Methods To Sell Your Products And Services On-Line
| Category: Selling Techniques | Date: 2002-05-14 |
You will either sell someone elses products on line or you will sell you own. It should go without saying that it will always be more profitable to sell your own products. If you are selling your own products you will have total control.
No matter if you are selling your own product or someone elses, you can still choose which methods to use. Ill cover several popular methods in order of effectiveness from the least effective to the most effective marketing methods.
UNSOLICITED EMAIL - SPAM
I mention this method because it appears to be the cheapest way to get your message out. Many people use unsolicited email because, on the surface, it would appear to be the cheapest way to go. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
If you employ targeted, unsolicited commercial email, you might make a few sales, but in the long run you will damage you reputation. If you are selling someone elses product, you will not only hurt your reputation, you will damage their reputation in the process.
Sure, you will see a ton of spam telling you that bulk email pays. Its true bulk email pays; it pays off for the people selling lists and bulk mailing services, not for you and I. I have yet to know any successful business using spam to successfully market their product on-line.
Even so called "opt-in" lists wont pay off either. For the most part, people "opt-in" to receive information in a specific area of interest - *NOT* to receive commercial email. Spam is such a problem now-days. All it takes is an accession of spam to lose your Internet service or your server. If you want to go out of business fast - use bulk email.
BANNER ADS
You can purchase banners to run on popular websites that target your ideal customer. Banner ads work sometimes, but they work much better for the person selling you the banner.
Considering that most web-surfers have learned to ignore banners, its effectiveness have been in doubt for the last couple years.
If you want to use banners as a part of your overall marketing program, try to find someone who will only charge you for the number of hits or banner clicks you get, not for the number of times your banner is displayed. Better yet, find someone who will charge only for the sales you make. Most affiliate programs will supply you with banners to put on your website.
In general, banner advertising works best for higher priced products. If your product sells for under $50, banner ads may not pay off.
Banner co-ops are another way to market with banners. Usually you host a banner for someone else. When you display their banner twice, they display yours on someone elses website once. The co-op sells the second banner display to third party advertiser. Banner co-ops depend on you to help them sell banner displays to their paying customers. But why trade 2 banner display opportunities for one.
You would think that choosing a banner co-op that offers targeted exchanges would be better, but think again. Lets say you are selling widgets. You display two banners on your website for your competitions widget in exchange for displaying one banner for your widget.
I use banners on my website. I use them for products that usually cost over $100. I use banners to promote other peoples products, but only when I will earn a generous commission from every sale. I get offers from people who want to purchase space on my pages to display their banner, but why would I want to use my hard earned traffic to build someone elses?
Banners slow down loading time and send your visitors elsewhere. Use them sparingly.
LINKS
Getting people to link to your website is a great way to earn traffic, but again there is a downside. Usually when people link to your website, there needs to be some benefit to the party offering the link. People usually offer links to websites that are content rich; ones that are not in direct competition with them. In general they want to link to your free content or information not to any product you are selling.
Finding websites to link to yours is hard, time-consuming work. If you have a content rich website, its worth the effort spent to *GET* others to link to you. On the other hand, providing links to other websites or exchanging links usually isnt in your best interests because when you provide a link to others you are offering your visitors the opportunity to leave your website.
On my website, I offer hundreds of links to other websites which offer useful content or resources my visitors should know about. I offer links off my website to other websites because my website is designed like a portal to act as a jumping off point for people interested in marketing their products on-line. I use a special kind of link that opens a new window whenever I link to other websites. I do this because they never really leave my website. The link will open a new window while my website remains on the desktop. Below is an example of a regular link that will open a new window:
Regular Link
New Window
Its hard enough to get a visitor; you dont want to send them away if you can help it. Manage your off-site links carefully. When you offer links to others, I recommend using the new window type link. Dont waste your traffic linking to websites that are already getting plenty of traffic of their own. For example, dont link to Netscape or Microsoft or anyone like that. They dont need your traffic nearly as much as you. However if you run a website with a graphics theme, you might want to offer a link to companies that offer great graphics resources or to companies that sell products like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, especially if you can earn a commission if they buy the product.
OPT-IN EMAIL
You do have a house list dont you? If not, you need to start building one. You can start by keeping a list of your customers. One of the cheapest marketing strategies you can use is to sell more products to people you have already sold to in the past.
Build several small specialized lists and only mail to them when you have something new or important to say.
I dont usually use "opt-in" lists for commercial mailings often although some people have done so with good results. Remember, its not an opt-in list as soon as someone complains. Its not usually worth the risk unless you know for sure they are interested.
The best form of opt-in mailing list is a regular newsletter or ezine. They work great because:
Newsletters are 100% "opt-in" and subscriber based
You can offer some commercial content
You can offer classified ads to pay for your efforts
You can use them to comunicate and to build credibility
If you use opt-in email, make absolutely sure people request to be removed from future mailings easily. Peoples interests change, so always provide an easy method for people to get off your list. You might notice at the very end of this newsletter I provide a simple way people can be added or removed *AND* (this is important) I include the email address I have on record for that subscriber in every email.
I use AY Mail. Its a great low-cost program to do opt-in mailing.
http://www.aysoft.com/
NEWSLETTER ADS
Ads in Newsletters and ezines are a great ways to attract customers. The key is to target your ad as precisely as possible. You want your offer to go to qualified people already shopping for your product and who can afford to buy it.
Nobody wins when an ad doesnt sell. Ad prices are usually roughly geared to average targeted sales expectation. Newsletter & ezine ads are the most cost effective for bigger ticket items. I keep my ad prices low because it encourages repeat business.
For example: if you bought a $50 ad that went to 5000 subscribers and your profit was $1 for each sale you would need 50 total sales, or 10 sales per thousand to break even. On the other hand, if your product had a profit of $10 you would only need 5 sales to break even. Its usually a whole lot easier to make five sales than 50 sales.
When you list a URL in a newsletter ad, add a question mark and/or an ad code to your URL so you can check your results to determine if your ad is profitable. Here is an example from a classified ad in this newsletter
http://www.ejfa.com/scripts/index.cfm?Partner=11294&Code=?sf
Everything after the question mark is ignored by the browser but your server logs will list it as a separate URL, so you can tell which ads and publications work best. If you dont have access to your servers logs you can ask prospects to reply to an your ad with a special Id number, or use a unique email account address to track each ad. Test your ad several times before running a big promotion or ad blitz.
A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION
It goes without saying that, if you are respected in a specific area, that whatever you recommend will carry proportionally more weight. Many people abuse the power of a personal recommendation so the less you give it out, the more weight it will carry. If you cry fire one time in a busy place everyone will scramble, but if you do it every day people will learn to ignore you. For example, car alarms go off by accident so often many people dont pay much attention to them any more.
ASSOCIATE & AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
I like to save the best for last. Out of all ways you can advertise your product or service nothing compares with the raw power of the associate or affiliate program.
An Associate Program is the least risky, least expensive way, by far, to acquire new customers and to explode your sales in a short period of time.
It sure beats the heck out of paying for advertising up front. Why not pay for advertisers only after a sale is made? Its the ultimate way to advertise.
Associate Programs are hands-down the hottest and fastest way to sell your products and services on-line!
You ONLY pay for advertising that generates your sales - not impressions or click-troughs, but actual sales. There is zero out of pocket expenses! It just doesnt get any better than this!
The only downside of running an associate program is that you need web based software to automate tracking of commissions and sales.
I have researched software that automates the process of starting and running an affiliate program during last year. One affiliate management product stands heads above the rest.
This article is already too long, so Im going to recommend you check out the following URL if you are interested in exploring how to setup and manage an Associate program for your business. There youll find over 50 pages of material explaining how to harness the power of "other peoples efforts" for free.
About the Author
ROBERT SMITH
Youll learn how you can setup and manage an affiliate program to sell more of your products & services.
http://www.smithfam.com/trac/
Best Wishes
Bob
bob@smithfam.com
http://www.smithfam.com/
No matter if you are selling your own product or someone elses, you can still choose which methods to use. Ill cover several popular methods in order of effectiveness from the least effective to the most effective marketing methods.
UNSOLICITED EMAIL - SPAM
I mention this method because it appears to be the cheapest way to get your message out. Many people use unsolicited email because, on the surface, it would appear to be the cheapest way to go. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
If you employ targeted, unsolicited commercial email, you might make a few sales, but in the long run you will damage you reputation. If you are selling someone elses product, you will not only hurt your reputation, you will damage their reputation in the process.
Sure, you will see a ton of spam telling you that bulk email pays. Its true bulk email pays; it pays off for the people selling lists and bulk mailing services, not for you and I. I have yet to know any successful business using spam to successfully market their product on-line.
Even so called "opt-in" lists wont pay off either. For the most part, people "opt-in" to receive information in a specific area of interest - *NOT* to receive commercial email. Spam is such a problem now-days. All it takes is an accession of spam to lose your Internet service or your server. If you want to go out of business fast - use bulk email.
BANNER ADS
You can purchase banners to run on popular websites that target your ideal customer. Banner ads work sometimes, but they work much better for the person selling you the banner.
Considering that most web-surfers have learned to ignore banners, its effectiveness have been in doubt for the last couple years.
If you want to use banners as a part of your overall marketing program, try to find someone who will only charge you for the number of hits or banner clicks you get, not for the number of times your banner is displayed. Better yet, find someone who will charge only for the sales you make. Most affiliate programs will supply you with banners to put on your website.
In general, banner advertising works best for higher priced products. If your product sells for under $50, banner ads may not pay off.
Banner co-ops are another way to market with banners. Usually you host a banner for someone else. When you display their banner twice, they display yours on someone elses website once. The co-op sells the second banner display to third party advertiser. Banner co-ops depend on you to help them sell banner displays to their paying customers. But why trade 2 banner display opportunities for one.
You would think that choosing a banner co-op that offers targeted exchanges would be better, but think again. Lets say you are selling widgets. You display two banners on your website for your competitions widget in exchange for displaying one banner for your widget.
I use banners on my website. I use them for products that usually cost over $100. I use banners to promote other peoples products, but only when I will earn a generous commission from every sale. I get offers from people who want to purchase space on my pages to display their banner, but why would I want to use my hard earned traffic to build someone elses?
Banners slow down loading time and send your visitors elsewhere. Use them sparingly.
LINKS
Getting people to link to your website is a great way to earn traffic, but again there is a downside. Usually when people link to your website, there needs to be some benefit to the party offering the link. People usually offer links to websites that are content rich; ones that are not in direct competition with them. In general they want to link to your free content or information not to any product you are selling.
Finding websites to link to yours is hard, time-consuming work. If you have a content rich website, its worth the effort spent to *GET* others to link to you. On the other hand, providing links to other websites or exchanging links usually isnt in your best interests because when you provide a link to others you are offering your visitors the opportunity to leave your website.
On my website, I offer hundreds of links to other websites which offer useful content or resources my visitors should know about. I offer links off my website to other websites because my website is designed like a portal to act as a jumping off point for people interested in marketing their products on-line. I use a special kind of link that opens a new window whenever I link to other websites. I do this because they never really leave my website. The link will open a new window while my website remains on the desktop. Below is an example of a regular link that will open a new window:
Regular Link
New Window
Its hard enough to get a visitor; you dont want to send them away if you can help it. Manage your off-site links carefully. When you offer links to others, I recommend using the new window type link. Dont waste your traffic linking to websites that are already getting plenty of traffic of their own. For example, dont link to Netscape or Microsoft or anyone like that. They dont need your traffic nearly as much as you. However if you run a website with a graphics theme, you might want to offer a link to companies that offer great graphics resources or to companies that sell products like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, especially if you can earn a commission if they buy the product.
OPT-IN EMAIL
You do have a house list dont you? If not, you need to start building one. You can start by keeping a list of your customers. One of the cheapest marketing strategies you can use is to sell more products to people you have already sold to in the past.
Build several small specialized lists and only mail to them when you have something new or important to say.
I dont usually use "opt-in" lists for commercial mailings often although some people have done so with good results. Remember, its not an opt-in list as soon as someone complains. Its not usually worth the risk unless you know for sure they are interested.
The best form of opt-in mailing list is a regular newsletter or ezine. They work great because:
Newsletters are 100% "opt-in" and subscriber based
You can offer some commercial content
You can offer classified ads to pay for your efforts
You can use them to comunicate and to build credibility
If you use opt-in email, make absolutely sure people request to be removed from future mailings easily. Peoples interests change, so always provide an easy method for people to get off your list. You might notice at the very end of this newsletter I provide a simple way people can be added or removed *AND* (this is important) I include the email address I have on record for that subscriber in every email.
I use AY Mail. Its a great low-cost program to do opt-in mailing.
http://www.aysoft.com/
NEWSLETTER ADS
Ads in Newsletters and ezines are a great ways to attract customers. The key is to target your ad as precisely as possible. You want your offer to go to qualified people already shopping for your product and who can afford to buy it.
Nobody wins when an ad doesnt sell. Ad prices are usually roughly geared to average targeted sales expectation. Newsletter & ezine ads are the most cost effective for bigger ticket items. I keep my ad prices low because it encourages repeat business.
For example: if you bought a $50 ad that went to 5000 subscribers and your profit was $1 for each sale you would need 50 total sales, or 10 sales per thousand to break even. On the other hand, if your product had a profit of $10 you would only need 5 sales to break even. Its usually a whole lot easier to make five sales than 50 sales.
When you list a URL in a newsletter ad, add a question mark and/or an ad code to your URL so you can check your results to determine if your ad is profitable. Here is an example from a classified ad in this newsletter
http://www.ejfa.com/scripts/index.cfm?Partner=11294&Code=?sf
Everything after the question mark is ignored by the browser but your server logs will list it as a separate URL, so you can tell which ads and publications work best. If you dont have access to your servers logs you can ask prospects to reply to an your ad with a special Id number, or use a unique email account address to track each ad. Test your ad several times before running a big promotion or ad blitz.
A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION
It goes without saying that, if you are respected in a specific area, that whatever you recommend will carry proportionally more weight. Many people abuse the power of a personal recommendation so the less you give it out, the more weight it will carry. If you cry fire one time in a busy place everyone will scramble, but if you do it every day people will learn to ignore you. For example, car alarms go off by accident so often many people dont pay much attention to them any more.
ASSOCIATE & AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
I like to save the best for last. Out of all ways you can advertise your product or service nothing compares with the raw power of the associate or affiliate program.
An Associate Program is the least risky, least expensive way, by far, to acquire new customers and to explode your sales in a short period of time.
It sure beats the heck out of paying for advertising up front. Why not pay for advertisers only after a sale is made? Its the ultimate way to advertise.
Associate Programs are hands-down the hottest and fastest way to sell your products and services on-line!
You ONLY pay for advertising that generates your sales - not impressions or click-troughs, but actual sales. There is zero out of pocket expenses! It just doesnt get any better than this!
The only downside of running an associate program is that you need web based software to automate tracking of commissions and sales.
I have researched software that automates the process of starting and running an affiliate program during last year. One affiliate management product stands heads above the rest.
This article is already too long, so Im going to recommend you check out the following URL if you are interested in exploring how to setup and manage an Associate program for your business. There youll find over 50 pages of material explaining how to harness the power of "other peoples efforts" for free.
About the Author
ROBERT SMITH
Youll learn how you can setup and manage an affiliate program to sell more of your products & services.
http://www.smithfam.com/trac/
Best Wishes
Bob
bob@smithfam.com
http://www.smithfam.com/
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