Today, almost every family has an Internet connection on their computers. In the age of high-speed Internet via wireless cable and laptop computers, starting an online business and promoting it in cyberspace is easier than ever.
It would take a book to talk about all the different aspects of running an online business and making it work, but I think this report will break down three simple steps you can take to increase the money-making potential you deserve for your hard work.
So without further fanfare, here are three steps you can take to grow your business online.
1. Increase online sales by increasing the number of customers…
It’s a fact that you simply have to have customers to maintain a business, be it online or in a physical store, right? How do you increase the number of customers visiting your website?
A) References
Start by telling your friends to tell their friends about your online business. Then expand to get customers to “advertise” to you to people they know if they’re happy with your product or service.
B) Give away free reports to sign up for a newsletter
Your newsletter or e-zine is, in my opinion, the most powerful marketing tool an online entrepreneur can have. Therefore, it is imperative to give people an incentive to join your newsletter. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!
C) Give an incredible guarantee
By amazing guarantee I don’t mean “satisfaction guaranteed”. An effective guarantee will take all the risk from your prospect and will allow you to get a much higher conversion rate from visitors to sales.
Yes, you can give a few more refunds, but you’ll be surprised how few they will be. And refunds are just a drop in the bucket compared to the increase in online sales.
D) Effective use of search engines (paid and free)
If you’re just starting out, you may need to start with some pay-per-click ads like Google AdWords or Overture, but make sure you don’t fall into an advertising “black hole.” Some of the most effective advertising is done through free search engine placement.
You can build your ranking and find your website closer to the top of search engines by using articles related to your product or service. You don’t even have to write the articles yourself! There are plenty of hungry writers online who will be more than happy to write quality articles and reports at reasonable prices.
E) Place ads in other ezines that serve your market
Another way to promote your new business online is to advertise in newsletters that will reach your target market. Do some research and sign up for a few magazines to get a “feel” for your audience. Then make a contact to place your ad or write an article for them.
NOTE: Ezines are good places to get new readers for your newsletter by offering a free report to new subscribers.
F) Define who you are and what you do for your clients.
Give details of why you’re the best and what’s in it for them. Explain why your product or service is unique among the thousands of other website owners fighting for your attention.
When you determine why you are special, put it in your headline. You only have a few seconds to grab a web surfer’s attention, so make sure your headline is catchy.
2. Increase the transaction amount for each customer
A) Upsell – Offer something extra
The definition of an upsell is getting the customer to upgrade or buy something else right after the initial sale.
As soon as your customer has purchased your initial product, offer a second free item or service for less. If your offer is good, the conversion into the additional sale will be excellent.
Think… Supersize it? You just bought a large drink for a little more money, but that money adds up to millions of satisfied customers.
Upselling is a great way to increase the number of sales per transaction. Use it and you will be pleasantly surprised!
B) Improve your sales techniques
Learn more and better ways to sell online from the professionals and write better sales presentations for your website.
Did you include…
A catchy headline?
Say what the service or product will do for them?
Do you have testimonials?
Make an offer?
give a guarantee?
Tell them why they should buy today.
C) Bundle two or three or more products together for one price
They all like it very much! Are you offering your customer several discounted products that will solve their problem? A good way to package is to use the “good, better, better” system. The “best” will be the one with the highest price and the one with the highest benefits. Many clients will take the “best” package of these three.
D) Raise the price by 5%
I once heard of a convenience store chain that lowered gas prices to beat all their competition and then raised in-store prices by 10%. So simple but they made an absolute killing out of this idea.
If you have a high value item, you can try just 1%. Any increase will generate more per transaction up to a certain point. When you max out, find a middle ground in your pricing structure. Believe it or not, sometimes a higher price beats a lower one. Test, test, test!
3. Increase the number of times a customer buys from you
A) Develop a mailing list
A mailing list is one of the best ways I know of to get repeat business on the Internet. If your material is informative and useful, you can send your subscribers to your article pages and earn AdSense income, affiliate money, or sell your own article-related niche product. If you don’t have a list yet, start one today!
B) Have special sales for “elite” customers on your list
Make your customers feel special by offering “secret” deals just for them. You can do this periodically and sell to the same customers over and over again.
C) Offer a price discount for frequent buyers (frequent flyer miles?)
This is the same line as the special sale, but you can also offer an incentive up front to shop often. A good example is a subscription service offered by online video stores. Internet marketers are no stranger to this idea. A subscription service works especially well if it offers continuous service. You can offer monthly, quarterly or yearly plans and offer discounts for longer periods.
Become a real internet marketer
Now that you have an outline, it’s time to act! Don’t just read this article for the entertainment value. Knowledge will help you get an edge over your online competition if you just use it. Write these steps down or bookmark this article now. Turn these steps into achievable goals and turn your goals into action for online success!
