Why compete in a saturated niche?

The primary directive from my experience in going head to head against heavy competition is to avoid using the same marketing methods as the competition. For example, the most lucrative niches are generally dominated by deep-pocketed SEO professionals, so it really doesn't take a rocket scientist to consider marketing through other channels.

Within any such niche, there are literally millions of outlets already targeting my prospects, such as niche-relevant websites, blogs, ezines, newsletters, and offline publications. Rather than knock heads with the "heavy hitters", I get my website links on the top-ranking sites and any other relevant online/offline outlet through massive article marketing and process the resulting traffic with email campaigns and/or direct marketing channels.

I have found that subtlety is a powerful marketing tool. My little trick is to initially build relationships with my subscribers long before they ever subscribe. This is accomplished through regular contributions of articles to publications in which targeted prospects read.

After reading my articles over a period of time, they will gravitate over to a relevant niche website and buy the "recommended" affiliate product. In my marketing model, nothing is ever blatantly "sold"; only recommended on the strength of authoritative credentials perceived as a result of my article writing.

The optin form is for buyers only, as they must enter the transaction ID# to complete the subscription process. This effectively filters out free loaders, although admittedly it may also eliminate an inestimable percentage of potential "eventual" buyers. It is designed primarily to quickly target and qualify proven buyers for higher conversions and repeat sales.

Subscribers receive messages on a daily basis which includes niche information, tips, resources, jokes, and increasingly hard hitting promotions (with 2-3 descriptive, feature-laden text links) for the next product in line. Non-buyers are culled from lists every 90 days. The remaining active buyers continue to be processed, and promotions are incrementally increased to higher end products.

This may seem like a "meat grinder" approach, but it is very effective in targeting, qualifying, and directly engaging quality prospects who are already further down the buying path within their own buying process. This process consistently beats the competition all-to-hell in the most hotly competitive arenas.