[Article revised: Nov 2004]
So, you sell online - congratulations (and welcome to the
21st century ;-) )!
But does your online store sell enough? Chances are you
could do with increasing your sales figures. And this
article discusses seven simple strategies to help you sell
more of your products online. And they are:
1) Build Trust In You And Your Website
2) Get Listed On Comparison Shopping Sites
3) Sell More Via Affiliate Marketing
4) Get More Visitors Using Pay-Per-Click Search Engines
5) Get Your Products Listed On Froogle
6) Use The Power Of Testimonials
7) Build A Store That Sells
So, let's consider these strategies in a little more detail.
1) BUILD TRUST IN YOU AND YOUR WEBSITE
What do I mean by trust?
1.1) Well, you could simply feature a prominent photograph
of your real-world store on the website. (If you can add
photos of the staff, or include information about you that
is relevant to the products you sell, then even better!)
1.2) You could also provide lots of helpful buying advice,
relevant to the products that you sell online.
1.3) You might decide to write a regular online newsletter,
to stay in touch with your site visitors.
--
Trust is important, online; trust will improve your
conversion rate, and you *will* sell more products online.
Example:
* AGMillers: photo of a real meat butchers store
- http://www.agmillers.co.uk/
2) GET LISTED ON COMPARISON SHOPPING SITES
Dealtime, Kelkoo (and Pricerunner) are known as comparison
shopping sites - they allow visitors to compare prices
online. Add your products to their databases, and these
popular websites could well deliver you lots of ready-to-buy
customers.
Costs to get listed on comparison shopping sites vary.
--
If your site offers competitively priced products, then
getting listed on a comparison shopping site may well drive
serious amounts of 'ready-to-buy' visitors to your site.
(Kelkoo UK boasts of being a top-10 UK web property!)
Resource:
* Pricerunner
- http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/faqbusiness.html
3) SELL MORE VIA AFFILIATE MARKETING
How do you think Amazon sells so much product online?
Yes, it builds trust in itself and operates a highly sales-
focussed website, but Amazon also utilises affiliate
marketing.
Amazon is not the only online merchant doing this. Affiliate
marketing is now a mainstream sales channel for many online
vendors. As such, serious money can be made as an affiliate,
earning commissions on sales or leads generated from his/her
site. And that means that affiliate marketing attracts the
brightest and the best, and they may well want to make money
by promoting YOUR products.
There are start-up (and running) costs associated with
affiliate marketing, and you will also need to put time and
effort into this particular sales channel. But as long as
you 'work the numbers out' properly, a well-operated
affiliate program could really boost your online sales.
--
Affiliate marketing works. Find out if it can work for you.
Example:
* Digital Cameras (Amazon associate site, ahem!)
- http://www.best-digital-cameras.co.uk/
==Aside==
N.B. Find a list of the major UK affiliate networks in this
online version of the article:
- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/sell-more-products.shtml
==Aside==
4) GET MORE VISITORS USING PAY-PER-CLICK SEARCH ENGINES
Paying per click for visitors to your website - via specific
keyword searches on sites like Espotting, Overture and
Google (ads appear at top, and in right-hand column) - can
generate low-cost, targeted visitors to your site, when you
want!
Do watch your spend however, and make sure that your bids
are sensible.
--
Again, using pay-per-click search engines takes time and a
not-inconsiderable amount of expertise, but a well executed
pay-per-click search engine campaign can drive highly-
targeted visitors to your site, and increase your sales.
Resource:
* Bid at pay-per-click search engines (Article)
- http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/pay-per-click
5) GET YOUR PRODUCTS LISTED ON FROOGLE
What is Froogle? Well, to quote what is says on the website:
"froo.gle (fru'gal) n. Smart shopping through Google."
Yes, Google (and now Google UK) actually lists vendor
products on its website, via a Froogle search.
Your products could appear on Froogle and even directly on
Google (who knows?). And there is no cost, either.
--
Froogle is coming to UK, soon. And if you want to get your
products listed on Froogle UK (I recommend that you at least
consider it), then visit Google today.
Example:
* Froogle search for coffee machines
- http://froogle.google.co.uk/froogle?q=coffee+machine&sampleq=1
6) USE THE POWER OF TESTIMONIALS
Are your customers happy? How do you know - they tell you,
yes? So do you put these positive comments on your website,
and if not, why not?
If you are lucky enough to have happy customers then tell
the world about it, or at least inform site visitors who are
considering purchasing from you. Use the power of
testimonials to encourage others to buy from you.
--
You know using testimonials on your site makes sense, so
I'll say no more! (Just check out the example below, to get
some ideas! ;-) )
Example:
* Concept 2 (testimonials on home page!)
- http://www.concept2.co.uk
7) BUILD A STORE THAT SELLS
Does your online store sell?
Frankly, there is little point in generating thousands of
visitors to your site if your store does not sell.
So, where to begin. Well, you won't go wrong if you do these
things right:
- Provide clear and consistent site navigation
- Put good quality product photos on your site
- Get your site designed by a professional
- Place as few barriers to purchasing as possible
I could go on; I won't.
Resource:
* Don't Make Me Think (by Steve Krug, all about sensible
site design. Highly recommended.)
- http://www.sensible.com/
--
So, there you have it.
7 simple strategies to help you sell more online - just
implement one method as soon as you can.
Good luck, and remember you can review more examples and
resources by visiting this online version of the article
- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/sell-more-products.shtml
C Copyright 2004 Steve M Nash. All Rights Reserved.
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