Many aspiring Internet marketers waste precious advertising dollars using a shotgun approach causing their message to fall on many deaf ears. After researching and fully understanding your target audience, the next step entails deciphering where they hang out. Are they on social networking sites? Or, are they beyond that age demographic? Would they be more interested in the Super Bowl or in a figure skating championship?

Without this knowledge it is impossible to even craft, let alone effective communicate, your company’s brand and message. Once you are fluent with the thinking of your audience it then becomes necessary to know where to find them. Small markets within larger markets are called “niche” markets. Your customers fall into many such niche markets.

Let’s say you are selling a new environment friendly paper product. Which niche markets would contain members of your target audience? One thought would be those in the business of greeting card printing. Another might be the organic section of a restaurant supply web site. You very well might be the first vendor to sell “green” menus.

If you try to speak to everyone, then you end up speaking to no one. You must focus in on your audience following them to the other niche markets in which they tend to reside. Niche marketing allows for far more productive use of your marketing dollars.