I have had my own websites for over 5 years, and all of them until recently had absolutely nothing to do with any type of online sales at all, not one sale product link included anywhere on any of the websites. Every site I had, was constructed around the idea of purely providing information to website users, all about the different hobbies I had a real interest with. In fact I never even considered deriving an income online until around 12 months ago. (Note:In that 12 month period since I discovered and learned exactly what can be acheived in online selling, I have made over $40,000 online, not a lot of money in comparison to others online, but enough to support an independant lifestyle which was my initial goal). And without any real knowledge of online sales, and the methods and strategies involved. I decided to build another website in order to learn in the best way possible through a pure hands on experience. And so http://www.sitepromotionnow.org was born.
This whole experience was an absolute learning curve, and a learning curve which has never ended and will never end. Simply because the technology and systems available online, change and advance constantly. And so in this e-Book report I will share with you exactly what I have learned, by criticizing my own website, to show you what works and exactly what does not. This idea of 'Self Website Criticism' as a learning tool for others is a new 'Original' idea and is rule number 5 in my own set of rules in what I feel is needed in order to succeed online. What are the other rules? Well here they are!
1. Commitment - An absolute commitment to the project you have or are undertaking.
2. 'Again' Commitment - An absolute commitment to the project you have or are undertaking.
3. 'Again, Again' Commitment - An absolute commitment to the project you have or are undertaking.
4. Knowledge - An absolute knowledge of the product or service you are involved with.
5. Originality - Take the absolute knowledge from rule number 4 and use this knowledge to create original ideas.
And because of this gained experience and knowledge I now have, about all aspects of marketing online, I answer emails each and every day from other online users, seeking advice and answers. And the number one question I answer is, How do I actually make sales online? The answer has many parts and associated strategies, but I am going to tell the number one method to making consistent sales online. Without you having to experience any of the problems I encountered, when I first began this exact online selling quest myself.
So lets begin!
The Money Is In The List:
I am certain you have heard the online marketing Super Quote 'The money is in the list'. I can guarantee you there is no greater method that will bring you greater success online than this method.
For those of you who have not heard of this quote before, I will give you the basic outline for what is involved in starting an autoresponder email service yourself.
1. You sign up to an autoresponder service. A large proportion of these services are free. But each service differs in the services that they provide. For example, the format that is available for sending your autoresponder messages in e.g., text or html format. The choice in providers of autoresponder services is up to you. I won't give you any biased links here, but please do the research and make a decision, decided around the ideas and/or requirements you want to create in this exact task.
2. Set up your autoresponder messages in a sequence that you want your prospects to receive them. (A more detailed mention shortly about this important task.)
3. Cut and paste your html code etc, provided by your autoresponder service. So that your prospects can sign-up to your email list from your website.
This is a basic 3 step process which gives you an outline of just how simple this set-up process is.
The real skill, mentioned in step 2 above, although not difficult, is in writing the autoresponder messages you are going to send to your signed-up prospects. There is a need for a real structure and purpose in the way you attempt this task. And I will tell you how right now! So lets begin.
We all from an early age have been trained as consumers. From the first moment for example, we saw our first 30 seconds of television, we were instantly introduced to the wonderful world of both 'Direct and Indirect Advertising'. Both these words direct and indirect are very important when it comes to online marketing. In my opinion direct advertising does not work online at first, and should not be attempted until later. This direct advertising may have worked online initially in the past, but thanks to such online issues as spam, this method is not effective at all in the beginning. Indirect advertising however is what should be used, and this provides a 'Conditioning' phase for your potential buyers who have newly signed-up to your autoresponder list.
When targeted potential customers visit your website for the first time, they arrive because they are searching for specific information. And secondly, they may choose to purchase an item or service from your website, as a pure result of the information you are providing, in order to complete or complement the provided information contained on your website.
The structure of the information you provide in your autoresponder messages should therefore follow this same 'Cause & Effect' structure. Simply put, you are providing information that will complete or complement a product or service you are promoting indirectly. In online marketing you will hear the word 'Pre-selling' mentioned a lot, and this is what pre-selling is, a simple providing for a cause and effect event.
I must mention the word 'Trust' at this point, because it is an absolute needed commodity on the internet, and leads into the whole concept and purpose of 'Branding'. We have all heard of the bad things that can happen online with credit card fraud etc, its a long list. And it is absolutely 100% certain that your potential customers have also heard of these facts. So you should be aware that every person who visits your website for the first time is already on the back foot. So it is your job to build a potential customers trust in your website, so that when they may visit your website again, they have a feeling of complete ease. And let me assure you this trust does need to be earned on your behalf and you should be aware of this always. I will add at this point the statement, 'If you are not serious about the product or service you are promoting then just don't bother doing it in the first place'. Rules 1 through to 3 stated earlier mention the word commitment. If you are not committed, you as a result, have no set purpose for what you are trying to achieve. If your customers suffer your website will suffer. So how do we build 'Trust'?
Stay Tuned For Part 2!
About the Author: Michael J.Keenan (CEO-SitePromotionNow) Providing Online Sales Information and Resources That Work. Visit Today at http://www.sitepromotionnow.org To Download The Above Presented Article In Its Original PDF Format Click Here: http://www.sitepromotionnow.org/issue-_1.pdf
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