Three Powerful Reasons You Need To Check Out Michael's Traffic Videos
* Simple (yet cunning) techniques that get your site on the map as fast as humanly possible and send masses of hungry buyers to your pages
Author: Andy Jenkins
Before we get into today's topic, I want to talk to you about some CONTROVERSY surrounding last week's newsletter and some of the feedback we got in response to Jeff Johnson's techniques that we shared with you.
The techniques were powerful, and with power comes responsibility. And any time a technique requires responsibility, it creates an opportunity for the irresponsible people out there to abuse it.
In response to these techniques, some folks cried "That's S.PAMMING!" - some folks cried "That's Abusing the System!" The facts are, we shared a Jeff Johnson case study, we told you the results he showed us, and we told you how he said he got them.
Are they borderline? Yeah! We said they were. We pointed out in the email that you need to be careful when walking the line with social marketing. Do spammers use similar techniques to the ones Jeff outlined? I'm sure they do - Spammers are always on the lookout for new exploits... but they usually don't need to learn from legitimate marketing teachers to uncover them.
The difference between an ethical marketer and a spammer is a matter of intent. The ethical marketer seeks to profit by providing real value to real individuals. The spammer seeks only pure profit based on the laws of statistics - throw enough people at any offer, and someone will bite.
The techniques we discuss here may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's not our job to make those kinds of judgment calls for you. We have only had one mission with this newsletter: To find and share with you techniques that people are using RIGHT NOW that are working RIGHT NOW.
Sure, there are some techniques out there that are clearly "black hat" but there's also a very large "grey hat" area - not quite squeaky clean, but very far away from "evil". Even if you're STRICTLY a "white hat" marketer, doesn't mean you can't have a bit of fun by seeing what the "black hats" are doing. Heck, you might even LEARN SOMETHING, even if you never use the techniques as presented.
If you don't agree with one of the tactics we share with you, friend - NO BLOOD, NO FOUL, just skip it and move on... Believe me, I'll always have plenty to say about something! We'll keep right on showing you REAL RESULTS - and we'll show you HOW those results were achieved.
As always, we hope you'll use them intelligently and ethically, but it's for you to decide how you use this newsletter. But know this - you've been warned. (Our Subject line even said "Pure Evil" on the last one.)
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program. :)
I wanted to talk about maximizing the impact that your store or web site has when a visitor first arrives at your web site.
This is a critical e-commerce and selling fundamental and unfortunately, a lot of new Internet entrepreneurs ignore it - at the cost of sales, and ultimately dollars.
First, let me set the stage...
E-commerce store owners, web entrepreneurs, in fact ANYONE who wants to create income online knows the first fundamental:
--- You must have a visitor come to your site ---
Well, the Internet is full of ways to do just that. Whether you optimize your web pages for the free search engines, use Pay Per Click,
Google Ad Sense, Deal Time, Biz Rate, advertise in E-zines - WHATEVER you do, the goal of THAT particular exercise is to get someone to come have a look at what you've got to sell...
And this, it seems, is where most people stop developing their sales strategy.
This is horrible. Horrible because traffic to any web site always costs the site owner time, and many times it costs the site owner dollars. And after all of that effort, a visitor, one who has put their hand up and voted with a mouse click, comes to a site where they are met with... NO COMPELLING REASON to come inside.
You see, I get many requests from people who are opening a new e-commerce store, or developing a web site that sells some sort of product, to take a look at their store and give them some impressions of my visit.
A lot - no, MOST of these sites are ignoring the simple, time tested and customer approved fundamentals of SELLING.
After all of that effort, time spent and dollars invested setting up their site and getting a customer to it, they don't create a landing page that INVITES and COMPELS the customer to dig deeper - to explore the opportunities and products that the site has to offer.
When I get emails from start-ups asking me why, after all of the traffic they have to their home page, WHY O WHY don't they have any sales?
-----Here's what I tell them...
I'm going to use a few examples from other media and industries to make my points, so bear with me here... Besides, you know how long-winded I can be!
Our culture has a short attention span, and we are also more decisive than ever before. I'm not going to even TOUCH upon the reasons why (It's not all MTV's fault) - we just are.
The effects of that short attention span are MULTIPLIED by the impersonal nature of the internet.
That is to say, if you don't like a web page that you're on, you click off of it. BUT, if you're in a store in your local mall that you don't like, to leave you have to maneuver through the store, past the sales people, through the displays, out the front door, get into your car, and drive to the next store - all in order to look at some other product from some other retailer... So, before you embark on the journey to the next store, you give that mall store a CHANCE before you make your next shopping effort...
My point is, because web shoppers make a decision in mere seconds:
--- WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET THEM TO LOOK
AROUND OUR STORE.
Consider a Newspaper - Better yet, consider this Headline:
"Saddam Captured"
I saw that headline in the local Gas Station's quickie mart the morning the story broke...
It stopped me dead in my tracks and I started reading the article right away.
My reaction is EXACTLY why all Newspaper Articles are written with Headlines.
Headlines INVITE further reading. And in this case, they COMPEL investigation.
Another example, and then we'll start to apply this to e-commerce...
--- Do you get sales flyers in the mail? Sure you do...
The last big sale that Best Buy had resulted in a mega flyer delivered to my snail mail box... Now, I'm a geek, as we all know, and I love electronic toys. So even though I'll always shop on the internet first, I still like to take a look at the "Latest-Greatest".
Now, here's the thing about these Flyers... When I get them, I always flip them around so that I start on the front page, and then I work my way through the whole thing...
And guess what's on the front page? It's always one of more of the following:
- The COOLEST-SEXIEST thing in Home Electronics - like a HDTV Plasma Big Screen.
- The MOST CONSUMABLE thing in Home Electronics - like Blank CD-ROMs or Printer Cartridges.
- The MOST COMMON thing in Home Electronics - like the latest Musical Release that EVERY OTHER STORE has for sale.
- The CHEAPEST PRICE POINT for one of the MOST DESIRABLE or HOTTEST things in Home Electronics - Like a new Progressive Scan DVD player...
See a pattern? Consider the strategy.
--Best Buy is WOWing the reader with the latest cutting edge toys (Plasma TV).
--They are making the experience of visiting Best Buy CONVENIENT by displaying the availability of Every Day Electronics Needs (Blank Media).
--Best Buy is demonstrating the breadth of its product line by offering recognizable products (New Musical Audio CD's).
And then, they get your commitment to visit them by offering a HOT product at an IMPOSSIBLY GOOD PRICE (Progressive Scan DVD Player).
--- This is JUST a formula. It's how retailers "Lure" the customer to their stores from their advertisements.
And it works... This sort of combination Point of Entry Advertising hasn't changed - pretty much ever.
Because it works. Now, let's consider your store. Put on your Helmet... :)
What's you're home page look like? What's your Store's Name? Are there great-looking images of some of your products? Do you have a "Loss Leader?" Do you point out your selection, or exclusivity?
And finally, DO YOU HAVE A HEADLINE?
Okay, in the book Yahoo! Store Profits, Audrey and I talk about naming your store. Naming your store is DIFFERENT than naming your business.
We specifically say "Make the Name of your store be COMPLETELY relevant to the products you're selling, unless your first name is Victoria and your last name is Secret".
This is ABSOLUTELY true. I'm not Reebok, or Macy's, or Littman's. I don't, and may never have a "Marquee" company name to advertise. Having said that, I don't need to.
When a visitor arrives at my site, our LOGO has Swords and Armor in it. So, right away, I get to show the visitor awesome looking images of our products. There is no doubt what I'm selling.
Then, our headline talks about the FULL LINE of Miniature Lord of the Rings swords that we have IN STOCK (These things are really hard to get - anyone looking for them online would know that). With that headline, we are also offering a "Loss Leader". We don't really care if we make money on those little LOTR swords - they are so cheap that they usually end up "as part of" a larger order.
The point is, they tell the customer - "Look, we have these, an not only are they POPULAR, we've got them CHEAP!"
In your store or on your site, make sure that you are giving your visitor reasons to look further...
--> Here's a little checklist of things to do:
1. Open up your site's home page. What's the first thing that grabs you? It should be your Headline, Your Store's (Product Relevant) Name, or an Awesome Image of one of your "Marquee" Products.
That's the FIRST thing you need to do - GET YOUR CUSTOMER'S ATTENTION! Validate the clicks that got them to your store by shouting out "You wanted Aromatherapy Candles - THIS IS THE PLACE!"
2. Next, do you have images of some of your products that are not only great looking, but representative of the full range of your product line?
Remember, "Words Sell, but Images Get ATTENTION". That's what we're trying to do in these first few seconds of your customers visit - give them all of the data that they need to "Self Qualify" the time that they will spend on this site... and one of the things that does that well is Great Images of Products.
3. Do you have a loss leader? Here's a tip - get one. Make it a very common or very popular item. Make sure that it's at a small enough price point that the customer will be encouraged to purchase other items while they are at your site. Remember, the purpose of the loss leader is to GET THE CUSTOMER INTERESTED in the value that your store or site offers! The loss leader is perhaps one of the most powerful product marketing techniques you can use, but there is one catch...
If a visitor becomes a customer because they purchased a loss leader, you better make sure that you FOLLOW UP with them with Coupons, Discount, Incentives - just about any reason you can think of to get them to come back to your store AGAIN and make another purchase...
That's the trick to loss leaders. They put the visitor in BUY mode. Loss leaders get visitor's CREDIT CARDS OUT! And once you have removed
this very real barrier to buying, they are likely to buy more that just your loss leader. However, the real value of loss leader marketing is the LIFETIME VALUE of that customer.
Guess What? You've now got them in your customer database. They know you, they have already purchased from you...they might even trust you. Now, it's your job to send them timely offers via follow up email newsletters or sales campaigns TO GET THEM TO BUY AGAIN!
Look - if you have an e-commerce store or site on the web, you've worked hard to get it out there. Getting traffic is really only half the battle. It's what you do with that traffic when it arrives at your site that will determine the length and breadth of your fortunes.
I realize that after struggling with figuring out what to sell, getting your business all set up, learning new software - in fact all of the things that you might have had to do to get your store running - that messing around with these "Tweaks" might be the LAST thing on earth that you want to do...
We'll friend, this is not a tweak. This is a fundamental. It's not an upgrade, it's the heart and soul of internet marketing and home based business success.
Just remember, when you it comes right down to it, the purpose of your site is to SELL. And if that means the gentle psychological manipulation of a web surfer who spends too much time eating up our pay per click ads, then I say - "MORE POWER TO YOU!"
Best regards,
Andy
P.S. I don't know what it is about Internet Marketing and guys named "Jeff". First Jeff Walker helps us with the SMARTS launch, then we told you about Jeff Johnson's coaching programs.
Now, we have yet another idea from my good friend Jeff Mulligan. Jeff's taking a page out of the video marketing handbook and he's put together a series of videos called "QuickieProfits". Jeff spoke at our Orlando LIVE event last year, and he's proven to me (and to our attending Stompers) that he knows plenty of fast, easy-to-implement tactics for quick profits in virtually any site or niche.
He says these videos are designed to make a positive impact on your business in minutes, whether you're looking to improve opt-ins, conversions, or sales.
He's moving the "Free Line" too, and putting one of his videos out there for anyone to check out. In this one he shows how you can put one line of code into pages that were normally useless (like your unsubscribe confirmation page) and turn them into niche profit centers using ebay affiliate feeds. Earlier in this newsletter, I talked about how you can get the most out of your visitors when they first arrive at your site. Jeff can tell you plenty of ways to get more out of them once they're there (or even when they decide to leave!) I watched the video myself, and got at least 3 ideas that I'm going to try out later.
Click Here to Watch Jeff Mulligan's QuickieProfits Part 1 Now for F'ree.
If you like the trick he shows in the video, you can subscribe to his newsletter and get part two (the nitty-gritty how-to-technical details) - and even more QuickieProfits" from Jeff. Jeff Mulligan that is. (I have to make sure which Jeff I'm talking about! :) )
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phillip.skinner commented on 23 Feb 2008, 04:28:39
Hi Fellow Members ... this article from Andy the Stompernet Guy ... made me think about? “Oh Yeh this is what’s it all about” this morning ... I scanned the email thought this would be a good article to ad to my site.... Then formatted it into a readable website post ... hit the print this page and saved the read until later....
Well this morning I read it over a couple of times … and it really stopped me in my tracks I have been so tied up with this and that for the past few months I had forgot to realize my purpose of getting traffic ([COLOR="Green"]££-Buying Traffic-$)to my sites ... well not forgot? more lost my way a little as I'm bogging my self down on statistics by weaving my URLs through the internet my sole purpose has been SEO trying to get well ranked in the search engines .... So here you go [URL="http://www.phillipskinner.com/plugins/print/print.php?id=443"][SIZE="3"]Click Here[/SIZE][/URL] [SIZE="3"][COLOR="Blue"][I][B]"to activate your printer"[/B][/I][/COLOR][/SIZE] this is a 6 page must read ... so you can review what your doing online more to the point what you are doing to shine the light to hypnotize those moths .... so to speak ...[B][I] "CONFUSED" Yes you just might BE[/I][/B] .... :eek:
[QUOTE]I realize that after struggling with figuring out what to sell, getting your business all set up, learning new software - in fact all of the things that you might have had to do to get your store running - that messing around with these "Tweaks" might be the LAST thing on earth that you want to do...
We'll friend, this is not a tweak. This is a fundamental. It's not an upgrade, it's the heart and soul of internet marketing and home based business success.
Just remember, when you it comes right down to it, the purpose of your site is to SELL. And if that means the gentle psychological manipulation of a web surfer who spends too much time eating up our pay per click ads, then I say - "MORE POWER TO YOU!"
Best regards,
Andy[/QUOTE]
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