Market Timing in New Verticals & Self Promotional Contests in Consumer Generated Media

I recently made another post about the importance of brand building and niche markets, and Solomon Rothman commented that one way to go niche is to go stylized / have a unique delivery approach, which is totally valid. Another way to dominate niches is market timing. If you bet early on markets you are passionate about the odds are pretty good that your investment will pay off big. If you were not the first to market in a vertical you can still leverage the brand strength of other companies and get in early when they create new channels. Many authorities are adding community features to their sites each day. The guide I wrote for Work.com is currently their most popular guide, which is probably going to provide some solid exposure for me for the $0 and hour or two it took to write. And them emailing their top guide writers is also smart on them, because it means that marketers who were able to get significant exposure once may end up mentioning them again to try to fuel their own ego or protect their position on the leader board, and marketing the Work.com site again. If you have a site with consumer generated content offering prizes, logos, and arbitrary status levels provides a way for the most active members to identify with / feel important about / provide free marketing to your community.