Most newbies to affiliate marketing tend to skip the first and most important part to finding the right niche.
Believe it or not, the most important thing is to get to know your market! "Market" can sound like some cold business term, but with affiliate home business marketing, the word should be pulsing with life. Why, you might ask? It's simple, because a market is just people, lots and (hopefully lots and lots) of people.
My dad had a wonderful friend who happened to be Sir Fletcher Jones. He was one of the most important clothing manufacturers in Australia. He made superb quality suits out of merino ( our famous Australian sheep) wool.
However, Fletcher Jones was not just an ordinary man. He was a self-made man, who, after being forced to retire from the army due to a war injury, was left with the choice of a semi-existence on an army pension.
He however, being the man he was, made other choices. He decided to keep trying to overcome his difficulty and although not a hundred percent fit, went all around the hot bush towns of Western Victoria and began to sell rolls of cloth in the travelling markets. From selling cloth, he got the idea to make suits himself, firstly, on a small scale and then, he began to manufacture the highest quality suits and trousers. He finally had factories in more than one State.
His factory was not just a working place, it was a second-home to his employees. He was attentive to, and improved the workers' conditions. He even developed beautiful gardens with a little lake around the factory, so that when the tired workers streamed out of the factory at lunch break, they were able to throw themselves down on the newly mown lawns and immerse themselves in the beauty of the grounds. I remember, as our high school bus passed his factory on the way home from school, we would see the grounds filled with mothers and fathers and children all picnicking. It always seemed like a feast day!
In fact, people would line up outside the gates, just to get the privilege of to working there.
Fletcher's customer service was the best. He prided himself in his concern for every single customer. He had a special department where a customer could go in and get the off-the-hook suits tapered and fitted to each individual body shape and size. The customer was King.
To return to my point, I would often listen as Sir Fletcher chatted leisurely with my dad on the front porch overlooking the river. One day, my father asked him a question which I will remember to the end of my days. It was this.
"If you could sum up your success in one word, what would it be?" I was a teenager, and I thought "Mr Jones" would say something like putting money into the company, working long hours or believing in himself, or just get those employees to give their ounce of flesh. (I mean how could someone be so successful without being ruthless!)
His answer surprised me. He looked thoughtfully into the air, but the answer was clear and definite.
"People," he said. " Business and making money is all about people. Treat people with respect. Treat them like family. Be interested in them. Look after them, and the profits will come."
I have often pondered that, and thought how right he was. Affiliate home business is no different.
It is the people who count. You must get to know them as well as your next door neighbour (if you live in a country town!)
You can do this, by asking yourself some questions. If you ask these questions the shadowy feeling of the word customers will come alive with faces and forms, lines, wrinkles, smiles and hope.
These are the questions.
• Who are these people to whom I wish to sell? What are their desires, concerns and interests?
• What problem do these people have that I could solve?
• Do they burn with a passion that I can foster?
• What do they want to buy?
• Why do they want to buy it?
• Are these people already active? Can I find them on ezines, on forums or blogs?
• Do these people already know they have a problem? ( I don't have to convince them )
• Are they interested in something that is not seasonal so you have more sales potential? (e.g. Santa Claus suits can be sold once a year!)
• Are they already discussing and talking about their problems or passion on forums so that I can get ideas for keywords, and understand the way they talk so that I can talk to them in their own jargon?
• Are these people not only online already, but are they actually buying things online?
Once you have answered these questions, ask yourself. "If I sat down and had a coffee with these people, what would they talk about? What question would they ask me? What could I really do to help them and serve them?"
That, in the end, is where your focus should be. As Sir Fletcher Jones told my father that memorable day many years ago.
" It's all about People! And when you get the People Part right, the Profits will flow in."
I have finally found a company that is "People Conscious."
If you go to my site, http://www.yoursuccessmaster.com I will let you in on the secret!
Hear what people are saying about their program.
Taught Advertising "Strategic Design" degree,
University, Perugia, Italy.
Education Expert.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elena_Rogers
