first step in the marketing message. It got you to open the envelope and read the headline of the letter. Now lets suppose the headline read, "New Hope for PKD sufferers - Recent Tests Point to Potential Cure to PKD."   Do you think you would continue reading the letter? Yes!   Suppose as you continued reading, you saw charts, pictures, and testimonials that provided positive reassurance that their claim to cure PKD is true. Do you think you would get excited after reading this information? You bet!   Now imagine as you got to the bottom of the letter you were given a list of other research companies that were working to find a cure for PKD, but were told that only one (the author of the letter) had unraveled the gene sequence that held the key to a cure. Do you think you would call their toll-free number to get their free report? Absolutely!   You have just witnessed a complete marketing message in action.   5 Steps to Creating Your Marketing Message   Now that I have demonstrated the power of an effective marketing message, lets review the simple five-step formula for creating your own powerful and complete marketing message.   STEP 1 - Identify your target market.   Every successful small business has a target market, whether they know it or not. Even the local dry cleaner has a target market, which is probably all the professional people living within a five mile radius of their store. Their target market is geographic.   So the first step you want to ask yourself is, "Who is my target market?" Once you have narrowed this down then its easier to craft a message to that market.   STEP 2 - Identify the problems that your target market experiences.   Each market experiences its frustrations and pains. The secret to crafting a marketing message that will make your market sit up and listen is to identify their problem and the pain and suffering they feel as a result of that problem.   Remember the old saying that goes, "People dont care about you, until they know you care." Identifying your markets pain and suffering tells them that you understand and empathize with them.   Youll also find that identifying the problems that your market faces will, in turn, help you narrow down your target market. For instance, perhaps you only want to target stay- at-home Moms that want to earn some extra money without leaving their homes.