I was reviewing the comments in our blog and one reader asked for advice on how to advertise and get traffic to his niche web store.
You can take a look at his website here or this screenshot to see how it looks like when this article was drafted.
As I have always been saying, getting traffic is easy. The hardest thing is converting the traffic.
The key to traffic conversion is the sales funneling process, i.e. how to capture the immediate interest of your visitors and get them to take action (usually by means of opt-in or adding you as their preferred site) before leaving your site.
Once the sales funneling process is ready, the rest is just going through the process of getting traffic.
I talk about sales funneling process right at the start of this discussion because it is exactly what is lacking in this website.
Let’s go back to the website. The homepage is a catalog page listing the featured products for sale. Such homepage will only appeal to one type of traffic, i.e. people who are currently in need of a SPECIFIC niche product THAT happens to be listed in that catalog. My question is, what is the chance of you finding such a person?
Assuming you advertise such a website, chances are most of the traffic will just come and go, including those who may have a need for your product in the future.
By now, you may ask, “So, what is a good sales funneling process for such a site?”
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. For example, I may offer a huge MRR bundle that people can download free if they opt-in. Whoever come to my homepage will be presented with the offer, either on the homepage, above the fold, or as a popup. I may also have a series of autoresponder attempting to convert them into sales.
Also, instead of selling the product at a premium price of $29 – $59 for just one product, I may just sell most of the products at unbelievably low price of $0.99 – $3.90, emphasizing that those are limited-time offers. I may also have a “BUY ALL” offer at $49 – $97 for those with higher budget.
I sell at such a low price because I want potential buyers to remember my website. I want them to know that should they need a particular MRR product, my site is a cheap resource that they should check out. In my homepage, I’ll urge visitors to bookmark my site for future reference because it is THE WEBSITE they should check out should they need an MRR product.
Let’s sum up what I’ve suggested. First, I have an opt-in offer to convert the traffic into my list that I can follow-up with. Next I have a unique selling preposition for my website, i.e. a complete low-cost resource for MRR products, and that, hopefully, can capture their attention immediately and hence bookmark my site. I even have many time-limited offers to urge visitors to buy immediately as well as a big ticket item to cater to those with more budget.
My homepage will be designed to convey 2 ideas: 1) there is a huge free-of-charge MRR bundle that visitors can download, and 2) the site is the ultimate resource for MRR products at low cost.
These two ideas will also form the basis of all my advertising campaigns. So my ads will either be about downloading a massive collection of MRR free, or hundreds of MRR at just $0.99!!
Once the system is in place, there is really no lack of places to promote the site. Traffic exchanges, paid to read networks, safelists, ezine advertising, PPC ads, SEO etc. Where your prospects may be found, just find your way to reach it – THAT is what advertising is all about!
Great article Kenneth,
It couldn’t have come at a better time as I am working to finish a membership site (PLR) and the ideas you have given shine a little more light on what I need to do before I finish it. Thanks,
Kevin
There are several preprepeatory things to do which will help with your bench advertising campaigns which begins with keywords and tags, however depending on what they are your site or campaigns may kill them before you begin ie… Financial, mortgages, creditcards, travel, and others. Check them out through a webtool, webmaster, seo services, or a website specialist. My own site has all those keywords and tags however the market is flooded so I have to really tailor special advertising and add incentives, as well as get something my competition doesn’t have yet. Something I have is inhouse advertising programs and numerous other site traffic not excluding my own backlink generators along with blogs and a newsletter. Link exchangers are easy too and something an seo or webmaster can help with. In short there is a long list and a short list to help generate traffic. There are many people who will also assist with plr/mrr script that you simply add your name and select and paste into your site or email campaigns. Just beware that competitors have similar access to plr/mrr material thus whose material is it? So much for private label… I in all can’t recommend what is right or wrong but add that my experience has gotten me somewhere other than in a sandbox or stuck in an oasis. I can help you via my website(s) and emails and my blogs but it is up to you to stop and listen or be pulled in by those going under the title of guru which are those hiding behind a preset marketing script and selling it as a new program or intellect spent out of a bank. On that note I say good luck and hope to hear from you now, two years, five years, and ten.
Good advice I heard alot of them before from other top marketers. I find that another good thing too do it certainly catches my eye is when you make a person feel like a preferred costomer.
The best way I’ve seen this done is something like (Fee Membership) (Gold Membership) and (Platinum Membership). I see alot more of this on TV advertising and web advertising now. It can also be a good way too recieve residual income from your online store
Maybe a good idea if your business has that much funds. Advertising’s always a good investment to make, no matter what kinda biz you’re in.
Actually you really don’t need hardly any funding to know how too do this. I learned alot from googleadwords.com. They were saying about showing differnt links on your site according to what you want to sell. Of course this is only if your selling hard products mostly.
But I say if your selling or promoting products promote something your familiar with that way you know what your talking about and not just selling some product because you can get money from it. If you do do this at least do your research before you start selling your product.
I find that alot of traffic websites give you alot of hits but no RESULTS!! So that is why I’m going to the original sources like google Ect… Sorry if the traffic generating program gave me what I needed I wouldn’t be commenting on this right now!
Google is king for traffic.
For each product you want to offer, get down to the broad phrase that people would search for, use GKT (Google Keyword Tool) to see exact how much searches it gets – you will want to look at local, it may be very low – like in the 10’s or 30’s but get a good 20 articles or more and then outsource and get articles generated for these broad terms and then clearly outline the benefits of what you want people to go and purchase, talk about value – NOT – price.
You will start to get traffic from Google, capitalize on more broad terms = more traffic – work on LP (landing page) so it converts – use an opt in form. Work on conversions – traffic anyone can get traffic in there hundreds or thousands paid or free – but not everyone focuses on converting traffic
My 2 piece – now where was i…a ha…
Great advice it can be applied to any business online or offline.
I find that the use of the optin for a free product or report to be the best way of building your list to which you can have your autoresponder emails keep in touch with your list on a regular basis as well as up-selling occasionally to them with other products that might be of interest to them.
Driving traffic is pretty easy if you know the basic research techniques to get to page one in your niche. Traffic from other sources is usually not as productive, ie. traffic exchanges or safelists. They pretty much take a lot of effort for not much result and I definitly would not put a sales page into them, it will just get lost. A well designed capture page above the fold is ideal.
Great Stuff Sir,
Very Easy and Effective Live Case Study!
I think everyone should take advantage,
and take ACTION!!
I think anyone promoting Products and Services,
can go for these awesome tips :)
I find that safelits work pretty well and I do use them myself. It is one traffic source that I would recomend..
If you like using safelists James then you are probably doing what I am in mailing out to a ton of them. But I am using list building program like ListQuikto mail to a bunch of members every 3 days. Then I use about 25 others too and use Viral Mail Profits to keep track of when to mail and what emails and subject lines to use. There again, you still need to advertise a small capture page in those emails and track the results.
Tom
Like Kenneth is saying here, give a ton of value to your visitor so they will subscribe to your opt in list no matter where you get your traffic from.
I do find that search engine traffic is much more targeted coming to a niche site that you have gotten to page one than any other means of getting traffic ie. safelists or traffic exchanges.
People that are searching for just what you have are more likely to opt in than if you blast out to thousands of other marketers that just want to sell their programs or products to you.
So, give away the farm and get the name and email address. There’s nothing like having a good productive list.
Tom
I also recommend keeping your reader interested in staying at your homepage once you get there. Adding free stuff is a great way too do this.
But I did one more thing to my blog well actually two that I think will help you out in your marketing.
#1 I put a free radio station on my blog. I did this by going tooo my google account and create a free site through google. You can find this by signing into you google account and click on “more” in the upper left hand corner. And then click “more” again at the bottom. Then click where it says my free sites. Then create a site it’s just a few click and a name and title it will guide you through it it isn’t hard. And then when your done just add that link to your webpage or blog. People will like this feature because they can stream all the free music they want and they can pick from any genere.
#2 Put on a google tool search bar this way if people are clicking on your link and they say well I’m interested in something else insteaed of them having too click off your home page to look for something else they will just be able to search through your home page or blog. If you do it through your blog just click on ‘design’ once you click on your blog and then click on “new gadget” preferred too do this on the upper left hand corned you can view my blog too see what I mean. If you have a homepage just click on too your google adsence account and then click on the link on the far right corner that says. ‘domain name’ Then just follow the steps. Remember too keep it in the upper left hand corner.
James West
Good advice. I’m often surprised by how many websites do not have a clear call to action for anyone landing on it.
Thinking how a user will actually use a website is perhaps the most important thing in a website’s design.
Great Tips, Just an additional tip, why using search engines to promote such sites at huge budgets i believe taking advantage of some social networks that are so networked and viral connecting people with same interest can be of good help in promoting such a site, like creating a facebook page for it and promoting it with facebook ads will go a long way to get one some good valuable leads and customers.
Delords.
I read some of your post and I learned a lot of knowledge from it. Thanks for posting such interesting articles.
These are great tips for online storage and even offline. The key that I have found is to take action. It’s easy to dream and think of creative ideas instead making them happen. Even the not so great ideas are great when they are actually performed and making it happen.
Advertising maybe a costly proposition doing it whether offline or online, but it can become less and very much targetted when we know where to target the campaign.
Thanks for such helpful post…
It’s great way. really helpful, thanks.
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