The Viability of Blogging to a Niche MarketWritten by Mal Keenan
Copyright 2005 Mal KeenanNiche marketing is an old and very successful marketing strategy whereby a company focuses on marketing and selling to a clearly defined segment of potential consumers. The company earns by supplying a unique product or service to this narrowly defined market which other companies have not met or provided. Are there potential buyers online? According to Central Intelligence Agency’s latest figures, there are over 185.55 million internet users in United States alone, of these around 139.52 million active users. The Computer Industry Almanac which compiles statistics on global internet users, records a staggering 934 million users for 2004 and this market continues to grow. Do these users buy online? Statistics gathered on internet users, show they do and their numbers are increasing. For instance, in December 2004, online sales rose by 53%, from $795 million of same month 2003, to $1.22 billion 2004, (gathered by CMP Media a service provider of information and marketing services to technology and healthcare industries). For each unique marketing hook, product and service, your business blog can tap in, that’s how many niche markets you can serve.
| | How to write Killer Classified Ad CopyWritten by David Bell
I'll never forget what my accountant said five years ago when he saw ad I wrote for my services: "How many scotches did you drink before you wrote this?" He was kidding about scotch. But he just couldn't believe anyone in their right mind would write such a bold and outrageous ad for their own writing, consulting and speaking services, as I had. Well, I spent $300 on that ad -- $200 to run it in a local trade association directory, and $100 to have it reprinted as a flyer. The following year, that $300 ad turned into $12,341 in new business for me. And $12,341 was just a tiny fraction of my total business that year. Why did I make so much money myself while there were so many thousands of "starving writers" in world? The answer may surprise you. You see, it's not because I'm a better writer. It's not my schooling. Not my resume. Not any talent I was born with. It's all because I learned how to write "killer copy." How do you write killer copy? You start your killer copy with an emotion-packed opening statement that will get attention of your reader. This opening statement may be: * a headline * an opening sentence * a subject line on an email * header on a Web page ... or for that matter, opening words in a telemarketing script, radio commercial, or TV spot. What's important is that you understand - your first words count for everything - because you must captivate peoples' imagination with those words in order to keep their attention. Here are examples of opening statements from actual successful marketing pieces: a) "Take luxury vacation of your dreams at a reduced cost because of this special offer" (from a travel agency's letter to business owners.) b) "How to stop overwhelm before it stops you" (from a personal coach's ad aimed at stressed-out overachievers) c) "Why almost every financial statement in family court may not disclose full net worth of opposing spouse" (from an investigator's sales letter to divorce lawyers.) Then, after your emotion-packed opening statement, you just a) Make a promise b) Back it up with convincing proof and c) Ask for action Let's look at how you do each of those three techniques. 1. Make a promise. The letter about luxury vacations starts with these words: "Imagine taking your winter vacation knowing you aren't spending a penny more than you have to - secure that you have a team of travel experts making sure every little detail of your vacation goes smoothly. "Here's how you can have that vacation right now: Take advantage of an unusual promotion our company is doing. Let me explain." Pretty exciting, right? Even if you don't think so, people who got letter did - because letter produced an amazing $5 million in sales for travel agency.
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