The more narrowly defined a niche is, the more narrowly defined the copy and targeting to that highly defined audience can be. A message that speaks to high-resolution affinities is by its nature more relevant than a typical lowest common denominator catch-all message, which can't speak directly and deeply to one audience without losing another.

It also seems true that as we move forward in time, niches of niches develop. For example, at one time there was the niche of Internet marketing, which then sliced and diced into e-commerce, email marketing, search engine marketing, etc. Now, within search engine marketing you've got experts in different segmentations like pay-per-click marketing, writing for search engines, site optimization and so on.

Even Web Digest For Marketers itself does far more special focus issues than the horizontal surf 'n' turn issues. When I did the research for my speeches on effective email strategies for CUNA Mutual last week, I found software companies out there who offer enterprise software and ASP services specifically for credit unions on the Internet. Very focused stuff.

I remember an old timer I ran into at a National Speaker's Association event a couple years back in DC. He was smokin' a cigar at the bar and said to me, "You always know how green someone is when they don't attach an industry to their topic." For example, most of the successful speakers started out with a highly defined industry or function and then would break out or get cross-over into another or preferably multiple categories, industries, etc.

Keep Churning the Soil: That's what I do. Typically, the "next thing" flows out of the current thing, which means there must be some clues embedded in our current tasks. Let me also suggest you actually look forward to change. You might as well. It's going to happen whether you like it or not, so why not play a hand in it. Your chance for a successful outcome is better than when you are not playing a role in the events surrounding you.

Test and Be Merry: Sometime people get attached to their tests and they turn into babies, online babies. Maybe it's a good idea too soon, and you may simply accelerate the adoption process. This is what I call Heisenberg Marketing. :) Anyway, know when to fold up shop. A good question to ask at this point is, "Would my time be better spent elsewhere?" If the answer is maybe so, or yes, think hard about moving onto the next test. There are plenty more where they came from. When you come right down to it, everything is a test from which we learn.