Proven Tactics

Would you like to be able to promote your website without having to pay a dime until after you’ve made a sale from the promotion?

Of course you would!

In this column I will give you the basics of a no-cost website promotion strategy called affiliate programs.

            Affiliate programs, associate programs and revenue sharing programs are basically the same thing.  By definition they are pay-per-performance models that allow you to pay a percentage of a sale.

            For example, if you sign up to sell one of my software programs, I would pay you 30 percent when someone buys as a result of your efforts. Because you can’t reach everyone on the Internet by yourself, it is in your best interest to have affiliates that will be willing to promote your products with the understanding that you only pay them a commission when there is a sale.

            Basically, with an affiliate program you pay for sales instead of clicks and impressions, which means you can reach your target market faster than you ever could on your own.

Following are three steps to getting started with your own affiliate program.

Step 1: Get the Affiliate Technology. There are two options here. You can do it yourself (you can get help with this at www.AdvancedMarketingSystem.com) or you can hire an affiliate management company (try www.cj.com or www.linkshare.com).  If you’re on a tight budget you can opt for the do it yourself option or if you want a more hands-off approach the affiliate management companies service most of the Fortune 500 and they pay your affiliates for you.

Step 2: Help Your Affiliates.  To achieve the most success you will want to help your affiliates by giving them access to sample ads and suggestions on promotions they can do. If you have sample ads that are working then make sure to tell your affiliates about them.  This is important because your serious affiliates will want to know what ads get the best results for you. 

This allows them to hit the ground running while promoting your products.  Because you did your homework you will come across as having your act together.   This will payoff big for you if you find out what your metrics are first and then have proven ads for your affiliates to use.

If you have access to a sequential auto-responder service, you can set up a training program that can automatically e-mail your new affiliates on Day One, Day Three, Day Seven, Day 14 and Day 21, and then on a bi-weekly or monthly basis as you discover special offers or new ads that work.

After following the first two steps, you will want to get the word out about your affiliate program by using the next strategy.

Step 3: Use Affiliate Directories.  One of the best ways to increase the awareness of your affiliate program is to announce that you have one to your opt-in e-mail list and submit the details of your affiliate program to affiliate directories.  To learn more about affiliate program directories you might want to visit www.AssociatePrograms.com or www.Refer-it.com.

Starting your own affiliate program is something you want to consider once you have successful ads to give to your affiliates. Make sure you add this strategy to your marketing plan.

Meanwhile, if there is a Web Marketing topic you would like me to cover in future columns, please submit your question/topic at: www.AskDionJones.com.

Posted by Dion Jones at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have a Web designer, these strategies can be implemented in less than a day or two and will increase your revenues overnight. Of course, they will only work if your site already features a sales component.

Most sites don't use any of these tactics. But if you want to increase Web site revenue, implementing these strategies should help you see immediate growth.

If there is a Web marketing topic you would like me to cover, submit your idea at www.AskDionJones.com, I will focus future columns on the topics you suggest.
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DiDion Jones is a Web marketing specialist and is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship.
 

Posted by Dion Jones at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How to Promote a Local Business on the Internet

Many businesses believe the Internet can’t be used to increase their success because they want to promote their business only within a targeted region.

Today I want to give you three strategies on how to promote a local business on the Internet.  Whether you operate a pet shop, day spa, restaurant or any other type of local business these strategies will work for you.

The first strategy is to:

Actively Build Your Email List
Have you ever had a slow day in your business?  What if you had an email list of your customers who you can send a special offer to when business is slow?  There is a Mexican restaurant that uses this strategy to literally pack their restaurants each time they send a special offer to their customers.

Here are three ways to build your email list of local patrons:

• Ask Existing Customers: The best place to build your list is with those who are already visiting your store or retail establishment.  Many businesses ask for business cards to be entered in a drawing of some kind, but rarely do they ask for your email address. Big mistake.
• Ask as Part of a Coupon or Promotion: There is a local business in Colorado who sends out a coupon to people via direct-mail. When their customers go to redeem it, they are to verify their physical address and write their e-mail on the back of the coupon. The business is currently getting over 50% of their customers who redeem the coupon to enter their email address. This strategy is allowing them to build their email list at zero cost.
• On your Web site: If you have a Web site, make sure you are asking for your visitor’s name and email address and make them part of your customer loyalty program for joining your list. It's an inexpensive form of advertising and is performance based because they must become customers in order to redeem the coupon.

If you don’t have an email list of your customers and prospects then you are missing out on an opportunity to increase the traffic to your business.  Why not start asking your customers if they would like to be added to your “customer loyalty program”? If they say yes, gather their name and email address, then when you have a slow business day send them a special offer that expires in 24 to 48 hours.

Try it and see what happens. The next strategy is to:

Use Regional and National Portal Sites
A portal site is consider to be a site that attracts a lot of visitors because of its resources. Yahoo.com, Weather.com, Google.com, and DexOnline.com are considered as portal sites. All of these sites offer advertising options that can be targeted to a specific geographical area.

Yahoo!, Weather.com and DexOnline.com can narrow your ads to your city or local area that your business serves.  This is a very affordable way to start testing paid advertising that is strictly targeted to a specific area or region.

You want to make sure to use a special page for the traffic that comes from your ads. Don’t send the traffic to your home page. You want to put the text you used in your ad prominently on the page they see after clicking your ad. For example, if you ad says;

Click Here to Save $10 off Our Deluxe Car Wash

After someone clicks the ad you want to repeat the offer on the web page that shows up alone with some addition details about the offer. This has worked better than sending them to your home page because most home pages have additional links to other pages not related to the offer.

Once your visitors are confused they will move on to another site, most likely your competitor’s.

The next strategy is to:

Use Offline Promotions to Drive Traffic to your Site
I’m sure you’ve heard the age old advice that says; “Put your website address on everything.”  Well, I’m here to tell you that is NOT enough. What you want to do is instead of just listing your web site address on everything; put an offer that gives the reader a reason to visit your website.

Here are some examples: (the following web addresses are for example only.)

Home Builder:
Look at our model homes at: www.GreatUtahHouseBuilder.com

Restaurant:
Save even more with our special offers at: www.GreatUtahRestaurantDeals.com

Mortgage Broker:
We can save you up to 20% off your monthly payment. Free quote at: www.GreatUtahMortgageBroker.com

You want to always look for ways to increase your email list, build trust with your list and send them special offers when business is slow. These strategies will help you effectively promote your local business on the Internet; all you need to do is apply them.

If there is an Internet Marketing topic you would like me to cover, submit your question/topic at: www.AskDionJones.com.  I will focus future columns on the topics you suggest.

Posted by Dion Jones at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Experience has shown that when Web site managers take the time to implement this one strategy they see a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of their advertising. And the interesting thing is, it really isn't all that complicated.

If you know your numbers, you'll know how to make money with your online advertising. By knowing what your numbers (metrics) are, you will be able to make your online marketing efforts more predictable.

It takes the guesswork out of how much to spend and what is a normal response for your product.

Here are the most important metrics for you to know:

• Response rate — This is the number of responses you received from an advertisement. For example, if you advertised to 1,000 people and 100 clicked on your ad, your response rate would be 10 percent.

• Sales conversion — This is the average percentage of people who buy from your Web page. For example, if three out of 100 people who visit your site end up purchasing your product, your sales conversion is 3 percent.

• Visitor value — This is the amount of money an average visitor spends on your site. For example, if three out of 100 people purchase your product, and your product sells for $100, each visitor is worth $3 because 100 visitors equal $300 in sales. This is a critical number when you are buying traffic by the click.

• Per lead cost — This is the amount of money it costs to generate a lead. If you spent $100 on an ad and you generated 100 subscribers/leads to your mailing list, then your lead cost was $1 per lead, or $100 divided by the number of leads generated.

• Per sale cost — This is the amount of money it costs to generate a sale. You figure this number by taking the total dollar amount spent on the promotion and dividing it by the number of sales generated. For example, if you spent $100 and had 20 sales, you would divide $100 by 20 to find out that you were experiencing a $5 per sale cost.

Knowing these numbers will give you a benchmark to use against other advertising campaigns. If you see something going wrong you can stop the promotion before it gets out of hand. This is what most people who are running online businesses fail to do.

They keep running ads and have no idea what they can afford to pay. If you know your typical response rate is 6 percent in an ad and your conversion is 2 percent, you will know exactly what to expect from your advertising and how to create new ad campaigns that will reach the same type of audience.

If there is a Web marketing topic you would like me to cover, submit your idea at www.AskDionJones.com, I will focus future columns on the topics you suggest.
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Dion Jones is a Web marketing specialist and is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship.
 

Posted by Dion Jones at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just read that Sylvan Goldman invented the retail store's shopping cart in 1937. According to what I read, many people were confused about how to use the shopping cart.

But Goldman was determined to help consumers understand how to use his invention. So he hired models to demonstrate how to use the shopping cart, which he called a "basket on wheels."

Fast-forward about 70 years, and here we are again with another new invention: the Web site shopping cart or order page. And guess what? Consumers are once again confused about how to use it and are abandoning your order page at a rate as high as 35 percent.

It doesn't have to be this way. Please let me suggest five improvements you can make that are proven to reduce your Web site's order page abandonment rate.

• Security statement. One of the major concerns for consumers when shopping online is if their information is secure. To increase consumer confidence you should have a security statement on your order page. A simple statement such as, "Any information you provide on this page is encrypted by the highest security algorithms on the Internet," will help increase consumer confidence and sales.

• Privacy policy. Adding a privacy statement to your order page also will increase sales. Most of your shoppers are wondering what happens to their information after they've given it to you. They want to know if you sell it, give it away or rent their names to third party companies.

I've used a simple statement like, "We Respect Your Privacy" and have seen an increase in leads and sales that made it more than worth the two minutes it took our Web developer to add the statement to our order forms.

• Credibility enhancers. Most shoppers want to believe that you are the correct company from which they should make their purchase. If customer support is an issue in your industry, why not include a testimonial about how great your customer support is? You can easily address the concerns of your prospects by using a testimonial from a satisfied customer.

Another credibility enhancer you can use is a link to certifications from trade organizations or the Better Business Bureau's online reliability program.

• Shipping cost. According to NDP Group and BizRate.com, buyers usually abandon your order page because shipping and handling costs are higher than expected. In order to overcome this you will want to avoid surprising the customer with hidden or excessive shipping and handling fees.

• Offer a bonus. Offering a bonus for completing the order process is an extremely powerful strategy for decreasing order page abandonment. You can offer a reduced price, savings on shipping, or an additional product as part of the purchase or for a small additional cost.
The two questions I ask myself are: What bonus can I offer that will provide enough incentive to a prospective customer that he or she will complete the ordering process? And can I offer that bonus without substantially reducing my profits?

These strategies can be applied within a week for most companies that have access to a Web developer. Put them in place if you want to start decreasing your order page abandonment rate.

If there is a Web marketing topic you would like me to cover, submit your idea at www.AskDionJones.com, I will focus future columns on the topics you suggest.
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Dion Jones is a Web marketing specialist and is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship.
 

Posted by Dion Jones at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)