"How To Find Your Niche on the Internet!"

It does not matter what you are looking for on the Internet or what it is you are trying to accomplish because, basically, everyone wants the same thing. This is especially true for those of us wishing to do business online although it really applies to even those just seeking a community of like-minded people. EVERYONE on the Internet wants: 1. To find more INFORMATION on a given subject. or 2. To find PEOPLE with similar interests. Many refer to this as your niche. Others involved with online business call it finding your target audience. Give some thought as to why you want to reach people. Once you know WHY you want to contact people, then you will know WHOM it is you need to communicate with and for WHAT reason. So where should you begin your search? As the question itself suggests the answer, you should begin your quest for either information or people by doing extensive research with your favorite search engine(s). I personally like to use Google, http://www.google.com, and that is where I begin my research. No matter which Search Engines or Directory is your own personal favorite, just take that as your starting point and build on it from there. But, certainly, do not limit your research to just one source. You should use no less than the top ten Search Engines and Directories for your research. For a list, via Auto-Responder, of the current "Top 10 Search Engines and Directories!", send a blank email message to: mailto:Top10SE@emailexchange.org Here is an excellent strategy to make use of for your own quest for information or people: 1. Prepare a list of "Keywords" to find what you seek. 2. Visit each of the Top 10 Search Engines and Directories. 3. At each of the Top 10 enter your "keywords". 4. Visit and review the Top 20 to 30 results of the "keywords" used in your search at each of the Search Engines and Directories. 5. Weed out the useless or dead links. 6. Begin to form your community and bookmark all the web sites that hold interest and promise. This will give you a solid foundation from which to begin. Your next step is to reach out and "touch" that community of people that you seek by sending out email. ALWAYS use email without resorting to SPAM. Because SPAM is against Internet rules and because it creates more problems that it solves. SPAM is should NOT be an option. With the list you compile from your research, decide if it is important to your quest to contact the web masters of each of those individual web site. This list of web masters gives you a good start on which to start building your own little community of contacts. Begin to compile a "Mailing List" of your contacts. Next, build on your list by joining discussion or mailing list groups that are already established. These are communities that already exist and discuss topics of interest by email. Internet discussion groups may be mailing lists, newsgroups, message boards, chat rooms or IRC type chat channels, to name just a few possibilities. Seek out the moderated type lists as they are loaded with your Niche people. And, what you do on these groups is quite simple; you participate. You do NOT try to place ads as that is SPAM. However, virtually all such groups do allow those that participate to include a 2 to 4 line signature. Some groups even allow larger signatures. NEVER underestimate the power of your signature. During a one-week period, my signature was the ONLY form of promotion I used and in just five days we got over 1000 visitors to our unadvertised web site. For some good tips on using your signature visit: How To Use Your Signature: http://emailexchange.org/sig.html Here are some excellent FREE Resources to find and join Free Discussion or Mailing List groups: Liszt - The Mailing List Directory: http://www.liszt.com/ Search The List of Lists: http://catalog.com/vivian/interest-group-search.html CataList, the catalog of 46,902 public LISTSERV lists! http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html These groups are established and are full of members that can fill your own particular Niche or Target Audience by merely searching out those groups with like-minded people. Do not overlook the power of Ezines and or Newsletters. Whatever your interest, most certainly there already exists a network of publications that tap into your Niche or Target Audience. Tap into these publications, a few at a time, and you will get an instant pulse on happenings online. Visit: Top 100+ Online Newsletters: http://emailexchange.org/newsletters.html Remember, it is essential to begin your own mailing list of people that AGREE to receive your email. Perhaps once a week, with a word of interest, you send out a mailing with info directly related to your common interest. It is important to keep the lines of communication open with your community of people. But do NOT just send out ad upon ad. No one likes to be bombarded with ads from others. Send out information that will be informative and of interest. This gives you a basic "Blue Print" to follow to either begin to establish yourself on the Internet or expand on whatever you have already accomplished. The basic resources outlined above will give you a strong foundation to discover WHERE to reach that special niche or target audience of yours.