I've done some keyword research. There are about 32,000 searches a month for the key term "grass"

Croc, you're only doing half the job with your key word searches. You know the amount of searches for a key word and that's good. The way to create a niche is to look at what comes up on those searches and find a need that is not coming up on that key word search. In our case, how much information is there on grass for cows? Remember that's what cattle eat at least half the year. If we do articles - good articles - about how good the grass is in Kakadu, then we are targeting cows not hippies looking for some good weed or suburban home owners looking for a lawn.

This "turn up for the BBQ, you're dinner" approach to niche marketing hasn't really been done on the net yet....

You don't think so? Well, my saurian partner, I beg to differ, The words may be different, but some version of that approach is the cornerstone of much of the marketing offers I see in my inbox every day. Turn up the BBQ, you're dinner is equivalent to the lead the sheep to the shearing pen attitude or lambs to slaughter. If we do as the gurus teach, the cattle won't even know what hit them until it's too late. We will have taken their money and they will have gone on to other pastures. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?

Do you think these cattle would respond to our new "volunteer to be eaten"...

Fer sure, dude! Don't you read the "papers" on marketing? They all tell us the same thing - you can sell anything on the Internet if you package it right. We write one of those long sales letters that everybody claims they have used to make millions in sales. You know what I mean. We go on and on about all the wonderful features of our ebook and ask for the sale about fifty-seven times. We put in one of those phony "buy it before midnight tonight and get the moon for free" thingees. And we put in a PS about how wonderful this product is (as if they will not have read that at least forty-nine times already). And, for the kicker, we get a bunch of flowery testimonials from experts who we "rewarded" for writing their testimonials. Watch a good infomercial on TV, one that uses a celebrity spokesperson, to get a good idea of what I mean.

Dear Reader,


In case you have not noticed, I am being very sarcastic here. I do not use nor approve of this kind of marketing. I do approve of niche marketing as I have described it, but not the last two comments to the Croc. It is my contention that much of the marketing done today raises some, for me. serious ethical questions. If you would like to read more of my thoughts on this subject, please click here.

And one final comment to the Croc. Macedonian tourists may be a delicacy for Aussie crocs, but they do not have much appeal outside of that very small target group. That's why you have not made a sale. You may be targeting these crocs quite well, but your niche is too small and your product is a poor choice. There are not very many Macedonian tourists and only a small portion of this very small group visits Australia and even fewer visit Kakadu. If you want to revert to an ethnic tourist diet, pick an ethnic group that is much more likely to travel as far as Australia. Japanese or American tourists would provide a much larger supply of fresh meat. However, if you choose Americans, be forewarned that our President would probably invade Kakadu to protect American interests there, especially if there is oil in your swamp.

Finally, a solution for your waterlogged computers. Find a better storage facility. Computers are electrical equipment, in case you had not noticed. Water and electricity do not go well together, kind of like Macedonian tourists and zucchini. Yuck! I prefer my zucchini prepared Italian style. Remember, you are a reptile, and reptiles can survive on dry land. Move your office to higher ground. It's safer for you and safer for your computers. Bury them under a rock instead of under a waterlogged tree trunk.

I may not always agree with you but I consider you a friend. I hate losing my friends in tragic and horrible accidents. I have never seen an electrocuted croc, but I imagine it's not a pretty sight. And I am sure the smell of burning croc hide is not something I really want to experience either. I hope a word to the wise is sufficient here.

Miao!

The Cool Dude aka John Botscharow
Editor and Publisher of the R Market Daily
Owner, 3R Marketing

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Keywords:Internet marketing strategy, direct-to-desktop publishing, direct-to-desktop marketing, guerrilla marketing, marketing theory, marketing philosophy