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There are varying opinions when it comes to niche marketing: Some say pick a unique niche and become the authority, while others will argue that there’s a piece of the pie in the huge, competitive markets, for everybody willing to put the work in.

The huge markets are generally considered to be health, wealth and relationships. Niche markets would be anything that doesn’t fit into one of those.

No matter what you choose, do your research and make sure you have buyers in the market you choose…and that there are enough of them to sustain your business if you go for a small niche.

Here is some helpful additional reading:

Internet Marketing - Quick Start Tips

Choosing your niche is a key element in the success of Internet marketing companies. In fact, you should be very careful in ensuring that & 39; they are both a necessity and a significant number of people who want the product or & 39; …

How Important Is Picking A Niche?

More importantly, are they WILLING to spend it? If there is a lot of free info on the subject, maybe not. So yes, it is important to pick a niche that has a demand and lots of hungry buyers willing to dig into their wallets. …

How to know if the niche market has buyers.

Many newbie marketers know that they must pick a niche market to target when they want to launch their internet business. They know the market must has a lot of passionate people that are seriously crazy about the market and anything in …

As Web 2.0 fundamentally redefines how we use the Internet, the authority and voice has been given back to YOU, the user, who has the ability to create content instantaneously, vote articles and video good or bad, give your feedback to blog posts (such as this very post), share news stories with your friends and through networks.

While that sounds all fine and dandy…which it is…traditional marketing and advertising approaches have become much more challenging, as users have grown accustomed to simply tuning out any ad on their screen (many use technology that actually does that for them…ads don’t even show up on their screen). This is cause for concern if you’ve been using PPC campaigns, email marketing, banner ads, or any of the other types of traditional Internet Marketing tactics.

It does not mean that Internet Marketing is a lost cause, quite to the contrary actually.

But the rules of engagement have changed. No longer can you blatantly hit someone over the head with an ad…asking your battered prospect to take some action in their impaired state. I’d venture to say that it becomes more intellectual, in a sense.

What getting an audience and gaining attention requires nowadays is a bit different. Web surfers are looking for value and efficiency. With the sensory overload that is the Internet today, users want the precise information they’re looking for, from a trustworthy source, and they aren’t going to go on a witch hunt to get it…they want it quickly, as time is everyone’s most valuable resource.

Sound difficult? It may, as this is a paradigm shift that all Internet marketers are dealing with.

If you’re looking to learn from the best on this topic, my recommendation for a comprehensive and extremely affordable training is Jack Humphrey’s Social PowerLinking Program. I just wrote a review of the program at MarketingProductReview.com, in case you’d like some more details on the program.

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In Seth Godin’s insightful book “Free Prize Inside / Purple Cow”, I’ve once again arrived at a conclusion I’ve come to many times before regarding success. This conclusion can perhaps be marketed to be a “success secret” of some sort, eBooks and reports can be written about it, video and audio discussions can be created about it, and all of these would generate traffic and be popular conversation builders.

The conclusion OR secret OR whatever YOU choose to call it is that success is found by those who have three essential qualities. Though certain case studies may show that individuals possessed other attributes as well, the three I’m about to mention are universal and absolutely necessary.

The three success attributes are:

1. Leadership
2. Uniqueness
3. Vision

To define and dig deeper, let’s look at each individually.

Leadership – People want someone to look up to and follow, hence the term and way of life for most in our culture, “Follow the leader.” How, you ask, does one become a leader? Declare yourself one. That’s all, see yourself as a leader and from that point forward make decisions and act like a leader. It’s a choice really: Do you want to take direction or determine the direction that’s taken?

Uniqueness – In Godin’s book he uses “Purple Cow” to refer to a product that is remarkable…it stands out from the crowd. This goes hand-in-hand with leadership. You must make decisions to be different, to be better, more memorable, etc. Whatever your uniqueness, you’ll be lauded and applauded for it, worst case you’ll have critics…any of these cases are better than being ignored. “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” –Goethe

Vision – To make it all come together, you must have the foresight to look beyond where you are right here and now. Beyond the potential of an affiliate program, network marketing distributorship, or joint venture. These things are just the beginning…develop an empire…it all starts with an idea. Be in the moment, but anticipate and plan for the future, and always set your goals and standards higher than what you believe to be possible. No one who’s ever pushed the bounds of possibility has aimed too low.
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One of the most common mistakes made by online business seekers is that of focusing on Outcomes rather than Behaviors…think about this for a moment.

If you’ve ever done any searches for an online biz, I’m sure you’re well aware of how marketers like to throw out big, enticing numbers, theoretical of what you could make, or an example of what some star marketer makes. And then, the hook is something like this, “With our system YOU TOO can generate $XXX in your first week!”

Sounds great, but HOW? The big, exciting dollar value is the Outcome, but what is the Behavior that I have to follow? Do I have to bribe, harm or annoy friends and family??? That would be a behavior, and if you found out that is what the SYSTEM teaches, then I’d bet that your excitement would wane.

Another example would be placing ads…this is often what’s required for some business models and it’s important you find out in the beginning, the Behavior model required for success.

Today marked the official launch of iBizTraining.com, where we focus on teaching just these type of incites — the things you need to know before investing your hard earned dollars — to get you started on the right foot in your Internet endeavors. I invite you to visit the site to claim a free membership.

Mike Filsaime, whom I consider a friend and most definitely a mentor, was once telling me about creating “buttons.” What he meant by this is similar to Staple’s Easy Button — The idea that as business owners and entrepreneurs, we should provide our consumers with solutions that are push button simple.

For instance, don’t just give the customer a fish…instead, give them a light-weight, high-quality fishing rod, a heavily populated lake, a grill, fire, lemon, butter, other fresh seasonings that will make the fish taste delicious, an easy to follow series of Camtasia videos that walk them through using all the things you just gave him to catch and make a delicious fish dinner, instructions on how to watch the videos, a support line or helpdesk in case there are any questions, and then on top of that, offer to cook the fish for them if they’d rather not learn how to fish themselves, and also offer all of the above for some great side dishes and dessert!

Buttons…not just products or services. Make sense? It does to me, and that’s what I’ve tried to do with my latest site, iBizTraining.com. I’ve tried to put all the pieces together for online business newbies so they can do the equivalent of cooking up a delicious gourmet dinner.

The site will launch on November 6th, and I invite you to check it out. It is free to join and I hope you find it to be a button!

With the launch of iBizTraining.com rapidly approaching, I’m excited to see how it impacts the lives of people who pretend to be totally inept in dealing with technology. I can’t wait to hear how family members and friends are blown away by a Baby Boomer who only uses his computer to check email (and used to struggle with that), goes on to create a steady, solid income by running an online business. In fact, a few members of my beta test group put themselves into this “helpless when it comes to online” category, and they’ve come to see the bigger picture and the simplicity that goes along with it.

I’m fascinated by the apparent disconnect between the “techies” and everybody else. It seems you either can and do everything on and with a computer, or you’re afraid to turn one on. The perception is that there are two polar extremes, and not a whole lot of middle ground. Sounds kinda like politics doesn’t it…

Well, I tend to disagree with that perception. While there are people who still refuse to embrace technology, everyday, someone’s mom or grandfather gets setup with email, and takes off from there. Learning the basics is the most crucial component to how well that person does, and how encouraged they are to embrace further use of technology.

And that’s where iBizTraining.com comes into play. I guess I enjoy programming and all things online, because it came fairly easy to me; yet, that’s not the case for many. iBizTraining.com is going to go back to basics and walk every member through the steps, A thru Z in understanding, getting started in, and growing a successful online business.

In the coming weeks and months, I hope to see many more testimonials like the ones that can already be seen at iBizTraining.com

In any sport, discipline or art, fundamentals are always stressed, even at the highest levels. Why is it then, that we don’t hold the same regard for fundamentals in the world of online business?

By over-hyping opportunities, placing too much emphasis on automated processes and making everything seem so incredibly fool-proof, as marketers we’re not only setting up others for failure, but ourselves, as well, in the long run.

Completely missing, is an emphasis on the fundamentals of doing business online. Whether it be affiliate marketing, network marketing, reselling, eBay or some other business model, there are foundational basics that must be mastered for success, with no exception. Completely lost is guidance on how to choose a good model, how to generate free and natural traffic, how to structure and protect our assets, how to choose and penetrate a niche…I can go on and on.

On November 6, 2007, I’ll be launching a training system that addresses these shortcomings that plague our industry. iBizTraining.com will act as a free boot camp for aspiring online business people or those who need a boost. We’ll go back to basics, correct habits and start from a fresh perspective.

Let begin to be honest with ourselves, our prospects and our customers. We’ll all benefit from it in the long run…and remember, if you want to make a real living working from home with an online business, our discipline is a marathon, not a sprint.

In the immortal words of Willy Wonka, as portrayed by Gene Wilder, “Wait, strike that, reverse it!”

With the pre-launch of my newest (and most exciting) service looming this weekend — iBizTraining.com/October 20, 2007, and subsequent launch on November 6, 20007 — I’m looking for ways to maximize my time and check, double check, test, retest and do as much quality control at the new site as humanly possible.

For that reason, I’ve been fairly silent here, but after 10/20, I’m going to be back, full-time in a big way!

My coaching practice is growing and I’m elated with all the progress and success we’ve had. iBizTraining.com will be the cornerstone of what I do on the web, so I invite you to check it out, come Saturday, October 20, 2007. It is a free comprehensive training resource for anyone looking to build a successful online business. I’ve basically taken all of my experience and that of my partners, put what you need to know, warned you what to watch out for, and have give you some inside tips onto dramatically improving your learning curve, so you can achieve lasting success with an Internet business a lot quicker than you would have on your own.

I encourage you to join the teleseminar I’ll be featured on this weekend to promote the pre-launch campaign. It will give you more insight and also allude to some other exciting things to come. You can join via telephone or the web. Details can be found at: www.smartincome.biz

If you’ve been actively involved in Internet Marketing over the past year or so, you’ve undoubtedly heard of, seen, or read about Eben Pagan in one way or another. During this time, he and his company, Get Altitude, LLC. have been all over the place, with some of the best entrepreneurial training and advice available.

A few weeks back while at the Authority Summit in Las Vegas, I was having lunch with Dave Lakhani (a genius in his own right) and a few others who were in attendance, and Eben’s name came up. Turns out, Eben is a friend of Dave’s and he was telling us about Altitude’s upcoming event. I was sitting with some of the brightest minds in the Internet Marketing world, and we all agreed that this guy is an absolute phenom. It was at that moment that I realized that I probably wasn’t the only one who had been feverishly taking notes while watching his YouTube videos.

And I thought Eben was my discovery!

I encourage you to watch his series of videos titled, “Keys to Success”, (beginning with part one shown above). They’re interesting, enlightening and dead on. Eben is a dynamo and his material is a fabulous place to start if you’re looking to significantly grow your business, no matter where you’re at right now.

I have a good friend, Lenny, who owns a very successful sports memorabilia company. He operates out of his beautiful Pasadena home with his awesome wife’s assistance. They have an incredible life filled with family, friends, travel and all the finer things that come with a level of affluence.

Recently I had a conversation with Len about creating some digital info products to both sell and to promote his business. I mentioned it to him in passing, just giving him a very low level description of the service and how I thought it could boost his business and sent along the link to eProductSource.com

Today I received an email from him and he loved the concept, but asked…”Do you think this could benefit me?” His concern was that he isn’t very tech savvy…as he said, “No i-phone, no i-book, no blackberry, I even hate my cell phone.” I chuckled at his comments…this guy is HILARIOUS in person, so it’s probably the only time he’ll just give me a chuckle.

So I replied to him, of course on my Blackberry, that YES, he’d absolutely be a prime candidate as my service could completely broaden his market by reaching the Internet base. He does incredibly well, so I told him, “unless you’re worried about too many customers!” Nice problem to have, I’d have to say.

Anyway, I know this hits home for some small biz owners, as making the jump to the online world might seem difficult. Even if you’re selling tangible goods, products, and/or services, you can broaden your market by creating digital products to supplement or overview your primary offerings.

If you have a “real” or tangible business and are looking to get involved in the online world, consider eProductSource.com. We’ll consult with you and explain how this will all work…plus we do all the heavy (tech) lifting. You just have to be able to use a phone (and no Lenny, you don’t have to use your cell!)

But this way, you get not only get into the game, but get ahead of the pack in the online business world.