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!