If you subscribe to a lot of mailing lists in the how-to Internet marketing niche you’ve probably noticed that a lot of marketers frequently promote their competition. Why do Internet marketers promote their competitors… and should you be promoting the competitors in YOUR niche?

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So is an Internet marketer who sells a home study course on copywriting crazy to promote some other marketer’s course on copywriting? Is someone who sells an affiliate marketing system crazy for promoting someone else’s affiliate marketing system?

We see Internet marketers promote their direct competitors all the time… but they’re not crazy. In fact, the top marketers in the Internet marketing niche are some of the sharpest marketers you’ll find in any market.

And they know something about their customers that many players in other markets just don’t get. These Internet marketers know they’re customers are RABID for anything and everything to do with Internet marketing.

In fact, the Internet marketing niche is similar to many other niches where customers aren’t just interested in one or two products or services on offer – they’re positively addicted to learning more and more. If you’re a rabid customer in this niche, it’s not enough to get just one course or book on copywriting, traffic, affiliate marketing, and so on. You want to learn as much as possible from ALL the copywriting, traffic generation and affiliate marketing greats and you’re quite happy to load up on any number of books and courses to do so.

Anyone who is PASSIONATE about something – whether it’s a philosophy, religion, profession, special diet, sport, hobby or anything else – has the same kind of eagerness. Golfers, martial artists, screenwriters, painters, musicians, stock traders, personal improvement ‘junkies’ – these are people who love soaking up as much information and inspiration in their field as possible.

Whenever I’ve developed a strong interest in something I’ve certainly been one to immerse myself in it and get my hands on everything I could about the subject, whether it’s been running, screenwriting or, you guessed it, Internet marketing.

Smart Internet marketers know they are actually HELPING their customers, as well as making more money for themselves, by promoting the products and services of their competitors, and receiving referral fees or commissions on those sales.

And let’s not underestimate how your customers will VALUE you for suggesting alternatives that may suit them better instead of, or in addition to, your product.

So, if you’re in a niche with rabid customers, consider teaming up with your competitors and promoting their products. Sign up for their affiliate programs or, if they don’t have an affiliate program, see if you can work out a mutually beneficial arrangement where you promote each others products.

How should you position a competitor’s product if it closely resembles your own product or service?

Here are some ideas for how to position a competitor’s product:

1. As a different perspective on the same topic.
2. As an introductory level product that could serve as a ‘prequel’ to your product.
3. As a an advanced level product that could serve as a ‘sequel’ to your product.
4. As a service to your product.
5. As a product to your service.
6. As the ‘do-it-yourself’ option to your ‘done for you’ solution.
7. As the done for you option to your do-it-yourself solution.

There are probably other ways to position competitors’ products: just get creative. Brainstorm WITH your competitors. Even consider creating some joint products, or running conferences, seminars or workshops together.

There are lots of possibilities. The main thing is that you think in terms of what best serves your market and how you can make MORE money by turning competitors into allies.

Related Articles:

• Should Internet Marketers Keep Pounding Us With Offers?
• Can You Make Money Selling Ebooks? 6 Questions To Answer First…
• How To Get Breakthrough Ideas From Other Businesses and Organizations
• Why Being The Best Is Not An Option (It’s Mandatory)
• How To Avoid ‘Guru Overload’

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 2:53 am and is filed under Entrepreneurship, Feature, Internet Marketing Niche, Leadership and Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.