Advertising Information

Finding Your Target Market


Achieving sales is probably the biggest challenge a web business owner has. It requires a balanced mix of the right products, competitive pricing, optimal web design, aggressive advertising and attracting the right online visitors.

While all of the above are equally important in achieving abundant sales, none of them will work at all if you don't target the people that are most likely to buy your products or services. These people are known as your target or niche market. Focusing in on your niche market will allow you to find only those that are ready, willing and able to buy what you have to offer.

Your niche market provides you the competitive edge over larger corporations because larger companies tend to market to a much broader range of people. Their promotions are more generalized and less focused. For them, the smaller markets are not worth bothering with. This now becomes your opportunity to capture those highly defined niche markets that they left behind.

Defining your Market

In order to find these people you must first determine who they are. This might sound like a simple or perhaps insignificant question at first but it can possibly make or break the success of your sales if you don't give it some serious thought. Here's how to get started.

Think about the following and jot down all those that might apply to people interested in your products or services. Don't rule out any category completely. Think about each group of people and how they might apply.

Age Group:

infants, Children, teens, young adults, baby boomers, middle aged, elderly or all.

Gender:

Male, female or both

Marital status:

single, married, divorced, widowed or all

Ethnic or religious backgrounds

Occupations:

Executives, doctors, lawyers, housewives, business owners, teachers, blue collar, white collar, students, out of work, etc.

Health Status:

healthy, diseased, home bound, active, sedentary, etc.

Interests:

sports, hiking, music, arts, computers, reading television, animals, home decorating, cars, walking, running, relaxation, health conscious, age conscious, physical fitness, etc.

Income status:

low income, middle income, high income, no income.

Education:

high school dropout, high school, college, MBA PHD, hates school, loves school, etc.

Certainly all categories are not listed above, however these can get you started on thinking about all the possibilities.

Next, it's important to determine what benefits you are offering. Examine your products or services carefully listing all the benefits that you can think of. Perhaps take a poll of your existing customers and ask them what it is they like about your products or services. What benefits them the most.

Once you have a listed all of the benefits, think about what people would be interested in these benefits based on your list above. Then put them together to assist you in reaching a market that will bring you sales.

Reaching Your Target Market

Search engines are the best way of finding a targeted market because those searching on the web can type in exactly what they are searching for and receive the targeted traffic the search engines so proudly advertise.

But attaining good placement on the search engines is often difficult and time consuming.

Ezines and newsletters are a very effective alternative.

Most ezines cover specific subjects such as finance, marketing, health, internet, etc. Your job will be to find an ezine whose topic matches your target market. To do this you must locate an ezine directory. Directories usually list contact information, advertising rates, and circulation. Once you find a targeted ezine then place your ad. Be sure your ad includes as many of your product benefits as the ad will allow.

The idea is to define your target market specifically enough so that you can find the appropriate place to advertise and then create sales messages that make your readers feel you are talking directly to them.

You'll be amazed at the amount of traffic you can receive by finding your target market and reaching them in the appropriate location.

Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. Elizabeth's sites can be viewed here: http://www.pro-marketing-online.com http://www.homenotion.com

Copyright © 2004 Adlite Enterprises All Rights Reserved.


MORE RESOURCES:

Internet Marketing News

Online advertising up 11 percent from last year
CNET News, CA - Nov 20, 2008
Internet advertising revenues for the third quarter were nearly $5.9 billion, representing an 11-percent increase over the same period last year, ...
Internet Advertising Revenues in Q3 '08 at Nearly $5.9 Billion MarketWatch
Online Advertising: A Glimmer of Light? E-Commerce Times
Online Advertising Nearly $5.9 Billion in the Third Quarter Seeking Alpha
InformationWeek - IT Business Edge
all 246 news articles


Ronald Pantello, Harry Sweeney, and David Wood Voted Into Medical ...
MarketWatch - 3 hours ago
NEW YORK, Nov 21, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The general membership of the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame voted to induct three new individuals at ...


Enews 2.0

TV Ads Contribute to Childhood Obesity, Economists Say
New York Times, United States - Nov 20, 2008
The researchers used several statistical models to link obesity rates to the amount of time spent viewing fast food advertising, finding that viewing more ...
Researchers: Ban on Fast Food TV Advertising Would Reverse ... MarketWatch
Fast-food ad ban could cut child obesity: US study Reuters
Study: Banning fast-food TV ads could dent obesity The Associated Press
Los Angeles Times - Telegraph.co.uk
all 488 news articles


MillerCoors switches advertising firms
Chicago Tribune, United States - 5 hours ago
MillerCoors announced Friday that its advertising agency of record will be a trio of ad shops that includes Chicago-based Draftfcb. ...
Interpublic agencies win MillerCoors media account Reuters
MillerCoors awards $400M account to Interpublic Crain's Chicago Business
MC Media = Draft + Initiative + Kinetic + $400M mediabistro.com
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
all 15 news articles


The Australian

Wall Street Journal Invades News York Times' Ad Turf (Update2)
Bloomberg - 1 hour ago
21 (Bloomberg) -- The Wall Street Journal is invading the New York Times' advertising turf as competition intensifies in a souring US economy. ...
The firm believer The Australian
all 5 news articles


New York Times

The Screens Issue Multiscreen Mad Men
New York Times, United States - 5 hours ago
BENJAMIN PALMER is the CEO of the Barbarian Group, an Internet advertising and marketing firm based in Boston. He helped create the ‘‘Subservient Chicken’’ ...


FROM ADVERTISING SECTION
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 4 hours ago
By Weelbase communication Obama pledges support for electric power: Two of the most urgent challenges facing the United States climate change and the ...


The Wall Street Journal Eats The Times' Advertising Lunch
Wired News - 4 hours ago
By Meghan Keane November 21, 2008 | 1:50:23 PMCategories: Advertising, New York Times Milton Pedrazza, chief executive officer of Luxury Institute LLC, ...
'NYT' vs. 'WSJ' in Ad Smack-down! Editor & Publisher
all 2 news articles


New York Magazine

New York Times Co. shares tumble to new low
MarketWatch - 1 hour ago
The weakened US economy, stifled by the subprime mortgage crisis, has dealt a punishing blow to classified advertising revenues, which for decades the main ...
New York Times Slashes Dividend to Save Cash in Slump (Update2) Bloomberg
UPDATE 1-New York Times cuts dividend, 'reevaluates' assets Reuters
New York Times Co. cuts dividend by 74 percent The Associated Press
TopNews - 24/7 Wall St.
all 242 news articles


Advertising pioneer George Beach to be honored
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 14 hours ago
By Jane M. Von Bergen The interview was winding down, and longtime advertising executive George Beach had begun to relax a little. ...

Advertising - Google News

home | site map
© 2006