Sometimes the best way to make big bucks is to focus on a smaller, or niche, audience. For some quick tips on marketing your online store to niche markets, watch today’s episode of Two Minute Tuesday.

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When it comes to selling online, many of us try to sell as many customers as humanly possible. The only problem with this approach is that it’s harder to figure out your true target market, and can often increase the cost of your marketing investments.

Instead, many successful online business owners are greatly reducing the size of their target audience, a strategy known as niche marketing. Niche markets consist of a much smaller population, but all of them have the same need, and are often much more passionate about their shared interest.

If you’re considering focusing your online store on a niche market, or just want to learn more about the idea, watch today’s video for some basic tips to get started.

Happy selling!
-Matt Winn, Volusion

 

Here’s the transcript if you’d like to read along: 

Hi, everybody! My name’s Matt, and I’m the Social Media Manager here at Volusion. Welcome to Two Minute Tuesdays, where we bring you two minutes of ecommerce advice to bolster your online success.

When you’re opening an online business, it can be very tempting to try to appeal to everyone.  Many of the merchants that have the most success, however, actually appeal to niche markets. So pay close attention because I’ve got five tips to make sure you’re doing this effectively.

To start, let’s talk about what a niche market is. The best way to think about a niche market is through an example. So, instead of selling dog products, you could look toward bulldog products, pit bull products, Dachshund products and so on. Narrowing that niche market down to a much smaller audience means that customers will have a higher interest in what you have to sell.

Secondly, and really the most important step, is that you need to spend time researching your niche market. Since you’re appealing to a smaller audience, you need to figure out what drives their needs. What are they looking for? What type of information and products appeals to them the most?

Number three, when marketing to your niche, use longtail keywords. This is going to come naturally when you’re doing your niche marketing, but remember, if you’re appealing to a specific audience, they’re going to be using very specific keywords to find your site. So, incorporate these specific keywords into your SEO and pay-per-click campaigns. Once you do, you’ll be in good shape to get more traffic.

Number four, you really want to become an expert in your niche, and to do so, you need to provide content that’s very specific to that audience. This means you’ll want to look to your blog posts, social media and videos to make sure they’re providing high-quality, useful information. Anything on your website that provides valuable content and information is going to be great for building your expertise, building trust and building your market.

Now last, but definitely not least, get involved in the community. The great thing about niche markets is, yes, they’re smaller, but their audience is often a lot more passionate about what you’re talking about. So get out there, get involved in the community and give back to that community. Your involvement will help you become an expert and trusted source, which will boost sales and affiliations.

Hopefully this how-to guide will make sure that your online business is effectively marketing to niche markets. If you have any questions, we’re always happy to help. Just leave me a comment in the box below.

From me to you, happy selling!