Internet Marketing has changed the way people market goods and services. One of the powerful changes has been the opportunity to become an ‘authority’ in your particular niche. In the past you may have started and ran your business from a small town with only a small accessible market. Thanks to the internet you can have a global audience. Many people have built fortunes through focusing relentlessly on their particular niche.
One of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make is to try and be ‘all things to all men’. This is a great principle for relationships and how we love people, but it is not a great way to build a successful business. As an entrepreneur you have limited time, resources and skills, so it is wise to focus on what you are passionate about, what you feel led to do and what you are skilled in.
Where do you start?
Think about your business for a moment. If there is just one thing it was really good at what would it be? Consider some of these questions to determine where you would be best concentrating your efforts to build your ‘authority’.
- What is it that you love?
- What is it that you want to specialize in?
- What would you like to be known for? This is not about ego or fame, this is about what you want to build as your niche.
- Ask God – what is your calling? What is the assignment that God has for you in your short time on earth?
You may offer other products and services, but you need to differentiate yourself with just one thing.
Never before in human history has it been possible (not easy) to build authority in a niche on a global basis at such a low cost.
How do you build Authority?
Internet marketers generally like to convince you that if you buy their course or program you’ll build your authority in no time at all. It is certainly possible, but not necessarily easy and certainly not as easy as they make it out to be.
Please note that building authority has nothing to do with becoming famous and being a hero. It is about a legitimate plan to market effectively in your niche using yourself as the brand. Remember in business, people don’t just buy products they buy people. If a product is associated with someone who genuinely knows what they are talking about then the product is likely to do far better.
Let’s say you are an internet marketer and you help other small businesses to use the internet to grow their businesses. That’s great, but there is just one problem, there are thousands of other internet marketers out there. It is simply too broad. If you look at most of the internet marketing sensations they have very specific niches:
- Jeff Walker – product launch
- Ryan Deiss – traffic & conversion
- Michael Hyatt – building a Platform
Whilst many of them teach a broad range of internet marketing skills, they all are known for one thing. That one thing is what has helped them build their name and hence their business.
Here are some options:
- Blog writing about your niche – There are millions of blogs out there. So it is just not as simple as writing about your niche. You need to substantial research about your competitors, do search engine optimization keyword analysis, write regularly, and understand your audience.
- Social Media for multiplication – Social media has given literally anyone a platform to share their views. This needs to be a well planned strategy, that is tested, monitored and refined.
- Drive traffic – based on your niche.
- Branding– your business name, logo, and all your marketing materials should reflect your niche and your core brand messages. Reinforce the key message over and over.
- Leverage – the key is to determine how you can leverage our way to success.
- Content Strategy – to become an authority in your niche you need to determine what content you will produce (written, video, audio) and how often it will be produced. The internet has meant that the demand for high quality content at a low price has become even more challenging.
Below is a great model to follow for your content strategy:
Internet Marketing is itself a huge topic that we will explore further in future articles.