The 21st century has signaled new and more efficient ways of promoting one’s business and products to various marketplace without having to spend much in traditional advertising. New technological advancement made the use of internet marketing not only as a fad but a way of life. Internet marketing has been a very reliable way of increasing one’s sales. However, success in internet marketing depends a great deal on how the internet marketer uses the various amount of internet marketing tools out there.Internet marketing has been the preferred marketing method not only by small and medium business but also by corporations across the world. However, it is more popular with home-based business due to its efficiency and the minimal costs involved with it. The proper use of email marketing tools will determine how fast one can get a potential customer to become a real customer. However, a good internet marketer can identify the target market from potential customers who may be patronizing a competitor’s products.While your potential customer is presently a real customer of your competitor, you still have a great chance of turning him into your real customer if you use the right email marketing tools. One such tool that works perfectly well for most internet marketer is the use of follow up emails. These potential customers may have already bought from your competitor but the problem is that customer may have felt ignored or disregarded for lack of a follow up mechanism. By wooing that potential customer through follow up emails that contain value and offers, there is a chance that sooner or later, he would become your real customer.The secret is with determination and persistence in intensively sending follow up emails to the potential customers. Other marketers refuse to spend time with a prospect or a customer who do not respond after one or two emails. By looking at this as a method of wooing or courting, the effective email marketer will continue to pursue the potential customer without let-up.Another effective email marketing tool is the use of viral e-books which may be a new concept but is definitely as effective as the other marketing tools. By the way, it is called viral marketing for its ability to be passed on like a virus, from one person to another.Viral e-books can be your ticket to success in terms of increased website traffic. People who are interested in a certain topic or issue have no choice but to download your e-book particularly if they have benefited from the e-book topic. Thus, the number one rule in creating your e-book is that it must be on a topic that would be of interest to your target market and to their contacts, making the e-book a good material for passing on.Of course, you have to get a very good writer who will create your masterpiece but that would be a minimal cost considering the multiplication effect it will have on your online business. You capitalized on one e-book which would be passed on several, sometimes hundreds or more, people with buying potential. This is probably one cost with a huge return on capital.Do not scrimp on your e-book because it is the reason why people will visit your website. An e-book which does not present a valued topic will just as easily be thrown to the next garbage can or in the case of computer users they can just easily delete your e-book link.When you get your e-book done, you must make sure it is in a format which would be capable of being opened and read by majority of computer users. You can choose from an e-book with an executable format or EXE format or the more popular PDF format. Most marketers prefer the PDF format as it is easily downloadable provided the user has am Adobe Acrobat reader which can also be easily downloaded free of charge.In choosing the format of your e-book, remember that people generally have an aversion for everything difficult. Thus, you must choose a format which is downloadable-friendly and which can easily be passed on from on e computer user to another.To make your e-book truly of viral quality, it must be on a very useful topic that will appeal to your target market. People who get hold of your e-book must also have a good beneficial motivation, financial or otherwise, to pass on the e-book to their contacts. People who can add their links when passing the e-book will have more reason to pass on your e-book to their contacts.The more e-book you have on various topics, that all lead to your website, the larger the scope of your reach.You may also want to try using a viral video which follows the same principle of a viral e-book except that it is in a video format. People who like your viral video will share it on to others and you will get more traffic to your website. However, make sure the viral video will be of interest to as many people as possible to make it really viral.

Defining your target market is critical if you plan on any measure of success in your business. A solid foundation for your business requires that one of the first things – if not THE first thing you need to do is to – DEFINE YOUR TARGET MARKET! In laymen’s terms, that means you need to figure out who your typical customer is, and design your marketing to reach those people. If you fail to do so, you’re marketing efforts will be like tumbleweeds – rolling around aimlessly in whatever direction the wind blows them.Defining Means Being More SpecificThere was a time when business owners would say things like “I’m marketing our products/services to people between the ages of 21 and 59.” That’s great if you think every 21 – 59 year old out there will buy from you, but that’s just not reality. These days, age doesn’t mean what it used to. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “60 is the new 40″ (or some variation of that). That’s very true today. Generational marketing, defines consumers not just by their ages, but also uses social, economic, demographic and psychological factors, that give marketers a more accurate picture of that target consumer. Generational marketing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to defining your target market.6 Other Ways To Define Your Target Market

Look At Your Current Customers: Which one(s) bring in the most business? Why do they buy from you? It’s highly likely that others like them would also benefit from your product/service.

Choose specific demographics: Who has a need for your product/service and who would most likely purchase it. Consider; age, gender, occupation, location, income/educational level, or marital status just to name a few.

Check out your competitors: Who are they marketing to? See if there’s a niche they’ve missed, and target that group.

Check out characteristics: This is also known as “psychographics” in the marketing world. This covers things like; personality, attitudes, interests/hobbies, lifestyles, etc. How will your product/service fit in?

Analyze your product/service: Make a list of every feature of your product/service. Next to each feature, write down the benefit(s) each feature will provide. Once you’ve completed that, make a list of the people/businesses that need what your benefit will fulfill.

Assess your decision: When you’ve defined your target market, ask yourself these questions; Is there a large enough market for my product/service? Will they benefit from and/or see a need for my product/service? Can they afford it? Are they easily accessible? Will I be able to reach them with my message?

Defining your target market is the hard part, but you don’t need to go crazy doing it. Once you have your target market defined, it will be easy to determine what marketing message will resonate with them and what media to use to reach them. Defining your target market will also save you big on marketing dollars while giving you a much better return on those marketing dollars at the same time.