"what is purpose of your website?" a question which he couldn't answer.

"does your website tell me what you want me to do when I go there?" - err no was answer.

"Can I sign up somewhere to hear about what your latest products/services are?" No.

"Can I buy something directly from website?" No

"Is there a list of your products and services, or reviews of any of them or of companies you resell for?" No

"Are there any articles about what's happening in that industry and issues I should be concerned about?" No

"So what's purpose of your site?" Don't know really.

"What do people that normally go there do?" Can I get that information?

As you can see, his website was a complete waste of time. He's running his own business and supporting his family (and driving a nice Mercedes) and his online marketing is effectively ZERO.

How many people are there online who could help this guy - Thousands? Easily.

So why are so many people failing?

My Answer = Because they put money before business.

For most Internet newbies looking to start making money - that's as far as they define their model. There are thousands of people around who can tell you how to make a website, where to host it, where to get content, how to create a product, how to start a newsletter, how to buy and sell on Ebay, how to setup an affiliate program, how to arrange JVs and how to get traffic (and all other aspects of an online business) - but even with this knowledge they're failing to achieve their goals.

They need to take action, that goes without saying and there are lots of people not becoming successful purely because they're not taking any action to move them towards their goal, but I think fundamental issue even before that action is state of mind that they're in.

I'm sure that any 1/2 decent marketer can tell you that you're not going to make money by 'selling', matching products with peoples needs is slightly different to 'selling', and that difference is responsible for more failing efforts than you can imagine.

You have a great product, fantastic website, financial backing, and undeniable urge to succeed. But, you are not making any money through your website. Why? The answer is you haven’t directed your product to people who are looking to buy it. You have shoe stores that sell handbags and socks, but they specialize in shoes, and that is what you’ll see displayed up front. Then you have shoe stores that sell athletic shoes along with athletic equipment and clothing, but they specialize in shoes. Every store specializes in something, that is its selling point, it’s profit maker. How do you know what a store specializes in? Just look around, do you see more teenage oriented shoe’s/clothing/jewelry or are items geared more toward 25-35 age range?

What keeps these stores going is fact that they know whom their audience is, specifically who they are selling to. They know their demographics. Do you know yours?

Demographics A website is no different than a storefront. You place your best products, aimed at your target audience, in display window to draw your customers in. Then you show them your “other” products, possibly fulfilling other needs that they may not have considered. For example, you sell athletic shoes. You intice a customer into your store by placing images of newest and hottest shoes on your index page. You then add a blurb saying: “Freedom is faster than wind when you wear – such and such shoes.” They click on blurb and are instantly taken to page that provides details for that shoe. But wait! On that page you add images of your top selling shorts and items with American flag imprinted on it. Their patriotism has been psychologically invoked by word freedom and running by phrase “faster than wind.” You’ve made them consider multiple products simply by adding a blurb and image.

Is that all it takes? No. Anyone can sell a product using this method, and they are likely to be successful, to a point. Everyone who sells any kind of product knows this, but what makes some companies stand out and others just get by? If you took those same shoes and built a whole page in a style that appealed to single women, age 25-35, with no children and a love of country and nature, you’ve created a site-specific sales market. You have pinpointed exactly whom you want to sell your product too.

Athletic shoes are not just gender or age specific and that’s partly why I choose them. The same concept can be adapted to a male audience, teenagers, sports enthusiasts and your everyday consumer. It is all a matter of changing demographic styling of page. This can be as simple as adding baseball bats, footballs, and jerseys to intice a male audience. There is more to it than simply changing items you offer, color, sizes, and images have to be considered as well. You wouldn’t display a pink and gray shoe on a page aimed toward men.

Let’s take a deeper look at demographic profiling.