What Are Your Competitors Doing?

As you are identifying the niche for your business and determining who your target market is, a big thing you need to consider is your competitors. They’re out there, they are working hard to build their own success, and they don’t really want you in their market.



Naturally, some markets online are over saturated. For example if you are going to establish another "tech blog", you're going to be facing some serious competition from teams of people working full time at sites like Gizmodo and TechCrunch.



So no matter what market you are entering in to, you need to understand who your online competitors are, and what they are doing to make money. Are they successful? If so, what makes them successful?



Do some research - go online and search for some of the most common terms for your business. Who’s at the top of the page in Google? What are they selling? Are they established in the market, or are they small like you?



Also, you need to consider what you can do differently. This is called the "Unique Selling Proposition" or USP. It defines what is different about you and your business.



Being the same as everyone else online will not get you far. If you want some great ideas on how to be different, check out the book "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin. In it he explains that in order to transform your business you need to be different - i.e. a purple cow in a sea of normal cows.



The reason that being the same does not work, is that everyone online is in a hurry. Studies indicate that people spend less than a second deciding whether your site is worth reading or not. Then even if they do read it, you have perhaps 30 seconds to capture their attention and drive your message home. Any more than that - and they are gone!



Now, how do you differentiate yourself? There are many ways - you can offer a unique product or service, you can market it differently, you can focus on a different demographic, or you can "move the free line" by providing a lot of great free information that will build a strong relationship. Some of those who love your free content, will more likely be willing to sign up for your paid content.



So before you dive into your first online business, take a good hard look at your competition and what they are doing. Then think hard about how you are going to make your business different. In this fast paced world, filled with busy people with short attention spans, it's the secret to success.

















Brad Smith hosts the Online Business Zen podcast on iTunes, and blog at OnlineBusinessZen.com. He is a full time entrepreneur and published author with a successful internet business. Brad is focused on helping others earn money online without the usual "get rich quick" hype. If you want to start your own internet business today, you can subscribe to Brad's free newsletter - and he'll send you an email once a week showing you how to get started.