One of the biggest mistakes online business owners make is a belief that they must generate millions of hits to produce an impact. Besides, what’s the sense of those visitors if no sales are now being made? As income is vital to longevity, most will agree they would rather have countless visitors making purchases instead of those simply coming on and on. The best way to obtain these kind of results is to experience targeted marketing.
Know Who You Are After
Before doing any marketing, the very first thing you should determine is your sub-market. This involves learning who is interested in your service or product, where they are located, about how much they can afford and most importantly, how you are going to attract them to your site. All of these factors must be determined before investing any of your time, effort and money into a marketing plan for your site. Making rash moves could easily leave you with failed results.
One first glance, targeted marketing may seem as if you are limiting yourself. However, this system actually enhances your chance of success is it qualifies visitors for you by weeding out those you are not interested in what you have to offer. It doesn’t matter what type of business you are in or the marketing scheme, the goals are all the same - find visitors and convert them into customers. The key to website marketing is understanding how they search and where you niche audience is found on the internet.
Going Beyond the Search Engines
There is no doubt that some of your potential prospects will result from search engines while some will simply come across your site. Some of the best traffic includes people who originate from a special invitation. These visitors are pre-qualified, already possessing a strong interest in your content. This is the type of traffic you want as they are more likely to have specific needs you are able to meet. Fortunately, the internet is an entrepreneur’s dream while offering various ways to reach out to those looking to find you.
One place where you might find potential clients is a site that offers email discussion lists. Look around for somewhere your niche audience hangs out and sign up with the site. ISP-Lists is currently one of the most popular spots, offering more than 40,000 different groups. Here you can reach out to the community and ask for help, invite members to your site and even generate sales. While the topics are categorized in general fashion, finding one that fits your interest should be fairly easy.
Not to be downplayed is the power of newsgroups. Some call Usenet the most underrated gem online due to all of its great resources. These special interest groups are packed with potential customers, housing everything from author groups to those with interested in alternative energy. Pick your topic and there is almost sure to be a newsgroup specifically designed for your niche market. So while search engine marketing is essential, you can get even more targeted traffic by roaming where your potential clients hang out.