10 Tips for Selling Online
Your website is up and running. You have a great design with a nice shopping cart, easy navigation and clear call to actions. However at the end of the month you check your sales report and see a total of 5 measly sales even though you had decent traffic.
What gives?
Having a great product or service does not automatically guarantee sales. Neither does having a great website. Just like most things, there is a learning curve involved when trying something new or venturing into unknown territory. To help overcome that curve we have put together some solid tips to help with selling online.
Will they all work? It would be premature to say yes. Unfortunately every market is different and depending on the product and consumers it would be impossible for them all to hit the target. But that doesn’t mean that a lot of these can and will work for you!
Tips for Selling Online
- Offer a free trial – There are a lot of scams on the internet…that is just a fact of life. One of the best ways you can help alleviate concerns, even as a small, unknown company is by offering a free trial. Registering for free first can lead to sales later after they know you have the good stuff.
- Use a freemium mode – This works for software and apps more than anything else. Basically it is a free version of your product with basic features and then upgrades and add-ons are extra. This is one of the better ways to see apps for tablets and phones these days.
- Include a video – A simple two-minute video explaining your product or service can work wonders. Live people or animation can both help provide explanations or demonstrations and help with user engagement. Think of how people use infomercials to demonstrate a product like “Sham-wow” to its’ fullest.
- Use third-party reviews – Honest reviews from customers go a long well in selling your product. This can’t just be “Mary J. from Wisconsin” but real people. Use case studies or an interactive online forum to showcase the positive feedback.
- Include tables – Product features or service benefits look great when placed in a nice table. If you have something to offer that is competitive and will show well in this format, it provides people something easy to digest that is also compelling.
- Market across channels – There are a lot of ways to spread the word with your product and you shouldn’t limit yourself to only one medium. Social media is huge but affiliate ads and print ads have their place as well. Investigate what works best for similar businesses and look to create a well-rounded strategy.
- Cruise the forums – Many people use forums as a place to research products and learn about things they are going to buy. Joining is usually free and gives you an opportunity to find perspective clients and offer answers to their questions along with building trust and showcasing expertise.
- Sell in multiple locations – Yes you have a great site, but can you also sell your product on Amazon or E-bay? Can you market your services on another type of vendor site? Heck do you have brick and mortar representation? Of course you need to remember that other sites have rules you need to read and understand, get paid first, are typically on the consumer’s side first, and won’t always be a huge boom. But then again, getting your product in the market is important!
- Offer a money-back guarantee – This is a very powerful offer because a trusted and well-presented guarantee shows confidence in your product and gives the customer a feeling of security. Around 120 days is a good period for items because a shorter period makes people feel pressure versus a few months allows them to really use and enjoy it.
- Utilize metrics – Understanding the cause and effect of any marketing strategy is key to long term success. Far too many people don’t take the time to understand what the relationship is between various actions. You see it time and time again on shows where experts rescue failing businesses. Number don’t lie and if you have a good handle on what causes sales to increase or decrease then you can adjust campaigns and minimize losses.
