Creating the Right Incentive for Your Email Sign-ups

Doug Williams @ 6:00 am

This blog entry was posted on October 30, 2010.

If one of your website goals is to build up your email list, you need to offer the right incentive that will attract the people that are interested in what you sell. Visitors won’t sign-up on your list unless they are getting something they want and need. They need to see value in what you are offering.

It is not enough to offer great information at regular intervals. You need to offer some sort of sign-up bonus… some sort of free offer to grow your list.

Your incentive needs to make an impact. Something that causes them to say “wow” I need more of this. This helps you get very high open rates when you deliver your special offers, recommendations and relevant content by email. The key is start by delivering something they really want in your initial incentive.

What makes for a great incentive?

Relevance: Your offer needs to be relevant to the product or service that you offer. This creates a continued long term interest in your company and a desire to read your future emails.
Engaging: Deliver something they will want. Many times it requires an attention getting title that gets people to take action. The topic should help people solve a current problem.
Useful: Your bonus should be something that can be applied or used right away. Make it practical and not theoretical.
Deliver digitally: Deliver an eBook, eCourse, coupons or a free report automatically using auto responders. This way you can deliver information at any time visitors request it. This gives immediate gratification.
Measure results: Set-up Google Analytics or other monitoring analytics to measure success. Test different offers and watch which ones get the best response.

An example of a great incentive is one offered by womanwithin.com and by roamans.com. They both offer a free shipping coupon delivered to your inbox if you sign-up for their mailing list. The offer only applies to new registrants to their mailing list.

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Filed under: Email Marketing

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eCommerce Conversions Boosted With Social Commerce

Doug Williams @ 6:21 am

This blog entry was posted on October 28, 2010.

SEO may drive traffic to your website, but how do you improve your conversion rate? Using social media, merged with eCommerce is one of the answers. This combining of ecommerce and social media is called social commerce or sCommerce.

Social commerce means using social interaction to help shoppers make their buying decision. This could be user ratings, reviews, opinions and conversations concerning a product or service.

To be most effective, user feedback and reviews should be placed as near the purchase decision point as possible. Shoppers use s-commerce for research and reassurance. The idea is to make people comfortable so they’re more likely to purchase.

Social Commerce is an important part of conversion optimization. Conversion optimization is an art and a science. It offers methods for making changes to your website in order to improve conversion rates and ultimately your bottom line. A conversion can be any action that moves a visitor further down the conversion funnel, whether it’s a phone call, filling out a form or even bookmarking a page.

Today consumers want and expect e-commerce websites to deliver social features including:

Product reviews and ratings
Consumer feedback
Wish lists and favorites
Q&A functions
Blogs
Forums and chat rooms
How to videos

Social commerce does not direct the message, it allows these conversations unfold. You may want to encourage participation through promotions, contests, user-generated content (photo and video) uploads, and whatever else drives social interaction.

Social commerce uses the voice of other customers. This feedback and reviews works because users trust other people like themselves.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,Social Media Marketing

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24 Ways to Turn Website Visitors Into Buyers

Doug Williams @ 4:54 am

This blog entry was posted on October 26, 2010.

Understand what offers actually motivates your customers and then provide that to them.
Connect with your audience, and the easiest way to do this is to talk about their wants and desires.
Answer the three questions: why you, why now, and what’s in it for me?
Searchers come seeking an answer to a question. When they search for “best dog toy” they are searching for “Where can I buy the best toy for my dog?” Decide what the visitors question is, repeat it and then answer it.
When selling products, do not talk about “features,” instead talk about “benefits” to your customer. You sell solutions to problems.
Use the persuasion principles of scarcity, reciprocation, authority, consistency, consensus, liking and urgency.
Get your visitor excited. Your customer buys emotionally but shops rationally.
Write in the second person; use “you” and “yours” to keep the focus on the reader.
Create a clear call to action – what is it you want your visitor to do next? Sign-up? Buy something? Make the action clear and obvious.
Employ “BOB” on your web page. This is the Big Orange Button. BOB is well liked because he gets results.
People scan so use big headings to grab people’s attention.
Increase Clarity of your offer with high contrast text on a white background.
Use larger product images on your category page to improve clarity.
Offer a toll-free number and make it visible.
Show your address and make that visible too.
Use a concise and clear privacy policy so you reduce buyer anxiety.
Include point of action assurances. Example email forms should state “our strict privacy policy keeps your email address 100% safe and secure.”
Use video to show your products in action.
Include user reviews and ratings on your buying pages.
To collect email addresses offer something for free such as an ebook, download or a free report.
On email collection forms ask for only the minimum amount of information absolutely necessary. Email registration forms have a high exit rate in the sales funnel. The longer the form, the higher the exit rate.
Maintain similarity between pages to ensure you don’t lose visitors. This is known as the scent trail. Elements need to be connected as part of your sales process.
Use Your Return Policies to better convert visitors into customers. Restrictive return policies can scare customers away.
Offer special discounts and promote them heavily.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing

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Use Article Spinning To Make a Difference

Doug Williams @ 6:46 am

This blog entry was posted on October 24, 2010.

Article spinning is a search engine optimization technique that involves rewriting articles and other content so that it is not recognized as duplicate content by search engines. This may mean rewriting web pages to create a Squidoo lens or rewriting an existing article that has been submitted for article syndication.

In article marketing, a business professional may write a compelling article to help establish themselves as an expert in their field. This article is published on an article syndication website. These articles twill contain a resource box that includes a link to the author’s site.

By creating variations of these articles (spinning), copies of these articles can be submitted to many different syndication sites, all with the resource links intact. By submitting these variations of the original article, they are less likely to be seen as duplicate versions by the search engines.

Article spinning can be done manually or using automatic software that uses a thesaurus to create unique versions. By using spinning software you can quickly create dozens of versions of your article. You can then submit unique versions of the “spun article” onto the various article directories and greatly magnify the results of your article marketing campaign.

There are a number of article spinners available that you can use. Some are paid and some are free versions.

Caution must be used with spinning software to insure the original meaning is not changed. Usually this means performing a manual re-write after using a software spinner.

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Filed under: SEO Strategies

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How to Focus Your Website on Your Best Buyer

Doug Williams @ 5:09 am

This blog entry was posted on October 22, 2010.

The difference between a poor performing website and a successful online business is in how well you understand your customer. Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell to everybody. Instead focus on your best buyer. This is your ideal customer that most wants what you have to offer.

They are the easiest to convert from first time lookers into customers. Address the specific needs of that customer and how you will solve a problem of directly benefit them. Ask yourself, “How will what I offer make my customer’s life better?”

Start by asking a few questions about this group.

What problem, goal or need is driving them to search for your product?
What is the main obstacle that might stop them from choosing what you sell?
What one thing is most likely to persuade this group to immediately buy once they learn this about your product?

Best buyer strategies

Target: Identify who you most want to attract to your website. Use a tool like the Demographics Prediction Tool that will show what demographics a particular phrase is most likely to attract.
Profile: Tune your website to focus on your best customers. You do this by creating a behavioral profile of your best buyer. Behavior is considered the best way to predict future actions, so understanding what drives behavior is critical. It helps you to design into your site value, trust and persuasion to purchase.
Keywords: Carefully select the keyword phrase you optimize your website for. Choose phrases that best match your targeted buyer. What answer are visitors looking for when they arrive? What is their intent?
Content: You are educating and providing information that customers would find helpful. You are providing relevant content that will grab the attention of these future customers.
Offer something for free. This is something that your best buyer would find irresistible. This could be a newsletter, a free membership, a free analysis or some special free report. Gather these email addresses and follow up with email marketing.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing

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What Not To Do In Search Engine Optimization

Doug Williams @ 5:10 am

This blog entry was posted on October 20, 2010.

SEO should be planned into your website. Search engine optimization is the art and science of attracting interested visitors to your website. Some people put up websites with serious problems that prevent their websites from being found in the search engine results.

You can go blindly forward and put up a website without any consideration toward attracting the correct prospects through the search engines. If this is you, then you are probably following one or more of these common SEO mistakes.

Wrong Keywords: Target the wrong keywords and you will attract uninterested visitors. Don’t focus only on 1-2 word phrases which are the most highly competitive and also have the lowest rates of conversion.
Wasted Title Tags: Using terms like “home” or your company name in the Title tag which is the most valuable of the META tags because it is considered visible text. Keywords should be used at the beginning and then the company name at the end.
Internal Linking: Link to other pages within your website using phrases such as “learn more.” It is common for internet marketers to overlook the power of keywords in anchor text when directing visitors to deeper pages. These internal links are powerful SEO tools.
Duplicate Content: Using stock content or articles from syndication websites may be easy, but search engines discount this duplicate content. They filter out duplicate content from all but the most important and prominent websites.
Analytics: Not using Analytics to understand how visitors find your website and through which keywords. Analytics gives you a guide for constant improvement on your website.
One Time Event: Search engine optimization is not a onetime event. It takes regular attention, link building, evaluation of results and regular changes to compete for top positions.

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Filed under: SEO Strategies

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Social Media Has Changed Everything

Doug Williams @ 4:42 am

This blog entry was posted on October 18, 2010.

The world has moved online. The rise of blogs, videos on YouTube, mingling on Facebook and tweeting has changed how we socialize. Marketing is now about relationships. Wikipedia and Google have made information and knowledge something that can be acquired on demand.

Communication is not for the elite. Barriers have been removed. Bloggers and tweeters are now the experts and the commentators on world events. Everyone has the opportunity to be heard. The web has made the world accessible and reachable no matter whom or where you are.

Boundaries have been removed. Social networking has expanded our opportunities to meet and interact from our local neighborhood to the international scene. Social media can take you anywhere.

Marketing and advertising are not about communicating with the masses. It is now about reaching and interacting with the individual. Niches and micro niches have replaced the large market channels.

Marketers use social media to build their brand and reputation, not to sell products. Your brand is what you represent, what you care about and your connection to others. You want to be the unique and persuasive voice in your market. Your goal is to create a cultural following.

Politicians are listening real time to what is being said. Feedback is instantaneous. Facebook, twitter and blogs are now the working tools of PR.

Today we live in a world where you can’t hide. The world has become more transparent… not less. There is no more lurking in the shadows. Social media shines a light on everything and everybody.

The online marketing landscape has changed tremendously in just the past few years. It is getting increasingly chaotic. The old style of controlling your market is dead. It is about interacting and conversing with your market at a grassroots level.

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Filed under: Internet Predictions,Social Media Marketing

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Optimize Website Conversions Before Building Visitor Traffic

Doug Williams @ 6:50 am

This blog entry was posted on October 16, 2010.

It is amazing that only 1-2% of visitors to a typical website will sign-up or buy something. Does it annoy you that more than 98% of your web traffic will leave without doing anything? According to a study, websites such as ProFlowers and Office Depot achieve conversion rates in excess of 15%.

If your site isn’t converting enough of your visitors into buyers, or at least into prospects, you can fix this. Conversion optimization is both an art and science; it is buyer psychology and marketing smarts. Visitors come looking to solve some need; you just want to make it clear and easy for them to solve this need.

Targeting: Are you attracting the right visitors to your website? The best website won’t convert visitors if you’re targeting the wrong keywords.
Buyer Intent: What answer are visitors looking for when they arrive? What is their intent? If you have a local plumbing service, then most likely they have an urgent need and they need to talk to someone immediately. They won’t be interested in communicating by email.
Solution: Visitors arrive looking for a specific solution. You need to clearly understand the frustrations and needs of your potential buyer. If you can demonstrate you have the best solution, then they are ready to take action.
Action: Make it visual, visible, clear and easy. When your website visitor is ready to buy, make it easy for them. Forms should be short with only the minimum of required information. There should be no surprises at checkout such as hidden fees.
Eliminate Risk: Build trust at every step. Show your phone number and address. Post a guarantee. Have a no-risk returns policy. Show your privacy policy.

You will want to experiment and measure results. Use an analytics program such as Google Analytics. Work on improving bounce rates which will lead to better conversion rates.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing

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Mobile Commerce Trends – 2010

Doug Williams @ 4:43 am

This blog entry was posted on October 14, 2010.

Mobile Commerce or m-commerce is the ability to conduct ecommerce using a mobile phone, PDA, smartphone, or other mobile devices. More and more shoppers are using mobile phones to make purchases.

By 2015, it’s estimated that shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via their mobile phones, according to a study by ABI Research.

Retailers are looking to strengthen and improve their m-commerce websites. According to FitForCommerce, major retailers are expected to invest an average of $170,000 on their mobile sites this year.

HTML 5: This is the next major version of HTML and is expected to replace XHTML as the coding standard for the web. Flash was developed originally to run on desktop PCs. There have been compatibility issues Mac OSX and Apple mobile devices. HTML5 allows for better media integration and does not cause any of the problems Flash does and is the natural choice for mobile.
Smartphones are now how the majority of mobile Internet users are accessing the web. According to Comscore 55 percent of those who used a browser to access the web from a mobile device, did this from a smartphone. The smartphone market share is expected to continue to grow strongly.
Mobile Coupons: A recent Exposure2 report found that mobile coupon redemption rates often exceed 50 percent, while paper coupons typically have a redemption rate of only 0.2 percent to 2 percent. Mobile coupons allow businesses to distribute coupons directly to customer mobile phones.
Analytics: Retailers are expected to invest time and money into analytics for their m-commerce sites. They will be creating metrics to discover to what works and what does not.

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) surveyed 1000 US adult consumers. They found that one in every five adult consumers is already using mobile commerce.

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Filed under: Mobile Web

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How to Build a Lead Generation Web Site

Doug Williams @ 4:54 am

This blog entry was posted on October 12, 2010.

Your website should move your visitors through your selling sequence toward becoming a customer. Websites designed to capture leads are known as lead generation websites. These sites are focused on getting visitors to sign-up and leave their email address behind.

Your lead generation website must have a compelling offer and a clear call to action designed to convert a casual website visitor into a prospect. Your offer could be a free report, signing up for an e-course, downloading a free white-paper or signing up for a demo.

Elements of an effective lead generation website

Design: Your site must have a professional looking design. It should appear credible and trustworthy. This is the first impression people have of your company or product.
Organization: Visitors must understand your offer and your value proposition at a glance. Organize your content and your navigation to make it easily understood by a first time visitor. Make your site scannable with bulleted lists and subtitles.
Message: Focus on what really matters to your visitor. They arrive searching for a solution. Make your offer clear and identify the benefits that they will get by using your product or service.
Offer something for free. This is something that your best buyer would find irresistible. This could be a newsletter, a free membership, a free analysis or some special free report.
Capture Form: Drive your visitors toward a desired action. Make it clear and highly visible. Placing an online form in the upper right quadrant of your web page makes it the most visible. Ask for the minimum amount of required information. The longer your form, the fewer the number of people that will complete it.
Follow Through: If someone signs-up, have a great follow-up system. This could be a personal phone call or an automated email responder or drip marketing. Generating leads is worthless without a good system to nurture and convert them into customers.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,Website Design