Content Marketing Weekly Wrap Up – The Niche Market
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Thu, Jul 16, 2009
Has anyone out there heard of the long tail? Well, if you're interested in developing a content marketing strategy, you might want to familiarize yourself with it. The long tail is a concept developed by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine. It illustrates why you need to put more effort into targeting your niche market.
Now, I know we've said it before, but please, bear with me. The importance of targeting your market cannot be overstated. Our buddies over at Hubspot have built their inbound marketing methodology around this idea of obtaining "qualified traffic". That is, only the traffic that is specifically interested in your products and services, and therefore likely to make a purchase from you. Hubspot gets it. More on this in upcoming blog posts.
But back to the long tail. In a nutshell, the long tail refers to the market for goods and services that are in highly targeted niches. Long tail markets produce more revenue over time because, unlike less specific high demand markets, they capture more targeted consumers who, by the time they find you, know exactly what they are looking for. These are the people you want to lure to your site.
My article Content Marketing- Capturing the Long Tail Market gives an overview of the long tail, and how it can keep you from wasting your marketing efforts by casting too wide a net. Think about it- would you rather chase after people who aren't interested, or would you rather they came to you? Ready and rarin' to buy? Your content should be written and distributed specifically for those most likely to need it.
Your business is an exclusive club, and only those who want your stuff should be allowed to join. So there.