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Archive for Online Business Tools

Dec
17

Shopping Cart Abandonment In Information Products

by Jeanette

During heavy shopping seasons like Christmas and back to school, you hear a lot about the problems of shopping cart abandonment. In fact, many studies put it at over 60%!

So do you need to worry about shopping cart abandonment in your information products business? Let’s examine the evidence:

1. One of the main reasons that buyers say they abandon their shopping cart is high shipping fees. Irritatingly enough, most vendors don’t show you the shipping fee until you are in the process of checking out. By then your only choice is to buy or abandon your cart.

But in your information products business you are generally shipping electrons – because your products are digital. So there is no shipping costs to surprise the buyer on their way to check out.

2. A second reason often cited for abandonment of the shopping cart is that most sites do not provide a way to put things into your cart – in case you want to buy them later. Essentially there’s no way to say “I’m thinking about this. Maybe I’ll buy it in the future.”

Instead, your only choice is to add it to the cart – and then when you need to leave the site (with the idea that you might return later to buy what you marked), they count it as “abandoned” and clean out your cart.

As a digital marketer you don’t have this problem. Generally you are selling one product from one site. They can buy it now – or buy it later. It’s just a matter of revisiting the site.

Of course, it’s in your best interest to close the sale on their first visit. But common wisdom (and a lot of research) tell us that most people take several exposures to an idea or product before they buy. So ideally you want to get an email address so that you can follow up. In fact, that’s the reason most information marketers use Optin pages – so they can follow up on potential sales.

3. Finally many customers rebel at ecommerce sites that require you to create an account before you check out. If it’s a site that you use regularly, it makes sense. But many times you’re buying a one-time gift. And the last thing you need is one more password to remember and one more site sending email. The solution? Don’t check out – and now you’ve just become a shopping cart abandonment statistic.

Of course, as a digital marketer you will need the buyer’s information. But that is only gathered as part of the check out process, not in the form of creating an account before they checkout. Timing is everything!

So based on those three primary reasons that people give for abandoning a shopping cart full of great stuff, it appears that you have nothing to worry about when you sell digital products.

Shopping cart abandonment is not an issue for digital sellers. In fact, unless you have a multiple-step checkout process (most likely the result of multiple upsells), your shopping cart abandonment rate is probably very low.

And just to be sure you keep that shopping cart abandonment rate at nearly zero, go ahead and put the price of your product on the sales page and tell them there is no shipping. Naturally you also want to provide full details on your product, so that the potential buyer doesn’t feel like they need more information before making the decision to buy.

Finally, make it easy for them to decide whether or not they want the upsell – before they start the checkout process.

With just a few simple steps, you’ll be able to brag on a very low shopping cart abandonment rate.

Dr. Jeanette Cates in an Internet strategist who helps authors and coaches leverage their expertise into Online Success. She provides a step-by-step process for succeeding online in the Online Success Incubator.

0 Categories : Shopping Cart
Feb
8

How To Build An Email List: Technology And Tactics

by Jeanette

Marketing a product or service online is a combination of many factors: marketing tactics, technology, and strategy. That’s why many people run into issues when it comes to building an email list. What technology do you need? How many lists do you need to build? How do you use your lists? Let’s look at each of these areas individually.

The Technology To Build An Email List

In order to build a list you need an autoresponder service. There are many quality services available so it’s just a matter of finding a service that is easy to use and affordable.

Once you have contracted with the service you will set up a list. This list has Read More→

5 Categories : Autoresponders, Email Marketing
May
3

Should I Buy This Product?

by Jeanette

3dQuestionSave Money And Reduce Information Overload

One of the exciting things about doing business online is the rapidly changing landscape. There are new technologies, new tactics, and new  products coming onto the market daily. It’s a constant parade of new offers.

But do you need the latest and greatest offering? Or will it just become “shelfware?” Here are five questions to ask yourself before you purchase the next product that arrives in your inbox.

1. Does this fit my business model? If your primary business model is split between consulting and selling your own info products, you may not need the “hot” new Private Label Rights product. Regardless of how easy it sounds, how much passive revenue you can earn or how few copies are left, if it doesn’t fit into your business model – skip it.

2. Is this truly a time-sensitive offer? Scarcity – a limited quantity, or short time limit – is one of the most effective means for closing a sale, so it is often used in online sales letters. A “real deadline” is the early bird  price for a conference or the start of a teleseminar series. And while “the  price goes up at midnight” may be compelling, don’t buy just to beat the  deadline.

Buying something you don’t need or don’t have time to use will cost more in the long run than what you would save on beating the deadline. One of the techiques I use is to print all sales letters that interest me. Then I read them away from the computer where I can’t click immediately. This delay helps the rational thinking process and avoids that panicky clicking.

3. Do I have time to implement this? If you can see an opening in this week’s schedule that gives you time to read the ebook, re-label the product, watch the videos and take the resulting action, then it might be a good  product to purchase. But most people 1) don’t set aside time to implement in  the first 48 hours after purchase and 2) may consume the materials, but fail  to take action. This is how “shelfware” is created!

4. How will I implement this? A well-written sales letter will provide enough detail that you can write a plan for consuming the product and taking action. Will you need to learn a process? See how many hours of videos are provided – then double that time for learning the material. Look at the length of the ebook, then based on your reading speed, figure out how long you’ll need to consume it.

Then take a further guess at the number of hours you will need to take the action. You don’t want to walk around as a Smart Marketer who knows a lot. You want to be a Rich Marketer – and that requires action. So at least double the learning time for the action phase.

Finally, write out your plan. Once the first rush of excitement has passed about all of the great “stuff” you have bought, you may forget why you invested in it. So while you’re really excited about it – before you click the order  button – have your written plan ready.

5. What’s the return on my investment? It’s not just your money, it’s your time. What else will you be neglecting to implement this new product? What will that cost you, both in terms of rest and relationships? If you fully follow your plan and invest the hours you know you need to properly implement it, how soon will you see the increase in revenue (or decrease in expenses)?  How much can you realistically expect to earn? Now divide that by the number of hours in your implementation plan. Is it worth it?

While these questions won’t stop you from purchasing the tools and knowledge you need for your business, they will help you avoid excess purchases that leave you feeling guilty and overwhelmed. Be an “Action Consumer.” Resolve to never purchase again without answering these five questions.

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16 Categories : Online Business Tools

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