You can have millions of people visiting your website every day… but if they don’t convert, it does you absolutely no good. A conversion may be different for you than it is for someone else. For some businesses, a conversion is a sale. For others, each webinar registration or opt-in is counted as a conversion. I’m going to focus on how to increase online sales, but all of these tips can absolutely be applied to conversions that don’t require a transaction of money.
While typical conversion rates range from 1-3%, only about 22% of businesses are satisfied with their conversion rate. The good news? There are a lot of things you can do to increase online sales.
Here are a few of my favorite tips.
5 Ways To Increase Online Sales
1. Increase Online Sales Using Calls To Action
People like to be told what to do (even if they think they hate it). If you want your website visitors to watch a video, tell them to watch the video. If you want them to give you their email in exchange for a free download or a promo code, tell them to fill out your form. If you want them to purchase something, tell them that. When someone visits your website, no one should ever be left to wonder what the next step is when it comes to working with you.
You’ll want to test different types of calls-to-actions (CTA’s). Test things like:
- Text links vs. images. It sounds silly but sometimes the exact same CTA will net far better results in one form vs. the other. And more often than not, the one that produces the best results will surprise you.
- Different colors. You want your CTA buttons to be as visible as possible. Green and orange are often the best colors because they stand out really well. Yellow also tends to perform well.
- Short vs long copy. When creating landing pages, create one version with very little copy, and one with longer, more descriptive copy. If you use a tool like LeadPages (my favorite landing page builder) you’ll be able to split test different versions with very little extra effort.
2. Increase Online Sales By Making The Process Simple
Forms. Have you ever met anyone that actually enjoyed filling out forms?
Exactly.
That’s why you must make your forms as short as possible. Do you really need two email addresses, a phone number, and your customer’s middle name? Probably not unless you’re in the financial/security business. Asking for too many details causes you to lose people. Your audience does not want to spend 15 minutes filling out a form just to be able to buy from you. Only ask for the bare minimum. If you’re looking for opt-ins, you should only be asking for first name and email. Once people are already in your funnel, you can ask for more info.
You also want to make sure you don’t make your audience take anymore steps than absolutely necessary. Every additional click is another hoop to jump through that may result in losing the conversion. For sales sites, give people the option to check out without creating an account. How irritated do you get when you go to check out on a website and find out you have to make an account before you can do so? Don’t do this to your customers!! Guest check-out options are a time-saver’s dream!
3. Increase Online Sales By Bundling Shipping Into The Purchase Price
People hate paying for shipping! And really, most of us expect free shipping at this point (thanks Amazon!) We’re so used to free 2-day shipping that if we have to wait longer than that, or *gasp* pay for shipping?? It makes us reconsider the purchase altogether. That said, consider bundling the cost of shipping into the price of your products and come up with ways to make the perceived value of your product higher, without raising the cost for you too much. For physical products, consider offering free gift wrapping or handwritten notes on behalf of the buyer.
4. Increase Online Sales By Making The Benefits Super Clear
On the UPS site right now there’s a picture of a small business owner with the words “We heard you like savings. Save 40% on shipping and get support from a Small Business Ambassador.” Then it invites users to “Save Now.” Likewise, Smart Blogger has a headline that reads “Get A Cheat Sheet For Writing Posts That Go Viral.” Who doesn’t want that? Create immediate clarity about what your buyers are getting, and why they should be ready to give you their money.
5. Increase Online Sales By Offering A Fast Action Bonus
You need to give people a reason to take action NOW. Airlines create a sense of urgency by adding something that says “Only 5 seats left!” It makes you feel like you have to buy that plane ticket right now, or you’ll miss out. Throw in a bonus item or service with a limited time or number (“Purchase in the next 20 minutes” or “First 10 buyers only!”). If you have a friend/fellow business owner who sells a product or service that compliments something you sell, work with them to bundle your services and expand both of your audiences. If you sell a service, offer an extra hour of consulting or a tool you’ve developed and normally charge for. Find a way to get people off the fence, and convert them from visitors, into buyers.
To hear Becky’s tips for how to increase online sales, head over to Facebook and watch the full video of our Facebook Live. And be sure to mark your calendar so you can join us next time and get real-time answers to your questions! We’ll be live at The Visibility Show every Thursday at noon PST sharing more tips to help you get seen so you can attract more leads.
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