OK. So you took the leap and started your online store. But, oops, there are no customers and your store is lost in the crowd. All is not lost. You just need to be very creative in how you market your site. The key thing to remember as you market your site is People buy from people, not companies.
To make money online: 1) You must get traffic to your site. 2) You must convert that traffic to paying customers. To begin simply create a T-chart. Label one column “Traffic” and the other “Conversion.” Then brainstorm what methods you will use to to make those happen and turn them into an action plan.
Traffic suggestions for you:
* Pay per click
* Offline advertising
* Article marketing
* Newsletter
* Autoresponders
* Word of mouth
* Joint ventures / strategic partnerships
* Talks to groups
* Participation in online forums / discussion groups
Most online stores are extremely competitive (what’s not these days?) and they compete on price – one of the worst ways to compete. What you need to do is find a way to take the focus off the money, find your unique value and promote it from there.
So how do you do that? First you have to know who your prospect is so you can speak to them directly. Hint: Your market is not everyone or anyone. Once you know who your prospect is, you can implement tactics that will convert them into customers.
Here are some ideas that will help your conversion rate:
* Bundled products
* Free gift with purchase
* Regular newsletter
* Autoresponder course
* Helpful content on your website
* Companion blog for your website
These should get you thinking about where you need to go. This is not by any means a complete, comprehensive list — just a start. Begin by putting all of your ideas together in an action plan. Use your action plan to drive what you do every day. Spend at least one hour on these tasks per day. In no time you’ll find you’ve made a lot of progress.
About Denise O'Berry
Don’t forget 3 more things that will higher your conversion rate:
-A good search box on your website that helps the customer find what they want as quickly as possible.
-Offer alternative product suggestions on your product page to encourage customers to buy more.
-Offer Customer reviews and ratings since shoppers are more likely to trust the product feedback of previous customers.
Good suggestions Casey. Thank you for taking the time to add your thoughts.
Denise:
Thanks for the information ,currently trying increase page rankings and customers to our website. I have been beating my head on the wall and what to do far as getting traffic to my face book fan page and customers to our website. It is a nice looking website with lots of high quality Radio Controlled Products. I have fine tuned my keywords,improved meta descriptions and currently working on Titles.
Thanks
Jim Alderson
Jim — I know how frustrating it can be to work really hard and get trickles of traffic to your site. Just keep working at it and you will get there. Remember that it is a long haul race, not a sprint. Each step you take is cumulative in your effort. Just try not to lose steam and make sure to keep your eyes on the goal. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.