Traffics Nice... But Whos Driving?

In the competitive marketplace of the new millennium, the demand for specialized products or services will increase. If your site sells everything or to everyone, chances are that your audience will not perceive a value in shopping from you any greater than from anyone else. Keep in mind that price is *never* an issue -- it is the value behind the price that is.

Price is an arbitrary figure that merely represents the value of an offering. Here's an example: You walk to your local home furnishings store. You ask the sales clerk, "How much for that washer?" to which he responds, "$600." "Wow! That's a lot of money," you exclaim. "The price is way too high for me. I just can not afford that." This is a typical knee-jerk response.

Moments later, you walk by a car dealership and notice that favorite new car you've been itching to buy for the last month and a half. You walk in. "It's $25,000," says the salesperson. "Wow! That's great!" You drive it off the lot that same day.

If you could not afford the $600 washer, why could you afford the $25,000 car? So price is never an issue. In the case of the car, the value (and that's perceived value) matched or surpassed the price, which wasn't the case with the washer.

Therefore, if *your* value is perceived as equal to that of others, naturally the cheapest alternative will win. Price is only a metric -- a symbol, if you will. And it is only used when there's nothing to which one can compare your value. (Price is not the only metric either.) Thus, if you're too similar to your competition, price will always be an issue.

So, if you try to copy your competition, or trying to promote your offering as one that's better than your competition, like it or not you're only reminding people of that which you are better ... Your competition! So don't compete. Differentiate! Or as Earl Nightingale once said, "Don't copy. Create!"

Admittedly, being all things to all people is not a negative concept -- of course, you will likely stumble onto some people who will visit your site and respond to your offer. That's not the problem. The problem is that you must generate a fairly large quantity of hits in order to produce a certain result.

The more general or broad you are, the more you will need to paint your website, content and marketing messages with broad brushstrokes in order to appeal to everyone. In the end, the traffic you do generate will be just as general or broad.

Even if your product is a perfect fit for some visitors, it will only be a fit for a small percentage. Additionally, the "generalness" you project will likely convey that your value is equal to that of others and that there's no added value in buying from you than in buying from others. Therefore, out of those qualified prospects that hit your site, a large number of them will likely leave your site due to your apparent lack of understanding of their specific needs, goals and concerns.

In short, the more general you are, the less value you have.

However, the sales you generate will increase dramatically if your site is narrowly centered on a specific theme, product category or outcome. And niche marketing has an added benefit: The need to produce a sufficient quantity of website visitors to produce similar results will lessen considerably.

Here's an illustration: Let's say that your best client is the corporate executive earning $50,000 annually or more, and that your site receives approximately 200,000 hits per month. If your website's message aims for the public at large, you have a problem. There will only be a small percentage of that ideal market (i.e., corporate execs earning $50,000 or more) that will hit your site (and an even smaller percentage that will genuinely be qualified for, and interested in, your offering).

For the sake of example, let's say that this percentage is around 0.1%. That means that, out of 200,000 monthly visitors, only 200 will fit your perfect customer profile (and that's a very optimistic figure). And since your site is too general or too vague, an even smaller percentage of those 200 executives -- let's say about 0.5% -- will be truly interested in your offer and eventually buy. In this case, 0.5% (of 200 qualified visitors) would equal to a mere client for an entire month.

Looking at it in reverse it means that, if you want to achieve at least a single sale per month from this ideal market, your site will thus require at least 200,000 visitors on a monthly basis. If you want to generate at least one sale per day, it means that you will have to generate over 6 million visitors monthly. So based on the law of averages, your promotional efforts will need to multiply exponentially as to create a high enough quantity of traffic and yield acceptable results.

Now take the example of another website dedicated exclusively to corporate executives earning over $50,000. However, this site receives a meager 5,000 hits per month -- of course, it's not a whole lot especially when compared to the other. But the percentage of those 5,000 visitors falling into one's target market will be 100% in this case -- a 10,000% improvement!

Furthermore, the percentage of interested leads that are in a much better position to buy will be far higher by virtue of the fact that the site centers on their specific needs, goals and concerns. The perceived value of the site, in other words, will be greater in the mind of those prospects.

To be conservative, let's say that this percentage is only 5%. It means that out of 5,000 visitors per month, one can achieve 250 sales -- that's 249 more sales than the other (and, on top of that, with only a quarter of the traffic). But let's be a little more conservative for a moment. Let's say that only 1% buys from you. It's still a 500% improvement over the other, as 1% of 5,000 visitors equals to 5 sales per month.

Of course, the above example is when all things considered are equal -- there are many variables here. But the spirit of this illustration is clear: It's the fact that it took an equal if not lesser investment of time, effort and money to achieve 250 sales per month than it did to achieve a single one.

So, there is much truth to the statement that you will get more with less. And online, where there is so much more of nothing, less is indeed more. Therefore, by narrowing your focus, you will likely broaden your chances of online success. And remember, "Don't compete. Differentiate!"

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.

---

How to Write a Sizzling Sales Letter, Part 1

When you sit down to write a sales letter to... Read More

How Writing Radio Can Help You Become a Better Writer

Knowing how to write, and write well, is a skill... Read More

Can 97% of Netpreneurs be Wrong?

Why Some People's Ads Almost Always Make MoneyDiscover the Master... Read More

How To Test The Body Of Your Sales Copy For Weaknesses

Your sales copy is the life source of your business.... Read More

11 Reasons Not to Hire a Freelance Copywriter (and Why Theyre All Poor Excuses)

Think you can take the Copywriting Challenge on your own?... Read More

3 Keys to Better Online Copywriting

Doing the copywriting for your own website without the proper... Read More

The Biggest Mistake Copywriters Make

Most of the sales pieces people ask me to rewrite... Read More

Copywriter Trick Unveiled: How to Write Better Copy Faster

"Talent alone cannot make a writer. There must be a... Read More

7 Steps You MUST Take Before Writing a Word of Copy!

Copywriting ChecklistOkay, you know you have your product (or service)... Read More

The Lead: Sinking The Hook Into Your Prospect

You only have an instant to capture your prospect's attention.... Read More

10 Tips for Writing Web Copy

One of the most important aspects of a website today... Read More

Sell Anything To Anyone On The Internet With Hypnotic Writing

I imagine you are the type of person who really... Read More

Health and Fitness: A Huge Industry in Need of Writers

Think about how much you read about and spend on... Read More

Want to Make More Money as a Freelance Writer? Here are 10 Reasons To Consider Copywriting

Looking to chuck that full-time job for a life of... Read More

The Lost Art Of Fundamental Copywriting

What ever happened to good old fashion, fundamental copywriting? Has... Read More

How You Can Proofread Your Own Work

Putting out a high quality product is a given these... Read More

Why Is FREE The Most Powerful Marketing Word You Can Use?

As the famous cowboy Will Rogers once said, "Even if... Read More

3 Steps To Better Sales Copywriting

Whether you're wet-behind-the-ears or a seasoned copywriter, your craft will... Read More

Welcome Informed Criticism of Your Work

When you come to 'know' something, there is a temptation... Read More

Copywriting 101: Exclamation Point, Friend or Foe?

My name is Ann and I'm a grammar geek. There,... Read More

How Ghost Writing Articles And Booklets Can Earn You Big Money!

Do you want to make $5000, $10,000 or more every... Read More

More Insider Secrets to Great Copywriting - Judging Your Target Market

This week we're going to reinforce the training that Recruits... Read More

A Copywriters Rant: Either You Get it, Or You Dont

Today I am having a rant inside of my own... Read More

Hooks, Lines & Sinkers

Hands up if the title to this article made you... Read More

Help, Help, Help, Sell

Here's a fundamental difference between copywriting offline and copywriting for... Read More

Why Your Advertising Copy is not the Most Important Part of Your Ad

If you own a shop in the middle of the... Read More

Super Verbs Really Move Your Copy

Run or hustle? Eat or devour? Move or scurry? You... Read More

Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career

For the e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built... Read More

Dont Forget The Copywriting

Copywriting And Content CreationOne of the most important, but often... Read More

Kick-Starting Body Copy

Several correspondents to our newsletter, AdBriefing, say that they are... Read More

How To Be Creative

Network marketing is an art as much as it is... Read More

How to Make the Most of Your Website Copywriter

Many people feel uncertain when dealing with copywriters. Like any... Read More

Five Sections of Your Copy Guaranteed To Get Read

Only about 20% of your copy is going to get... Read More