | | It has to speak to your target in both design and |
| websites that are so generic, they speak to everyone | | | | content. It needs to clearly state what you have, how |
| therefore they speak to no one. They are so proud of | | | | this benefits your target and inspire the target to take |
| themselves for publishing a functioning website, they've | | | | action whatever you define that to be. This takes |
| totally overlooked one of the single most important | | | | work and effort. If you were a salesman, how would |
| steps in creating any business. Finding that target | | | | you sell this site to your target. |
| market who will PAY, CALL, CLICK or JOIN and | | | | You don't know your target until you can stand in their |
| creating a site to cater to them. | | | | shoes and chew their freaking gum. |
| What, pray tell, is going to lure me from to come to | | | | Are you familiar with their age and gender, other |
| your generic puny, unknown pie-in-the-sky bookstore | | | | interests, their language and what's important to them? |
| simply because you got your shopping cart to work? | | | | Do most of them have myspace websites? Do they |
| Give me a reason to come. Do you sell highly | | | | like retro clothing? Are they introverts, extroverts or |
| reviewed how-to books? Do you have the best | | | | people hoping to be abducted by aliens? People who |
| business marketing books? Fantasy books? Rare | | | | like comic books is not a definition of a target audience. |
| books? Comic books? The general store is not going | | | | It's a label. You need to REALLY know them if you |
| to compete. You will get lost in the big black wormhole | | | | want to build a foundation for internet success. |
| of the internet also known as the limp and lame, | | | | You need to do research to find out likes and dislikes |
| solitary server for misplaced website owners. | | | | and any number of personality traits that this group |
| It's one thing to say you have a niche but does your | | | | shares. That is the portion of the target audience who |
| site know this? | | | | values this enough to pay for it. The dropout rate for |
| Don't create a niche and then do really general | | | | creating a site that caters to a target market is high. |
| advertising and create a mundane, generic, boiler-plate | | | | People are just too lazy or too lost. And this is pretty |
| website. If you do, I'll send my highly targeted | | | | much the place that separates the entrepreneurs from |
| bloodhounds to hunt you down and hold your favorite | | | | the rainbow chasers. So which one are you? |
| pet hostage until you comply with the time-tested, | | | | |