Skip to main content

So, You want to be an Entrepreneur - Turning your Idea into a Business - Part 4 Targeting Markets

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post!  Thanks for following along with the "So, you want to be an Entrepreneur" series!  Today is Part 4, and in case you missed Part 1, Part 2 , and Part 3 follow the links!

Yesterday we talked about narrowing down your target market, and today we are talking about
marketing to the target markets you already know of and/or the target markets you can easily find.

Perhaps you are a teacher, and already know a large network of teachers, and provide a product or service that can be useful for teachers.  Adjust your pictures and text to target those markets you already have.

Think about the similarities that you have with existing friends.  Perhaps some of them would generously provide you with feedback on your items to give you new ideas or descriptive words that you can use to promote your product or service.

Think about your hobbies and other groups of people that you are already interacting with.  Is there a product or service that you provide that would be appealing to these people?  Are their rules and regulations on the groups that you are involved with against advertising?  If you are unsure, always ask about the rules before just posting advertisements or you may risk getting removed from a group that you enjoy being a part of.

Pay attention to magazines, groups, and other popular blogs that you already read.  Maybe your product would not be suitable for these people but think about how you found these groups to start with and how you can use those same techniques to find the target markets for your products and services.

When you target a market, you are paying attention to a set of people that you already know, or can easily find, and then telling them how they can use your product or service.  We are all targeted by products and services every time we browse the internet or walk into a store.  Pay attention to the ads and products that catch your eye.  Perhaps plan a special outing specifically for this and make notes about what techniques large companies are doing to get your attention.

Paying attention to markets that you can easily find, can provide valuable insight into how to find target markets.  Do not pay attention to ads that come up on places like Facebook but do pay attention to ads that are placed on blogs and online magazines.  Think of how your products, pictures, and verbiage would fit into these placements, and be realistic about the things that you need to improve.

Remember, you are a target market for thousands of products that you use, see, interact with, and are visually bombarded with every single day.   If you are still having trouble with coming up with a target market for your product, consider making a list of what qualities or interests that you have, that make you a target market for the products that you use and purchase.  Make a list of specific things about yourself.  Then, carefully review what you wrote down, and compare that to your products or services, and then re-evaluate your target markets again.

Comments

  1. This is my biggest challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reaching out! I hope the tips I gave were useful! Check back in with me soon and let me know how those things are working for you!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Slowdowns and Slumps - When to freakout, When to take action, and What to do about it - Etsy Stats

This week I am talking about Slumps and Slowdowns ... how to know if you are really in a slump or slowdown, when to freak out, and what to do about it! Today is all about analyzing stats.  Over and over I have witnessed people freaking out about slowdowns because their stats are down from a day ago, a week ago, and a month ago ... but just this is not enough information to know if you are really experiencing a slowdown.  Retail sales are cyclical, and you need to know your cycles.  If you cannot deal with the natural cycles in your business, then you need to develop a new product line that will work opposite those cycles in your current business.  Trying to even out cycles in your current business is much harder than creating a product line that you market to a different market to fill in slow cycles.  Also note, that cycles in business will fluctuate year to year, and your sales should be increasing during these cycles year to year.  Although as your business grows, you may also fin

a woman with a buisness podcast launch - Conversation with Christen Strang of Letterhappy

To view the podcast - Part A:  https://anchor.fm/awomanwithabusiness/episodes/Conversations-with-Etsy-Seller-Christen-Strang-Part-A-e1qogk   Part B:   https://anchor.fm/awomanwithabusiness/episodes/Conversations-with-Etsy-Seller-Christen-Strang-Part-B-e1qoji Christen Strang: http://Letterhappy.com http://Letterhappy.etsy.com http://happytatts.etsy.com I'm so happy to bring you this first podcast!  Christen is an amazing friend and talented artist and amazingly successful Etsy seller!  Listen to our conversation about business, side gigs, and Etsy! 

Managing your expectations as an Entrepreneur - Part 1

Expectations in entrepreneurship are big, bold, lofty, and the pressure to succeed is huge.  You may feel pressure to perform, sell, grow, and do do do.  Managing those expectations look different for each entrepreneur and it is important to manage your own.  What are your expectations of yourself? Social media burst onto the scene in a big way, and the pressures on businesses to have a social media presence are huge for entrepreneurs.  We are expected to be available, post great content, post fabulous pictures, grow, interact, and be available. As an entrepreneur, you are in control of managing those expectations of yourself. Set limits and times to post on your social media accounts.  If you find yourself going over those time limits, consider a timer that beeps at you.   Monitor what content you are reading, and if it is content that is meaningful in your life.  If you find that you are reading a lot of content that is not having a positive impact on your life and relationships,