7 Fatal Sins of Online Marketing... Plus Secrets to Boost Website Traffic, Sales Conversion and ROI

If set up well, online marketing can help you generate a consistent passive income. There are many stories of how first-time entrepreneurs have made lots of money selling their products and services through online marketing. But there are hundreds if not thousands of times more stories of how folks failed bad. Investing their money and losing it or recovering little.

In its simplistic model, online marketing has three phases. In phase one, you get traffic to opt-in to your system. In phase two, you convert your opt-in leads into customers. Then in phase three, you retain these customers by getting them to buy from you again.

Yet each of these stages have inherent risks. And if you were to commit just one sin of online marketing, it could kill your entire business.

Here are 7 fatal sins of online marketing. Why you should avoid them. Plus, what you should do instead to be more successful.

Fatal Marketing Sin #1: Sending Traffic to Your Homepage

The money you invest in traffic is a sunk cost. The only way to get a return on your investment is by selling products and services. So if you were to get someone to click on your advertisement, you would want the best opportunity to sell them.

Yet 92 percent of consumers that visit a brand's website for the first time are NOT there to buy. And only 32 percent of those who visited the site with the intention to buy rarely or never make the purchase. This per a study of 1,112 consumers in the United States by Episerver.

That's why it's vital you first get your prospect to opt-in and give you permission to send them email messages. Then you can establish a relationship with them. Plus, nurture them with educational information to establish trust and credibility. All which can lead to sales conversion.

The best place to send traffic is to a landing page solely focused on getting visitors to opt-in. But a homepage is the wrong place to send traffic. That's because most home pages have a menu and too much information to distract visitors from opting in, even if you include an opt-in form.

Fatal Marketing Sin #2: Sending Cold Traffic to Your Sales Page

Sending cold traffic to your sales page before they opt in can be worse than sending them to your home page. Less than one-third of prospects who otherwise would buy from you, buy on their first visit.

By sending traffic to your sales page, you risk losing them forever by revealing your price, without first establishing a relationship with them. If they leave without buying, you have no way to follow-up. So you waste your advertising investment.

Fatal Marketing Sin #3: Investing in Traffic Before Investing in Your Sales Funnel

Why spend on website traffic you cannot convert into sales. Don't put the cart before the horse, because you may not get where you want to go.

The key to making sales is to have a good sales funnel. So you can generate sales conversion. A good sales funnel includes a series of email letters with links to content to establish trust and credibility. Plus one or more landing pages with persuasive content and strong offer. And an order page confirming the offer with a fast and easy way for buyers to complete and submit it.

Fatal Marketing Sin #4: Not Knowing Your Target Market

All too often marketers make the sin of having too broad of a target audience. Yet targeting a broad audience will not only cost you more, it will also lead to lower sales conversion.

The best first step before you invest in traffic, is to conduct market research. An in-depth survey to help you find the demographic, psychographic and buying behavior characteristics of your true target market. The results can help you identify the most appropriate marketing messaging.

Fatal Marketing Sin #5: Not Segmenting Your Contacts

The era of one message fits all is dead. The advantage of online marketing is you can segment your contacts and give each a personalized experience.

Two common ways to segment your contacts is through custom fields and tags. Then you can group your contacts according to those who have a certain tag or custom field data. And you can personalize the marketing message based on this criterion. That can lead to both increased sales conversion and greater customer satisfaction.

Fatal Marketing Sin #6: Not Split Testing Your Campaigns

Split testing enables you to compare results between 2 and 4 versions of your landing pages. So you can improve your results. For either higher opt-in rates. Or greater sales conversion.

The key to split testing is to focus on just one variable at a time. This variable can be to compare headlines, pricing, offer, or even design of the landing page. You simply designate the current version as the control and send a certain percent of contacts in your funnel to the "test page(s)". When one "test page" results beat out the control, then it becomes the new control.

Fatal Marketing Sin #7: Not Investing in a Downsell Campaign

As much as 67% or more may abandon their shopping cart. Yet you can recapture over one-fourth of these lost sales with a downsell campaign.

A downsell campaign involves a series of messages to contacts who abandon the shopping cart. Each message contains a persuasive message with a link to a dedicated landing page with a special offer. What once was sales-lost, now becomes increased sales conversion.

In summary, executing any one of the above online marketing sins can kill your business. But when instead, you execute the strategies suggested, you can help your business grow. To help you achieve higher opt-in rates, increased sales conversion and greater ROI.

Marketing services by Jeff Traister can help you increase your sales conversion through automation and persuasive copywriting. He is a certified Internet marketing automation consultant and direct response copywriter.

To learn more and get tips on how you can increase your sales conversion of leads and get customers to buy more from you, go to Your Digital-Marketing-Automation-Superhero

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To find about other ways of earning a passive income, go to Passive Income Mastery Blog

How to Add a Sales Funnel to Your Existing Website

Hello, it's Mike Grady from business fuel.

I'm answering that question of the week.

All right, so the question we got is how to add a sales funnel to your existing website?

Well, the short answer is click funnels.

So yes, you can add a sales funnel to your existing website or you can actually turn a traditional website into a big sales phone.

This works just like hiring a train salesperson to nurture leads and to convert them into sales 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

See, adding a sales funnel has never been easier. As an entrepreneur, you'll never have to feel like you're handcuffed by technical people ever again.

Yes, you no longer have to rely on tech people to get your lead magnates and your offers live online.

See in the past I've had to rely, I'm, you know, programmers and graphic designers just to set up a very basic sales funnel.

And typically it would take them two or three months to get it live.

Once I gave it to them. Most times it wasn't done exactly the way I wanted it, but I invented, I invested a lot of time and money.

Today I use a software my men are created called click funnels and I can actually build out a funnel in about 10 minutes.

I get an idea, I create an offer, I create a funnel and then I see if it works.

If it doesn't work right away, then I can make quick changes and then publish them and then wait and see if it starts to make sales.

See this program was created for non tech technical entrepreneurs like myself that aren't programmers.

We don't know how to be designers, so we can easily build pages inside of a sales funnel that are proven to convert.

Yes, you can stop paying tech guys in their ridiculous prices like I did.

It gives you the power to turn your ideas into reality and then turn those offers into money. And to do that quickly, I create a video that walks you through the core steps, which is the lead magnet, the offer page, the thank you page, the sales page, and of course the most critical part, which is the followup phone, the video.

I will show you how you can, as an entrepreneur, you can literally take the power back from the tech guys.

I'll put a link in the description below of the video and then you can actually watch it later and you can learn from it.

So whether you're on vacation or you're at the office or you're at home, your funnel will be working for you just like a full time salesperson.

Also, my mentor, Russell Brunson, wrote an industry changing book on how to create a mass movement of people who will pay for your advertising, pay for your advice and your products.

So I'll put a link to the description below about that. You can check that out for yourself.

So hopefully this answer helps on if you can actually put a sales funnel into your website or actually just make your website into a sales funnel so that you can have people coming and getting your message and checking out your products and buying your products 24 hours a day.

13 FREE Tutorial Videos To Set Up Your Lead Funnels... Step By Step

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What is a Sales Funnel? And How To Create One that Actually Makes Money

Marketing Online With a Funnel Strategy, Is It Still Viable As of Today..?

I've been getting a lot of questions on the forums where we participate in, and also we're getting a lot of questions from our brand new affiliates.

Is what is actually is a sales funnel.

So I wanted to go through and break it down in theory, in practice of how it is structured and show some effective sales funnel landing pages.

And then what are the actual numbers of how does this work and why is it beneficial for our business.

So, the process is we have a product and we want to create awareness in the marketplace.

And then once somebody is aware of it, to generate interest for that prospective customer.

And then once we have that prospective customer's interests, then we want them to make a decision and then take action on that decision.

And once they take action, then we see the benefits of the sales funnel process.

So the structure...

LANDING PAGE

First we have a Landing Page.

And the landing page, the only thing that we're trying to do is get an email address.

So we want to make a promise that if they give us their email address, we'll give them a valuable piece of information that they liked.

And it doesn't cost very much.

Maybe it's free, maybe it's a $1, that sort of thing.

But we want to make it very valuable.

So people will trade us their email address because they know that we're going to contact them in the future.

THANK YOU PAGE

Once we have that email address, then we want to take them to a thank you page that might have an offer on it.

So in other words, we promised them something for their email and then we send them to a thank you page and they say, thank you very much.

Here's the thing you wanted, but, by the way, would you like to actually take a look at

this thing that might make your life better or solve your problem?

ORDER PAGE

And then from that they can go to an order page to actually purchase that.

And then what we always want to do is on the order page to increase our per ticket value is we give them the product that they want, but then ask them if they want to bump on another product that will help the one that they're buying.

And it's called an order bump.

And what we've seen through split testing is 20 to 30% of people will actually take the order bump if offered.

UPSELL PAGE

Then once they complete the order, then they can be taken to an upsell page for an additional product that would help them out with the product they just purchased.

And then of course, if they take that, we see about 30 to 35% of the people actually taken an Upsell.

But once they've taken it, then you can take them to a thank you page.

DOWNSELL PAGE

Now let's say that somebody didn't take the upsell.

Well, instead of letting them go, let's take them to a down sell page.

So maybe they're ready to buy, but they're not wanting to spend that much money.

So we take them to an offer that might be more of the same but a steeper discount, that sort of thing.

And what we've seen is that 15 to 20% of the people will actually take a down sell in addition to offer.

If we just make that offer to them.

And of course then we can take them to a thank you page.

So now what about the 95% of people that didn't buy the first time they came through?

Because we all know that 95% of the traffic that comes to our landing pages doesn't actually

make a decision because they've got to go through their buying cycle.

So what do we do with the 95% of people that don't buy our product when they first see it?

Well, that's why we collected the email.

So that we can put them into an email smart list and then we can now send them messages

via email for the next day, two or three in an automated system.

Then make that offer to come back and buy that product.

So maybe they weren't ready to buy initially.

But you can give them additional information over the next couple of days that might persuade them to buy your product.

But what if they don't buy the product?

Well, they're not gone and then we can make them a different offer

And then send them a series of other emails that might be related to the product that

they didn't buy or might be something completely different.

Well, what if they don't buy that product?

Well, then we can send them a different offer.

Because they're in our email list.

We now have the ability to send them offers whenever we want.

And the thing is, if you don't get to spammy, where they're gonna opt out of your list,

if you provide them value, they'll stay on your list forever.

So the process goes, you can actually send out different offers with an automated system, so that you can provide value to these people.

And of course, that's how we generate revenues for our business.

So the key thing is, is the landing page.

So let's take a look at the structure of a great landing page.

First is we want to have a hook, something to get people's attention.

And then we want to tell them a story.

Why our product is going to be good for the problem that they came to our website for.

Of course then we want to make an offer.

So really all of business really boils down to these three simple rules.

1. Learn how to get somebody's attention

2. Tell them a story that builds belief, emotion and trust

3. Then sell them something they want, that's absolutely irresistible to them.

So again, let's take a look at some really good examples of great landing pages.

So here we have one right here, the 10 minute cache system.

THE HOOK

Discover how to make real money online in 10 minutes.

That grabs your attention.

THE STORY

Brand new from number one international bestselling author, Yoan Chia.

THE OFFER

Enter your email address to learn how to get the actual system.

We take a look over here and don't let anything dull your sparkle.

Obviously in eBook.

THE OFFER

The Free eBook from Dorian Virtue.

So this is another document that she's put out and another book that she's put out.

THE STORY

You'll discover why you're addicted to drama, how your past traumas led to a high drama stress filled life,

and how to ultimately break free from these patterns and live a life that reflects your divine sparkle.

So again, there's a story where we're talking about, here's the problem, here's your story and

what you're going to learn and what you're going to get at the end.

THE OFFER

Enter your email address to receive the free eBook.

Don't let anything dull your sparkle.

Here's one from how to flip houses.

THE HOOK

A secret confession

And of course this is illustrated with an image of a video with a play button that can't actually be played.

THE STORY

I've discovered a loophole in the $787 billion stimulus bill that allows me to flip 10 to 15 REO,

bank owned foreclosure properties every single month.

And if you're interested in real estate, that would get your attention and you would want to learn more.

THE OFFER

Enter your our email address to receive the free digital video that he references above and how to flip houses from your home.

Let's look at the actual numbers.

Let's say that...

200 people put their email address into your landing page.

Then 5% of those people decided to buy right away.

And let's say your product was $27.

Well, if you had 5% of the people buy, of the 200 people that came,

you probably spend two to $300 on ads getting traffic to your website.

So you actually made $270 from the 5% of the people that bought first time.

Of those 10 people that bought your initial product, well, they're in a buying mood.

So why not make them an additional offer?

So let's say you've got another more extensive product, maybe a course that you can sell for $297.

So let's say that of the 10 people that bought your initial product, now they're going to buy,

one person will actually buy your program for $297.

So here are the numbers.

You spend $300 on advertising to get people to your landing page.

You made 10 sales at $27 and one sale at $297 for a total of $567.

So now you're already profitable by over $267.

And...

You now have collected 200 email addresses that you can now market to for free.

Are you seeing how incredible the sales funnel processes is?

And that is the beauty of a sales funnel, and that's why we use them.

Now, what is the best program that we've used?

And we've tested lots of different programs from hard coding websites, to WordPress and a lot of different software programs.

But the best program that we found to put together all the different pieces you need to create effective sales funnels is clickfunnels.

I'll put a ink in the author description below

Check it out for yourself

Click funnels has a 14 day free trial.

Go ahead and click the link below and you can actually go and start your 14 day free trial.

Now one of the things we've discovered is that it's a little bit of a startup to actually learn any software program.

Click funnels is no different.

So what we've done is we've put together 13 step-by-step videos of how to start your click funnels quickly.

So in your free 14 day trial, going through our videos,

which is going to take you about an hour and a half, maybe two hours,

go through all the videos, but you'll then be able to hit the ground running with click funnels.

And actually get set up in the first 24 hours.

So now you've got 13 days to really test out your landing page, your entire sales process,

and start generating some revenues before your free trial ends.

Hopefully this helpful For Business.

13 FREE Click Funnels Tutorial Videos To Set Up Your Lead Funnels... Step By Step

Expert Secrets that explains exactly how to use ClickFunnels.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10199788

How To Run Your Online Business More Smoothly

If you are running an online business, chances are that you are jumping from one urgent job to the next, and have little or no time to focus on your strategy. The fact is that you will need to work more on your business than in your business, and some of the processes in your online venture can either be automated or outsourced, so you can focus on the big picture and deal with things that will take your business to the next level.

Infrastructure

You will need to create the right infrastructure for your business, so you don’t have to complete things manually. If you have an eCommerce store, you will need the right plugins to take care of orders, secure your customers’ data, and ensure that you are able to deliver your promises and have the stock in. The good news is that these software solutions are not expensive, and they can easily be integrated into any major payment processing system.

Marketing Automation

Your marketing is essential if you would like to grow your online business. No matter if you are an affiliate or are selling your own unique items online, you will need to be present on every channel possible. Creating social proof and branding your store on the internet can be an effective way of making the most out of your business and saving time. You could use a company or a software to schedule your posts up to a month ahead and create consistent messages.

Get a Sales Funnel Built

If you don’t want to market your company every day for hours, you can automate the follow up process and build a sales funnel or get someone to build it for you. Finding a full service sales funnel agency is not hard; you just have to google companies and search by location and expertise. Clutch.co is a great source of quality companies reviewed by real users. Once you have an advanced marketing funnel, you will not have to worry about turning your leads into clients and cold calling.

Reduce Distractions

It might also be a good idea to focus better on the task ahead, so you can improve your productivity. There are plenty of distractions you can eliminate if you are smart and want to finish early or get more done in less time. For example, you could get a ringless voicemail installed, so you don’t have to worry about sales calls when working on your next promotion, writing a proposal, or a report.

Build Credibility

One of the main issues most people in the online sales world face is that they have to build their credibility up. If people don’t see your brand enough, they will not trust you with their money. You have to remember that people buy from those they know. Like, and trust. You can create behind the scenes videos or posts, and use customer testimonials to build your credibility. Branding and marketing should go hand in hand when it comes to promoting an online business.

Outsource

There will be a few tasks you should outsource, such as your accounting, admin, and report generation. Before you decide which hats to drop, you will have to ask yourself whether or not doing the job yourself is the best use of your time as a business owner. If this is not the case, you might as well find a virtual assistant or a freelancer who will take care of all the tasks you simply cannot be bothered to do. Outsourcing will increase your productivity and free up your time.

Financial Management

Managing your finances might be challenging, if you don’t have any previous experience. However, there are plenty of people who can provide this service to you, so you can see clearly where your business is going. Clarity is power in the business world, and it is crucial that you are having a birds’ eye view of the system, so you can spot the problems before they escalate and cause you stress.

Efficiency Targets

No matter where you are getting your website hosted, you will need to ensure that you are setting efficiency targets. User experience is one of the main ranking factors of websites, and you will need to take into consideration your feedback scores, as well as Google’s suggestions. The faster your site loads and works, the higher it will rank in the search engines, and the better you can serve your new and existing customers online. Test every function on your site, and set efficiency and speed targets and benchmarks.

Effective Collaboration

If you decide to work with a content manager, a web designer, or graphic designer, you will need to save time and resources. Set clear guidelines and goals and set up a shared cloud account where you can exchange views, monitor and manage projects, and even hold meetings. You might have been told that you will have full freedom if you start an online business, but managing your workload will become more challenging as your order volumes grow. To keep on top of the tasks, take advantage of cloud collaboration tools.

Payment Automation

You don’t want to wait for days or weeks to get paid through your payment processing system. This would be bad for your cash flow. You can automate payments, set up subscription packages, and ensure that you are getting your money as soon as possible. You can sign up for a system that works with different currencies and automatically handles your commissions and your exchange rates, so you don’t have to spend time crunching numbers and chasing payments. Use a secure system and consider a member registration page, so your customers can manage and track their owners, reducing your customer service workflow.

Running an online business is not different from running an offline one. You will need the right systems and infrastructure in place, so you can serve your customers to the best of your abilities. Improve your productivity and efficiency, and you can retain clients.

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