Here’s a loose template for how I sell products online on one of my information-based web sites. There’s nothing particularly difficult or crafty about it, I just try and engage the customer at the most opportune moment.

Working Example: http://www.exportrules.com
Product: the downloadable “Sample Export Compliance Manual”
1st landing page goal: get people to sign up for the newsletter
2nd landing page goal: upsell visitors on the main product

Methodology:

1. Build a comprehensive, article database from scratch. If people are going to buy your product, it helps to look like you know what you’re talking about. This is also good for attracting free search engine traffic. Your content should be unique, well written, and useful to your audience. You can monetize these non-sales pages with AdSense or something similar, but be careful not to drive traffic away from your primary goal.
2. Bring in qualified traffic. You can build worthwhile free traffic by writing articles mentioned above. I also use Google Adwords which brings in the majority of my customers.
3. Landing page #1 http://www.exportrules.com/FAQ_Free_Download.php. If you sign up for the free product, this puts you in the auto-responder queue. The free product is also directly related to the main product, thereby pre-qualifying potential buyers.
4. Landing page #2 you’ll see after you sign up for the free download. This is where I start pushing the main product.
5. Autoresponder emails. A series of 10 emails that soft sell the product and offer helpful information. Sign up for the mailing list to see examples.
6. An automated system for processing orders and delivering product.

What you need:

1. A professional looking web site built around a content management system. I like WordPress. You can either skin it with a public template or have something custom made for you. I go both routes for this.
2. An article database of original, useful articles related to your field.
3. An email system that ties into an auto-responder like Aweber.
4. A delivery system for your product. If you’re doing affiliate marketing with someone else’s system this is easy. If you’re doing your own deliverable you’ll need a shopping cart of something similar to process orders.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 11:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.