Niche-ing your content
Many of the most dedicated writers and marketers find themselves stretched to the limit when it comes to content for a voracious website or blog.
And of course, many more companies are trying to figure out why they can’t get their sales up.
So here’s a suggested solution to both of these issues-Scratch your customer’s NICHE (Rhymes with ITCH, though of course I know some of you prefer the French pronounciation of NEESH).
If you find your writing or your sales are flat, why not take a different tack? Why not think about a new marketing persona you might not have targeted specifically yet, and aim for it?
At the very least you will be looking at your material with a fresh eye. At best, you might find some untapped sales channels that will pay off.
Often, all it takes is a little spin, or a tiny tweak.
For example, if you were in the self help market, you could spin a guide on stress relief in the following ways: it could be:
Sure Fire Stress Relief For Busy Executives
Simple Stress Relief for New Moms
Stress Relief for Students
Facing Retirement? 10 Strategies for Simple Stress Relief
Think about their daily life, cares and concerns, just as you would when formulating any other marketing persona. If you have not done any marketing personas yet, that could also be a good reason why your marketing message is falling flat: because you can never aim your message at 100% of the people coming to the site and expect a high conversion rate.
You can only convince people to buy from you if they are reassured that you have the solutions they are seeking. You can really only do that effectively if you know who they are.
Even better, you can take roughly the SAME material, and spin it 4 different ways, without much time or effort. You have already done the work, so now you can repurpose the content.
This is especially handy for time-pressed freelancers and marketers who need to make every word count.
If you are selling product, your customers will be happier because they feel that you ‘get them’. Often times customers complain not because the product is really bad, but because they want to feel that you care, that there are real people behind the product, service, or book.
They are looking for the connection and interaction that in the Internet appears to offer, and so any product or information pack that appears to takes their needs into account is something they are sure to be interested in.
So start today with your own marketing personas. Choose one, set up a separate landing page and PPC campaign, and track your results. If it works, repeat! Look at your main messages, and refine them as needed, depending on what you learn from your new and different approaches.
Scratch their niche, and expand your publishing presence online quickly and easily.
Bronze level members and above:
Log in now for a great 4-video series on marketing personas.
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http://www.seomoz.org/blog/whiteboard-friday-creating-marketing-personas
Silver Level Members and above can log in now for a very detailed discussion of personas with further resources.
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http://technomarketer.typepad.com/technomarketer/2008/04/developing-pers.html
