Easy Steps To Easy Sales

Becoming familiar with all the possible ways to market a product or service online is half the battle of running a successful e-business. The other half of the battle is discovering the steps you can do that will lead to an online sale. There are limitless possibilities on how to make a sale happen, beginning with the initial awareness to an actual purchase. This is the fun and inventive part of online marketing. It is important to realize that the steps you lay out for an online sale can be just as ingenious as the method of advertising itself. To help you better understand what an online sales process is, consider the activity of "linking" from site to site and all the discoveries you can make along the way. The steps leading to an online sale is the "linking" portion of online marketing. Most people just let this part take it's own course, waiting for the orders to come in. But a smart e-business entrepreneur will shape and control the steps to an online sale to encourage more business. As a way of demonstrating, I will show you a plausible example. But, remember, this is just one of possibly "hundreds" of online sale processes that can be developed. EXAMPLE Step 1 - Set Up An Internet Resource The sites that receive the most amount of traffic are usually "Internet resources". If you create your own site of a useful resource, you too can encourage a large volume of site visitors. On your Internet resource site, you can advertise your products or services free. If you are smart, you will post a notice on the site saying who "hosts" it. Include this in your ad copy as well, so that visitors know your products come from the same person who created the resource site. A good reputation can go a long way. You can also list your Internet resource in search engines, directories, and through reciprocal linking. Step 2 - Send Out A Press Release A press release is more likely to be published if it relates to a general Internet resource than if it is for a private site only. Step 3 - Public Announcements Your press release is transformed into articles or announcements in various media. This begins a steady stream of traffic to your resource site. Step 4 - Visitors Become Familiar With Your Site As the weeks go by visitors will become familiar with your site and will enjoy the benefits your resource offers them. As they become more comfortable they will begin to explore other areas of your resource site. This is where your ads come it. They will click these links or banners to find out about your products or services. Step 5 - Visitors Become Customers If your product or service is marketable you will begin to make online sales from the volume of visitors to your resource site. Notice how all these steps work towards getting online sales. It is rarely ever a one or two-step process. When you begin to have a greater understanding of the "process" of getting online sales, then you will be able to develop your own processes. EXERCISES Now, as an exercise, write down one process that leads to an online sale in your e-business. Write it down exactly like the example above. Study it carefully. Can you improve this process? Can you make it more intriguing? How about developing it further. Now, as a second exercise, create a NEW process for making an online sale in your e-business, using the resources that are available on the Internet, as well as your imagination. What do you think? Will it work? Would you like to give it a try? Repeat these exercises until you have a collection of online sales processes. STEPS TO SUCCESS Once you get good at developing a process for making an online sale, you will begin to make real steps towards a successful e-business. SUGGESTIONS ANYONE? If you have a successful online sale process that you would like to share with me, send an outline to: mailto:steps@humming.biz.gq.nu If I get a significant response I will write a follow-up article on these suggestions and share them with others.