I am simply astounded when I see so many making the same marketing errors. The following errors usually result from following the actions of others; they always have an adverse reaction to businesses credibility.
Not Providing Any Valid Return Email Address On Commercial Email
Would you buy something from a complete stranger? Most people won't and shouldn't. At the very least a customer should have some way to contact the seller?
Look at your in-box, it's my guess that more than 70% of all commercial email messages do not provide the sender's true return email address; in fact many don't even provide any way to order the product or service.
In fact, many spammers cloak their order URL or use a Meta refresh command to forward you from a fake URL to the actual clocked order form. If they hide their identity why should anyone purchase from them?
Buying & Using So Called "Opt-In" Lists
Bulk emailing is one of the fastest and surest ways to ruin your businesses reputation. I don't trust or believe in buying or using off-site opt-in lists at any price. The *opt-in* concept implies that the recipients know who *YOU* are and have explicitly given permission to receive offers from you. Even when using a true *opt-in* list people may change their mind over time or get tired of receiving tons of commercial emails. Your website may be shut down even though you purchased a costly and highly targeted list.
The definition for spam is subjective; it's similar to the definition of sexual harassment. In other words, it's considered spam if someone feels offended. The sender is the party held responsible whenever there is a complaint. The sender must be able to prove that the recipients were indeed opt-in. Frankly the offended recipient needs only an email as proof while the sender may not have proof that the email was actually requested. Many times the sender will be considered guilty without getting a chance to respond.
"It's 100% Legal"
Shouldn't it trigger a question when a seller feels a need to tell you that his or her product or opportunity is legal? Even if a product or service *is* 100% legal, if there is any question in the buyer's mind it will difficult or impossible to close a sale.
Not Able To Accept Credit Cards On Your Website
Credit cards are the accepted method of choice for processing sales on the Internet. Anyone anywhere in the world can purchase on-line via credit card. If you not able to process sales via credit cards your chances of making a sale go down exponentially.
The availability of third party transaction services (like PayPal and others), make it possible to sell on-line. The problem with using these services is they may require your prospect to be registered or subscribe to a new or unfamiliar e-commerce service.
In my experience, just having the ability to accept credit cards can boost sales by 150% to 400%.
Visit the following sources to find an e-commerce solution that fits your needs and budget.
ClickBank
http://www.clickbank.com/?hop=smithfam/clickbank
ClickBank is for products to be delivered electronically only. I have had good experiences with ClickBank. They also offer a free 3ard party affiliate sales tracking system.
CCNow
http://www.ccnow.com
Used only to sell physical products to be shipped to the customer.
1eMerchant
http://www.smithfam.com/ccopps.html
This solution will work for virtual products and shippable products and is best if you want a full merchant's account.
Other Solutions
http://www.ibill.com
http://www.regsoft.com
http://www.pslweb.com
http://www.internetsecure.com
The Exclusive Use Of Free Services
I am a big supporter of using free services; they fill a need and usually offer professional upgrades. Free services usually require displaying ads or doing something in else in return. If you are trying to run a serious business without investing is professional level software, tools and utilities you risk your credibility suffering. Customers want you to demonstrate that you are invested in your business. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Would you spend money buying from a stranger using a free email address and a free hosting service.?
No Domain Name
You can now purchase your own domain name directly from your hosting company. The costs have dropped in some cases to free. A domain name is a DNS or IP number that is easy to remember. Your domain name forwards your prospects to your website no matter where on the Internet that your files are located. Your domain is portable; you can move your domain from one hosting company to another as your needs change. Your own domain helps build customer confidence because your contact Information can be found through your domain.
Click below to check the availability of a specific domain name or to locate the current owner and host of any domain. You can usually have your hosting company register the name for you.
Network Solutions - Whois
http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois
Third Sphere Hosting
http://www.smithfam.com/host.html
They are not cheap but they provide excellent support making it a good buy. I can get you a 2-month free hosting.
NitorMax Web Hosting
http://nitromax.com/
Low cost professional hosting services, includes a free domain name. They offer hosting, automated website design and shopping cart tools, and full e-commerce solutions through 1eMerchant.com
Smithfam's Hosting
http://www.smithfam.com/
Low Cost Full Featured hosting, if you don't need a lot of support this host is a excellent & reliable choice
Incomplete or Incorrect Contact Information On Website
People want to make a connection. Often prospects have questions before they make a purchase. If you are not easy to reach most won't bother to buy. Making yourself more available is a big confidence builder. If they don't ask in most cases you will never know they were interested. In addition, Yahoo actually requires that listings contain complete contact information on all pages they review for inclusion in their directory.
I learned this one the hard way. When I purchased from the following company they had complete contact information on each page. They are still collecting funds from customers but cannot be located even through their domain registration. They own me money for sales. Notice that you can sign up for their service but there is NO way to contact them anywhere on their entire site. It's a good Idea to verify the companies contact information before buying anything from anyone.
http://www.validpay.com
Not Using Effective Follow-Up
Most of your costs to obtain a qualified lead occur before you get the order. It only makes sense to follow up more than once; if for no other reason it doesn't cost anything additional. Following up is the most effective use of opt-in email marketing. Send your prospects a series of messages over days- weeks and months. Make sure they can stop future emails easily. Most people buy after 3-7 contacts. My subscribers are more likely to buy from me because I have established a relationship through repeated exposure. At the least you might be able to at least double your sales using programmable follow-up effectively.
Awerber.com offers the easiest to use programmable follow-up tool, it's not the cheapest product on the market but it's simple to set up and understand. Request the trial auto responder below.
http://www.smithfam.com/autoresponder.html
Not Willing To Share The Profits
Advertising costs money, and there is no guarantee you will sell anything. Starting and running an associate program *only*costs money after a sale is confirmed. This is perhaps the best way to sell anything on-line. Associate programs are effective tool to acquire new complementary products and build customer loyalty.
In the long run your affiliates often become the best customers. Many affiliate programs are now requiring their affiliates to purchase the product in order to become a re-seller. I believe this is part of a trend in Internet marketing. Product owners are more knowledgeable as to the value of the product and what it can do for the prospective customer.
More information and tracking software
http://www.marketingtips.com/assoctrac/t.x/6040
Get Rich Quick Claims
Using hype or unreasonable claims is to no-ones advantage. Unrealistic claims bring out the greed in others and ultimately disappoint everyone. It's better to under-sell and over-deliver. Remember to sell the product not the potential income a product *might* bring in the future.
Slow Response Or To Inquiries - No Guarantee
Consider every inquiry a selling opportunity. A quick response builds credibility because you are demonstrating your willingness to make yourself available.
Anyone can contest any charge on their credit card for any reason; so why not just offer them a money back if they are dissatisfied for any reason? This is a proven sales technique; and when combined with customer testimonials helps build customer confidence. An airtight guarantee often makes the difference between earning a lifetime customer and losing a sale.
Click Here to Email Bob Smith
