*NOTE* You may have read about using some of these techniques before so I cannot take credit for all of this information being completely unique. However, this stuff works for me and you’ll most likely find that it will work for you as well and save you a ton of time to boot.

Here’s a few methods that I employ to discover *EXACTLY* what my target markets want:

1) Searching for my relevant keywords in Yahoo Answers to see what people are asking about (answers may contain links that can net you research material for creating reports used as opt-in incentives and even full-fledged information products as well).

2) Browsing through forums related to my niche and becoming familiar with recurring problems members are talking about and then finding a solution.

(Note: just because these members are talking about the problem doesn’t necessarily make them your target audience to which you want to market. You can pretty much guarantee that any forum dedicated to a niche will have several resident “experts” and “regulars” that will eat you up and spit you out if you try to sell your product there. To be safe, just leave the forums alone except for researching into looking for problems to address and finding research material to help you develop your own, unique product. There are plenty of other ways to promote your products without spamming forums.)

3. Yahoo Groups and Google Groups – same thing as above.

4. Major sites and blogs in your niche – what are they talking about? If they have a lot of traffic, you can pretty much guarantee that they know for certain that any topics they address frequently are “hot topics” for their site visitors. Take Consumerist.com, for example. If you’ve ever visited it you’ll probably know for certain that they constantly beat up on several companies as much as possible including BestBuy, Comcast, American Express, and just about every airline and cell phone company. And their regular visitors EAT IT UP.

So you could take note of those hot spots and then search around for any “loopholes” or “hidden savings” that may be posted there about those companies. Then go search for those companies’ names in places like Digg, Mixx, Reddit, Propeller, etc. and look for bookmarked sites that may reveal that kind of info as well. People LOVE to share that kind of information on companies on their blogs and sites. Compile all of this info and rewrite it and you can have a report or even entry-level information product with this title in no time:

“17 Leaked Confessions of Best Buy Insider Shows How to Save Thousands on Hundreds of Items”

(ok, the headline needs work but it’ll do for this example )

5. Set up feeds from places like Google News, Yahoo News, Technorati, etc to display news items relevant to your market. You can use this news for material to update a blog you have in that niche/market, to use as a launching pad of ideas for information products, and even to identify your competition by monitoring their press releases and other promotional criteria. Yahoo Pipes is a great tool for this but there are dozens of others as well.

The point I want to iterate that making your own, unique, and valuable information products can be so EASY and FAST and will sell hundreds of times better than material that’s likely been over-used to death and back.

For example, my video skills suck. They suck so bad that it really isn’t really right to describe them as “skills.” In addition to my videos skills being so horrible, they are not alone: my graphic design skills are atrocious and my programming skills are…well, non-existent.

Actually any kind of skill that demands that the outcome is aesthetically-pleasing has completely passed me by. Simply put: I lack all ability to make something look nice.

However, for all my shortcomings, I’m actually pretty good at figuring out what my target audience wants. And I’ve learned that if you give them that, they will forgive your lack of design skills.

So when I make a video for YouTube, it’s often nothing more than a series of still images or frames stuck together in – more often than not – Windows Movie Maker. Unless I’m severely mistaken, Movie Maker comes standard in all Windows editions from XP to the upcoming Windows 7. In case you happen to have lost yours, you can get a Beta version here.

Most of the slides I stick in my movies are of relevant images and text that I create in Adobe Fireworks. Of course, Photoshop can be used for this as well and if you happen not to have photo-editing software, you can grab a free copy of Gimp which will handle this simple task quite easily.

I use these videos for product reviews, general information, and even announcements of upcoming product/service releases that I’m promoting. Link your YouTube video to your squeeze page and make your target audience a great offer and its literally list-building on auto-pilot.

Windows Movie Maker also allows you to overlap sound as well, and I like to use the open-source software Audacity to tweak my intro/outro samples just right. As for what music to use, I typically use some upbeat music I find by searching the dozens of royalty-free, commercially-usable music depos out there. Techno-ish music typically works very well but make sure you match your music to your content appropriately.

Sometimes I don’t even use music and just record my voice over the slides using a microphone and Audacity.

Or I use Camtasia or other screen-capture software such as CaptureFox.

The point is that making YouTube videos is seriously simple stuff.

If I can do it and get great traffic then you can too. There’s really nothing to it and once you’ve done it a couple of times, you can bust out one or two videos and have them live in less than an hour.

Seriously.

In fact, in the time it takes for me to fumble my way through this post, I could have had two new videos live pointing traffic to one of my websites.

One way that I make my videos go the “extra mile” for me is by re-using them over and over in a non-spammy way.

Now, understand that YouTube is not a fan of this practice since, ideally, they’d like to limit the amount of identical videos they host as much as possible.

However, if people are searching for blue widgets they may totally miss out on a video related to all widgets, including blue widgets, if it’s not properly optimized for the term “blue widgets.” The same goes for people looking for yellow widgets, red widgets, green widgets, and son on. So it only makes sense to optimize the same video for each term you are targeting, thus helping more visitors find your relevant video (and thus, website). Hense, you will have a video titled “Red Widgets” and another titled, “Blue Widgets” – all using the same actual video.

Without getting caught, of course. And that has proven to be quite easy as long as you take minimal precautions.

First, you want to alter the file name of the actual video each time you upload it. For example, I want to use the video titled “Widgets.flv” that’s currently sitting on my desktop. Well, the first thing I have to do is open up Windows Movie Maker (or any other video editing program) and, after adding a watermark with my domain, I’ll make a final “splash page” that says something like “For more information on bargain Blue Widgets visit www.yourbluewidgetsite.com” or whatever you want. This screen is very important.

In the time editor, make the screen stay there for at LEAST 30 seconds after the actual video has ended. Why? Because most people will notice there is at least 30 seconds left in the video and will sit there and wait for what happens next…all while staring at your blue widget domain name.

I get soooo much type-in traffic this way it’s ridiculous.

After you’re done editing the video file, rename it to “BlueWidget.flv” or anything else that makes it unique from all the other versions of the video you’re going to be uploading.

Upload it to the YouTube account you’ve created solely for the purpose of promoting widgets and be sure to use your main keyword as the title of the video. You can add a few more words to make the video more compelling (ex: Blue Widget Secrets, Blue Widget Expert Explains How to Get 55 mpg on Your Blue Widget, etc.) just make sure that your keyword is at the beginning of the title.

Now, repeat this process for every one of your target keywords, taking great care to vary the length of time that the last screen plays after the video ends. This time difference will throw off YouTube’s surprisingly efficient video recognition software that is set up to detect duplicates. I’ve extended that last screen out to nearly 5 minutes more than a few times. Hey, whatever works, right?

As an added layer of protection against duplicate video flagging, you can use software to change the file format to make them unique. For example, you can upload “Blue Widgets” video in .flv and the “Red Widgets” video in mpeg-2.

Keep switching it up whenever and however you can. The less your pattern is detectable, the less likely your videos will be needlessly flagged and possibly deleted by YouTube’s overzealous software.

Remember, your *main* account should be the name of your website and/or your product.

If you choose to make multiple accounts, name them your target keywords. I typically do something like this:

Say you have 5 major keywords you want to target. We’ll call them kw1, kw2, kw3, kw4, and kw5.

So you’ll have your main account with 5 videos. Video 1 will be named kw1, Video 2 would be named kw2, and so on…

With your other accounts, you would name them as follows:

Account 1 named kw1 – two videos named kw5, kw4
Account 2 named kw2 – two videos named kw3, kw1
Account 3 named kw3 – two videos named kw2, kw1

and so on…

Do some keyword research on Google’s Keyword Tool and find variations of your target keywords that get good traffic, but not so much you can’t rank for it. Make your videos that exact keyword. Put plenty of keywords in the tags and write up keyword rich, unique descriptions. MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR WEBSITE LINK AT THE VERY TOP OF YOUR DESCRIPTION. Don’t make them go digging for it.

***IMPORTANT***

If you’re planning on using multiple accounts, be aware that YouTube is SEVERELY cracking down on this tactic. You have to use a fresh proxy for each account. There’s a whole art to doing this and I’ll try to answer questions as best as I can but I won’t give ANY GUARANTEE that you account won’t be banned. If you want to be safer than sorry, just stick to one account and upload videos titled with different keywords.

Lastly, YouTube is constantly chasing after the spammers and constantly updating their security measures and protocols with no warning. Remember, its owned by Google now so it should come as no shock at all that their disclosure policy on such issues are exactly the same: no disclosure.

Just keep pegging away and you’ll find what works for you.

Cutting through the cereal aisle, I stopped in my tracks at what I saw and even had to stop and snap a picture of it with my phone.

A single balloon had been tied to the shelf and, as you can see, a Publix employee had demonstrated (whether intentionally or not) a stroke of marketing genius.

There were no other balloons on the rest of the aisle and so after grabbing my coffee I scanned all the other aisles looking for balloons as well.  None to be found.

So why the balloon for the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes?  Was it THAT GOOD of a sale?  Even though these days a box of name-brand cereal for less than $2 is certainly a bargain (some are like $6!!!) I honestly think that they may have simply run out of the Publix-themed sales tags for this item and one quick-thinking employee or manager stepped up to the plate with the balloon.

But that’s not the point.

In fact, the balloon isn’t even the point.  Balloons have been used in promotions for decades.  All you have to do is look at just about any car dealership on a Saturday if you want to see a ton of balloons.

The point is that it was unexpected, effective, and unobtrusive marketing.  Those are three key points that made people flock to those Frosted Flakes even more than lovable ol’ Tony the Tiger in this particular instance.

Unexpected – Nobody expects a balloon to be hanging from the supermarket shelf so it definitely grabbed the attention.  There was not one person that didn’t stop to read what was written on it.  This is the same psychological trigger that beckons us to strain our eyes to read the banners being pulled behind airplanes while at the beach.

Effective – Like I said before, $2 for a box of name-brand cereal is nothing to sneer at these days.  That’s a pretty good deal if you’re one of those parents that like to hop your kids up on processed sugar first thing in the morning.  My point: no matter how good every other variable is, no marketing is effective if its not somehow a good deal for the customer, whether that good deal is price, convenience, content, or otherwise.

Unobtrusive – If I had a great deal and I hired some call center to randomly call your cell phone about it, your knee-jerk reaction is to tell that telemarketer to get bent.  Somehow, telemarketing still works to at least some degree or I wouldn’t be getting offers for extended car warranties on my mobile phone each week.  However, the vast majority of people abhor telemarketing with all of their soul.  Why?  It’s obtrusive.  But there’s nothing obtrusive about a balloon hanging onto a shelf in a grocery store.  In fact, it’s downright pleasant and cheerful.  This makes me ask myself the question, “How obtrusive is my marketing and what can I do to make it more pleasant?”

Take a few minutes every now and then to step back and give your marketing a truly objective observation to gauge, among everything else important, just how unexpected, effective, and unobtrusive it is.  By added a dash or so of each of those three elements, how much more effective can your marketing become?

From grocery stores stocking their cereal aisles with the sugary kids’ cereals right at childrens’ eye level to “Girls Gone Wild” commercials repeating ad nauseum on Comedy Central after 10 pm night after night…it’s all marketing.

And it’s all psychological.

Using psychology properly in marketing is an exercise in finding the “sweet spot” where truthfulness and efficacy merge.  However, as you know many marketers – both online and offline – aren’t aware this point exists and are thus willing to cross nearly any ethical barriers to make a sale.

I’ve used this particular strategy with many of my unused domains for a couple of years now as a way to gather valuable marketing data, build lists in markets I’ve never before stepped foot in, and even to make money marketing to those lists.

Without ever building an actual website, or blog.  Just a simple landing page.

With all other variables equal (traffic, keywords, etc.) this method can thousands of times more profitable (and fun!) than parking your domain at Sedo or using Google’s Adsense for Domains service.

But I believe the *real* take-away lesson is in understanding the psychology behind why it works so well.

It’s because it involves actually TELLING YOUR WEBSITE VISITOR TO GO AWAY – THAT THEY DON’T BELONG THERE.

People want what they can’t have…even if they don’t know what the hell it is!

I admit it…if I’m intrigued by something then I’m the same way; if something catches my interest and I’m suddenly told that I can’t learn more about it, then that just makes me want to learn about it that much more.

But just the opposite is true as well:

If something is offered freely and openly to where the perception of value is diminished, then it will never be viewed as valuable…until it’s taken away, of course. The air we breathe is a good example of this. You’re using it without even thinking of it; taking it for granted. But if it were suddenly to be removed for some reason, getting it back would likely become very high on your list of priorities very quickly.

My point:

Always, always, always incorporate some level of scarcity into your marketing.

Always.

Since it’s human nature for people to want what they can’t have, then why not have human nature do all the hard work in your marketing? After all, it sure beats trying to talk people out of their money…

I’ve never made more than a few pennies a day at parking domains with conventional methods that display pseudo-relevant ads on them. Lots of people do, I’m sure, but there’s a whole methodology to it that I can’t be bothered to learn because I’m just not interested in that business model.

So this is what I do to make money from domains that I occasionally pick up that I haven’t yet had time to develop:

1) I create a small squeeze page out of a quick Wordpress install by throwing on a single column theme.

2) Some quick keyword research should yield 3 to 4 keywords that I would most want to target for the upcoming site.

3) I use those keywords in the headers (with <h2> tags, of course) for a three or four paragraph squeeze page-esque lander that I’ve placed on the Wordpress install.

4) I’ll use (or don’t use) images relevant to the niche. Sometimes images help, sometimes they hurt. I just make sure the page itself is clean with no sidebars or other distractions.

5) I’ll then throw in an opt-in form: name and email address.

6) Biggest Takeaway: I make the short content slightly ominous to raise curiosity. I always try to make it seem like when the visitor gets there, they happened to stumble on something that they shouldn’t have. Like they found some kind of back door or loophole.

7) I use Aweber (my favorite) to handle my list and autoresponder. The confirmation page should confirm their double opt-in and then redirect them to a relevant offer or a “review page” of several offers. Since I use a pre-existing Wordpress install for this method, I use the EasyRedirect plugin.

8 ) Not only does this allow me the chance to make some cash from the affiliate offers on the review site, I also get a targeted list to market to as well. I like to set up autoresponder messages that are sent out once every three days or so that shoot out PLR articles relevant to the topic and hit them with another offer every week or two weeks or so.  If and when I finally get around to developing the site, I’ve already got a targeted audience that I can announce it to for traffic and – more interestingly – to poll to hear what they’d like on a site like that.  Bang!  Instant content ideas.

9) I’ll also perform some basic SEO and linkbuilding whenever I have the spare time. Nothing fancy; the usual stuff like social bookmarking, making a squidoo page or hub about it, submitting a few articles, throwing up a relevant slide show video or whatever. Doing this, some of my “sites” like this that I may never get around to developing net me a few hundred a month as well as dozens or more opt-ins a week. Even better, many times they end up ranking higher in the search engines for their target keywords than developed, more established sites (YMMV, of course).

Here’s a crude example:

You bought the domain: DirtyBabyDiapers.com on impulse only to later figure out that you either don’t know what to do with it or you simply don’t have time to mess with it right now.

So you go and do some quick keyword research to see what derivative keywords are netting some search traffic.  Your standards may vary, but I look for at least 3,000 to 5,000 searches a month unless I have a very specific reason to go lower.  I’m not awfully concerned with competition for these terms because they are always long-tail terms and I’ve found that with enough time and elbow grease, the #1 spot can be taken for nearly any long-tail keyword.

Example keywords:

1. Dirty Baby Diapers
2. Dirty Diapers
3. How to Change Diapers

(no, I didn’t research this. It’s just an example)

Your squeeze page content could look something like this:

We’re still unpacking DirtyBabyDiapers.com! Remember, this is an “invite-only” site so if you somehow stumbled across this page by accident, then please navigate away now. If you’re looking for other great stuff on dirty baby diapers you can find that here. <-(link to product review page with affiliate links)

If you were invited, you need to enter your name and a valid email address that you check daily so you get the daily updates reserved for all invitees!

[Opt-in Form: Name, Email]

Important Note! Remember to keep the release of DirtyBabyDiapers.com a secret! DirtyBabyDiapers.com is the world’s first look inside the secret methods of expert diaper changers and the tactics they use to get cheap diapers up to 90% off retail price. The minute this information gets out to the masses, it won’t be valuable anymore!

Dirty baby diapers are a mess! (<- paragraph header enclosed in <h2> tags)

[Short, keyword-rich paragraph about how dirty baby diapers are a mess]

Dirty Diapers will Ruin Your Life! (<- paragraph header enclosed in <h2> tags)

[Short, keyword-rich paragraph about how dirty diapers will ruin your life]

How to Change Diapers and Keep Your Hands Poo-Free! (<- paragraph header enclosed in <h2> tags)

[Short, keyword-rich paragraph about how to change diapers]

The footer of your page should link to a privacy policy and/or “Terms of Service” page that clearly states you’re collecting their information. Make it non-descript, but make sure that it’s not invisible.

This strategy isn’t anything super-secret or earth-shattering, but it does work and I can almost guarantee that it’s much, much better option for you on domains that you plan on developing one day (or even if you don’t).

You get:

1) The chance to get indexed in the search engines as well as some valuable initial aging; maybe even pretty good ranking as well.  At the very least, you can burn through the dreaded “sandbox” time without sweating it too much because you’re busy with other things.

2) A list to market to, to poll, and to announce the upcoming site to.  Anyone that has ever excitedly launched a brand new website only to be met with the deafening sound of crickets chirping for weeks after launch can appreciate how valuable this benefit will be.

3) The chance to grab some quick cash from the affiliate offers you’re recommending on your product review page as well as through your emails to your list.

Admittedly, this probably applies more to those selling “internet marketing” type products more than anything else but if you ever find yourself in the position where you need to make a simple screencast and don’t need Camtasia or don’t have the extra cash for it just yet* try out CaptureFox. I’ve used it a few times and I think it’s pretty good for quick screencasts.

*(Camtasia is worth every penny, IMO so grab it up after you start making some sales)

Just remember that CaptureFox will ONLY capture what’s shown in Firefox, unlike Camtasia which will show everything you want it to show on your desktop.

Grease the wheels of inspiration by checking out the site KillerStartups.com.

Any Idea you’ve ever had – no matter how crazy, ineffective, or downright bad – is guaranteed to be better than at least a few of these startups and/or “virtual real estate holdings” or whatever people with too much money and not enough sense are calling websites these days.

In spite of some of the more laughable offerings, there are some real gems there too.  You’ll come across quite a few “Why didn’t I think of that” ideas for websites that are listed.  There are even some “I don’t care if they thought of it first, I’m going to release the exact damn thing a week later and make it unique by sticking an ‘e’ in front of the name” ideas as well.

Whatever your opinion of the listings, they are bound to get your creative juices flowing no matter what you specialize in: product development, marketing, design, etc.  And if you’re like me – a fly-by-night-Jack-of-All-Those-Trades (as well as whatever other trades my business may find a need for), your mind will be swimming with new ideas in no time.

Open up a clean notepad *(or better yet, Notepad++, which is free) file and check out KillerStartups.com the next time you find yourself short on ideas and long on…well, no ideas…

No, this isn’t a paid-for-post, review, or anything like that.  I don’t do those.  It’s just a site that I discovered by accident.*

*(known as “search” and “linking” nowadays)

Oh, and while it lasts, you can even submit your own new startups, projects, ventures, idea gardens, web communities, and other frazzledazzles to KillerStartups.com via their submit form.

I can’t imagine their rules for inclusion can be all that strict.  After all, just how nit-picky about submissions can a website be when its only real content is submitted content?

Oh, wait..we live in the time of Web2.0.  You know the times…the times when portals such as Digg, Mixx, Reddit, Propeller, as well as the hundreds (thousands?) of copycats and wanna-be’s all promoted themselves during their infancy by networking on and generating traffic from sites that were already authoritative and established hubs of surfers. Now those same sites call sites that use them for that very purpose “Spam.”

But that’s a rant for another time.  ?

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.