3 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN MARKETING ONLINE

3-mistakes-to-avoid-when-marketing-onlineAs you all know it is critical that every single business now has a presence online. Carrying out research online before customers buy is becoming increasingly common. If you are not online you will definitely miss out on some business – and let’s face it – who can afford to do that?
In an endeavour to get online and create a site that looks “nice” there are some mistakes that you could easily make that will ultimately affect your business and marketing objectives.

Here are 3 big mistakes you certainly want to avoid with your website:

1. Your Website is not a “Direct Response Website”

Many businesses make the mistake of creating a website that exists purely for branding. It is easy to get caught up in wanting to promote your business online in the same way that major international businesses do, but unless your business is very mature and your pockets are deep this form of promoting your business is just too expensive for businesses who need to generate income NOW.
When people visit your website they want to do something: Watch a video, listen to an audio, comment on a blog, buy something or at least leave details in exchange for something..
The first thing you need to do is to decide what the purpose of your website is. Do you want to make direct sales? or do you want to capture leads so you can keep sending messages etc until they are ready to purchase? Make sure you integrate a mechanism for your web visitors to leave you their contact details.

2. Your Website Doesn’t Have a Prominent Data Capture Form

Many business owners running websites do so to make sales. The reality however is that most people are not ready to buy on their first visit to your site. They are simply looking for information. You already know that you only have a few seconds to capture interest before a client moves on to another site – probably one of your competitors!
What you must also remember is that it may have cost you money to bring that visitor to your site. If the visitor clicks away without taking action then you’ve lost the cost acquiring that lead – possibly forever.
Building a database of prospective customers is critical to the health of your business and may be the one thing that gives a boost to your profits.
You’ve paid to get your prospect to visit your website. Now all you need do is capture their information so you can keep in touch. Customers prefer to buy from people they trust and people they like. Keeping in touch gives you time to establish trust and become “likeable”
Embed data capture forms on your website in a prominent position to do this. You ideally need an autoresponder to do this such as AWeber or Octane HQ etc. If you embed a form don’t hide it at the bottom of your page where only a few visitors will dare to go…

3. You Do Not Provide an Incentive for Visitors to Give You Their Contact Information

Now just because you’ve been smart enough to embed a data capture form on your website does not mean that your visitors will willingly hand over their contact information.
Give them an incentive that will mean enough to them to get them to fill out the information you require. You could consider giving: discount vouchers, discounts, newsletters, free reports, e-books etc
Just make sure the incentive is relevant to your prospect!
If you want help to make your sure your website is making you money just fill in the short form below. You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain!