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"12 Tips To Increase Website Traffic & Sales" by Terri Gray
Thought For The Day
A Note From Bizine.com
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Feature Article:
"12 Tips To Increase Website Traffic &
Sales"
by Terri Gray
SavvySites.net
#1 Build a List . . . Set up a way for visitors
to register to be notified of site updates, special offers or newsy items.
Use this to build an in-house mailing list. By sending out periodic email
notices to the prospects on your list you can keep your site and products
in their minds. For mailing list tools/services check out:
And now that you have your list going . . . Start your own Ezine (online
newsletter). It's really not that hard. And here are some links to help
you get started::
#2 Automate! Have your product list with
brief descriptions & a mail-in order form available via an autoresponder.
That way if people are in a hurry, or if they just aren't ready to buy
right now, your information will be in their email box. They'll have less
of a chance to forget you!
Your prospects simply send any email message to
the autoresponder and the information is instantly sent to them. You also
get a copy of their email address so that you can follow up, or add them
to your in-house e-mail list. Most hosting companies will have autoresponders
available for your use. If yours doesn't, consider changing hosts. Here
are some that we recommend:
Autoresponders can also be used as an automatic follow-up tool, or to
deliver weekly lessons or marketing messages. The best source we've found
for these "Smart Autoresponders" is: Roibot
Autoresponder Server
Need help coming up with ideas for copy for your
autoresponder marketing messages? Check out Autoresponder
Magic.
#3 Install a secure order form. People will
be more likely to order online if you provide a way to protect their personal
and financial information. And if you make it "easy" for them
to order.
We offer two very affordable options if you are
in need - email us for more info: terri@savvysites.net
or visit: www.savvysites.net Or
you can check out the ROIbot
offers easy to use SECURE order forms that have a built in lead tracker.
If you don't have a merchant account, you can either apply for one, use
a 3rd party processor, or you can get check software that will let you
accept checks online. Whatever you do, don't make your customers print
out an order form and send it to you . . . the order won't get to you.
Here are some sources for merchant accounts, shopping
carts & 3rd party processing programs:
#4 Participate in discussion/networking groups
online. Networking is one of the top ways to increase sales. Refer
business to others & they will in turn refer business your way. Find
one or two that you are comfortable with. Some of the ones I like are:
For a list of other networking resources (both
on & offline) Click
Here. And also check our archived articles
for more information regarding networking online.
#5 Participate in message boards online.
There are TONS of message boards on every topic imaginable. While it generally
is not appropriate to advertise on these boards, you can respond to questions,
make suggestions and sign your posts with your name, business name and
URL. These posts are indexed by the search engines and this method creates
a lot of new links back to your site!! Remember not to just post ads on
message boards . . . people in these communities do not appreciate "spam"
on their boards. However, you can contribute, be helpful, ask questions
and then use your "signature" at the end with a brief marketing
blub and link to your site.
So find some boards with content that your prospects
have an interest in, or that you do and start mingling online. Participate
in this great online community and make connections! Just go to your favorite
search engine and search for discussion forums that interest you or check
out: MessageKing.com,
the message board search engine.
#6 Have a drawing at the site for free product,
t-shirts, pens, mouse pads etc. Some of these items are very inexpensive
give-aways. One of my clients has some very good prices on advertising
specialties - if interested visit: www.homeimages.com/creative
There are a number of places online where you can
announce give-aways, drawings, contests etc. It is a very good way to
build up traffic. AND if you have #1 in place before you do this, you
can build a terrific mailing list that will help you get those folks back
to the site and eventually get them to turn into customers.
Here's a place to announce these at: http://www.sweepstakesonline.com
And here's a link to a page with additional ideas
for promoting using contests, give-aways & scholarships: http://www.savvysites.net/chat12.htm
One of our clients is giving away a chance to win
a free pizza on his site: http://www.lapizza.com.
Just click on "menu" and then the "win a free pizza"
link. We created a survey form and wrote a script that will automatically
generate a free pizza coupon if the person is designated a winner by the
software. The customer data is stored in a database for future marketing
followups.
#7 How's your marketing copy look? Has it
been a while since it's been rewritten? By presenting your material in
a brief and more compelling manner, you can generate more sales. Be sure
you have a strong call to action. What do you want your visitors to do?
Call? Order? Sign up to be notified of updates? Be sure you clearly direct
the visitor through your site and to take the action that you want them
to take.
Here are some resources to help you with your copywriting
efforts:
#8 Sell products? You could have
a date reminder service - there is a lot of software available that would
help you to automate this. Birthdays, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Anniversaries
. . . what are your products good for? You can use an automatic reminder
service like one of these:
Or you can add a couple extra fields on your contact
form so that folks can enter the birthdate and sex of their children/grandchildren
and you can send out a notice to them with a reminder of the upcoming
b-day or holiday and include a software recommendation for that age.
#9 What special things can you do for your customers?
For example, Can you gift wrapped before shipping? If so, let people know.
Do you offer gift certificates, group discounts etc.? Think about what
else you can offer and let folks know about it!
#10 Relist with the search engines - Is
the traffic to your site slowing down? It may be time to relist with those
major search engines. BUT . . . before you do, use WordTracker
to find the best keywords to use in your META tags. The ROIbot
Webmaster Tool includes site submission & tracking.
#11 Get those press releases out! Be sure
it's not just a sales message. Make it newsworthy. To get you started,
check out these resources:
#12 Nothing sells better than testimonials.
Be sure to include those kind words from your clients and watch your sales
increase.
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Terri Gray has been assisting small to mid-sized businesses with their
online marketing and website design needs for over 6 years. She can help
you too! Visit at: http://www.SavvySites.net
Food For Thought:
"We must risk going too far to discover just how far we can go."
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