I found a lot of really good information about marketing in a recent article, Build Buzz With a Business Blog, written by Susan Gunelius and published on Entrepreneur on the 25 June 2010, but I would like to expand on it a little.

Sales and marketing is extremely important to the success of our business, I feel though that an extremely important ingredient to ‘building buzz with a business blog’ might be added to take the concept that Susan has provided to the next level.

What is that important ingredient?

There are two actually that immediately spring to mind – focus and innovation!  We need to ‘create’ the buzz first, once we have the buzz we can build on it further:

• Establish yourself as an expert in a particular field.
• Provide confirmation to your readers that you know and understand the topic.
• Make the predominant focus of your blog the topics covered within that particular niche.
• Think outside the box – continue to learn new ideas and try to be creative in how you implement these ideas.  Don’t stay stagnant, continue to learn, move, shake and grow.

Do you think that the customer or reader will be interested in our sales pitches unless they see us as a trustworthy and reliable source?

Do you think that it will predominately be the new reader or the returning reader that will likely purchase the product or service?

Without focus and innovation I feel that it is unlikely that our readers will become intrigued by or stay interested in what we have to say in our blog and the information that we post there.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how to create or build ‘BUZZ’ with a business blog.

I’m sure that a few of you have had times when you realised just how human you are and how easy it is to make such a small mistake in your writing or maybe have an error in judgement in a business decision we make (I know I have)… maybe you sit there pondering what to do.

I find that it is much better to *blush* admit to the mistake straight up.  We are all human and we all make mistakes, even in business.  No point in pondering the what ifs… because we can’t go back when we have already moved forwards.

The funny thing is that sometimes making a mistake or having an error in judgement can work in our favour.  “How would that possibly work in my favour?” you are probably thinking.

• Proof that you are human just like everyone else – which can be a really good thing at times.
• Gives the opportunity to work through a problem and learn new things.
• Encourages for you to feel humility and therefore be sympathetic to others needs.
• Possibility to maybe leverage new business or personal projects on those newly learned skill, the ones that have been learned through their mistakes.

Sure, there are positives and negatives to making mistakes.  I prefer to look at what positive has come from the mistake or error in judgement – and look forwards, rather than looking back.

Would love to hear your thoughts on whether mistakes are a good or a bad thing… or maybe a bit of both.

I am pondering on different niche markets and how maybe some of them could become quite expensive to blog about, depending very much on the topic of conversation. Two that I can think of right now that fit into this category are technology based blogs, (mobile phones, GPS etc) and another might be travel blogs.

My curiosity touches on the secret to providing a good quality product comparison or review, after all technology and travel can become two very expensive areas to niche in.

Is it necessary for the people behind these blogs to go out and purchase many different products to compare them?  Maybe they receive some of the products courtesy of the companies in return for a review – or maybe they have many people assisting them to write these reviews?

It would be quite impossible to write a good quality product review, comparison, or offer ‘how to’ information on a specific product without doing the necessary testing first.  The information wouldn’t be accurate without testing, would it. Without the ability to provide accurate information regarding these specific areas the readership would very much die off.  Credibility would be very quickly lost, because the reader is likely to very quickly figure out that the author hasn’t done the necessary homework and really doesn’t know what they are talking about.

Are you considering setting up a technology based blog, or maybe a travel blog, or something that will rely on your keeping up with some of the most current and expensive products?

Be creative… think outside the box… but above all make sure that you are providing accurate and current information.

I stumbled upon a blog today, iPad Zu, that offers ‘everything iPad’.

I found this really interesting… and I do wonder whether iPad is maybe a fad and will only be around for 10 years or so, or whether like the television or the mobile phone etc it is here to stay.  If it is around for years to come then this could be a real tops niche and could cover a lot, from video instructions on how to use the iPad through to blog posts on how to make the most out of the iPad.  At the moment it covers iPad reviews and its looking like it will probably cover app reviews also.  The list really is endless!!

I really enjoy my Apple Mac and iPhone and have continued to learn many new tricks to help me be even more effective.  Think I might just go and add the iPad to my wish list.  I can’t see myself getting one right now, but maybe later on down the track.  To me the iPad is something that I have an interest in, but unfortunately its not an essential for the day to day running of my business so I’m just going to have to hold off and wait a little bit I think.

There are so many things to consider when writing a blog. There is the structure, the content, the feel… plenty to think about.

Same applies to writing a book or report or any other document really.

Authenticity and Personality

I probably overuse the ellipsis (…) but that’s maybe, hopefully, my own personality and character shining through.

Don’t be too quick to get rid of your own little quirks. Your style of writing is what makes you unique and maybe it is what makes you stand out from every other writer on the planet.

Selecting a Topic

Do you write about topics that you are passionate about?

If you have limited knowledge on the topic then you will need to be prepared to either research the topic further, or pay a professional to write the blog post for you.

Have you thought about how your topic ties in with your business goals? Consider whether you can write an article series that might compliment your blog.

I find that the more that I refine my niche area the easier it becomes to think of a topic to write about.

Establish a Niche

Do any of us know it all? Do you think we will ever know it all? Nah, I don’t think so!

Instead of trying to know absolutely everything there is to know you might like to have a look at where you are focusing your business. What is your target audience? If your target audience is too broad then maybe you are not reaching your full potential.

To gain a better understand on niche marketing you might like to have a read of the following article, Have You Chosen a Niche Area Yet?

Try to Avoid Complex or Technical Words

If your target audience are unlikely to use more complex or technical type words and you want to help them, then wouldn’t it be best to use words that they don’t have to look up in the dictionary or on Google?

I prefer to really simplify my text and chat away like I am speaking with another person. For that reason I exclude words that I wouldn’t use in general conversation, eg. ‘therefore’, ‘consequently’, ‘however’.

Go Easy on the Word ‘AND’

Try not to become addicted to the word ‘and’.

Do you find yourself constantly using the word ‘and’ to string your sentences together? If your answer is yes then you might like to try and retrain yourself.

The articles should flow, but not in a way that the words flow together. To know whether the article is flowing you might consider whether the pauses in your article are sufficient – does the reader have opportunity to breath?

Used in the right way full stops and commas can add appropriate emphasis to the message you are trying to get across.

Don’t be afraid (or embarrassed) to read it out loud where there is a need.

If when I write on a particularly sensitive topic I might get worried that the flow of a sentence, paragraph, even article is not quite right. If this is the case, then you will most likely find me sitting in my office reading that part out loud, trying to tweak the sentences to get the flow right.

When editing more sensitive or complex articles, I have found this to really help me.

Consistency

Where possible keep things consistent. Some examples are below:

• Do you tend to put a full stop at the end of your bullet point? Try to do the same always.
• Same with hyphens between words, eg. sub-contractor / subcontractor.
• Try to stick with one Style, eg. US English, UK English or Australian English.

We won’t be able to get everything always 100% right, and quite honestly people won’t expect you to. It is important though to at least try and keep it as consistent as possible.

Don’t be Afraid to Publish!

When blogging or writing to a forum, or in anything that you do…

I agree that it is important to be really careful about the work that is published – especially if it is on a particular sensitive topic, but there comes a point when you really do need to decide whether you should publish or not.

If you have a habit of hardly ever publishing anything because it is simply not good enough then you might like to rethink, because this is likely to be caused by either procrastination or the need to perfect the post. If you constantly hold off from publishing content for either of these two reasons then you could possibly be holding yourself back.

For the majority of my articles I write, edit and schedule / publish them the same day. Occasionally it is necessary for me to delay publishing for a day or two to give me the opportunity to review the article with a clear mind.

Once the article is published or scheduled I go back to it straight away and have one last read just to make sure that I am happy with how it reads. This might not be the solution for everyone but it works for me.

This might be a good opportunity actually to go to your blog, and have a look in your drafts folder to see if there are any articles sitting there waiting.

Today I would like to apply the old crossing the road ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ motto to business.

If a pedestrian does not stop, look and listen then they are taking a huge risk, and there might be very unfavourable consequences. This is the same for business.

In business it is really important that we stop, have some brain clearing time, and consider where we are at right now, where we are heading and how we might get there. But it is also just as important to take action.

STOP is about pausing for an appropriate period of time, having a think about where we are at right now and where we would like to be. It is about the bigger picture goals such as:

• Preparation or review of our business plan, including short term and long term goals.
• Establishing or refining the niche area / target audience.
• Looking at and questioning our methods and our values.

LOOK both ways, to increase your chance of success. Some ways you can do this:

• Gather and analyse data.
• Research of the niche market area, technologies and other information as needed.
• Obtain feedback from clients.
• Compare notes with others.

These things allow you to stay informed and therefore make better decisions.

LISTEN to what the data tells you, what your research tells you and take into consideration what others are saying. Some things to focus on are:

• What did you figure out by analysing the data?
• What seems to be working well according to the client feedback.
• Things that aren’t working so well according to the client feedback.
• What does your research results tell you?
• Consideration of new technologies.
• Consideration of other people’s thoughts and advice.

When looking and listening remember to filter the information that is not useful to you.

The goal must be ACTION!

If a person chose never to cross the road, because maybe they were worried about the road never being 100% safe, then this person would have a different problem – they would be stuck.

Looking at and revising our business plan, business policies, procedures and methods will assist us to make more informed and intentional decisions within our business.

Move forward confidently, but also remember to ‘Stop, Look and Listen’… to review the most important aspects of your business and look at your bigger picture goals.

Two of my favourite topics, good coffee – and information!

Coffee first… I much prefer the taste of percolated and shop bought coffee.

When I set up the coffee percolator the other day I missed adding one of the parts that is absolutely critical to make good coffee – the filter.  Impatiently I waited, wondering why the coffee was taking so very long.  Yes really, it was so slow… I wasn’t just being an impatient coffee drinker.

I turned off the coffee maker and pondered on it for a moment as I swished the very dark and grainy coffee around in the bottom of the pot.  It looked very much like a swamp would look when it’s got a lot of algae… except that it was brown.

My first thought, “Oh no, my coffee machine is broken!”  I very quickly decided that nah; that absolutely could not, would not be the case and blindly went in search for the problem.

Oh dear… you have probably guessed it by now…

I had forgotten to add the plastic filter insert to the coffee percolator. That explained it.  That would definitely, 100% be the cause of dark brown coffee with chunks in it.

Rather than wasting it, I offered it around to all my family (lol, no way!!!).  Nah, I ended up disposing of the whole 10 cups (and what a waste of coffee that was).

Mmm, now to start again… add the filter… watch the coffee as it streams through to make sure it’s doing what I want for it to do this time.  Looks good… and tastes perfect!

Your probably wondering what any of this has to do with filtering information?

Think about the masses of information on the web – and offline as well actually.

Every single day we are provided many opportunities to stumble upon more and more information.  Some is really good information… some is useless… and some really just shouldn’t be out there.

Imagine if you were to take all this information in as the absolute truth.

When I ponder on this I think that I’d be a pretty mess up person if I took in all information as the absolute truth.

• I would have likely freaked out from information overload by now.
• I probably would have felt very down in the dumps having taken on everybody elses worries and their fears.
• I would probably be a hermit.
• Most likely I would be extremely paranoid about issues that people ‘hype up’.
• I wouldn’t have enough time in the day to fix everything that was wrong.

It can be simple for any of these things to take over in your life… particularly when it comes to information overload, because there is so much ‘information’ out there.

Remember that yes, there is a lot of good information on the net – but at the same time remember to:

Filter, filter, filter!

Like coffee, the critical part when you stumble upon new information is to filter this information.  Decide whether it is important to you… to your growth… your understanding… your journey.  If it is not important to your journey, then you will not be needing it – so you are free to discard this information if you choose to.

Many people’s brains automatically filter some of the useless information anyway (the info that it believes we no longer have a use for), to make room for more information.  If your brain is filtering the wrong stuff, then you might want to think about retraining it to filter the right stuff.

So the question again…

• How much of the information that you have found today will help you tomorrow?  Absorb it!
• How much can you discard?  Discard it!

Anyway, must be time for another coffee.

Deciding on a Niche Area for Your Business can be a Really Excellent Marketing Tool!

• It allows for your business to establish credibility in the field of choice through:
  -  Developing knowledge and understanding of the needs of the clientele.
  -  Being able to focus your research and training toward a particular area.

• It increases your ability to provide a quality and timely service.
  -  Good quality and timely services means happy customers.
  -  A happy customer means more referrals.

• It helps in managing expenditure, as your business will direct their purchase choices more towards servicing that area specific.
• If you own a website or blog, then your ranking will likely be higher in the search engines specific to your particular area of expertise.

The Value of Credibility

When making purchases most customers will weigh up the perceived value, or the worth of that item:

The definition of value from define.com is “The property or aggregate properties of a thing by which it is rendered useful or desirable, or the degree of such property or sum of properties; worth; excellence; utility; importance.”

The definition of credibility also from define.com is “The quality of being believable or trustworthy.” On reading these definitions, would you agree that value is very much interrelated and interconnected with credibility?

To illustrate this, if something went extremely wrong with a product, and it was published on the news and the impact of this ‘fault’ spread to the outer ends of the earth, then I would suggest that this company has lost credibility in the customers eyes.

When a business loses credibility it is very difficult for them to gain it back.  The business reputation has most likely lost it’s value… it’s worth… it’s excellence… and in the clients eyes it has lost importance.  In the customers eyes the business might be labeled as unreputable, useless or undesirable – the opposite of ‘value’.

When the Clients Hard Work Does Not Pay Off…

It is so true that many customers work extremely hard for their dollar and do not take kindly to feeling that they have been ripped off.

Being ‘ripped off’ is not solely to do with paying too much money for a product or a service.  It is quite obvious that this thought process in some people might drive some individuals to purchase the cheaper of the two products.  A quality service will out way a ‘cheap’ service or product for many people.  The thought process is extremely varied in what each individual considers to be ‘value’.

A feeling that you have been ‘ripped off’ can also be linked to a product or service being faulty or sub-standard.  There is then a need for either the provider, or their client to invest more to have the problems or errors fixed and it links directly back to the poor service or product delivery of the provider.

…and Quality Fails,

In some industries ‘faulty’ or ’sub-standard’ could have the weight of being detrimental to the provider, the client or the end user.  An example of this would be the work that is done by an electrician.

Would a person not be looking for an expert to complete their electrical work?  The works is likely to be completed to current standards, greatly decreasing the likelihood of things going wrong.

The Client Suffers Big Time.

If something did go wrong either when the work was done, or further down the track and the client had engaged the services of a qualified electrician to do this job, then it is likely the client will be covered by insurance.

If this client had decided at the time that it was much cheaper to get their unqualified, but maybe knowledgeable friend to do this job, then it will be very unlikely that their insurance would cover them if anything were to go wrong.

So Establish a High Quality and Timely Service.

An electrician can establish even more credibility by providing a high quality and timely service.  To improve on their service delivery an electrician might consider focusing his or her expertise to a particular area within the industry.

The electrician completes further studies so that he understands the ins and outs… the workings of the air conditioner and the cabling to the outside box.  He also establishes himself in this line of work and eventually he is installing on average 5 air conditioners per day.

Would your preference be to hire the above electrician who is very highly skilled and trained in the area, or would you hire the electrician who installs maybe on air conditioner every 6 months.

This is just one example.  You can probably think of many other areas that an electrician might be needed for a specific job.

Ensuring Not to Provide a Service that is Counterproductive.

Would a real estate agent looking for a ghostwriter likely engage the services of any old ghostwriter?  I don’t think so!  Would they even consider paying a ghostwriter if it was possible that what the ghostwriter would produce would likely foster a poor image for their real estate business.  This would be counterproductive!

The real estate agent would likely seek out someone who is good at writing and also interested in topic.  The real estate agent would be looking for someone who understands their market, their clients, and also has knowledge of what content is going to help their real estate business to grow and expand.

Build your Reputation by Funneling your Time, Effort and Money to the Right Places.

Say two of the brides friends provide a recommendation for a good photographer to cover their upcoming wedding.

When the bride goes to individually meet these photographers it is obvious that the first of these two photographers dabbles in a bit of everything.  His portfolio is quite impressive and covers all areas.  There is one, maybe two photos included in his portfolio that are of a wedding party.  His portfolio is good, but you can tell that he does not cover a lot of weddings.

When you meet the second photographer it is obvious that they have niched their business to cater specific to wedding photography.  They quite proudly show you their wedding portfolio, which is full of absolutely stunning shots of the wedding party.  The photographer goes out of his way to provide you with possible locations for the wedding shoot, he shows you equipment that he has purchased to cater for a specific wedding need.  There are extras that he provides that the first photographer did not. The wedding photographer offers a package, and the price is fixed and will not change.

It’s possible that the price seems to be higher for the second photographer, who is niched as a wedding photographer.

Even if this is the case I am absolutely certain that this wouldn’t be the only consideration that the bride and groom might take into account.

Actually… when it comes to their wedding I know many many people who have or would look past the price… and would hire the second photographer and not the first, just because of his stunning portfolio, his knowledge, plus the additional and fixed services that he provides.

Make SEO Work for You

The bonus to refining your expertise is that you also have the ability to refine the key words that are attached to your blog and to your website.  If done right then you can greatly increase your chances of attracting customers seeking out your particular skill set.

In refining your key words to suit your niche the chances of your becoming lost amongst your peers (others in your industry) is greatly decreased.

Establishing a Niche Means More Referrals.

You might have noticed that businesses tend to develop a network within their own industry.  Virtual Assistants hang out with Virtual Assistants, same with bookkeepers and accountants, same with speakers… the list goes on.  Can you see how this might be of advantage to you? It means that your target market are much more likely to be around you and to notice you.  Your chances are also increased of receiving referrals to your target market.

A Happy Customer!

Your reputation, your credibility and whether people know you is what will assist you to expand and to grow your business.  To offer that refined knowledge and expertise to your clients means that your competition is reduced.  It also means that you will likely undergo additional training in the appropriate areas and be able to further refine your expertise so that you can service your clients even better.

So again I ask the question “Have You Chosen a Niche Area Yet?”  If not I hope that I have got you thinking!

There are a good many people who have consciously made the decision to set up an online business for the flexibility that it has on offer.  It might be so that they were able to spend more time with family and friends.  It might also be so that they could spend more time or money on their hobby, or maybe it is so they are able to travel the world without time limits and really absorb the culture, scenery and experiences that the country has to offer.  The vision for their online business might be to do what they love while earning enough cash (and maybe a bit extra) through their business to fund those activities or adventures that interest them… or simply to balance their budget and provide more flexibility and balance to life.

Today, I would like to talk about those who seem to constantly have the travel bug… they just can’t seem to be able to shake it… and they might have pondered on whether there was a job that offered flexibility to those who wish to travel and constantly enjoy new experiences, without the need to organize a working visa, or having to return to their home country in order to earn more money ready for the next trip.

If a person is willing to put in the hours required to establish a professional blog it can in the longer term provide them the opportunity and flexibility to travel and at the same time do those things that they have always wanted to… always dreamed of doing, without the restraints that come with a job which must be completed on-site and within set hours.  An online business could be the ultimate to those who seem to constantly have the ‘travel bug’ if set up right.

Founder and Chief Editor, David Lee started GoBackpacking.com back in 2007 when he decided to trade his stable lifestyle and well paying job for the unknown, because of the experience and fun that it had to offer.  David’s plan was to backpack around the world and tell everyone about his adventures… a bit like a travel journal I suppose, he has already visited 22 countries in 20 months.  A couple of weeks ago he returned from his first press / social media trip, it was to Rwanda.

Owning an online business means that a person can work from just about anywhere… as long as you have a laptop, access to electric (to charge your computer) and an internet connection (to upload and update business information).  For example, a year from now… if you are a motivated type of person and decided that you did want to take the step toward professional blogging, then there is a possibility that a year from now you might be sitting at a cafe or a hotel room in Europe… or maybe Germany… or how about China; sharing with 100’s or even 1000’s of readers this awesome adventure that you went on just yesterday.

Thinking of Traveling?

So maybe you are thinking of traveling soon, and are interested in reading a bit more about David’s travels… which include tips and hints for traveling, information and experiences relating to the places that David has been, information about budgeting and all of those other things you can think of that could relate to travel.  If so, you might like to check out David’s blog, GoBackpacking.com.

Interest in Becoming a Successful Travel Blogger

Maybe you have the travel bug yourself, and have decided that you have a real interest in this particular niche area.  Maybe you already travel and have been blogging for a while… maybe it is set up as a professional blog but you would like to establish this blog more successfully, or maybe you had originally set it up for fun and would now like to look at monetizing on it.

If this is you, then you might like to consider visiting Travel Blog Success which is a training program written by David Lee.

How can David benefit Travel Companies?

Travel Companies might consider sponsoring David’s ventures and adventures in some way, shape or form.  Some things to consider are the Go Backpacking advertising or review (see the ‘advertising’ page on his blog)… and of course the possibility to offer travel opportunities in return for coverage through Go Backpacking and through other social media.

It probably wasn’t obvious to you as a reader up until now that this blog is destined to become a blog about niche marketing.

Through discussions with other business owners in the last few years I have come to know and understand just how important a niche is to growing ones business.  This comes on a number of different levels.

I have come to realize is that it is much harder to promote your business to ‘the world’, but much easier to promote yourself to a smaller, much more defined group of people.  In addition to this it gives you a really good opportunity to prove to them why you are a cut above the rest; what sets your business apart from all those other businesses in that field of expertise.

I myself have finally decided on a niche area for my parent company Proactive Admin Services, and are already starting to guide my business in that direction.  My niche area will be to provide administrative assistance to Speakers.  We have plenty to do… we will need to look at updating our website, training and development, marketing etc.

What we are hoping is that through Virtual Marketeers we will be able to help you with the following:

1. Provide information about niche ideas and marketing so people who stumble upon this site, who do not yet have a defined niche might realize what an important marketing tool this might be to their business… hopefully earlier rather than later;
2. We would also like to ‘connect’ you and your business with other readers that provide both the same and different services or products. Some… or maybe all of these products or services that are promoted will be innovative and some of them will hopefully really capture your attention; and
3. To provide the opportunity to other readers to endorse products or services which they have had a really positive experience with by providing a product review or comment.  Of course it will need to be obvious that you are completely separate from the business that you are reviewing, or providing the comment for.

Maybe you provide MYOB Training services, or  ‘Unusual’ Party Cakes, or online scrapbooking courses… whatever your niche, I encourage you to contact me via the Contact Us Page.

Publication of articles is at the moment a free service.

Please note, the content in your article will be screened for quality purposes.  Because of this may not be published.  The articles published will only be those of a professional standard.  They are subject to the publishers approval and are, amongst other things, to be free from blatant advertising and explicit materials.  In no way do I endorse these articles, I am simply offering them as an informational base for my readers.  If you wish for me to personally review a product please contact me by visiting the Contact Us page.

Oh, and by the way, if you wish to receive my free newsletter update, which will provide you with some tips, articles, offer coupons, great deals and tools then please do so now… the subscriber form is up the top and to the right of this blog post.

Feel free to check out the following articles on niche marketing if you would like to know and understand more about niche marketing:

What is Niche Marketing?

Virtual Assistant in Niche Areas