Everyone who's online today seems to be interested in
selling something, whether it's a product, a service, or just
information or space for advertising. There's nothing wrong
with that; in many ways, the Internet is the greatest sales
engine ever invented.
What many web designers don't realize is that it's not the
bells and whistles, the fancy Flash animation, or the great
graphics that draw customers to a website. Instead, it's all
about the content.
The Internet is, first and foremost, a text-based technology.
You read it. You may look at the pictures, and you may
laugh at the animations, but the things that compel you to
click on them, to wonder what else is here to inform you, or
to purchase an item are generally the words that are written
on the screen.
Instead of being seduced by the flash and the bang,
consider letting your words do the talking for once, and
generate some sales with articles.
Using Articles To Interest Customers
One of the best ways to get people to buy stuff from you is
to get them to trust and like you. And one of the best ways
to do this on the Internet is to write articles and post them
online for your customers to enjoy and use. Besides this,
once you've written an article, you have instant recognition.
Even if you didn't write it but actually purchased it, your
name on an article instantly transforms you into an expert.
That's not the only secret of the written word. Large
companies like Hewlett-Packard and IBM know something
many small vendors don't: when you get people to write
stuff about you, you're giving yourself instant sales mojo.
When you've written something, that's nice; but when
you've been written about, that's magic.
So here's a new idea: instead of just exchanging links with
other vendors you have a relationship with, why not
exchange mutually-admiring articles? You post an article on
your website referencing the other vendor and talking about
how well his or her products work with yours, and they can
do the same. If you write it in all sincerity, and he does the
same, you're both going to drive extra traffic to each others'
sites.
There are dozens of methods like this you can use to get
your customers more interested. One is using your articles
to inform them about a new product that they may not yet
be aware of. Another is to talk about a nifty item that's just
a slow mover, or to discuss one that is coming up on a
seasonal popularity boost.
Or you can just write plain old informational articles, being
certain to reference items that you sell on your site. For
instance, if you have a gardening site and you want to talk
about the right way to plant bulbs, you can set up links
inside the article or as a sidebar to places your reader can
go on your site to order the bulbs, special measuring tools,
or protective cloths for their newly-planted garden.
Using Newsletters to Sell Your Products
Newsletters are very similar to articles resting out on your
site, with one exception: the customers on your site are
already there and more likely to be in a mood to buy.
Customers reading your newsletter are those who showed
up months or even years ago, filled out a form, and have
been reading your information ever since. The trick here is
to get them to come to your website.
Treat newsletters like you'd treat advertising in a
newspaper. Use coupons to push sales. Talk about special
deals on specific products, or discuss items that can only be
purchased on your website.
Above all, use your newsletter to reference further
information on your website. By pushing your newsletter
readers to your website, you have taken them one step
closer to the "purchase" button, which is what you really
want from them. And once on your website, they may
rediscover everything they liked enough about it to sign up
for the newsletter to begin with.
Finally, don't be afraid to sell a little advertising on your
newsletter. This will generate a little more income for you,
and may result in more sales on your site as well if you're
careful to sell the advertising mostly to vendors who already
work with you.
