Statistically 98% of all website traffic is not ready to make a purchase. All those visitors are doing research, trying to determine if you can solve their problem. Like little mice scurrying through a maze looking for a piece of cheese.
That means that 98% of all the radio ads, print ads, Facebook and google ads, social media, blogging, and everything else you do to drive traffic are failing to make a sale.
Mind boggling, I know!
But like every romantic comedy in history, this story does have a happy ending.
If your website passes this simple test…
Are you bribing your customers?
Look I am going to be straight with you. Your customers don’t give a rats a%* about you! Plain and simple. It’s not because they are mean and vindictive. It’s a result of the fact that they are the center of their own little world.
In fact, we all are!
To put it simply, they only care what you can do for them. This is where you need to “bribe them” to achieve your website goals and make sense out of all the traffic you have.
I will tell you what a bribe is, in a second…
let me give some context.
Let’s say I want to go to dinner at a restaurant with my lovely lady. I go to the various websites of local restaurants and check out their menu. I as the customer have strict criteria to determine which restaurant we go to. They are:
- Is the food something my lady would enjoy? (My end goal is to make sure she’s happy 🙂 )
- Is the price point within my budget?
- Are their great reviews on yelp, trip advisor, social media?
- Last, is there something I would enjoy eating?
I could check 5 different websites in one day. Each of those websites has an opportunity to win my business.
Let’s say that two websites meet the criteria, and now I have to do the dance back and forth with my girl saying “where do you want to go?” and the response “where do you want to go?”
If one of those websites where to say… “bribe me” with some offer such as “give us your email address and get a free appetizer on your first visit,” that would make it an easy decision.
I would willingly give my email address and give them permission to send me offers for more deals.
I would get a free appetizer and have a happy, care-free meal!
Most importantly, they would have helped me arrive at a “no-brainer” decision to choose them over the other competitors.
A bribe is simply offering your website visitors something that they desire, in exchange for their email address. This is also known as an “opt-in” on a website (some simple marketing terminology).
What is the return on your investment, you ask?
I understand as an entrepreneur you are busy running a business. You may be thinking: “Why collect these emails? What is it worth to me?”
Collecting emails gives you the opportunity to turn traffic into prospects.
They have shown an interest in purchasing from you by opting in, and give you permission to cultivate a relationship with them. This allows you to send messages to everyone on your list. You have the opportunity to capture their attention and reward them once a week, once a month or whenever you like.
You now have their attention.
Email marketing services like Aweber, Mailchimp, Getresponse, Constant Contact, etc. allow you to build scalable automated solutions. You can write an email and send it every time someone signs up to your list without you having to be there in front of your computer every single time.
For every dollar put into email marketing the national average is $ 40 in return. It’s arguably the BEST form of marketing to date for a return on your time/money (with the exception perhaps of social media).
27 is the average number of touchpoints a customer needs with your brand before they make a purchase. A touchpoint is simply any interaction with your brand. This could be an in person stop-in, an email, an advertisement, etc.
Email marketing can allow you to automate those touch points, to arrive at a sale earlier. This is also called a drip campaign.
What you need for an effective bribe (or opt-in offer):
I am so pumped you are sold on the idea of bribing your customers. Here’s what you need.
#1 Start using email marketing.
You need to sign up for an email marketing service. Here are some providers: Aweber, Mailchimp, Getresponse, Constant Contact, etc. I recommend Getresponse because they are the only service that will host landing pages for you (this has saved me time and money starting out). Additionally, they have a great affiliate program too!
Mailchimp is free if you have under 2,000 emails and might be a good place to start.
#2 Update your website and add an opt-in box.
This might mean contacting your webmaster if necessary. Trust me it is worth it! You can also make another page on your main navigation bar that says “free offer, coupons, deals, etc.” depending on what your offer is.
#3 Create effective landing pages.
Our resident awesome designer broke down how to build a landing page in 10-minutes using Getresponse. Check it out for some awesome design tips: How to make a beautiful landing page in under 10mins.
Last, you have to give something of high value to your customers. If you have done your research and rocked a brand strategy this is a cakewalk! If not… go do it!
That’s it. You are done. It doesn’t have to be hard.
Now your list will grow and it is awesome… plus your revenue will grow! Obviously fine-tuning this skill like any other will help you the most, and cultivating an email marketing or autoresponder strategy to further develop prospect-relationships.
If your website has a bribe for you customer it will pass the test. It will turn all that hard earned traffic into recurring visitors and customers! WOOT, WOOT!
Do you have a bribe/offer on your website? Let us know in the comments!
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