EDITED: The special has been extended, possibly a day or so, since I made a mistake. (Read below for the details.)

Did you miss out on the 10th anniversary special I did last year, where I offered lifetime memberships to my private copywriting how-to site, “The Copy Doctor,” for just a fraction of the cost?

Since that time (and even to this day), I get hundreds of emails from people who missed out and want to know if I’ll ever do it again. I wasn’t planning on it since 10th anniversaries don’t come often.

However, with so many people clamoring for it, I thought about it for a while and made a decision. (If you missed out, then you’re going to like this!)

I’m ready to promote Lifetime Memberships of Copy Doctor for just $397 to a few select people, one more time, until the end of March, 2008 (ending in a few days). And possibly for the last time, too.

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Many copywriters often talk about targeting a niche… getting to know them so you talk their language and describe your solution for them as though you were one of them.

I’d like to take a contrarian view.

I think it’s silly to worry about targeting a “niche.”

I propose that all people are the same at their core and if you are actually working a true market… targeting is as silly as pretending that some people don’t eat or sleep or have sex or breathe.

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At the beginning of my career, I specialized in working primarily with cosmetic surgeons. I wrote their direct mail copy, produced their infomercials, trained their sales staff, and consulted them on marketing.

As a big believer in branding and niche marketing, I decided to focus primarily on doctors. I dubbed myself as "The Success Doctor" since my aim was to help doctors become successful.

Up until a decade ago, however, I was just a self-employed freelancer. For years my clients came to me by word of mouth. But since my business was growing quite rapidly, I decided to incorporate.

So on August 17, 1997, I registered "The Success Doctor, Inc." (In fact, it was only a few months later that I created a website and "hung out my digital shingle" at SuccessDoctor.com! And the rest, as they say, is history.)

Nevertheless, this means that, on August 17, 2007, it will be the 10th anniversary of my company. And to celebrate, I want to do something special for you. Something I’ve never done before. So here’s the deal…

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I’m usually full of good news. But alas, today I need to share an ugly reality with you.

Right this minute, we’re staring down the barrel of a full blown Conversion Crisis. It used to be “Johnny can’t read,” now it’s “Johnny can’t convert.” It’s an epidemic.

I’m not telling you this to start a riot in the virtual streets. (Or to make fun of any Johnny.) It just is what it is. And knowing the reason why will help you weather the hurricane that is the Conversion Crisis.

Before I dive in, I want to make a public announcement…

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I was recently interviewed by a print magazine about how I started my business. In it, I offered several tips and ideas on how to carve a niche in the marketplace that I personally applied.

And I realized that some of these tips were particularly powerful. So I wanted to reprint some of my answers here for you.

If you know my personal story, you know how niche marketing played an important role in my career.

Long story short, I feared rejection immensely, which led to a reclusive childhood. I wanted to overcome my fears and decided to dive into the world of sales in order to fight them. Years passed and many failures ensued until I finally became the top producing salesperson in Canada for a Fortune 500 company.

How did I accomplish that?

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Last week, after returning from the hospital following my wife’s mastectomy, something really cool happened. I was interviewed by Dale King, copywriter and owner of GuruKnowledge.org.

Why cool? Because I was a bit of a nervous wreck, thinking of my beautiful Sylvie and her battle with breast cancer. And being interviewed is somewhat therapeutic. It made me remember the things that are important to me, even though the interview was business-related.

That said, a lot of people said they loved the interview, so I decided to reprint it here, on my blog, for you. It also offers a few tips about how I write copy, how I think and how I view marketing in general. I also reveal what I believe is the single greatest secret to marketing.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed doing it.

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In the competitive marketplace of the new millennium, the demand for specialized products or services will increase. If your site sells everything or to everyone, chances are that your audience will not perceive any greater value in shopping from you than anyone else.

The more generic you become, the greater your competition will be, since you’ve placed your offering in the same ring as the Wal-Marts, Targets and eBays of the world.

In other words, cast a wider net, and the likelihood that more competitors who are trying to go after the same “fish” will occupy the same marketspace.

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