OK so that was a pretty big and power-packed title - but today’s blog is filled with some dynamic lessons that really could take your business and online income to the next level. Ready to think big and earn more? Dig into every link I give you below!

Today we are going to learn about the concept of TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness). We’ll look at the power of going beyond simply finding a niche but OWNING it by being the 1st site people think of when they want to find more info out about XYZ or discuss XYZ or BUY XYZ! Then we explore how the TOMA concept ties into focusing your efforts on building an authority site. Own the niche… authority site building…yada, yada, you think you’ve heard this all before right? OK stop reading. You know everything!

If you are ready to grow your business and revenue beyond the level you have already achieved, then read on and try to open your mind up to some new paradigms. We are talking about going beyond niche marketing and on to creating a new TOMA! Being 1st, being best and yes dominating the niche and the mind of your prospects.

Kathy Hendershot-Hurd, author of “Beyond the Niche” writes about the concept of TOMA.

“When Head and Shoulders shampoo was introduced, it had to compete with literally hundreds of other shampoo brands in the marketplace. Instead of trying to compete on the “shampoo” TOMA ladder of the mind, Head and Shoulders took a different approach and created a new TOMA ladder; the “dandruff shampoo” category. Since no one was competing in that “niche”, Head and Shoulders dominated the niche and remains the TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness) leader of that category years later.”

Be sure to read the rest at Katy’s blog, and then head over to Chris Garrets blog she links to, where he talks about How to Stand Out by Being 1st. It’s a long read, but well worth your time. He talks about the fact that if you focus your marketing message around being “the cheapest” or “the fastest” or “the lowest” then another blog, brand or website can always overtake you. But if you are FIRST you can capture mindshare and no one can take that away from you!

“First works because you create a new ladder in your prospects mind, you become number one in all rankings because it is a brand new list. As well as being top dog of a new race, first also implies “original”, “authentic”, lots of real nice attributes. “The real thing”, making all the others “knock-off”, “counterfiet”, “copy-cats”, “me-too”.”

OK I know this is getting long, but I promise it’s worth your time. Now lets take the concepts above and tie them into the dynamics of how to go beyond niche - into a full blown authority site. Go watch this awesome It’s All About Authority VIDEO from John Reese over at Income.com He talks about how the old model of having tons of niche sites has changed because the Internet has changed. Now you should focus at least 80% of your effort on one primary authority site. You need to hear John speak about it and watch the diagrams. Go see the video now and all of these concepts should start to gel.

Bo Bang is “Mr. Niche Marketer” and his blog pointed me to John’s video above. Bo “gets” how much easier things would be to his focus efforts on a couple of Authority sites instead of having all his efforts scattered into tons of niches like he does now. Bo writes:

“I have to agree with John on about authority site and providing the “best” content for a niche. I’ve been creating hundreds of minisites in hundreds of niches so far… But as I try to bring my income to the next level, I came to understanding that it would’ve been easier if I had only a handful of authority sites. Creating a minisite is really fun. But when it comes to making money, it isn’t.”

I hope you had at least one “ah-ha” moment as you read all these blogs and watched the video. I had several - and all the info reinforced many of the ideas I’ve been thinking about lately.
The possibilities are endless if you can learn to think BIG!