There's a standing joke that Internet Marketers spend most of their time buying from and selling to each other. It's tempting to want to copy the multimillion-dollar success of a marketer who provides products and services aimed at the IM crowd. The question of whether you should do so is not easy to answer. What is your main strength, your "core competence"? Answer that and you'll be closer to finding your niche market, whether it's IM related or consumer related.



If you're cut out for business-to-business marketing, you might find that going to offline businesses makes you a heftier profit than peddling to your peers. Where you shine, as a performance-driven business, and what leaves you with the most profit should determine the bottom line. Internet Marketing can be a socially isolating business. If you chafe at being cooped up, stuck in front of a computer all day, you can take your business out of the house and still use IM strategies and techniques to serve local businesses face-to-face.

If you're an online social animal, but have a limited "inner circle" of friends, specializing in the IM market may be just the ticket for you to find satisfaction and revenue. You can have a wide range of acquaintances and still preserve your privacy and solitude. Best of all, your closest friends can connect you with opportunities to network and leverage your skills without you having to be an online "Social Butterfly".

The real key to deciding if IM customers are your best bet is knowing yourself. Do you really get how IM works? Can you explain what you do to your friends and family without their eyes glazing over? Even if that's not possible (some folks can't imagine being self-employed), can you easily and effortlessly "presell" a marketing idea, product or service at the drop of a hat? If this is one of your strengths, then consider IM customers for your core business.

Of course, if you offer support services and such, like programming, graphics, Web design, etc., IM'ers make great customers! You don't need to spend a lot of time warming them up to your offer, like you would with a "brick and mortar" business that needs its first Web page. Again, your main skill should determine where you go and with whom you do business. I say "Should", because too many times, folks get tempted to grab a quick buck by wandering away from their main strength, distracted by the latest bright, shiny thingie they see.

Develop a laser-tight focus and stick to it. Allowing yourself to be pulled back and forth by other marketer's tempting offers and beguiling promises will sap your strength. If you stray from your path, expect to spend time finding your way back, with little to show for it. Build a solid foundation, based on fearless self-examination, and stay with it. Your future success and happiness will thank you for it!

If it turns out that IM customers are not you primary market, that doesn't mean you can't "repurpose" a product or service to meet their needs. You might also consider the value of having a network of IM folks who can participate in helping you reach your peers with your "spin-off" plans. Just because you've chosen a consumer-based model doesn't mean you shouldn't exploit the IM sector, too.

Confused? Don't be. You don't need to decide which way to go in the next thirty seconds. You do need to decide to begin a plan for structuring your business, based upon your main talent, skill, ability, etc. From there, the path you'll take will become clearer as you move along it, like fog vanishing in the rays of the morning sun.