The “No-Fail” Way to Get More Paying Customers to Your Website

No matter what kind of business you want to run online – whether it’s selling products or offering services, there are certain steps you should follow to help make your new business venture as successful as possible.

The good news is that it doesn’t involve any kind of “secret formula” – it’s just good business sense with a bit of an online twist.  Here’s how to build your e-business the right way:

1. Don’t find a product first – find a need!  This is a common mistake for beginners who believe that just having a product to sell online automatically guarantees they’ll get sales. Oftentimes they’ll find (or create) a product and then seek out people to sell it to, when you should be doing the exact opposite:  finding people who have a need and then creating a product they’ll love!But how do you find out what people want?

    Just a little basic research can go a long way in helping you to identify a need that’s not being filled.  Take a product idea and search for it online.  See what sites are already out there.  Make note of what they’re doing, and what they could improve upon. 

   TIP: Check out forums related to the product or subject you’re interested in (just search Google.com for your product name, plus the word forum after it) and browse Q & A sites like Yahoo! Answers for questions related to your topic that aren’t answered – or answered well. This should give you plenty of ideas for consumer needs that aren’t being met.

2. Write a sales letter that grabs their interest – Not all people are “born writers”, which is precisely why iElectrify.com offers compelling and persuasive copywriting services. Online, your words act as the first impression you give a potential customer – so choose and use them in a way that presents the benefits to the customer, without sounding too much like blatant advertising or a sales pitch.  People hate being “sold to”.Remember, your purpose for selling is to fill a need (and of course, make money in the process!), so your sales letter should drive home the many benefits your product offers, and how it’s different or better than what’s already out there. For more information on how to write to persuade people to buy from you, check out How to Write a Great Web Sales Letter.
3. Create a professional website – A credible, trustworthy-looking site goes a long way in making a positive first impression.  The good news is that even a basic website design with a few images added to emphasize the sales letter, can go a long way in helping your online reputation. If you don’t have the time (or just don’t want) to worry about your website design details, why not get a free quote and learn how much it costs to have a custom website designed for your business?  These days, custom web design is incredibly affordable.
4. Make yourself known online – You may think that a business like yours already has its well-known “experts”, and chances are, you can name a few people who excel in your industry. The good news is – there’s always room for more! Remember the first point about finding a need that hasn’t been met?  If you’re the first person to fill that need, or you do it better than your competitors, it’s time to brand yourself as that expert. 

   Share your knowledge by participating in related forums and message boards, give away free tips about your product or business, and show customers how to get more out of what you’re selling. 

   Just like growing and maintaining a garden, it takes time, patience and a bit of nurturing to grow and blossom into an expert that people trust.  Keep at it – most of your competition will give up and move on to something else after the first couple of weeks, anyway!

If you follow these four steps, you’ll be well on your way to attracting more customers to your website and keeping them coming back for more.  If you’d like help with writing your sales letter or having your web page professionally designed, why not get a free quote from iElectrify right now?

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