1.2.7 Writing Google AdWords to generate sales
Google AdWords is one of the most popular Pay-per-click programs. It has earned rave reviews from experts ever since it was established. Ads are displayed to the side of the regular listings on Google. There are more than 200 million searches every day, so your Google AdWords advertisements reach a vast audience.
Setting up a Google AdWords ad for your website and the goods can help a great deal in generating sales. Google is one of the most trusted names on the Internet and the AdWords is fast living up to expectations.
There is no minimum monthly charge to run an AdWords campaign. However, Google does charge you a $5 activation fee. Google AdWords also provides tools for tracking the performance of your Ad.
Creating an ad with Google AdWords is simple and quick. However, running a successful campaign to attain maximum ROI through these ads requires meticulous planning and management. Let us look at some of the guidelines that might help you in making the most out of the AdWords campaign.
Sometimes advertisers forget that Internet Advertising, especially search engine ad display, is hardly a visual medium. It is not like a television commercial where catchy phrases, celebrities or flashy and even shocking images are shown to benefit the USP. Most people come to Google because they are tired of irrelevant information and unnecessary loudness as far as ads are concerned.
Google is extremely result oriented and its users know that very well. And they expect consistent and non-pretentious service from Google. For that reason, showy ads are a NO-NO. Do not under-estimate your customers. They will not tolerate nonsense and superfluous information which simply wastes their time. If you do attempt to write something just for the sake of shock value, you might waste your money as your target customers will bypass your ads and those who might click on your ad are probably random surfers who out there just to kill some time.
Don’t attempt to use ‘hot’ words or jargons which come across as a sales pitch and do not appeal to your customers. Simplicity is the key, don’t try to be unnecessarily cute or cool, it probably won’t work. Also, do not insult your customer’s intelligence and reasoning ability by shouting loudly at them and using profanity. Don’t use clichés and overly familiar phrases that ruin the uniqueness of your website and your goods.
All the don’ts aside, there are also some do’s to follow. Be precise, and to the point. Target your customers and focus on what kind of information they are searching for. Use ideal and targeted keywords in your ads and sure, it’s not possible to say everything about your goods in a few words, so don’t try to put too much into the one ad, but be result- oriented.
Understand your clients; if there is something that appeals to their self-interest, they are more likely to click on that. If your product helps your clients in relieving them of any of their problems, repairing their computer, making profitable investments, making them clear their or their kids’ SATs with ease, staying fit and healthy, and what you have; then cash it in!
Focus on what your goods will do to make your customer’s life better and easier and they are more likely to click on it. Also, there is competition which should not be under-estimated and one of the key things to make sure is that they don’t outrun you. Test-drive your ad and if it works, go ahead with the format. Don’t change it if it works is the rule of thumb to follow here.
Another important aspect of AdWords is the keywords. Research your keywords well. Ideally you should place one keyword in every line of your ad. Most importantly, the keywords you select should be relevant to the subject of your goods. You do not want to provide broad keywords that give a wrong impression to your visitors. This will only add to their repulsion and you would end up paying for wasted clicks.
As with any advertising campaign, list out all the unique features and benefits of your goods. As stated earlier, your ad should tell the potential customer how his/her problem can be solved with your goods and not talk about your company.
Finally, it is imperative that you track your ad results and performance. There are a lot of tools available to track your results. These sales conversion tracking tools can be employed to get an idea of how your ad is performing. These tools range from the most basic ones to the highly advanced software.
This information can be used to determine the quality and effectiveness of your ad. You can find out if your ad is powerful enough to deliver the required results. You can also find out if you are reaching your target customers or are piling up unnecessary advertising costs. You can eliminate entire ad-groups and re-structure your ad campaign based on these results.
A few other tips:
• Study ads from your competitors, if they have any. Look for unique features in these ads and employ them in your ad.
• Space is at a premium. Do not waste characters by using duplicates or other words that may be unnecessary. Some words that should be avoided are “the”, “a”, and “an”. Use very common abbreviations where possible.
• Use eye-catching phrases such as “Sale”, “Limited Time” etc.
• Do not ridicule your competitor. Depict how your goods are superior from others.
• Your aim is to have a maximum conversion ratio of successful customers. After all, you wouldn’t want to pay for visitors who are unwilling to invest in your goods. A very specific ad would target only those surfers who are actually interested in your product.
• Use language that is personalized and motivational. The purpose of the ad is to elicit desire in people.
• Use strong call to action words and phrases. These will generate a response from potential customers. Examples include “Buy today and Save”, “Buy Now and Win”, and so on.
1.2.8 Creating Sales letters that attract customers
A Sales letter is all about making a powerful offer to your visitors they can’t refuse. The sole purpose of a sales letter is to attract more customers and induce higher sales. Sales letters can be used with autoresponders to introduce new goods to existing as well and potential customers. You can also put up a sales letter page on your website convincing your visitors that they have come to the right place.
How do you create an effective letter that draws customers in? What are the keys to turning a list of goods into a menu of enticing delights your customer has to have? Read on.
Personalize your sales letter I must have stressed on the importance of this aspect of advertising hundreds of times in this website. Nevertheless, let me say it once again. Always write a sales letter with a real person in mind. Write your sales letter just like you are writing it to them personally.
When your potential customer reads it, it will seem personal, almost like you wrote it with them in mind. Too often, sales letters are written as if they were going to be read to an audience rather than one person.
Use Real world stories and examples
Your sales letter should identify with your prospective customers. This can be done by providing them with real life examples or stories on how your goods can benefit them. The key here is “benefit”. Do not simply list out the features of your goods – list out benefits and show examples of how each benefit can help a customer. By emphasizing a benefit using a real world example, you establish your point effectively and create interest in the customers.
Use the Heading and Introduction well
The sales letter headline is very crucial. Most people only look at the headline of the letter. Your headline should be attractive enough to make a potential customer read through the letter and eventually click on the link provided. Similarly, the introduction paragraph should be eye catching as well. Most people only go through the heading and the introduction paragraph and get convinced to either check out a product or forget about it.
Bulleted lists
Instead of writing out benefits in form of paragraphs, use bulleted lists. These are visually appealing and appear less cluttered. People generally have a tendency to read lists rather than long paragraphs, especially in ads. It also makes sense to separate each list by an additional space.
A reader always looks for benefits in an ad, and benefits are what you should list out early in the sales letter. After an introductory line, immediately give your readers a list of some of the most important benefits of your goods. By offering a killer list early in your sales letter, you will automatically create a desire in the reader to continue through your sales letter.
This would entice your reader to visit your website and find out more about your goods.
Keep refining your letter
Write down everything that enters your mind as you are writing your sales letter. You can edit it later. If you just sit and start writing everything you know about your goods and how it will benefit your customer, you will be amazed at how much information floods your mind. Write it all down. Then read through it - you'll be able to add a lot more detail to many of the points. Edit it after you have exhausted all of your ideas.
Use casual language
Forget all of those rules that your grammar teacher taught you. Write your sales letters in everyday language, just like you would talk in person. Don't be afraid to begin sentences with "And" or "Because." Don't worry about ending a sentence with a preposition. Write like you speak.
Use Shorter Paragraphs
Long copy works but long paragraphs do not. Use short paragraphs that lead into the next paragraph. Don't be afraid to use short sentences. Shorter paragraphs keep the interest of the reader. Longer paragraphs cause eye strain and often force the reader to get distracted.
Simple Language
Some sales letters read like they are a manual. They are filled with words and phrases that may require a dictionary to understand. Unless you are writing to a much targeted audience, avoid using technical language that many readers might not understand. Keep it simple, using words, language and information that are easy to understand and follow.
Target your sales letter
When you are finished with your final draft of the sales letter, target it to a specific audience. For example: If you are selling merchandise that introduces many "work at home" opportunities, then rewrite the sales letter by adding words in the headlines and ad copy that are targeted towards women who are homemakers. Then, rewrite the same sales letter and target it to college students. Write another letter targeting senior citizens. Still another could be written to high school teachers wanting to earn extra income during summer vacation. The possibilities are endless.
All you need to do is add a few words here and there in your ad copy to make it appear that your product is specifically designed for a target audience. Upload all of the sales letters to separate pages on your website.
By creating these targeted sales letters, you can literally open up dozens of new groups to sell your goods to. And, in their eyes, it looks like the book was a match made for them.
Structure your sales letter
Break up the sales letter with attention grabbing headlines that lead into the next paragraph. One thing that works very well
...is to use a pause like this.
Start the sentence on one line, leaving the reader wanting to know more, and then finishing up on the next line. Also, if you are going to use a sales letter that continues on several different pages of your website, use a catchy hook line at the end of each page to keep them clicking.
1.3 Offline Marketing Strategies
Just because you are an online business doesn't mean you shouldn't use traditional marketing techniques. Here are some proven ideas for offline marketing:
• Submit an article to newspapers and trade magazines. You could purchase paid advertisements in radio, TV, magazine ads, newspaper advertising, postcards, and your license plate if your budget permits
• Get stationary with your product name on it for snail mail correspondence
• Create coupons to place in sales letters
• Mail postcards to local businesses
• Offer it as a value added gift to customers.
• Offer it as a bonus for an upsale
• Create a joint marketing venture. Team up with someone with a complementary product and agree to cross promote each other’s products. You’ll get great exposure. And the customers will enjoy the winning combination of products.
• Get business cards with the product name.
• Offer to speak at an industry event as an authority in your field of expertise. Be sure to have them list you as the author of a new product in your credentials.
• Send it out on disk to prospects as a virtual brochure.
1.4 Getting your goods reviewed
Selling goods is all about establishing credibility. If your product is credible it will sell for sure. One way to do this is by getting your goods reviewed by experts in the industry as well as various review sites.
It is not easy getting an expert to review your goods. Besides, there are some procedures that you should follow if you wish to attract attention from an expert. Here are some tips.
When you send your goods for review, send a whole load of other information along with it. This could be a collection of information and articles about your goods put together to create a good impression. For instance you could include the following
• A Sales Letter
• A Pitch Letter
• Any product testimonials that you may have
• product information data, which includes Producer, URL, Date of Production, Short description.
• A letter formally requesting review of the goods
• Any Press Releases that you may have pertaining to the product
Apart from these, there are certain guidelines that you could follow to maximize your chances of getting a review from an expert.
• Send out lots of review copies.
• Be politely persistent.
• Follow up with phone call, email or handwritten note.
• Send to newsletter editors from your industry.
• Send to key opinion makers.
• Send to editors of related trade magazines.
• Check for theme issues of magazines by looking at their editorial calendars.
• Write thank you notes to those who do review your goods.
• Quote good reviews in continuing marketing efforts.
• Use good reviews as part of new press releases.
• Advertise in a newsletter in the issue after your review was run
A final thought – keep persisting with a number of experts to get your goods reviewed. However, you should in no way force yourself on them. Remember, following up is crucial. After all, they would be doing you a big favor. A follow up opens up various other opportunities to network with the experts. You could also ask additional questions while you follow up.
1.5 Leveraging the benefits of testimonials
Testimonials improve credibility of your goods. They reduce the feeling of risk amongst prospective customers. In fact, testimonials have been known to increase sales by 250% or more! The Internet is a very impersonal medium. People trust people! The more you can do to “humanize” your web site the more likely potential customers will want to do business with you. Testimonials “speak” to potential customers in an honest, believable way.
Write a personalized email to every existing customer and request them to provide a review of your goods. Ask them what they liked best about your goods. Most customers would be happy to assist you. Here are some tips on how to approach customers for testimonials.
• Give a free sample of the goods to a group of users in your target market. Ask them: - if they found it useful - what they would pay for merchandise like that and how they would improve the product.
• Give a sample to an industry expert - Someone with a complete knowledge of your field is well suited to judge how your product works.
• Always get permission to use the testimonial. Have them sign a release form granting their permission to publish their testimonial at your website.
• Fully identify the person while quoting the testimonial. This includes the full name, occupation, and company name. You could also include city and age if you have permission from the person to do so.
• Testimonials can be used on a testimonials page on your website; they could be scattered throughout your website; they could be used in marketing and sales letters; in autoresponder messages; in newsletters and in brochures.
The words of a satisfied customer are powerful tools for building trust, promoting your reputation, and increasing sales and profitability.
1.6 Using Press Releases to advertise your goods
A press release is a fantastic way to let the world know about your new goods. A well- written press release can get goods seen by hundreds of potential customers and important media. Here are the basics on how to write an effective press release for your goods.
Attention grabbing header
The opener is crucial. You must grab the reporter’s attention so that you can draw them into the meat of the release. A good way to do this is to tie your product into a recent event, public appearance, or other newsworthy cause.
Focus – write for your audience
Start with a newsworthy happening. Write simply and correctly checking for proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Write for your target audience, not for your business interests.
Resist using hype
Stick to the facts. If you write your press release like an advertisement, it won’t be taken seriously. Instead focus on the unique benefits and information that a customer can gain exclusively from your product.
Include a quote or testimonial from someone who has bought your product. Finally proofread it numerous times.
Distribute the PR
With changing technologies come a whole array of methods for distributing press releases such as wire, broadcast fax, and email. Be sure to pick the method best suited to potential audience. And be sure to post your press release on your product web site.
Sending out a press release using paid services can cost anywhere from $99 to $700 for a national release depending on the number of media outlets it reaches.
A few popular PR services are:
• PR Newswire http://www.prnewswire.com
• Business Wire http://www.businesswire.com
• Internet Wire http://www.internetwire.com
• Internet News http://www.internetnews.com
• eBook Broadcast - http://www.ebookbroadcast.com/ebooks/
• PR Web http://www.prweb.com
• News Bytes http://www.newsbytes.com
• Web Aware http://www.webaware.co.uk/netset/text/
Once you distribute your press release always follow up to ensure that your target audience did receive the release.
1.5 Avoiding the most common marketing mistakes
Internet marketing offers great potential as an online business. Yet, the Internet industry has by no means blossomed completely. You see many people failing to sell online even if they have a great product. Often this is a result of marketers not following the basics right. Here are some common marketing pitfalls to avoid.
Do not expect to earn much with a single product
Internet marketing is great but it isn’t so great that a single product could be enough to make a living on. Unless you stumble across one of those rare products, you will need to offer a line of related products and/or other goodss to really extract gold from online business.
This does not imply that you have to create all products or related goods yourself. We have discussed various tactics at this website wherein you could sell products created by others.
Concentrate your product line
Many marketers make the mistake of diversifying too much in order to target all kinds of audiences. This might not help at least initially. Whatever products you create should be related or at least not completely dissimilar. Besides, any complimentary products should be associated with your products. Do not sell a disconnected mixture of unrelated products.
Ineffective Marketing
Like I stated earlier, most marketers make a mistake of highlighting their company services and products instead of highlighting the benefits of each of the products. Always focus on how each product of yours would benefit customers. Sell your product not your company.
Perseverance is the key
Do not expect to make riches overnight. Internet marketing like any other legitimate business require a persistent marketing effort. It may take days before you sell your first product. A sizable number of prospects won't respond to marketing communications the first time, for various reasons. But presenting the message repeatedly - perhaps a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more - will eventually convince a percentage of them to act on the offer.
Keep your goods updated
There is no use selling products that are outdated. Information has to be constantly updated. Updating can inject new life into your business, and its newness can be used as a 'hook' to gain valuable free publicity. Besides, focus on subjects that are new and interesting. Age old topics would not attract many customers.
Do not price your products too low
You may think that pricing a product would bring in more sales. This is not true as we discussed earlier. Goods are all about how the customers perceive them to be. If you price your product very low compared to your competitor, a prospective customer might think that the product is not of good quality. Price your book competitively. Besides, your profit margin would be almost zilch with a low price.
Test your product
Testing frequently is crucial for succeeding in the Internet business. You do not want a situation where you have invested too much time, money and effort into your product only to find out that the usability of the product is outdated. The only way of avoiding this is to start with a simple product and gathering frequent feedback from your customers. This way you would find mistakes and areas for improvement until you have a proven seller in your kitty.
Test your marketing campaign
Like the product itself, your marketing campaign also needs to be tested frequently. You need to be extra cautious with the way you use your limited capital. You can lose a lot of money quickly, if not careful. Testing your marketing campaign would help you to figure out which strategies work well and which don’t. This will certainly maximize your ROI.
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