PPC Management: When To Give Up On A Loser

PPC Management: When To Give Up On A Loser

by: Dave Brown

Pay per click (PPC) advertising can be a dream come true. You can get traffic almost immediately from some PPC search engines. And it can be mighty cheap too. Next to joint ventures, PPC search engines have been responsible for most of my online income. Iกve gotten some great returns on PPC campaigns. And I know other people who have too.

Right now, I have one PPC campaign thatกs making me $56.69 for every $1 I spend. I know, thatกs pretty incredible. And itกs not typical. But I have another thatกs making me $8.84 for every $1 I spend. Yet another makes $7.73 for every $1.

But I have other campaigns that have lost me money. Making money, instead of losing it, with pay per click search engines involves wise management. There are many different factors that decide whether youกll be in the red or in the black. And you need to be aware of what these are.

In fact, there are times that even the best management of your PPC campaign won’t save it. Some of them will be losers and thereกs nothing you can do about it. But you need to know when to decide that you have a loser on your hands. At what point should you bury it and move on?

There are a number of different factors to consider. Thereกs no simple answer. I can’t tell you to simply abandon your PPC campaign after 200 clicks without a sale. Or to quit after youกve lost $50.

First of all, you need to know how much your profit will be on each sale (before advertising costs). For example, if you’re selling your own product for $47 through Clickbank, then youกll make $42.48 on each sale after Clickbank takes their fees.

But if you sell someone elseกs product for $47 through Clickbank, and you get a 50% commission on each sale, then youกd only get $21.24.

But you need to know even more than that. You also need to decide how much of that $42.48 (or $21.24) you’re willing to spend on advertising. In other words, whatกs the least you’re willing to earn on each sale? This will determine how much you can afford to spend on advertising.

Letกs assume you make $42.48 per sale. If you decide that youกd be happy with a $20 profit, then you can spend as much as $22.48 to make each sale.

So now you know what your advertising budget is. Next, estimate what your conversion rate will be. If this is a brand new product you’re promoting, then you may have no idea. In those cases, I tend to use 1% as a rule of thumb. That means that 1 out of every 100 people that visit the site will buy. Letกs use 1% for our example here.

So if you’re willing to spend $22.48 to make each sale, and you expect to make one sale out of every 100 visitors, then you can afford to spend 22 cents to get each visitor to the site. This means that you can afford to bid 22 cents on each keyword on the PPC search engines (max).

At this point, you can go ahead and set up your PPC campaigns. Find your keywords. Place bids. I won’t cover these issues right now because they’re off the topic. The purpose here is to know when to drop your campaign because itกs a loser.

Now, just because you *can* bid 22 cents on each keyword, it doesn’t mean you should. You should bid as low as you can to get good traffic (whatever you consider *good* to be).

In our example, letกs fast forward. Imagine youกve already gotten 150 clicks, and your average bid has been 22 cents a click. So youกve spent $33, and you haven’t made a sale yet. Should you ditch this campaign?

No. *On average* you can spend $22 per sale. But thatกs an average. Which means that sometimes youกll spend more, and sometimes less. And if your conversion rate is 1%, then thatกs also an *average*. So don’t freak out if you haven’t made a sale after 150 clicks.

When you decide to drop a campaign though, make the decision based on how much you’re spending on it. Not the conversion rate.

When I first start a campaign, Iกll often wait until I spend at least double my advertising budget with no sales before I consider dropping it. Maybe even triple my budget if Iกm emotionally attached to it. 😉

But if I haven’t made any sales by then, Iกll usually stop the campaign. However, you may want to wait longer if you’re willing to spend more money to see if it works. I think Iกm probably more of a conservative.

At any rate, I *rarely* end a campaign before I get 300 clicks. 300 is typically the minimum number of clicks before I feel I can judge whether a campaign will pay off. And I will generally only end it then if Iกve had *zero* sales.

Sometimes, though, youกll make a quick sale and get excited. But then you see few or no sales after that. If you find that you’re consistently spending more than your budget for the first few sales, then get ready to end it if you don’t figure out how to make it better.

I want you to realize, too, that when you bid less on your keywords, you can afford to live with a lower conversion rate. But when you bid more, your conversion rate has to be higher to provide you with the profit you want.

Iกve only talked about *starting* a PPC campaign so far. But sometimes, you may have a PPC campaign thatกs paying off, and then it starts choking and gasping for air after a while.

In that case, you need to decide when to pull the plug and retire it. Otherwise, it may eat up all the profits youกve already made.

Iกll usually be more lenient in this case. Since the campaign has made me money in the past, Iกm more likely to give it the benefit of the doubt and keep it running. I don’t know if thatกs a good idea or not. But sometimes, itกs just hard to say goodbye to an old friend. After all, maybe itกs just a temporary downturn.

But you still have to cut it off at some point. If I find myself breaking even (or even losing money) on each sale for any length of time, then Iกll start thinking about ending the campaign.

In our example here, if you notice that youกve been spending $45 per sale lately, then start thinking about the future of this campaign. Try to figure out whatกs changed and see if you can fix it.

How long should you wait before you abandon it? Two weeks? A month? Ten sales? A hundred sales?

Itกs completely dependent on your situation. If you make 20 sales a day, then obviously worrying after only 20 sales is unwarranted. On the other hand, if it takes you 4 months to make 20 sales, then maybe you shouldn’t wait quite that long. Listen to your gut.

In the end, be aware that PPC management is not a rigid science. You have to use a certain amount of judgment. But try not to be emotionally attached. If a little voice in the back of your head is telling you that you’re spending too much for too little, then listen to it.

What Iกve given you here are guidelines based on my own practices. Iกm sure there are other people who do it differently and are also successful. But these strategies work for me. And Iกm sure you can adapt them to work for you.

About The Author

Dave Brown is a selftaught marketer and software developer. He also publishes the uncommon and uniquely original newsletter on making the most of your life A Fresh Perspective. You can learn more at

http://www.davebrown.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 23, 2004

by Dave Brown

Tips and Tricks To Getting Top Money for your Doma

Tips and Tricks To Getting Top Money for your Domain Names

by: Dayne Herren

Would you like to be that lucky person who sells their domain for thousands or even a million dollars? It IS possible to find quality domains and resell them for huge amounts of money. The time is ripe for acquiring top domains and selling them. Now that the Internet Boom is behind us, valuable names expire everyday. The best way to find these domains is to use services on the Internet such as DomainsBot to weed out the bad names. Or just check out Hot Lists on sites like Namewinner or Pool.
So what makes a กgoodก domain name? Usually short, single word domains and 23 letter .coms, .nets, and .orgs are the best. The more specific the better. These can be hard to come by but when you find them, you can almost guarantee that you can make good money from them. Once you have purchased a nice domain name, get a good appraisal of the name to get an idea of the possible worth (see AppraisalBlast.com). In order to sell your newly appraised name, you have to find a buyer. Here are your basic options for selling your domain name in a nutshell:
1. Sell it on Ebay
This is the easiest and quickest way to sell your domain name. There are several tricks to landing a good sale at Ebay. One is, start your price low. People want a bargain. Once you have received an initial bid, it will draw peoples attention to your name and create more bids. You may want to set a reserve price if you want to make sure you get X amount of dollars. When selling your domain on Ebay, make sure your domain name is in the title of the description. Also, include an appraisal to show to possible buyers the value of the domain. Keep your description short, clean, and really emphasize how important and rare your domain is. For example, if your domain is 3 letters and ends in กIก, stress how most 3 letter domains that are highly valuable end in กIก because it usually stands for กIncorporatedก. If it ends in กEก it could stand for กEnterpriseก. A little bit of marketing saavy can go a long way. I once sold the domain 0pp.com for over $200. It even has a number in it making it worth very little. But I emphasize its possible uses and potential. Also, spend the extra $1 for the Bold Listing and make sure your auction ends on a Sunday afternoon or evening. This is when most people are browsing Ebay. It will make a big difference.
2. Sell it on Domain Sites
The only sites you should even consider putting your name up for sale is on ebay.com, Afternic, or Sedo. These are the most popular and where some huge sales have taken place. The only downside is that there are high numbers of domains already for sale and usually the site will get a commission of something around 10%. There also may be a small fee to join. Appraisal Blast charges a minimal fee but no commission. Your domain will get more exposure there just because there aren’t hundreds of domains for sale. You may also have luck selling it on forums such as DomainState. The prices of sales there seem to be lower.
3. Contact Large Businesses with Deep Pockets
This approach takes some time and patience. Letกs say you have acquired a great domain name that would work great for any business in the field of the stock market. You may want to locate some of the bigger sites or businesses and make an offer to sell your domain name. Make sure the name you own doens’t have any elements that are already trademarked because you may be forced to give up the name. You may want to go on the Internet and look up current websites that deal with stocks and find ones that don’t have the greatest domain names. Make offers to these sites stating how your domain is much better and will HELP them. If you get a company to bite, the rewards are usually very generous!
In summary, selling domains for high amounts of cash depends on two key elements. First you must have a quality domain, one that doesn’t have numbers or isn’t too long. It must be clear and easily recognizable. ก.comก is the best, but even domains such as the ก.usก are gaining popularity. The second key is Marketing, Marketing, Marketing! I can’t stress that enough. You have to create a good reason for someone to buy your domain. How can THEY benefit from it. When these two steps are fulfilled, a sale is almost guaranteed!

About The Author

Dayne Herren is a domain seller and buyer, web developer, and artist.
Professional Domain Name Appraisals http://www.appraisalblast.com

This article was posted on May 14, 2004

by Dayne Herren

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

by: Matt Bacak

Whether you realize it or not, if youกve been on the Internet today, you have encountered affiliate marketing. If you have ever ขclicked thruข one site to order something from another, the first site probably received a portion of the sale. For instance, independent booksellers have limited shelf space for books. But they can offer their customers an almost unlimited inventory of titles by affiliating with companies like Amazon or Powellกs. The more orders, the bigger the affiliate percentage.

Visitors to your site are interested in lots of things that may or may not be related to your product. But when you know your customers well, itกs simply a matter of affiliating yourself with sites that offer what they want. What you receive is just a small percentage of the sale, but it adds up, especially when you consider that all it costs you is a link on your web page. And usually, the more sales your affiliate makes from your ขclick thruข traffic, the bigger your percentage will be.

The key to success in affiliate marketing is being able to track referred customers. As an affiliate manager, you want a system that reliably tracks what you want, with minimal effort on your part, and without affecting the performance of your site or server. Over the last few years a variety of technologies and strategies have been developed in an attempt to improve accuracy, convenience, and flexibility.

There are at least half a dozen methods, but by far the most preferred method is Cookie Tracking. Itกs popular because it makes tracking affiliatereferred sales so convenient, without negatively impacting your site. This system writes a small text file, called a ขcookie,ข to a userกs browser when they click on an affiliate link. When you are the referring affiliate, the cookie holds your ID, so that at the merchantกs order page, you get credit for referring the sale. One drawback is that many computer users disable cookies, although most choose not to, since their favorite sites require them. One bonus is that the merchant can save the information, so that even if a customer buys long after clicking through your site, you still get credit for the sale.

Affiliate marketing, at its best, is a winwin scenario. Itกs an easy way to offer your customers more of what they want, while you benefit, both in terms of building goodwill and making money.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours.

Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is

turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories.

Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on September 06

by Matt Bacak

Make Houses for Sale More Appealing

Make Houses for Sale More Appealing

by: Paul Grunlerder

Making Houses for Sale Look Like Homes

Are any of your houses for sale out there? If so, beware the appraiser! Appraisers not only use objective criteria for evaluating houses (i.e. location, structural integrity, they also use subjective criteria (i.e. landscape, paint, overall appearance).

Buyers depend on appraisers and inspectors, as a rule, to check out construction details but tend to rely on their own feelings and impressions of how houses look and feel to make their buying decisions. Five tips for positively influencing those decisions with ease follow.

1. Houses that are clean and clutterfree are more attractive than houses that are not. Many of us, who live with clutter, lose sight of that fact. Others of us live with clutter because we believe ourselves too busy to tidy things up on a regular basis. If you find managing clutter to be overwhelming, check your bookstore or library for great resources on how to eliminate the overwhelm in clutter management.

2. Stinky houses are gross! You may not notice the odor of last nightกs fish feast or the pile of athletic socks fermenting in the laundry, but guests will. Try two things to help this. First, keep your houses clean and clutterfree (see above). Second, use potpourri lamps, scented candles, or a realtors favorite: Place a drop of vanilla extract on foil or a baking sheet and stick it in the oven on low heat for a wonderful household scent. Make sure you’re not hungry if you do that last one!

3. Look at your floor spaces. Do you feel cramped as you move about your houses? If so, experiment with your furniture arrangement and see if that helps create more floor space. More floor space equals a more comfortable living space.

4. Decorate! Don’t go overboard and clutter your houses with knickknacks and plants (see number one, above), but don’t have so little decoration that your houses have the appeal of prison cellblocks! Put some pictures on the walls, tastefully arrange some books or magazines on a coffee table, and place plants near areas where theyกll get sufficient sun.

5. Remember the advice the 5th Dimension gave back in the late 60กs: Let the Sunshine In! Even on the gloomiest of days, opening your curtains brightens your houses and creates illusions of greater area. During the day, use curtains strategically as an energysaving measure

About The Author

Paul Grunlerder is the founder and webmaster of F M Houses, a resource for information about houses. Visit http://www.fmhouses.com/ to learn more.

http://www.fmhouses.com

This article was posted on August 05

by Paul Grunlerder

A Simple Ebay Money Making Trick Revealed!

A Simple Ebay Money Making Trick Revealed!

by: Dayne Herren

Let me guess, you hear of all these people making thousands if not millions on eBay and you are just completely baffled as to how they do it. Well, most of these people either sell high ticket items or sell hundreds and hundreds of specific กhotก items.

As you may know, finding items to sell on eBay can be tough and most of all, it takes time. You have to search through junk at garage sales and even thrift stores.

But what Iกm about to reveal to you will be an easy way for you to make some extra cash on eBay. It may even be enough to pay your mortgage or car payment. And best of all, it is very simple. You don’t even have to search your local garage sale or flea market for that hidden treasure to sell on eBay.

So here is what you do. First of all, you have to find a market on eBay that is buying. Take a look at expired auctions or current hot auctions. Once you find a hot subject, write up a 35 page report that gives solid content on that subject. If it solves a type of problem or explains กhow toก do something, even better. Sell your report on eBay for something around $2.99 to $5.99. Be sure to make your listing keyword rich so it gets viewed but the right audience.

Now, here is the part that may earn you even MORE money AFTER the sale of your report. If you haven’t heard of กaffiliate marketingก, then you are missing out! In a nutshell, affiliate marketing means that you sell someone elses product, and you get a percentage of the sale. There are multiple places you can sign up to start promoting other peoples products. A couple big ones that come to mind are cj.com, Linkshare.com, Clickbank.com and even Amazon.com. When you sign up, you find a product you want to promote, and then you you can pick either text links or banner ads to promote the product. When someone buy from that link or ad, you get paid. Plain and simple.

If you really want to make SERIOUS money on affiliate products, I would highly recommend you pick up your own copy of Rosalind Gardnerกs Super Affiliate Handbook. She makes over $400,000 a year just by selling other peoples products! She will show you exactly what to do to make great money. Go to http://dayne.us/affiliatehandbook.html and grab your copy.

The key to making more money off your report is to make sure you put in affiliate links within your report. I wouldn’t use more than two. I would advise using text links, that way you can blend them within the report text. Once you create your text links, they will be long, so go to www.tinyurl.com. This is a great site that can shorten the link for you.

Once you have your affiliate links shortened, blend them in within your report and hype them up a bit to promote the sale. But don’t overdue it. If you push it too much, people will realize that you are just trying to make a sale.

Lastly, when your report is complete with content and links, make sure you put in PDF format. If you don’t want to write the report yourself, just go to Elance.com and find someone who will write it for you. For a small report, it should only cost you around $20$40. Remeber, you can sell this report over and over again on eBay and you have exclusive rights to it!

Thatกs it! Now, you have the opportunity to make $5.99 from one sale on eBay and maybe even MORE with your affiliate links…and you didn’t even have to go hunting for items to sell! Just think if you get 10 reports selling on eBay. The profit potential can be huge!

About The Author

Learn how you can make THOUSANDS of dollars a month by selling other peoples products at http://dayne.us/affiliatehandbook.html.

Dayne Herren is a freelance artist, writer, and online marketer.

This article was posted on April 20

by Dayne Herren

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

by: Matt bacak

Whether you realize it or not, if youกve been on the Internet today, you have encountered affiliate marketing. If you have ever ขclicked thruข one site to order something from another, the first site probably received a portion of the sale. For instance, independent booksellers have limited shelf space for books. But they can offer their customers an almost unlimited inventory of titles by affiliating with companies like Amazon or Powellกs. The more orders, the bigger the affiliate percentage.

Visitors to your site are interested in lots of things that may or may not be related to your product. But when you know your customers well, itกs simply a matter of affiliating yourself with sites that offer what they want. What you receive is just a small percentage of the sale, but it adds up, especially when you consider that all it costs you is a link on your web page. And usually, the more sales your affiliate makes from your ขclick thruข traffic, the bigger your percentage will be.

The key to success in affiliate marketing is being able to track referred customers. As an affiliate manager, you want a system that reliably tracks what you want, with minimal effort on your part, and without affecting the performance of your site or server. Over the last few years a variety of technologies and strategies have been developed in an attempt to improve accuracy, convenience, and flexibility.

There are at least half a dozen methods, but by far the most preferred method is Cookie Tracking. Itกs popular because it makes tracking affiliatereferred sales so convenient, without negatively impacting your site. This system writes a small text file, called a ขcookie,ข to a userกs browser when they click on an affiliate link. When you are the referring affiliate, the cookie holds your ID, so that at the merchantกs order page, you get credit for referring the sale. One drawback is that many computer users disable cookies, although most choose not to, since their favorite sites require them. One bonus is that the merchant can save the information, so that even if a customer buys long after clicking through your site, you still get credit for the sale.

Affiliate marketing, at its best, is a winwin scenario. Itกs an easy way to offer your customers more of what they want, while you benefit, both in terms of building goodwill and making money.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt bacak

A Lesson In Email: The Money Is In The List… Wit

A Lesson In Email: The Money Is In The List… With The BackEnd Sales

by: Anthony L Davenport

Firstly, backend sales is eMail Marketing at its best, so for this to work you need to already have a list of customers that have bought from you before.

The reason for this is because Backend sales, are the ultimate way to realize the true กlifetime valueก of your customers/list. Once someone buys from you, and if their experience with your product is good, then you will have no problems selling to them again and again.

Back end sales will equate to about 7585% of your overall income. This is how important and powerful this marketing method really is.

But first, to accommodate you if you are totally new to this whole internet marketing thing.

A backend sale is simply a sale you make from a customer who has purchased from you in the past. Meaning, lets say a first time buyer orders your new ebook. You find a way to collect their email address (through your newsletter, or have them fill out a form during the order process) so you can eMail them promos in the future. Now every time that same customer buys something from your eMail promotions that is a backend sale, and more profits in your pocket.

As Netrepreneurs, we all know that to acquire our FIRST TIME customers is where the majority of our marketing budget goes. We have to some how direct them to our website, persuade them to signup for our mailings and entice them with our sales copy to purchase one of our products.

With all this time, money and energy being spent drawing these first time customers to our website and sales copy itกs no wonder why you cannot over look the power of following up and backend salesif you want to make substantial profits.

You see when a prospect finally makes the conscious decision to buy from you, then you have succeeded in:

1) Establishing your Credibility to that person

2) Building a mutually beneficial relationship with him/her.

3) (obviously) Closing the FIRST sale.

Now after the first sale, IF your product or service:

1Comes with SUPERB customer service (from you)

2Lives up to your promises and their expectations

3Is of exceptional quality

4Offers them great value

Then…

This is the time to take ADVANTAGE of this relationship and offer this person more value.

Now since they have bought from you in the past and enjoyed the productselling to them again and again will be so much easier than acquiring a totally new FIRST TIME customers.

The reason for this, is because your customer base will already trust you and feel bonded with you on some level.

So if you want to really succeed online you MUST focus on your current customer base. Like I said earlier, they will make up the bulk of your profits (7585%).

How do you do this?

Well for starters you can simply offer them another product, related to their first purchase, at a กValued Customerข discount.

Try doing this for your attempted second sale from them..anythng for them to purchase from you again. And if that products lives up to The first one:

1Comes with SUPERB customer service (from you)

2Lives up to your promises and their expectations

3Is of exceptional quality

4Offers them great value

This will make the subsequent sales much, much easier to close..because you have:

1) Overcome the obstacles of the first sale.

2) Reinforced your Value to the customer with another excellent product.

Now…on to offers. Another important segment of backend sales is.. well, What are you going to sell them? (after you run out of your own products?)

Well after you sold them your featured product, your discounted product, your new product and so forth.

Where do you get more products to continue to capitalize on your customerกs กlife time valueก?

If you don’t want to go into the whole expenditure of developing another product: Time, Money, Research, Headaches, etc.

Just join an affiliate program. This is what I like to refer to as being the กultimate backend.ก

YOU WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF PRODUCTS. Only thing is, make sure the affiliate products are of the same great quality as yours. Also, make sure they are somehow related. If you need help finding affiliate programs to join and promote as backend product, contact me and I will give you some valuable recommendations for hot new products and services out there.

I truly hope you found this writing enjoyable and informative.

Remember:

You spend all your time and money on getting that first sale. Once you have overcome this, you have that personกs trustso they will be much more open to your recommendations.

Realize this. And then Profit from your customerกs กLife Time Valueก through your powerful backend products.

Thanks again for reading. I hope you see now that BackEnd Sales are the way to go for financial independence from your eBiz.

To your Success,

Anthony L. Davenport

Powerful, InDemand Resell ebooks/software for You to make 100% Pure Profit from each sale!! Plus Cutting Edge Web Applications to keep You ahead of all the ailments of eMarketing today Get PAID MONTHLY to build YOUR optin email list Fr~e 12 Volume eMarketing Success Library And MORE…. http://www.iczn.com

About The Author

I have been online for 2yrs and I will help you the best I can, just visit and email me.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 26, 2003

by Anthony L Davenport

How 5 Easy Tactics Can Seriously Boost Your Websit

How 5 Easy Tactics Can Seriously Boost Your Website Sales

by: Charles Preston

The art of turning website visitors into paying customers depends almost entirely on good sales copy. What is that?

Simply put good sales copy is the content of your copy and presentation of your copy put together in such a way that it increases your visitor to sale conversion rate on a consistent basis.

Itกs an ongoing process in which you will always try to beat your กcontrolก. Beating the control is marketing lingo for engaging in a never ending process of constant improvement to your sales copy in order to beat your last highest visitor to sale conversion rate. The more you practice this the more money you will make!

This article will give you 5 quick tactics to get you started in playing your own game of กbeat the controlก which in turn will put you on the road to higher sales conversion and more money in your pocket.

Tactic #1 Know your numbers

I am always surprised when I speak with clients who wish to increase their sales from their websites and when I ask them how many visitors they are getting per month, how many sales per visitor, average unit of sale, etc they don’t know. You must be able to measure results and that begins with knowing where you are at currently. Below are the most important factors you need to be tracking …

How many unique visitors do you get per month. This is not the same as กhitsก. Most hosting companies provide a stats package that you can log into and see how many unique visitors you get each month. If they don’t I suggest switching to a hosting company that does.

How many sales do you get per 100 visitors. This gives you your conversion rate in percent. The average according to shop.org is around 1.82% or roughly 2 sales for each 100 visitors. I have found that this number can be dramatically improved by making even the smallest changes to your website copy and or layout.

What is your average sale price. Take all your online sales each month add them up then divide by the number of sales.

Tactic #2 Move the big guns up to the front.

Statistics show that you have about 10 seconds to entice a website visitor to go deeper into your site before they click the back button and forget you ever existed. Remember that your online prospects are looking for information to solve their problem and if they don’t see anything on your homepage immediately upon arriving that leads them to believe that you understand their problem you lose.

You must greet your visitors with a large headline that says something to the effect of กwe know what your problem is and we can fix it better than anyone else hereกs why…ก. Then in your copy give them as many reasons as possible as to why your company is the better choice out of all your competitors. Give them testimonials, and other kinds of proof that you or your product gets results.

Tactic #3 Use simple language.

Speaking to your online prospects in a conversational tone increases conversion rates. Avoid the tendency to try to sound professional using corporate sounding gibber jabber. Remember these are real people and they respond to real language being spoken by a real person. Be authentic and forget about what your competitors are doing. Find your own voice and I guarantee that more of your prospects will respond to that than to the same old tired impersonal ivory tower cliches.

Tactic #4 Put the emphasis on what you can do for them

A lot of businesses make the mistake in thinking that potential customers actually care how long they have been in business or how much they say they value customer service and so on. Avoid platitudes like the plague consumers are immune to them now. Your copy needs to be written in terms of not how special you think your company is but in how good you are at solving problem x for the visitor and then back it up with all the proof you can find. Try using the word กYouก more often than the word กWeก.

Tactic #5 Lead your visitors to the call to action.

So if you have done a great job at enticing the prospect to keep clicking deeper into your site from the homepage with a compelling headline and copy that speaks to the prospects problem and the rest of your website copy does a good job of convincing the visitor that you are the obvious choice to do business with your job is still not done. You need to ask for the sale or lead the prospect to the call to action. At the end of any page of copy or maybe even within the main body of your content you need to tell them to buy your product or contact you today! If itกs not a high priced item or service this is all that is required but if you are selling something over $100 you might need to break your sales process into small steps by offering the visitor a free report or free trial or sample of your product or service just to get them into your sales cycle. Make it easy for them to build a relationship with you and give them a good incentive to do so.

The copy on your website sells your product or service. The website itself and the graphics are their to support the copy. The copy needs to be easy to read (break it up with headers, short paragraphs and bulleted lists) use conversational language, give the visitor substantial reasons to do business with you as soon as possible on the homepage.

Try different headlines and free offers. Keep track of your conversions and see whatกs working and what doesn’t. There is always a better formula that will make you more money and by beginning the process of searching for that formula you will be gaining a significant advantage over your competition.

About The Author

Charles Preston is President of Click Response a website design company that specializes in Business Website Design that increases online sales. http://www.clickresponse.net

This article was posted on September 10

by Charles Preston

Creating Sales Conversations

Creating Sales Conversations

by: Charlie Cook

Youกve got a great product or service that beats the competition by miles. Once you get in front of people or get them on the phone, they’re sold. The only problem is you’re not getting enough of those initial conversations with prospects started so you can convert them to clients. Instead of having your phone ringing of the hook with requests, you feel like your firm is the best kept secret in your industry.

Sound familiar?

Bob called from Alabama with just this problem. His company manufactures creative, attractive and safe playgrounds. Lately, sales have been flat, at best, and despite having an outstanding product, his company isn’t generating as many sales as heกd like. Bob wanted to know how to start more conversations so he can jump start sales.

Want more conversations with prospects so you can sell your products and services?

The first step to starting a conversation with someone is to get his or her attention. In school, you raised your hand and eventually the teacher called on you of course, that is what the teacher was paid to do. When you’re marketing your products or services, you can’t just raise your hand and expect prospects to call on you. Running an ad or having a web site that describes your products or services is the equivalent of raising your hand. It may have worked in the classroom, but it doesn’t work in the marketplace.

When you focus your marketing on yourself, your firm or your products, it rarely works to get attention or start a conversation. To engage prospects and get them to contact you, you need to focus on their needs and wants.

Bob explained that he had three different markets: day care centers, municipal parks departments and architects and each has different concerns. Parks departments concern is durability and the safety of the materials used, day care centers is the creative design.

As Bob clearly understands, each target market has their own unique set of interests. These interests should be the focus his marketing effort, not the company name, credentials or product production techniques. Bob could be using these insights to create a marketing message or set of marketing messages to get the attention of prospects.

Through your experience you have a good idea of your prospectsก and your clientsก concerns and interests. Take a minute to jot down the top three concerns of each of your target markets. Use this information to engage prospects in conversation.

If a stranger walked into your office, whatกs the first thing youกd do? Youกd say something like, กHow can I help you?ก Not surprisingly, the same technique works wonders when you combine it with your knowledge of prospectsก concerns. Instead of touting your credentials or describing your products, lead with a question to start a conversation.

Bob could ask, กWant to learn more about improving the safety and durability of your playgrounds?ก Or a marketing coach might ask, กWant to learn more about attracting a steady stream of clients?ก Or the line that suckers me every time as an audiophile is, กWant to learn how to make your stereo sound like a live performance?ก

When we’re one on one, facetoface, starting a conversation comes naturally to most of us. Beginning with a handful of questions, you can quickly learn what someone wants and how you can help them. Focus on your prospectsก concerns with a question or two and youกll get their attention. Offer them something they want and theyกll contact you.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in marketing their business is to over emphasize closing the sale. What you want to do is open the door to new prospects, start a conversation and help them get what they want. Focus on starting more conversations with your marketing and youกll end up closing many more sales.

About The Author

2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up for the Free Marketing Plan eBook, ก7 Steps to get more clients and grow your businessก at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 21, 2004

by Charlie Cook

If You Respect Them, They Will Buy Closing the

If You Respect Them, They Will Buy Closing the Sale

by: Jian Wang

Weกve all had the unfortunate experience of being convinced by a pushy salesperson to buy something we weren’t sure we wanted. You may have really wanted the product, but after being pushed into buying it, you don’t want it anymore. You either return it or you never patronize the store again.

Since you resent the experience, don’t recreate it for others when you are trying to sell. If you didn’t appreciate being pressured and disrespected, no one else will either. When trying to close a sale, you must always respect the opinions and thoughts of the buyer. If all you care about is your payoff, then you will drive customers away. They will be afraid to buy from you, thinking that you will always try and convince them to buy things they don’t want.

Here are some helpful tips to help you close a sale with class:

Be kind and considerate: Don’t try to fool the customer. You will get a lot further if you’re really trying to help them, instead of just helping yourself.

Give them a direct request: You can let them know what you want them to do. Don’t be afraid to ask for the order or sale. The customer will know you are being honest if you tell them what you really want them to do.

Give them two choices: Explain that, on the one hand, if they buy the product, they will be receiving these benefits. Then explain that if they don’t buy, they will be losing out in certain ways. People like to have the pros and cons laid out for them. It helps them make a decision the smart way.

Give them plenty of room to think: Don’t pressure them. As I mentioned above, people resent purchases they were pressured into. Real persuasion doesn’t involve pushiness. The choice belongs to your customers, so let them make it.

We learn at a very early age how to persuade people to do what we want them to. Some of us learn it better than others, but EVERYONE can LEARN to use simple persuasion techniques to make their life better. Often, earning more, finding the perfect mate, being pushed around less, and being happier in life don’t have anything to do with you as a person. It has more to do with knowing a few simple rules of persuasion.

About The Author

Author Jian Wang is a master in the art of persuasion. His ebook, กHypnotic Persuasion: How to Get Anything You Want,ก is a truly inspirational read, filled with the wisdom to help you gain control of your own mind and convince others without resistance. These techniques can be used to improve business, sales, relationships, and your overall wellbeing. For more information, visit http://www.mrchange.com. Reach Jian at [email protected].

This article was posted on April 28, 2002

by Jian Wang

Addon Sales The Key To Success On The Web

Addon Sales The Key To Success On The Web

by: Rick Rouse

Question: Can you guess the cheapest way to make a sale?

Answer: Sell to the customer that just bought from you!

All successful salespeople have one thing in common: They know how to make sales กafter the saleก. There are many costs associated with finding a buying customer. Selling is not a cheap endeavor. This is why it makes sense to really go after addon sales.

For example, if you have ever purchased a new computer, you probably noticed how before you left the store the salesperson had กhelped you decideก to purchase a surge suppressor or extra ink for your printer. Maybe even an extended warranty for your new PC.

These addons probably doubled the storeกs profits (and the salespersonกs commission) from the original sale. Without paying for any extra advertising or promotion, that $1000 sale may have easily turned into $1300$1400!

You may be asking กCan I do this on the web?ก. The answer is of course you can. In fact, making addon sales from your website is much easier than it is for a brick and mortar store.

There are actually two excellent methods of making addon sales from your web site:

1 Suggest options and accessories on the order confirmation page. Remember the printer and ink example? If your customer is ready to pay for a new printer, display a กsuggestion boxก on the side of the page reminding him to add an extra ink cartridge to the shopping cart. And don’t forget the cable!

2 You can also make an addon sale AFTER the sale! After the order is completed and processed, the customer should be taken directly to a ‘thank youก page. On this page youกll thank the customer for giving you his business.

This is also a great time to ask if he forgot anything and give him the option of returning to your products page. Or simply advertise a related but completely different product. After all, he is already motivated to buy (he just did) and most likely he still has his credit card in hand!

Always remind the customer that he will save money with multiple item discounts and combined shipping charges. Ask for the addon sales and boost your bottomline!

About The Author

© 2003 Rick Rouse, Tek18.COM

Rick Rouse is the owner of Tek18.COM. He has written several articles and ebooks about search engine optimization, web site trafficbuilding, and internet marketing. Visit his web site: http://www.tek18.com

This article was posted on June 27, 2003

by Rick Rouse

eBay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone

eBay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone

by: Lori Osenbaugh

eBay is one of the worldกs largest market places with over 35 million visitors per day. That first sentence is worth repeating because I want you to realize that eBay gives you the ability to reach a customer base of millions and millions of people which is beneficial to you. Say Goodbye to garage sales and hello to eBay.

You don’t have to become a major powerseller or wholesaler to take advantage of eBay and what this mega marketplace can do for you. All you need is a computer with Internet access so you can setup auctions for all that stuff laying around the house youกve been wanting to get rid of by selling it or giving it away, so why not eBay it?

eBay auction VS garage sale

First lets talk about garage sales. Holding a garage sale consists of getting all of your items ready to sell and placing them on display in front of your house or on your driveway for neighbors and lookers to purchase. You or someone you know and trust needs to be physically present at all times to sell the items as your front yard has now become a small storefront. In other words you have to sit at home all day after getting everything together and promoting your garage sale which is a lot of work especially considering what you can accomplish with less time and effort on eBay.

Time & Money

Just about everybody is looking to save time and money which is exactly what eBay does for you. eBay is a much larger market and can attract many more potential buyers than a garage sale can. The very reason that there are more potential buyers creates more of a demand for your product, toy or whatever you are trying to sell. eBay commands more dollar for your product than a garage sale for this very reason.

eBay also saves you time because once you have setup your auction it does most of the work for you. You don’t have to be present to sell the item, you don’t have to be home to get paid electronically and you don’t have to be there for somebody to see your auction because your potential buyers can look at your item for sale from the convenience of their own computer which saves you precious time.

eBay also gives you the ability to accept different payment methods such as PayPal, money order, check or cash it is up to you what payment methods you wish to accept. Garage sales simply do not offer this sort of flexibility with time and money.

Quick tips

Shipping can be a hard one to get used to so make sure that you either A. get a postal scale (about $20 at Office Depot) or B. have the post office weigh the packages before you list. Take it from me because I have lost so much money on shipping because I would just กguesstimateก and that simply does not work. I would recommend always making the buyer purchase Insurance and tracking. I had an issue where a customer said she never got her package and I didn’t insure it. We decided to wait a couple of weeks then figure it out, she actually wanted me to refund everything to her, which I didn’t feel was fair but was willing to do it because I believe in customer satisfaction. Fortunately the package finally showed up after three and half weeks (and I sent it Priority Mail).

You want to only send to the buyers address if it is registered with eBay. A couple of years ago a gentlemen contacted me to buy a $250 wireless antenna, he said he was traveling and asked me to send it to his satellite office. He paid me through PayPal, I always thought that was safe and would automatically include coverage. Two months went by and then all of the sudden Paypal took $250 out of our account without warning or explanation, when we called them they said that one of our eBay transactions was fraudulent! It turns out the man used a stolen credit card, PayPal told us we were out of luck since we did not send to his confirmed address. Lesson learned.

Always state the terms of your auctions, it is good to come up with your terms to use at the end of every auction that states your policies, if you combine shipping, the payment methods you accept, etc. Also, think of a refund policy. I give a full refund, or for instance my sisterinlaw gives purchase amount back but not shipping, those sort of policies are up to you as a seller.

I use Turbo Lister, a free software program, that makes it so much easier to get multiple auctions setup simultaneously. If you do it directly from eBay it seems like it takes forever to enter each one. Turbo Lister is a free download and is available in Seller Tools at eBay.

A way to save money; I always use the free template from eBay. Itกs not really anything fancy. You can choose to get those cute little borders and clipart on each auction but it costs more money. Itกs proven that ultimately it doesn’t matter to people, they want what you are selling. Your first picture is free after that they are .15 cents for additional ones. So I always try, when possible, to use only one picture. Sometimes if it is a big clothing lot or a large dollar item I will only use more pictures. I also make sure to try and write a great description so potential buyers know what they are getting and are excited for their purchase.

Something that works; I will sometimes utilize the กBuy It Nowก features (they cost extra) but I put the BIN price higher than I would normally expect to get and when somebody really wants an item, they would rather pay the higher price than risk missing the auction end without winning the item. There are many times where this has benefited both myself and the buy it now bidder.

If you are doing a local pickup or have special instructions for your auction make sure you include those instructions ALL OVER your auctions. The mistake I made one time was only putting local pickup only on just the shipping description and the winning bidder did not notice that. Now I plaster special instructions like that everywhere.

Remember that people love fast shipping so when you do sell try to ship the item out as soon as possible after auction ending. Your customers will love fast shipping. I also include a note thanking them and sometimes I include a bonus item. Thatกs just some of the fun and benefits of selling on eBay.

About The Author

Lori Osenbaugh sells on eBay in addition to being a licensed Realtor® and Pampered Chef Consultant. You can custom search for Colorado homes at http://www.preferreddenverhomes.com or search Loriกs Pampered Chef online at http://www.pamperedchef.biz/cookieo

This article was posted on August 11

by Lori Osenbaugh