DareDevil Marketing

This is easily one of the most potent internet marketing strategies there is.  Perfect this strategy and even if you literally shot yourself in the foot, there’s really know way you’ll fail.  Your foot would hurt like hell but at least you’d be able to afford to buy new shoes with the money you’d be making.

One way to break into a market, a niche…whatever…that you’re unfamiliar with is to seek out experts that already exist in that field and interview them or even make them a business partner.  Package the interviews in an information product such as a book, guide, or course in written format, audio format, video format, or a mixture of them all and you will have a great product that your target market should be interested in, considering all other variables equal. That’s a great strategy that can be used to enter a market cheaply and efficiently and there are dozens of resources that explain how to go about doing that in great detail.

However, there’s another way to go about entering a market and grabbing up your target demographics’ trust and respect (two essential factors that must be in place before you can sell to them 99.99% of the time).

Create your own Market/Niche Expert.

When I started in marketing online, I knew that I’d have to play to my strengths because my weaknesses were many.  I couldn’t (and still cant!) program or design.  I had no money or marketing experience.

But what I could do is write.  In fact, to this day I can’t bring myself to outsource any writing other than basic site content that will serve as little more than spider food and basic information on the niche for my target market.

Note: I’m NOT saying that YOU should do all your writing as I do, unless you really want to.  Writing can be a thankless, time-consuming chore at times but for some reason, I happen to love it.  On the other hand, writing for some people is less enjoyable than peeling off their fingernails. However you may feel about writing, hear me out because I’m getting to a point here…

Even when I do outsource writing tasks, I often find myself editing what I get back well beyond simple proofreading and tweaking. Mind you, I’m not doing this because the material contained excessive grammatical mistakes, was not adequately researched, or was simply not written well.

I do this because when I “zero in” on a market (as opposed to a niche) that has what I believe to be potential for long-term profitability, I believe it’s important that any and every piece of content must resonate a consistent “voice.”

Every article, email, video, blog post, sales letter, .special report pdf file, and forum post (on the rare occasions I bother with the tedious process of developing a reputable forum presence for a market) will echo consistent “signatures” of subtle, yet recognizable nuances that constantly reinforces the “human” behind the product(s) being offered. It’s important to note that I never use my own identity but rather create a character – or pen name, if you prefer. After all, the primary determinant of authority is typically based the perception they are an “expert” in that area.

So while I do my best to learn a great deal about whatever market I’m targeting, I could never hope to become what anyone would call an “expert.”

But my pen name can.

So it’s vital that all content is created with these embedded personality traits sprinkled in throughout the marketing process and even beyond, since I certainly want to sell to these people again and again.  Each character/pen name I create is unique so the details vary, but typically I’ll selectively repeat a certain phrase each time the content deems it applicable.  Consider how most people have certain phrases they say so much that it becomes an expected – even if unconsciously so – part of conversation with them.  It’s the same concept.  I’ll also pre-determine one or two “hot buttons” about the niche that I will then make sure that the pen name/character seems to always be more passionate about.  If I’m in the lawn care and landscaping markets I may have the pen name/character post a little more passionately and a little more often on how he/she can’t understand why they always over seed their lawn.

It doesn’t take long for the target audience being repeatedly exposed to all the “Never Before Released” information my expert pen name/character is sharing via his blog, his email newsletters, his forum posts, his downloadable “special reports,” his Twitter, his Facebook, his MySpace, and his YouTube account.

So it’s important to learn as much as I can about the audience I’m targeting and pay close attention to their interests, problems, and any other information they so freely (even if unknowingly) disclose anywhere and everywhere they are able to find a voice online.

Such nuances range from occasionally dropping in certain key phrases that will eventually stand out in the readers’ minds as “something he/she always says.”  Though I do this sparingly in order to avoid the practice from becoming transparent, I have had several readers and subscribers point out on occasion how something my created expert has deemed a “pet peeve” make them think back about “his” blog even when they are far away from their computer.

An example of this would be if I had entered a niche market in the immense weight loss market.  So in this example, I start a blog written by “character” that my target audience can relate to as something of a peer, yet remain to be enough of an “authority” on the subject for them to actually trust the material.

Trust in the character > Trust in the material > Trust in the recommendations > Increased affiliate sales and/or sales of whatever product created and marketed to the demographic.

It’s as easy as that.

Anyway, back to the example: a “character” that I created for a weight loss blog may be a woman in her mid-thirties that has a couple of children.  Being that we are going for a character that is relatable to our target market, this may be perfect if we are targeting a demographic comprised of women in their late 20s to mid-forties, perhaps married, and likely have children.  Therefore my character fits right in there.  She’s also old enough to have acquired a great deal of knowledge on the subject.*

Now, there will be detractors that state that this is somehow dishonest.  I disagree vehemently.  After all, traditional marketers have been doing this for decades.  Just take a look at Betty Crocker, Mr. Clean, and even the Jolly Green Giant.  While those are elementary examples of my point, one only had to reflect on a scenario in which Betty Crocker was pitted against some guy you’ve never heard of in a “Cooking Tips Competition.”  Who’s cooking tips do you think the public would more likely listen to, if all else was equal.  Betty Crocker would kick the crap out of that guy any day of the week.

So what’s someone that can’t or won’t write to do?  There are several solutions and all are pretty painless:

1) Speak to your outsourced writers about what you want.  Any good writer will be able to, at some level, be able to put a helpful bit of emphasis on a certain “voice” in their writing.  Like I said, its nothing more than a character in a story, really.  Once you have a writer that can nail it, pay them well and keep them for as long as possible.

2) Get an actual expert, or as close to an expert as you can afford.  For example, you’re entering the winter sports market and, more specifically, the snowboarding niche.  Your target demographic is snowboarders in their 20s and you plan on selling recommended products such as snowboards, boots, accessories, etc.  If you live in the southern US like I do, its highly unlikely you’ll ever be considered an authority on the subject. Additionally, it’s highly doubtful you’ll be able to convince a professional snowboarder to write your blog.  But what about a snowboard instructor?  Or even a twenty-something that is into snowboarding; that knows how they talk, what they think is cool, and what they look for when they shop for products.

It’s all psychological.  It’s not enough that you’re giving great information anymore.  To really rise above the ambient noise of online chatter, you’ve got to give your target audience someone relatable, likable, and authoritative on your subject matter.

Create your own market expert.  It works every time.

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