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"De-clutter" your web siteDon't load your web site with a lot of high tech clutter. Your visitors may miss your whole sales message. Haven't you ever visited a web site which had graphic ads, text scrolling and flashing words all crammed together? If you have, it was likely you found it confusing and hard on the eyes and you just said ‘forget it’. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Hook your web site readers with emotionDon't forget to use words that create emotion. All people have emotions; people will have more interest when they are emotionally attached. Use words like mad, happy, angry, sad, excited, scared, surprised, etc. For example, "Imagine how happy you will be when you can finally afford taking that exotic cruise!" Email this story to your friends: Sell extra content for free productsMake extra profits from selling monthly updates of your free products. You could sell, for instance, "never-before-released chapters" of your free e-book. You’ll have a lot more people reading your e-book and seeing your ad because it's free and because you allow others to give it away. But you can make money from it by selling extra content. Email this story to your friends: Tell people storiesTurn your web site content into a story format. People will want to keep reading to find out what happens at the end of the story. For example, you could say, "On Tuesday, June 15, 2007, I was driving to work and...." Another example, "Just the other day I was at the shops and..." Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Keep creating new productsMake sure you're always creating new products and services or improving old ones. Most products or services won't stand the test of time online. You could hire a focus group to get ideas on how to improve one of your existing products, or to think up ideas for new ones. Labels: products Email this story to your friends: Make your visitors feel goodTell people what they're thinking and feeling as they read your web site. Most people will actually experience the feelings. Your statements should help sell your product. For example, you could say, "As you are reading this ad, you begin to think about a life without debt." Email this story to your friends: Collect direct mailEvery time you get a piece of direct (or "junk") mail in the post, don't throw it away. Keep it, study it, ready it, learn from it. Direct mail is successful and the people who put it together tend to know a thing of two about attracting people to buy from them. Soak up their ideas! Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Forget the whole idea of free bonusesPeople often say you should pack your sales letters with "free bonuses". But guess what...because people know they are free they immediately devalue them. A whole bunch of free bonuses only appeals to people who are "freebie collectors". And you don't want them as customers. Instead, entice your customers to buy by including these "free bonuses" as "added extras" with limited availability. In other words, increase their perceived value. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Write your blog each dayDaily blog writing means you will create more interest in your web site as it is updated each day. It also means you become more attractive to search engines, who always want to display something fresh. also, if you only write 100 words a day, by the end of the year you could edit all those words together and you would have a book. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Make your ezine collectableAllow your subscribers to collect things from each issue of your ezine. It could be e-books or software. They'll tell others and those people will subscribe too. For example, you could say, "In each issue of our ezine we will be giving away a new limited edition business report! Collect them all!" Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Get yourself on the radioContact national and local radio stations to ask them if they are looking for programme guests. Tell them your area of expertise; maybe they'll book you for a show. Of course you would want to contact targeted stations and shows which would want to know more about you and your area of expertise. I've done this and been on the radio four times in the past week. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Make your web site "bookmark-able"Set up your web site so it will be worth bookmarking. Your visitors will bookmark your web site if it's full of free, original content like articles, e-books, etc. You could survey your target audience to see which web sites or what type of sites they visit a lot. Then you could place those links all in one section of your web site. You could promote it as a start page. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Try for free evaluationsGet your products or services evaluated for free. You can give your product for free in exchange for evaluations and even testimonials. You will find out any problems with your product before you sell it. You might also discover new uses or selling points for your product too. Email this story to your friends: Keep a note of your marketing ideasRecord all your new marketing ideas, good or bad, into an "ideas" journal. Sometimes you can combine ideas to create new ones to increase your sales. You never know when you, or someone you know, needs a new, profitable idea. Plus you could also sell your ideas to other business owners. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Give something away to gain web site linksYou could encourage web site owners to link to your web site by giving them something free in return. This will help increase your ranking in some search engines as a result of gaining extra links. For example, you could say on your web site, "Reprint Our Articles On Your Web Site!" Another example, "Give This E-book Away To Your Own Visitors!" Just make sure they link to your web site in order to give the items away. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Arrange house party sales plans for your web productsCreate offline affiliates to market your product. Have people sign up at your web site to sell your products through "house parties". You could have people taking their laptops to parties and selling through their affiliate links. They will get paid just like they would online. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Make your online products "new"Use the word "new" in your sales letters and web pages. People want new products or services that will improve their lives like new information, tastes, technology, results, etc. For example, you could say, "Learn a new revolutionary way to lose weight!" Another example would be, "New! Just Released!..." Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Keep your negative customers happpyMake sure you please your negative customers or those who complain. You can, for example, refund their money, give them a discount or give them a free gift. For example, you could say, "I understand how you must feel, so I'm giving you a complete refund." Another example would be, "I’ve been in your shoes before. I'm going to give you a 50% discount on your next purchase." Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Put your picture on your web pages and sales lettersPublish a picture of yourself in your sales letters. This will show visitors to your page that you're not hiding behind your web site and you're not afraid to back up your product. For example, it could be a picture of you using the product you're selling. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Sell adverts in your ebooksOffer to sell advertising space inside your digital products like ebooks, software, subscription sites and so on. For example, if you’re selling to entrepreneurs, you could sell advertising space to business-related ebooks, reports and subscription web sites. Similarly if your ebook is on saving money, you could sell advertising within the ebook to web sites that help people save cash. Labels: products Email this story to your friends: Susprise your customersGive your customers a surprise bonus for buying from you. When you give customers more than they expect, there is a good chance they will buy from you again. For example, "Here is a surprise bonus! It's a Free Report On How To…" Another example, you could give them a surprise before they order, like a lower price when they get to your order page. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: People buy when they are in painPeople tend to buy when they want a problem solved. But it needs to bea real, big problem. Magnify the size of your prospect's problem in your sales page and show how your product can solve it. The bigger the problem, the more sales you'll have. Don;t over-exaggerate your claims, but make sure the problem you solve is big, really big. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Create a simple viral marketing deviceIt's relatively easy to create a simple form of viral marketing. Write, or have someone else write, a small report which includes links to your product or service in it and allow others to give that report away. For example, in your report say, "You have our permission to give this report away." Another example, "Give this report away to your visitors or newsletter subscribers." Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Join associations and trade organisationsJoin associations and trade organisations that your customers are members of. That way you will get to meet them, talk with them and be able to promote your web site to them. Equally you'll be able to find out from them what they are interested in so you can refine your web site more to their needs. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Combine products and services for increased salesTo increase your sales you could combine a product and service together in a package deal. If you're selling an ebook, for instance, offer an hour of consulting with it. That way the customer is getting "you" not just the book. Other benefits would be having another business promoting the product as well. You will be spending less on marketing and you'll create a profitable relationship. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Online security is importantMake sure that you tell your potential customers that your shopping cart system is highly secure. Reassure them at every stage that you take every effort to protect them. People want to feel they are safe online. They want to know that you care about their well-being. Tell them all about what you currently do for them to make them feel more secure. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Make your web site multilingualTake a look at where most of your visitors come from. If they are from the USA, write in American English; if they are from the UK write in British English. Equally, if most of your visitors are from another country, get your material translated. It's best to be in the language of your readers. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Highlight your online buying incentivesPeople scan web pages first, so highlight buying incentives like free bonuses, money-back guarantees, testimonials, special offers, discount sales, and so on. You could place them in boxes, in front of different coloured backgrounds, assemble symbols or graphics around them - anything as long as they stand out. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Ask people why they did not buyAsk people why they decided not to buy. This will give you good ideas on how to produce a web page that’s more profitable. Have a web form or e-mail link in place so they can answer you. You may find out they don't like your guarantee or graphics. It could be anything. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Boost your online credibilityNever assume people believe the information in your web pages. You need to back-up all your claims with indisputable evidence. For example, you could include testimonials, expert endorsements, third party tests or studies, strong guarantees, a list of customers, pictures of customers, etc. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Submit your free items to freebie sitesWhen you offer a freebie from your site, submit it to freebie sites. They provide target categories which mean targeted traffic. So if you're submitting software, you could submit it to the "free software" section. Just remember, some freebie sites want you to link to their web site before they will list your freebie submission. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Get your web site visitors to like youPersuade your visitors to like you. People buy from people they like. You could tell them a joke, give them a compliment, give them a freebie, etc. For example, you could say, "I see you are one of those rare entrepreneurs who have a killer instinct for success." Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Create a family of web sitesCreate other web sites that draw your initial target audience. Then you can lead your prospects to your main web site by linking to your other web sites. For example, if you were selling investing tips, you could create another web site about saving money and promote it too. You would just include an ad for your investing web site on the money-saving web site. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Reward customers for giving feedbackReward your customers for giving you product feedback. It could be discounted products, useful software, information products, etc. For example, you could say, "Anyone who gives us helpful feedback on how to improve our product will get a free business e-book." Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Make it easy to order from your web siteMost people want life to be easier. Give your prospects easy ordering instructions, easy product instructions, etc. For example, you could say, "Our product comes with step-by-step, easy ordering instructions!" Another example, "Our web site offers 5 easy ways to order!" Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Get other people to give away your ebookAllow other people to give away your free ebook. This will increase the number of people who will see your ad in the ebook. You could also include a mini catalogue of all your products or services that you offer in the ebook. You could include your own products or associate program’s products in the ebook. Labels: marketing Email this story to your friends: Use plenty of headlines on your web siteUse a lot of headlines and sub-headlines on your web site. This will hold people’s attention and keep them at your web site longer. Sometimes people don't have time to read a whole sales letter. This'll allow you to sell to people who are skimmers. Plus it will get the reader’s full attention at the same time. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Charge people for sample productsCharge people a cheap price to get a sample of your product. If they like it, they can pay full price to get the full version. Yes, you could offer a free sample too. When you charge for a sample, it gives your product more perceived value and you end up making a little money at the same time. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Don't let your host let you downMake sure your web host isn't losing your sales. If you get an e-mail from someone who told you that they couldn't access your site, it might be your host. You should ask them what kind of tracking or back-up system they use to make sure your web site is always up and running for business. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Give customers immediate satisfactionAllow your customers to get part of your total offer right after they order. If you have to ship the item, make one of your bonuses available online. For example, if you are selling a printed book, you could have an online version available for them to read right after they order. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Use online directories of freebiesSubmit the free things you offer to online freebie directories. They usually get a lot of traffic because people like to get things for free. Of course include your ad in the freebie. Sometimes freebie directories allow you to mention your business with your free listing too. Labels: list building Email this story to your friends: Don't waste your user's time on formsWhen you ask someone to sign up to receive a freebie, don't ask for really personal information. This is a fast way to lose a potential prospect. For example, if you ask them for information they want to keep personal, they might not want sign up. Another example, if you ask for too much information, they may not have the time or patience to fill it all out. Labels: list building Email this story to your friends: Have a fast loading web siteMake sure all your web pages load fast or your visitors will get bored and leave. Time is precious; they won't waste it waiting for your site to load. Do not use too many graphics and high tech gizmos. Labels: web Email this story to your friends: Take part in discussions and forumsParticipate on web discussion boards. Post your comments, answer other people's questions, and ask your own questions. Include your product link under each message you post. If they read your message and like it, they may click to see what else you have to offer them. Labels: sales Email this story to your friends: Use signature files to sell productsAdvertise the product you're reselling in your signature file. Use an attention-getting headline and a good reason for them to visit your affiliate site. Make sure your sig file doesn't go over 5 lines. Also include your name, occupation, business name and e-mail address Labels: products Email this story to your friends: How to increase the value of your productsIncrease the perceived value of your product. You could offer an affiliate program, give away free bonuses or use famous endorsements on your ad. Another way is to offer a sample or trial of your product or service. If people like it or it works, that Labels: products Email this story to your friends: Little details mean a lot on your web siteRemember the little things about your web pages really count. Include the title of your site at the top right corner, a description about your site, etc. For example, if I visited your web site and didn’t know or understand what it was all about, I would probably leave right away. Labels: web Email this story to your friends:
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