Do you spend the majority of your time trying to
convince your prospects that they absolutely must
buy your product? Are you experiencing low conversion
rates and high negative-response rates? Are you starting
to feel like internet marketing success really is
just a myth? Do you think everyone is lying to you?
 
These are all symptoms of MCN, marketing in a crowded
niche. If you're dealing with them on a regular basis,
chances are there are just plain too many people
selling a similiar product to your same targeted
customer base.
 
But don't worry--this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, realizing this information may be the best
thing that ever happens to your business.
 
But now that you do know you are marketing in
an overcrowded niche, you must choose a specific path
for your business if you want to acheive profit.
 
You must decide if you want to a) prepare for
a long fight to the top (of your niche); b) market your
same product to a different group of buyers; or c) abandon
your product, find a profitable niche, and then build a
new business around it.
 
Of course, there are pros and cons to each decision, but
as long as you recognize the need to make a decision--and
then create a clear, honest business plan to make money
with that choice--you wont run into trouble.
 
Let's start with option A:
 

PREPARE FOR A LONG FIGHT TO THE TOP
 
If your niche is so crowded that you haven't broken into
profit after several of months of marketing, this does not
mean that your niche is unprofitable--it means the exact
opposite: your niche is so unbelievably in-demand and
profitable that everyone is trying to build around it.
 
You may not be making money with this route now, but if you
stick with it and continually make progress, then
you are almost guaranteed to make an enormous amount
of money when your business reaches critical mass--when
your website has a lot of backlinks from high-traffic
sites; when your webpage is ranked highly in search engines
for your specific niche keywords; when other marketers
in your niche begin to seek you out for interviews and for
joint ventures; and when you begin making your own products
to fill the gaps in your niche. . .
 
'Preparing for a long fight to the top' also means not
relying on your main business as a cashcow--as your source
of income--for the time being. This is always a huge
mistake.
 
Maybe you can write google adwords for affiliate
programs to make extra cash while you wait for your business
to take off; OR maybe you can budget your main business to
save money; OR maybe you can pick up a part-time or
full-time job to ensure you have enough money in the bank
to live off of while you build your business.
 
There are a number of viable options, but whatever you
choose, you must remember that your business absolutely
will not earn you a full-time income until you become
a big-player in your niche. You must recognize this
and structure your business plan around it; otherwise,
you are setting yourself up for failure.
 
If this is not a good option for you, then you must
consider option B:
 

MARKET YOUR PRODUCT TO A DIFFERENT GROUP OF BUYERS
 
When you think of your website, you may only be able
to think of a couple words to describe it--the keywords
you have been telling yourself you must use to make money,
to get rankings, to make sales.
 
If these keywords are not working for you--if you either
have a low conversion rate or poor rankings on search
engines--then you must consider marketing to a different
group of buyers. You can sell the same product to
an entirely different group and radically change your
conversion rate and profit margin.
 
You can begin by finding new keywords to better target
potential customers. Pay-per-click search engine
advertising is one of the best ways to do this. You can
use overture's and google's tools to create a bigger,
more specific set of keywords and then find out
which keywords reach a respectable market and
which ones draw a high conversion rate. Mix and match
until you have the best possible set.
 
Use ad tracking as much as possible to scientifically
determine which ads are doing the best. Once you have
the best set, optimize your website for those keywords.
Figure out what people are thinking when they type in
those exact words--what solution they are looking for
and for what problem--and then find those people elsewhere
and market to them in different ways.
 
And if this option wont work for you, then you must resort
to something entirely different--option c:
 

ABANDON YOUR PRODUCT AND FIND A PROFITABLE NICHE
 
Sometimes you just run out of options and have to switch
products. I personally would never suggest taking this
route unless it comes down to either a) quitting marketing
altogether or b) giving up on your current situation.
 
If it comes down to this, just switch your products and
find another one that you wont have to fight so hard to
sell.
 
This time, when you select your product, make sure you
lazer-target a niche that will undoubtably be more
profitable and easier to break into. Again, you can use
PPCs and adwords to find which niches are overcrowded
and which niches desparately need sellers.
 
You want to pick a specific product to market to a specific
crowd with specific keywords that will provide a specific
solution for a specific problem.
 
Be specific.
 
When you find this specific niche, build your business
around it. Profit will flow in naturally. 

Isaiah Hull is a business tips writer, a widely-published
author, the CEO of two web-based businesses, the
publisher of two ebusiness and marketing courses,
and a PTL of multiple affiliate programs. Hull trains
people to earn money online using simple, step-by-step
programs. One such program can be found here:
http://www.workathomerightnow.net