Internet Tip of the Week
by Bob Osgoodby
Your Target MarketIdentifying your target market is one of the things you should
have learned in Marketing 101, no matter what school you
attended. Many of us attend the "School of Hard Knocks",
and if you don't learn it there, you probably never will be
succes some common sense.
While you may not have detailed demographics available, there are
some things you can do to sharpen the focus a bit. If you were
selling a health product geared toward older people, you can
automatically rule out the "kiddie sites" or ones that appeal
to a young crowd such as the sites where you download free music.Web Sites or Newsletters that specialize in humor are normally a
"no-no" as the grind of getting two or three jokes out a day,
will guarantee that they will publish some that will offend
somebody. It is also one of the least targeted. Don't get me
wrong here. Humor has its place as long as it is in good taste,
is not offensive, and is part of a publication that reaches a
specific group.So, using some common sense, you identify either some web sites
where you can place an ad, or a newsletter that appears to cater
to your potential client base.The next step is tracking your results. This is where many
budding entrepreneurs miss the boat. There are a number of ways
to track where your inquiries are coming from. Probably the
easiest is to give an email address, which is unique to that ad.If you have your own domain, you most likely have unlimited
aliases that all come to the same email address. AOL gives you
multiple email addresses, and if all else fails, get yourself a
supply of free email addresses.You can also use the web to help in your tracking. Designing a
unique form, which sends you an email for each ad someoneresponds to, is not an overwhelming task. You can build a
keyword right into the form, that the person filling it out will
never see, that lets you know exactly where they saw the ad.Newsletters are a good choice. If a newsletter has been around
for awhile, and has a decent number of subscribers, they are
doing something right. If your ad is not pulling, odds are
either you are in the wrong target market, or have a crummy ad.The first mistake someone might make is confusing subscribers
with potential customers. One newsletter with 500,000
subscribers may produce minimal results, while another with only
a thousand or so, may produce a lot. Here is where you have to
determine if the newsletter you are considering is reaching your
target market.Many people will throw together a "crummy" ad, and then blame the
vehicle they use to advertise it when it doesn't work. If it is
reaching your target market, and you have a decent product or
service, which is affordable to those you are trying to reach,
you will do business. Maybe the "School of Hard Knocks" isn't so
bad after all.-----
Bob has been publishing online since 1996. All the “tricks of the trade” are contained in his latest E-book. Learn how to avoid being shut down by your ISP for Spamming, and where to find “E-mail friendly ISP's. Learn which software packages are available to easily manage and distribute your email. For more information - http://www.adv-marketing.com/business/handbook.htm
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