Let’s make our jobs a whole lot easier by being proprietors of the simple.
Stop the Twitter giveaway campaigns with three steps in different places to enter. Just let people tweet with their own creativity, and no, not every message is going to be perfect branding. I have one cold word for you with it if you want success: Deal. This is the nature of the social web.
As they well stated in 8 social media sins, there aren’t throngs of people lined up to make a video for you. It’s just too difficult, unless the prize is great enough (and tangible, like cash, and a lot of it).
Same with products. Selling complicated products or services online is at best an information support, public relations and/or customer service role (not bad things, but it’s important to know the limits).
The Winning Tickets Online
If, however, you have:
- A simple, inexpensive product or service
- An introductory product people can easily buy that then steps them up to the bigger item or..
- An easy to understand monthly service
That’s a winning ticket.
Don’t Change Your Value Equation After People Have Made The Decision To Buy
Another pitfall we see commonly is pricing, or perceived to be misleading pricing. We recently ran across a site that says it’s $19.95 per month to join – with no mention of the fact they want 3 months up front until you’re in the cart. That’s a sure-fire way to abandonment – keep the barrier to entry low and even though it’s still $19.95 a month, consumers feel betrayed when they’re presented with something different because you’ve convinced them to spend around $20 at the time, not $60 (or $59.85, my beloved math nerds). You can exchange those numbers for almost anything, the same principle applies.
Changing that in-brain value proposition and asking for three times the amount basically obliterates your conversion percentages (you’ve turned a simple decision into a difficult one, because you’ve set an expectation, or trust level, in the consumer’s mind that you’ve already broken before they sign up – not good). And if you have a digital product, there is no excuse for that behavior. Your cost is almost free.
Ask Questions!
Which leads me to motivations for these crazy “strategies.” Decision makers have this propensity to live in a bubble – how THEY would buy it. What THEY think the market is.
Think about your customers – ask them. Ask those who aren’t your customers. Reach deep. Don’t think because that’s how you’d do something that’s how everyone would.. or that logical factors have something to do with a purchase. Remember, a large percentage of people don’t even know what a web browser is.
Some of the most successful businesspeople I have met are people who see market needs and fill them at the price the market is willing to pay. That’s it. No flashy business plans, no fancy venture capital money. Find a real need, meet it at the right price, and get paid.
Just keep it simple.
What are your tips for getting paid online? Things you’ve found that work – or don’t work?
I am still reading the book by Dale Carnegie, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” The book was written in 1938 originally and is still a best seller today. One of the basics Carnegie speaks of is just listening and asking questions. Seth Godin and DM Scott often talk about the same things. NO ONE CARES about YOU except YOU. The best salesmen and pitchmen don’t talk about what they want or force you to buy something. They ask you questions because YOU are the biggest fan of YOU. So to get you talking and wanting to buy or something they ask questions.
This should be used in Online Marketing and I am sick of the Twitter get 100000 followers a day. Why would you need that many? Shouldn’t you reach the people who care about you and your needs instead of selling a bunch of nothing to a crowd who does not care?