I know you've heard this a thousand times, but from the looks of things few businesses are following the advice¡­

Far too many businesses (online or offline) define their target market as ¡°anyone with a pulse and a wallet.¡± (Not always in that order.)

You read their sales copy and it's the same old, walking on eggshells ¡°corporate speak¡±, devoid of personality, writing to a group style, as everyone else in their industry.

Sure. They're not going to eliminate any ¡°potential buyers¡±¡­ But there're not going to stand out from the crowd and get their message noticed either!

You need to define your target customer as specifically as possible. You should describe your customer in exacting detail. Not as a group, but as an individual. Get a laser focused, clear and precise image in your mind of one specific person. Know that persons sex, age, marital status, wants, needs, educational background, psychographics, demographics, geographics, technographics (level of technological sophistication), understand their psychological motivations, hopes, fears¡­ Everything!

And then (and only then) write your copy directly to that person. Craft your message to your target customer in a one-on-one, person to person style, keeping this focused image of who you are talking to clear in your mind.

So¡­ You've clearly defined your target customer. Great. Now you're ahead of 95% of the business in your market.

Do you want to know how to jump ahead of the other 5%?

(This next tip is something that very few top marketers talk about¡­ But it just may be one of the most important activities you ever do for your business.)

Clearly define who your customer IS NOT! Spell it out¡­ Write it down¡­ Let the world know, exactly who you REFUSE to do business with.

Eliminate the freebie seekers, bargain hunters, complainers, whiners, price shoppers, deadbeats and time leaches (Michel Fortin calls them ¡°Vampires¡±¡­ I love that¡­)

The first step in face to face selling is to qualify the prospect. So I've never understood why so many businesses are afraid to do the same thing when selling in print or on the computer screen. Cowards!

Guess what? An amazing thing happens when you ¡°take something away¡±. By stating (unapologetically) in your copy that ¡°This offer IS NOT for everybody¡­¡±, ¡°¡­only a select, elite few will qualify¡­¡±, ¡°¡­unless you meet the following qualifications, you can't beg us to let you buy this¡­¡±, something magical takes place in the sales process.

The dynamic changes, from YOU trying to convince the PROSPECT that they need your product¡­ to the PROSPECT trying to convince YOU that they are qualified to buy what you are offering.

So, stop worrying about eliminating part of your potential market by only focusing on your ¡°ideal customer¡±, the ones you eliminate wouldn't have bought from you anyway. And by adding a bit of ¡°posture¡± to your copy, your conversion rates with your REAL market will skyrocket.

Just remember this¡­

If you try to be ¡°everything to everybody¡±, you will end up being ¡°nothing to nobody¡±.

Get expert tips, advice, news and commentary on improving conversion rates, split testing, web usability, copywriting, internet marketing and more. Just visit Eric's popular Blog: http://www.conversiondoctor.com/conversion-blog/