How to Increase Online Sales
Establish measurable goals., Focus on the evidence., Offer fewer sales items.People often go into selling with a "more is better" mentality., Add an opt-in offer., Invest in hover ads.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Establish measurable goals.
If you don’t have an exact goal in mind it will be much harder to track improvement.
Determine exactly how much you want to increase your sales by and over what time period you want to accomplish this goal.
The more nebulous your target is, the more difficult it will be to increase your sales.It’s okay to pick an aggressive goal, but don’t choose something that is impossibly out of reach.
You should also take steps to track your goals.
Install some kind of web analytic software on your site in order to keep track of how much sales have increased. -
Step 2: Focus on the evidence.
Oftentimes, people let personal experiences or opinions dictate how they run their own website.
For example, if you're annoyed by subscription pop-ops or ads, you may assume everyone shares this opinion.
This can lead to ignoring hard, empirical evidence regarding what has work in the past.
Try to leave your own prejudice and preferences behind as you begin working at increasing sales.
Base your decisions primarily on statistics and studies rather than your own opinions., However, research indicates that buyers are more likely to make purchases when their options are limited.
This is because buying a product or service can be mentally draining.
You need to evaluate the available options and weigh their pros and cons.
With too many options to chose from, people may feel frustrated and move on to something else instead of making a decision.
This fact is backed up by empirical research.
In a study conducted by Columbia University, researches set up a free taste testing booth offering different flavors of jam at a local supermarket.
The booth stayed up for two Saturdays in a row.
On the first Saturday, there were 24 flavors of jam offered.
On that day, 60 % of people stopped for a taste test but only 3 % bought any jam.
The next day, 6 flavors of jam were offered.
While only 40 % of people stopped for a taste test, 24 % ended up buying jam.Try cutting back on how many products or services you're offering on your website.
Instead of selling, say, 30 different hat designs limit it to
15.
You should notice an increase in sales in a relatively short period of time.
Your buyers will feel less overwhelmed by their options and linger long enough on your site to make a purchasing decision. , An opt-in offer is a tool used to gather your customer's e-mail address and other information.
This can lead to an increase in sales as you'll be able to send customers e-mails about new products, sales, promotions, and more.
This also helps you build positive relationships with your customers over time.
If you want to increase online sales, it's important to add an opt-in offer on your website.
Your opt-in offer should be on your home page in an easy-to-see place.
Visitors' eyes are often drawn to the top lefthand corner of a page.
This would be a good place to post an opt-in offer.Make sure your opt-in offer appears on every page of your site.
That way, customers always have an opportunity to provide you with their contact information., As pop-up ads are disliked by many internet users, sites like Google and AOL have developed pop-up blockers.
While your visitors should be able to block pop-ups if they dislike them, ads often provide valuable information for consumers.
For example, if you're trying to alert someone about a sale or promotion a pop-ad can be an effective means to do so.
Hover ads are a type of ad that behave more or less like a pop-ups.
However, as they're not technically pop-ups they evade pop-up blockers.
Online sales tend to increase when you use relevant hover ads to alert buyers to sales, promotions, and other special offers.Make sure you only use hover ads to inform visitors about information that benefits them in some way.
A 20% off sale until Sunday, for example, is great information to include in a hover ad.
If you're including information re-directing visitors to a friend's website, however, some may find this annoying.
This could lead to a decrease in traffic to your site, resulting in less overall sales. -
Step 3: Offer fewer sales items.People often go into selling with a "more is better" mentality.
-
Step 4: Add an opt-in offer.
-
Step 5: Invest in hover ads.
Detailed Guide
If you don’t have an exact goal in mind it will be much harder to track improvement.
Determine exactly how much you want to increase your sales by and over what time period you want to accomplish this goal.
The more nebulous your target is, the more difficult it will be to increase your sales.It’s okay to pick an aggressive goal, but don’t choose something that is impossibly out of reach.
You should also take steps to track your goals.
Install some kind of web analytic software on your site in order to keep track of how much sales have increased.
Oftentimes, people let personal experiences or opinions dictate how they run their own website.
For example, if you're annoyed by subscription pop-ops or ads, you may assume everyone shares this opinion.
This can lead to ignoring hard, empirical evidence regarding what has work in the past.
Try to leave your own prejudice and preferences behind as you begin working at increasing sales.
Base your decisions primarily on statistics and studies rather than your own opinions., However, research indicates that buyers are more likely to make purchases when their options are limited.
This is because buying a product or service can be mentally draining.
You need to evaluate the available options and weigh their pros and cons.
With too many options to chose from, people may feel frustrated and move on to something else instead of making a decision.
This fact is backed up by empirical research.
In a study conducted by Columbia University, researches set up a free taste testing booth offering different flavors of jam at a local supermarket.
The booth stayed up for two Saturdays in a row.
On the first Saturday, there were 24 flavors of jam offered.
On that day, 60 % of people stopped for a taste test but only 3 % bought any jam.
The next day, 6 flavors of jam were offered.
While only 40 % of people stopped for a taste test, 24 % ended up buying jam.Try cutting back on how many products or services you're offering on your website.
Instead of selling, say, 30 different hat designs limit it to
15.
You should notice an increase in sales in a relatively short period of time.
Your buyers will feel less overwhelmed by their options and linger long enough on your site to make a purchasing decision. , An opt-in offer is a tool used to gather your customer's e-mail address and other information.
This can lead to an increase in sales as you'll be able to send customers e-mails about new products, sales, promotions, and more.
This also helps you build positive relationships with your customers over time.
If you want to increase online sales, it's important to add an opt-in offer on your website.
Your opt-in offer should be on your home page in an easy-to-see place.
Visitors' eyes are often drawn to the top lefthand corner of a page.
This would be a good place to post an opt-in offer.Make sure your opt-in offer appears on every page of your site.
That way, customers always have an opportunity to provide you with their contact information., As pop-up ads are disliked by many internet users, sites like Google and AOL have developed pop-up blockers.
While your visitors should be able to block pop-ups if they dislike them, ads often provide valuable information for consumers.
For example, if you're trying to alert someone about a sale or promotion a pop-ad can be an effective means to do so.
Hover ads are a type of ad that behave more or less like a pop-ups.
However, as they're not technically pop-ups they evade pop-up blockers.
Online sales tend to increase when you use relevant hover ads to alert buyers to sales, promotions, and other special offers.Make sure you only use hover ads to inform visitors about information that benefits them in some way.
A 20% off sale until Sunday, for example, is great information to include in a hover ad.
If you're including information re-directing visitors to a friend's website, however, some may find this annoying.
This could lead to a decrease in traffic to your site, resulting in less overall sales.
About the Author
Stephanie Gonzales
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow creative arts tutorials.
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