Unfortunately, this profession is often hyped by those who promote it to the point where it might appear to be the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that is just waiting to fall into your lap at the snap of your fingers.

For some it does in fact become a very lucrative means of income. For others it provides a stable income, and for some, no income at all.

When learning niche marketing, think of it as a change to another profession, a profession where you are in charge of the business. Like every other business owner, whether online or off, it will require time, effort, investment and education to achieve success.

Having said that, let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of working in niche marketing online.

Advantages Of Niche Marketing

1. Market Focus

Niche marketing focuses on a small segment of a given market as opposed to the mass marketing with which we are most familiar. Because of this focus, you have the ability to get to know the consumer that you are targeting a great deal better. With this knowledge, you are better able to provide content that is helpful, build a reputation, and find products that this segment of the market is looking for.

2. Targeted Investment

If you have done your homework and taken the time to get to know your niche consumer, you are aware of the issues and problems that they are looking to solve. You are also aware of the language that they use when discussing these issues. With this knowledge in hand, you are able to target your investment of time and capital in a manner that speaks to this type of consumer in the language they most commonly use.

This ability allows you to invest time in creating your online presence through a website, blog, content, and article composition in a manner that will be accepted and seen as authoritative by your intended audience.

If you are investing in PPC advertising, you will know the language they tend to use when using a search engine to find what they are looking for. This allows you to target your ad copy and keywords to the needs of that specific niche and the potential customers within that niche.

3. Increased Income Potential

While it is true that you will be going after a smaller group of people, the people in this group are far more likely to be buyers for the products you are promoting. Mass marketing works on the premise that if enough advertising is thrown out there, someone will be attracted and buy the product.

This school of thought can quickly drain the wallet of an online niche marketer who has limited resources of time and funding to work with, particularly if they are using PPC as a means of drawing in potential customers. Targeted PPC ads are far more likely to draw in a paying customer than ones that are setup to address general markets.

Disadvantages Of Niche Marketing

1. Smaller Market Share

Although targeting a smaller audience is in fact a major advantage for the niche marketer, it can also be a disadvantage. The disadvantage occurs when the market share is too small to produce an income that is substantial enough to support the income needs of the niche marketer. For this reason, many niche marketers, if not most, will be working in more than one niche at a time to increase income generated by their efforts.

2. Competition

Even if you were the first to discover a lucrative niche, over time, others will want in on it as well and you will need to increase your efforts in order to maintain a reliable income from that niche.

If you are one who is trying to break into a niche where you have competitors, it will take time and effort on your part to build up your reputation within the niche and to get your ads and content listed at the top of the search engine results.

Higher competition will also mean higher rates for clicks in your PPC advertising. Niche marketers are encouraged to diversify their efforts into many niches to help out when markets become mature and too competitive. Having only one niche is equivalent to putting all of your eggs in one basket.

3. Cannibalization

Cannibalization is a term more frequently heard of in the mass marketing industry, however, it applies to niche marketing as well. Cannibalization occurs in a business when it releases a new and improved version of a product and as a result, the value and market share of a pre-existing product decreases.

In the world of niche marketing, and the world of online business as a whole, there are newer and better products constantly being released. A dramatic example of this would be the technology changes between the time when videocassette recorders ruled the market place and their subsequent replacement in that market share by the DVD recorders of today.

4. It’s A Business

While this may seem like an obvious statement, it is rather surprising how many people fail to realize that niche marketing is a profession and a business. It requires capital and commitment to grow and like any other business, it also requires customer relation skills, financial management and constant learning.

If you want to use your niche marketing as a business for tax purposes, you will want to maintain separate banking and accounting information at the absolute minimum. Failure in this area could have your application for business expenses denied at tax time.

As well, because it is a business, it will be important for you to stay on top of any licensing requirements, regulations such as FTC regulations, and tax collection and remittance requirements. Ignorance is neither bliss nor accepted as an excuse for not following laws and regulations within the industry. It won’t cut you any slack with the tax department either if they decide this is just a hobby for you and not a legitimate business.

If you are thinking of learning niche marketing and developing a business around it, it is important for you to be aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of niche marketing rather than just the hype that is more commonly seen on the Internet.

With this information in hand, you will be better prepared to make an informed decision as to whether niche marketing is what is best for you and to meet its inherent challenges head on.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

Once you learn to write a proper press release, you will have yet another powerful tool that can be used to get the word out about your business.

Why Are Press Releases Important?

Let’s start with a question. Is your online business important to you? Do you think that your business and what it offers may be important to others? Press releases highlight important events in the business world such as the launching of a new business.

Press releases are a form of advertising that gives a “shout out” to the world that you exist or that something big is happening. As they help get the word out about your business, they provide another way for people to find you and what you have to offer.

Outsourcing the writing of a press release is generally fairly inexpensive, however, learning to write a proper press release yourself, costs next to nothing. While press releases are usually not sent out daily, they are still an important part of your promotional toolkit.

Press Release Ideas

• Launching a new blog or website
• Adding or launching a new product or product line
• Hosting an event such as a training seminar
• Announcing an endorsement from a celebrity or industry leader
• Human interest events such as charity sponsorship

This is just a short list of possible ideas that can trigger a press release. There are many other activities you and your business may be involved in that are worthy of an announcement of this type.

If you are not used to thinking of your business activities from this angle, you may have to put some thought into it. It may even require a bit of a mindset change as you move from thinking why would this be interesting to why wouldn’t it be of interest. The whole point of increasing awareness for your business is to create interest in others so they will come over and check you out.

Press Release Writing Tips

Now that you see how a press release can help you, the next step is learning how to write one. Begin with checking out a few press releases in your marketing niche to see how others are using this tool. Most press releases have a fairly standard structure, here are some things to keep in mind.

1. One Page Only Please – Press releases are short and to the point and should not exceed the one page rule. Use your press release to catch the reader’s attention, and then sum up what they need to know and do in as short a presentation as is possible.

2. Remember Your SEO Basics – Use SEO style headlines that include your keywords in an appealing manner to catch the eye of readers and search engines alike.

3. Use A Simple Structure – As with all copywriting, be mindful of the skimming nature of readers on the Internet. Use bullets, numbering and short sentences to get your point across quickly and easily.

4. Personalize It – Readers are far more likely to be able to relate to your content if it includes real life examples of the importance of the product or event. This straightforward approach helps them see how this announcement could also be important to them.

5. Help Readers To Find You – There isn’t much point in making a press release if you fail to inform readers on how to contact you. Make sure your contact information is placed at the top of your press release where people are sure to find it.

By now your writing for online business toolkit may contain many tools to help with your business promotional efforts. When you learn to write a proper press release, you add an additional tool to your arsenal that enables you to reach out to potential customers and increase your online presence.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

The ability to get paid to write reviews becomes an option once you have demonstrated your expertise in a given area and developed a following.

In a nutshell, once you have done the hard work of becoming recognized and paid your dues. When your expertise is presented in high traffic formats, catching the eye of companies who use paid reviews as part of their promotion strategy, becomes easier.

Getting Started

The first step required to break into the field of paid reviews is to see that your blog is registered with the search engines and review sites. This makes review sites aware of your interest in working with them and provides them with the opportunity to check you out. As a representative of their product, they will want to ensure that you are legitimate.

Product reviews are being written everyday on almost every product imaginable, such as electronics, cell phones, sports equipment, and the list goes on. Reviews are also frequently written for the entertainment industry. You may want to write a movie or book review. Keep the reviews you choose to do about products that you have an interest in and that fit with the content and audience of your blog.

A couple of sites where you might sign for the opportunity to get paid to write reviews are: Reviewstream.com and Ciao.com. Typically, if one of your reviews is accepted, you will be paid a flat rate for it, and possibly an additional amount if the people who read your reviews mark it as having been helpful to them.

Guest blogging is yet another method of getting your reviews seen and talked about. Your site link will be included in your guest post, which in turn, encourages traffic back to your blog. Guest blogging, particularly on blogs with a higher profile than your own blog, help you to get noticed by those companies that are interested in your area of expertise.

Having your own unique domain name will be a worthwhile investment for this type of blog monetization. If you have been using a free service, you may want to look at either upgrading or moving your blog to another hosting platform with its own domain name.

The downside of moving away from a free hosting service is that you will lose any investment in traffic building you have done up to that point as that traffic will be tied to the name or domain that was previously used. Certainly something to think about carefully if you are just starting out. Is the use of a free service going to be worth the sacrifice later on.

A further consideration, should you decide to move to a different hosting platform is whether you will be using Wordpress for your blog. If so, choosing a Wordpress friendly blog hosting provider will greatly enhance your ability to enjoy working in Wordpress. Click here for our reviews of the TOP 3 Wordpress hosting providers.

Choosing What To Do

There is more than one way to write paid reviews. Some companies will pay you per review that you post on your blog. Some things you will want to consider before going with this method are:

The number of reviews required to earn enough to make it worthwhile, and
The quality of the reviews you are being asked to post

You don’t want to turn the blog you have worked so hard in building up into a “post-for-hire” blog. You most certainly do not want to be posting trash that will lower the blog’s value and quality. A simpler method of choice may be to choose companies that allow you to submit your review to them for publishing and that include a link back to your blog.

Sites like Amazon and eBay often allow readers to post reviews on the different products that they offer. These reviews help the readers of those sites to make more informed choices when purchasing and once again, can give you added exposure for you as a writer and also to your blog.

You may also choose to write reviews on affiliate products that you represent, or on any product or product creator that is relevant to your blog and target audience. These reviews can help you to hi-light the pros and cons of products you represent for your readers.

Keep in mind at all times the FTC regulations that came into effect on December 1, 2009. You must be open and up front with your readers when writing reviews of any nature and disclose what’s in it for you if they take action as a result of one of the reviews that you have written.

This requirement has caused a fair bit of concern on the part of those writing reviews. Its intent is to give greater credibility to reviews that people are counting on to help make a purchasing decision. In the long run, this will help, rather than hinder your efforts.

The Downside of Paid Reviews

As one person once said, just because you are able to do something, does not mean it is a good idea for you to do it. The same type of thinking needs to be applied when considering whether or not you want to monetize by writing paid reviews.

Many search engines frown on the concept of paid reviews, especially Google. As with all that you do to increase the revenue from your blog, you need to consider the impact those choices will have over all.

If you depend heavily on being in Google’s good books for other areas of monetization, paid reviews may be a poor choice for you. For a more in-depth look at why you may want to avoid using paid reviews, visit John Lockwood’s article, Should You Write a Paid Review? Ask Yourself These Six Questions

The opportunity to get paid to write reviews on your blog opens up a new income opportunity for you and you only need an opinion on the subject matter to make it happen.

Take into consideration the different types of review writing open to you, and decide if this income source is a good fit for you and your blog. If so, ensure your blog is positioned to take the best advantage of this income stream, and comply with all FTC regulations in regards to transparency and disclosure to get the most out of this area of blog monetization.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

We used to look for a way to have information delivered directly to our mailbox rather than having to go out and track it down. These days, however, people are more interested in receiving this information in electronic form, as it won’t then be piling up on the living room coffee table or where ever this stash is kept. This is where newsletter email subscriptions come into play.

So far you have been filling your website or blog with content as a means to draw your targeted niche market to you. Your keywords have been well researched. Your headlines are optimized and eye catching and you are using numerous other tactics to draw and keep your readers interest.

But, we all know that even with doing all of this, there are always some juicy little tidbits that you can store away for a special purpose, such as content for your newsletter.

Benefits Of A Newsletter Creation

What makes newsletters so popular? Exclusivity is one highly desirable aspect of a newsletter. If a subscriber knows that the more detailed content of your newsletter is “for their eyes-only” and not shared in the general content of your website or blog, the value of that information increases for them.

Exclusivity is an attractive feature that encourages opt-ins for your list. If the newsletter you send out is seen as relevant and valuable, your readers recommend it to their friends.

The only question now is what exactly goes into a newsletter during the newsletter creation process. There are many components that can be used in a newsletter and the more you are able to add the greater value your subscriber will receive.

Here are a few of our list building tips on what components you might use for your newsletter email subscriptions:

• Contest Entries
• Discount Coupons
• Letter from the Editor (You)
• Juicy tips and articles not shared on your website
• Pictures and links to audio and video resources
• New product information and announcements

Newsletters are generally sent out on the same day, once a month. Because of this, it is easy to setup a newsletter creation work schedule to help you meet your targeted release date.

Once created, you can set up the release to your newsletter email subscriptions list through your autoresponder service either as a stand alone series that someone would subscribe to in addition to your regular list, or it could be setup in addition to your regular email series as a broadcast message.

If your newsletter tends to have time sensitive material that would not benefit someone joining that list at any old time, the broadcast method would be the best method to ensure the newsletter only goes out the one time.

There are many different formats that can be used in newsletter creation. One format would be to use the newsletter to update your list on new content that has become available on your site.

Of course, this method would not provide exclusivity, but it is one that allows you to inform as well as provide links, which in turn will draw the reader to your website and increase traffic. You could provide a landing page for them to visit if you include a contest or poll that they are able to participate in.

Some website owners set up pages that give access only to their subscribers. They then post the newsletter online and send an email to their list with the access details and link. Here subscribers may be given the option of downloading the material or reading/listening to it online. This is also a good way to provide access to archived newsletters, particularly if you have endeavored to create content that is timeless and valid no matter when it is seen.

Thinking of using newsletter email subscriptions to build your list? Put some thought into how you would like to provide your newsletter to your list.

Make sure you have the time available to meet the newsletter creation commitment you will be making to the subscribers to your potential newsletter. Then include some or all of the list building tips above to produce a newsletter that will have people waiting impatiently for your next edition and telling all their friends just how great it is.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

Some of you may even awaken in the dead of night as a thought or solution to something you’ve been working on suddenly needs to be expressed. For some unknown reason, your brain has finished chewing on an idea it has kept on the backburner and decides that there is room in the chaos of thoughts that you have during the day or in the downtime of the night to now present it’s conclusions.

When this happens, capturing your thoughts with pen and paper may not always be convenient, and yet, if you don’t, it may be lost in the time it takes for it to become convenient.

Great writers know that inspiration is random and fleeting. They know that when inspiration hits, they must immediately take action and record it’s message. Your writing will also benefit if you have prepared yourself to be able to record these thoughts as they arrive.

Basic Article Writing Tips To Help You With Capturing Your Thoughts And Ideas

1. Always carry a notepad and a working pen or mechanical pencil with you. A small notepad will fit easily into a pant pocket or a compartment of a purse. Then, when something inspires you, irritates you or gives you a good feeling, you have somewhere to capture creative ideas that form as a result.

Some people carry a miniature flashlight to ensure they are able to see and write. It definitely comes in handy if you awaken in the night with a burst of inspiration.

2. Use a voice recorder. Regardless of where you are or what you happen to be doing, a voice recorder is a simple and easy way of recording your ideas and the emotion that inspired it as well. A tape recorder, mp3 player or even cell phone that has the ability to record your voice will work in this situation and can be used just about anywhere.

You may get some people looking at you in a funny manner, but don’t let that bother you. You are being creative and also doing what is best for you and your business.

3. Use Text Messaging or Email. Many newcomers to the online marketing field also hold down full time jobs as they work to build their online businesses. Most companies that you will be working for will require you to make use of a computer and email.

When inspiration hits, open a new email to your personal email address and use it as a means of recording your ideas. Make sure you flag the email with a subject line that gives you a clue later on as to what it is about or you may end up skipping it.

4. Use Google Docs. If you have a free Gmail account, you also have access to Google Docs. This program is located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen when you open your Gmail account online. Simply click on the link that is named Documents and a new tab or window will open.

Google has included a program here that allows you to create simple word or excel type documents that are accessible by you from anywhere that you have access to a computer and the Internet. This is a great tool, particularly if you have ideas or work that you want to record, but do not want them to appear on the computer that you are using at the time.

Inspiration rarely strikes at times that are convenient and if you have not prepared yourself in advance with a means of capturing your thoughts and ideas, they may be forever lost to you.

Read through the basic article writing tips above to give yourself ideas on how to capture creative ideas as they occur, even if you are in the middle of rush hour traffic or awakened in the dead of night.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

In the world of online business, sometimes you too need to shout out the news about your website or upcoming event. The method used to do this is called a press release.

When To Send Out A Press Release?

Basically, a press release is an announcement. You see them all the time in newspapers and online. For your online business, you will of course use the online approach. A press release provides a simple and very effective way of informing people of the good news whenever something new and exciting is happening in your business.

Traditional business frequently uses press releases to highlight events that are pertinent to that business such as a sale, merger, an award the business has earned or the addition of a new managerial focus.

The same holds true for an online business. These one-page announcements are used to highlight events that are applicable to your business such as the opening of a new website, the launch of a product or a new partnership arrangement. In a nutshell, if something important is going on with your online business, that is when you send out a press release.

Writing Your Press Release

There are several general rules that should be followed when writing your press release. Press releases are most effective when limited to a length of one page. Longer Press releases generally result in the loss of your audience’s attention. You want to reach out and quickly grab their attention long enough for them to read what you are announcing and click through to your website to check it out.

It takes a very targeted and focused approach to write a good press release on a single page. Here are a few items you will want to include:

• A keyword-rich headline with a line stating “For Immediate Release” below it
• The W5s – who, what, where, when and why this is news warranting a press release
• A bulleted format that is easy for the reader to follow

Catchy headlines grab the reader’s attention and make them curious so they just have to read on to know more. Effective use of keywords in your headline will help it to rank high in the search engines so that relevant traffic will be able to find it easily.

Keep the tone of your writing conversational and lay out the facts in the body of the press release. Create interesting scenarios using real life events to draw readers in and gain their attention.

You may want to use an event from your own life or link your announcement to another event that is currently making news.

Don’t forget to add a link to your website so they can find out more about the event, launch or product your press release is highlighting.

Publish Your Press Release

Once you are done writing, it is time to publish your press release. Here are some sites that will publish and distribute your press release for free:

• PRBuzz.com
• 24-7PressRelease.com
• Free-Press-Release.com
• PR.com

Once these sites have received your submission, they will distribute it to various news sites, search engines and other places of relevance, which will in turn increase traffic to your website.

Press releases are one way to get your website noticed out there on the web and increase website traffic. Now that you know when to send out a press release, use these press release writing tips to write a good quality press release and promote all aspects of your website business.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

When you stand in line at the supermarket checkout, what catches your eye? Magazines are experts when it comes to using headlines to grab your attention and interest you in reading the full story within. Of course, there isn’t time to read the full story before it is your turn at the checkout, so into the purchase pile it goes.

Just as the customer waiting in line at the checkout is skimming over the headlines of the magazines, so too do the surfers on the Internet skim over the material they find as they search for something of interest. When your headlines grab the attention of these skimmers, they stop to take a closer look.

Good Titles and Headlines

Some people give their content headlines that are more reminiscent of the way they would title a file folder. The title lacks any attempt to be interesting when it could work harder for you with just a little bit of optimization.

Let’s take chocolate as an example. If your content is about chocolate, chances are it is also about more than chocolate. It might be how to make the most mouth watering chocolate mousse that is so light you’ll lose weight when you eat it.

Or, here is another example taken from an infomercial product headline of the past. “The Ginsu Knife – Slice tomatoes so thin that your in-laws will never come back.” I know that one caught my attention, and even many years later, it is still remembered.

Choosing Good Title Names

Coming up with a good title name may take a bit of thought. Not only does it need to grab the attention of your reader, but it will also include some or all of the following to ensure it also grabs the attention of the search engine bots and spiders.

Include Your Main Keywords

I know it seems like everything you read is saying this, but that should only serve to bring home to you the importance of keywords and keyword phrases in everything you do on your website or blog.

Find a good keyword phrase that relates to your content, you have a chance of ranking for, and of course, one that your readers and targeted audience will be looking for. Then, make sure you include it in your title or headline.

Determine Your Attention Grabbing Hook

The words you use in the title that skimmers see are not unlike a hook cast into a body of water. It is probably more visually correct to say that your keywords are the hook and the wording used to present those keywords are the bait that make the hook more attractive to those skimming (swimming) by. Sweeten up the response to your chocolate information with a mouth watering description of what your readers can expect if they stop by.

Maintain Your Focus

Keep your titles as short as is possible while including your keywords and letting the readers know what they will find in your article or post. This is sometimes easier said than done. Another quick tip is that when using numbers in the title, try to use odd numbers. For some reason the numbers 3, 5 and 7 are more attractive than 2, 4 and 6.

Format Your Page For Easy Reading

Now this may be one of those areas where you will need to determine just who your audience really is. If you are catering to the teenage crowd, black or funky colored backgrounds may be just the thing to grab their attention. An older crowd on the other hand, may find it far too distracting, and as their eyes age, it may be difficult for them to read. If they can not read your information easily, they probably won’t be coming back again.

Hi-light titles and sub-titles with h1 and h2 tags and bolding to make them stand out from the regular text and allow the reader to skim over the material for a complete index.

Ensure that the overall font used is easy to read. There is nothing wrong with asking a few people to check out your website and give you some feedback.

Websites, particularly ones that are hand coded, should be reviewed in a few different browsers as well. Many of your readers will still be using IE 6, while others may use newer versions or different browsers all together such as Firefox or opera. There are often small tweaks that can be found and added to the CSS for that page which will allow it to display properly in a multitude of browsers.

Format links so that they stand out from the regular text and so that people can see them. You may also want to decide on what your link policy will be for internal and external links. Here at WBOBR, a policy of opening an internal link on the same page and opening external links on a new page or tab is used.

The thinking behind this policy is to keep folks connected to your site while giving them the option of additional information. If a new tab or page is opened, they will not lose the page they found it on. After all, you made all that effort to hook them and draw them in, right?

Despite what many say, SEO is not dead and until the search engine bots and spiders are blessed with the ability to read and comprehend content as we do, SEO basics will have a role in all that your do on your website or blog. Ensuring that your headlines grab attention and draw traffic to your website is an important tool in your SEO toolkit.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com