Tag: sales conversion
Lead generation, capture, nurture and conversion – Do you do inbound marketing?
I’m lucky. Copywriting is hot property. The hour a day’s DIY marketing and on-site SEO I do generates enough freelance writing work to keep me trundling along nicely.
I generate site visitors like nobody’s business. But if they all converted to sales I’d be in deep trouble because there’s only one of me.
It’s dreadful behaviour from a marketing perspective. I know it. But I’m busy enough to let the data capture, lead nurturing and database marketing side of my business slide.
If things ever go pear shaped and I lose my SERPs positions, I’ll dust off my database marketing skills and get cracking. I’ll set up lead capturing protocols, write a bunch of powerful autoresponder messages, nurture every lead that comes my way, feed statistics and analytics into my inbound marketing loop and integrate the lot for maximum inbound marketing effectiveness.
What about you? Are you generating enough business? Have you got to grips with inbound marketing? If not, and you need a freelance copywriter to create hard working inbound marketing collateral, I have enough direct marketing experience to do the job properly, with direct response front of mind.
(Thanks to http://www.sxc.hu/profile/bigevil600 for the free image)
What’s your % sales conversion rate?
It’s good to know how many prospects turn into sales.
Do you have a good handle on your % conversion rates? And do you have any idea why non-converters aren’t taking the bait?
If you don’t know, you can always ask. If you make it part of your autoresponder campaign to find out why people aren’t buying, you can take action.
It’s best to use a tick box list than ask open questions. People’s time is precious. But it’s good to give space for freeform input just in case they want to give detailed feedback.
My current freelance copywriting conversion rate is 53% and it has always hovered around 50%.
Why do 47% of people decide not to take me up on my quotes? The biggest reason is they want a super-cheap copywriting deal. I don’t mind losing this kind of business because I don’t do cheap. I do premium quality work at a fair price.
A 53% conversion rate is pretty good. It delivers more than enough work to keep me busy and happy. I don’t want to expand my business - I love working alone as a sole trader. My executive decision? Things are peachy. So let sleeping prospects lie!
Monitor your online buying behaviour…
…and apply what you learn to your website
There are loads of things you can do to optimise your website for visitors. But are you missing a trick?
Making assumptions is one thing. It’s also useful to think creatively about persuading people to buy.
How? Here’s a simple exercise that’ll help you pin down unforseen ways to enhance your visitors’ experience and boost sales.
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Every time you buy from a site you haven’t used before, make a note of the main reason you chose that site over the others you looked at
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At the same time jot down the main reason why you didn’t buy from the other sites you visited
You’ll find, like all of us, that you respond well to solid practical stuff like great copy, clear navigation, good value, a choice of ways to pay, sensible layout etcetera. But you might also find yourself responding positively to things you didn’t expect and couldn’t have predicted.
Eventually patterns will emerge. Persuade friends, family and colleagues to join in and you’ll have a healthy bank of data, potentially sprinkled with nuggets of sales conversion gold. Then apply what you’ve learned to your site and see if sales increase.
11 straightforward ways to improve sales conversion
Conversion is the percentage of website visitors who ultimately buy from you.
For example if you get 1000 site visitors a day and 19 of them buy something, that’s a 1.9% conversion rate.
Attracting people to your site is one thing. Getting them to buy is another. Here’s eleven common sense ways to increase sales conversion:
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create clear, compelling, inspirational sales copy, targeted directly to your core audience’s needs
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lose the small print, avoid jargon, turn every potential negative into a persuasive positive
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make it easy for prospects to ask questions. Then deliver the answers as fast as possible
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make buying a clean, smooth, logical and pleasurable experience. The more complex, longer or exasperating you make it, the fewer people will stick it out to the end
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provide plain English reassurance about security and privacy in the right places, at the right times
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cater for everyone’s needs by giving people a choice of ways to buy wherever it’s practical. Online, over the phone, in writing…
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…the same goes for payment methods. The more choice you give, the more prospects will be able to buy from you
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use a buyer’s name – personalising the buying process helps people feel a human connection with your business
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build and manitain a good, trustworthy reputation by fulfilling orders quickly, efficiently and politely
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keep your prices competitive. If they’re too high you’ll lose sales to your competitors no matter how much you spend on SEO, advertising and marketing
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test different offers, prices, descriptions, images, sales processes etcetera until you identify the best converters
