Make More Money From Your Ideas

"I was advised to have my website “American Spelling” (and also to use American dollars). Do you agree that the American spelling is the way to go? Comments on the American dollars? "

The answer to this - as to most other questions about Web site design - is to first ask "What's your market?" If you're aiming primarily at an Australian market - not the American public - stick to Australian spelling and currency.

Taking orders in non-Australian currency is tricky, because you have to convert to A$ to process the transaction, but the conversion rate won't match what the bank uses, so the customer sees a weird amount on their credit card statement, with no sign of their original US$ amount. You can get around this by using, say, PayPal, which accepts transactions in US$.

Labels: market research, sales conversion

"Just how do you market information and knowledge that you know they really need to cynical accountants who think they either don't need it or they know it already?"

It's certainly harder to market to a cynical or ignorant group, than to market to people who already know they have a problem. So you must identify their pain and sell them a solution. For example, with accountants, you might have to show them just how much money they are losing to smarter competitors. It's only by identifying their pain that you can convince them to change.

Find out more about researching the market.

Labels: market research

Better to find a hungry niche with competition! If there's no competition, maybe it means that there's nobody interested in buying products in that niche.

There are various techniques to find a niche market, particularly one that draws a good response. One simple technique is to use the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool, which tells you how many people have been searching for certain words.

Labels: market research, niche marketing

"How do I get maximum return on the investment required to market the items? There's lots of options out there - and some free - but which of the many should I be doing?"

There's no definitive answer to this question, of course, because in many cases you will only know the return on investment after you test the market.

If possible, start by testing a small sample of the market before investing too much in a huge marketing push.

Also make sure that you're marketing to existing customers, not always looking to find new customers. Your existing customers are much more likely to buy again from you.

Finally, look at the many low cost promotion ideas available, both on and off the Internet.

Labels: market research, niche marketing, traffic generation

"How do I know what the right price is for my product?"

There's no definitive answer to this question. The best way to do this is by testing. Slice up your target market into different groups at random, and offer your product to each group at a different price. That will tell you which price point is the most responsive.

Other things to consider when setting your price:

• Value: What results can they expect to get from the product?
• Competition: Who else can give them the same results?
• Scarcity: Do you offer results that aren't widely available elsewhere?

There are a number of other things you can do to increase the perceived value of your product, so that you can charge a higher price.

Labels: market research, pricing

Answers to their problems.

OK, that might seem like a flippant response, but that is what they are looking for. And many Web sites get this wrong.

If you're answering your customers' problems, it means that:

1. You know what their problems are in the first place; and
2. Your Web site is all about them, not all about you.

Look carefully at your own Web site. If you're not meeting both of these criteria, you're probably losing customers.

Labels: market research

"I am setting up a website to market health products and information. This sector seems to be oversupplied. Is it still possible to set up a website for this industry and generate extremely good income from it?"

Yes, but "health" is too broad a topic. It's far too difficult to reach the right people cost-effectively.

I suggest you start by turning your thinking around. Rather than thinking of the products you will sell, find a market of people who are desperately looking for a solution to a problem. For example, in the health area, you might target:

• People recently diagnosed with diabetes
  
• Women bodybuilders
  
• Busy executives looking for more energy in their days
  

Make sure that you choose a market that's easy to reach - in other words, they all "hang out" at specific places.

When you know you've got a market seeking a solution to a problem, that's when you start giving them solutions.

Labels: market research, niche marketing

"I started out with simple button names for my Web site menu, but some colleagues suggested that I should find some 'sexier' selling words. What should I use?"

Use clear, simple and obvious button names on your menu. If you really must use the sexier names, use them on the pages after they click the buttons.

It's OK to get advice from colleagues, friends and family, but remember that they are not your target market. So they will often give you sincere, well-meaning and BAD advice! So take that advice, but treat it with a grain of salt.

To be blunt, it really doesn't matter what they say. The best feedback you get is feedback from real paying customers.

Labels: market research

"I've just re-read your newsletter on the power of testing Google ads. I'm wondering about doing this to see what titles would work for the book. What do you think?"

Yes, go for it! This is a very creative idea, and one that would work quite well. I do know of other people who use Google ads for testing book titles, seminar titles, etc.

To do this, sign up at Google, create two or three ads that are the same except for the headline (i.e. the book title) and run them simultaneously for a while. That will quickly tell you which one works best. Drop off the worst-performing ad, replace with another, and repeat this process for as long as you like.

Remember that you're only counting clicks, so it doesn't matter where you send them when they click on the ad. You might as well just send them to your home page. This is usually a Very Bad Idea for real ads (you should always send them to a specific page about the product you're promoting), but it doesn't matter in your case because you don't really care where they end up.

If you would like more guidance, you can get my product Get Traffic Fast, which is all about Google advertising.

Labels: Google advertising, market research

"How do I know the e-book I write is going to sell?"

The bad news is: You don't - until you actually offer it for sale! The good news is: There are some things you can do to improve its chances.

Make sure you research your market first to check that there's a demand for it already. It's much easier to meet an existing demand than to drum up interest in a new product that nobody realises they want.

Then write the e-book with that market in mind, and answering their specific problems, challenges, worries and questions.

When you sell the e-book, get targeted traffic to your Web site, so that you're pitching it at the people who actually require that information.

Labels: e-books, market research

"Re: information products - what info to give away and what to sell, and for how much."

The answer to all of these questions is: Test and measure.

In other words, I really don't know the answer. And nor does anybody else, until you actually test it in real life.

As a general rule, I recommend giving away slightly more than you would consider to be reasonable. That way, you can be sure that you're giving real value. Make sure that you give away your strongest information, not your weakest. And make it easy for them to buy the paid information.

Labels: free products, market research

"Our web site recieves a great deal of visits but does not generate the many enquiries. We would like to generate more enquiries!!"

There could be a number of reasons for this. But instead of guessing, why don't you ask your visitors why they aren't taking further action? Create a survey that pops up as they leave your site, asking them directly for their reasons. If you can give them some incentive for filling in the survey - such as an e-book or special report - that will increase the response rate.

Labels: market research, survey

"I have a site called [Web address suppressed] and I do not have one sale as of yet, what am I doing wrong or should I say what can I do to start making sales on this site? I am already max out and more on any more money that I can spend trying to promote this site."

Ask your site visitors.

The first thing I would do is to create a survey on the site where you ask site visitors for their opinion of the site, and the reason they chose not to buy. This will give you better feedback than anything you'll get from me or any other Internet marketer.

There's an excellent e-book on conducting surveys in my Make More Sales product.

Labels: market research, survey

"I'm worried about spending a lot of money creating a book and then having it not sell."

Don't start with a book. By all means, do a lot of writing, but publish it as articles, e-zines, on-line courses, special reports and e-books. Give it away free (but it builds your credibility at the same time). Ask for feedback regularly, so that you know what's hitting the right spot. After a while, you will have a good idea of what to write for your book.

Labels: market research, product creation, writing

"I do not currently hold a belief that anyone would purchase my CD if I created one."

This is a common belief. The bad news is that you could be right! Perhaps you don't have products that the market is interested in buying.

The good news, though, is that it doesn't take a lot of time and money to test. First, survey your audiences to find out their biggest problems. Then make sure that your presentations do address these issues - or at least, the most important issues. If people are willing to pay you for talking about these issues in person, at least it's one sign that they might pay you for recording them on CD.

Labels: market research, survey

"I have a new website going up and am going to put my book as an ebook rather than have in hard copy as I don't have any left to sell. What is the best way to get an e-booked marketed and how do I know there is a market for it in the first place? Thank you for your help."

The first question to consider is whether there is a market for it. It's best to ask this BEFORE writing the e-book. However, it's still not too late now. You can do some simple market research on the Internet to find out whether there's a market for your e-book.

Then you have to figure out the best way to promote it. The easiest sale is to people who are already on your mailing list, or who are already your clients. So consider making a special offer to your e-zine subscribers. Then consider other ways of marketing it, and perhaps even offering it in different formats.

Labels: e-books, e-mail newsletter, market research

"I have many visitors to my site over the years and had some sales, but how do I convert more casual visitors to customers?"

There are a number of possible reasons why people aren't buying from your site. The best way to find out why they aren't buying is to ask them! When somebody leaves your site without buying, show a pop-up window asking them for the reason. Give them a "bribe" in return, in the form of a special report or e-book.

Then use the answers you get to refine your site, to make more sales from your Web site.

Labels: market research, sales conversion, survey

"Interested in the pros and cons, the mistakes one can make and where to focus on content."

The biggest mistake of all when trying to make money on the Internet is not finding out whether there's a market for your product. Sadly, most people do make this mistake.

Some people believe that you can succeed by creating a fantastic product and then finding a market for it. And they are right. But it's the hard way to do it. It's much easier to find your market first, and then build a product to match it.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to throw away your existing business idea and start from scratch. Even if you already have an established business, it's still worth doing the market research to find the exact angle that the market is looking for.

Labels: market research, Web strategy

"What am I doing wrong that I get clicks onto my web site but no buyers?"

Don't ask me - ask them!

Seriously. The best way to find out why people aren't buying is to ask them. If they leave your Web page without buying, display a pop-up window asking them for the reason, and offer them a small incentive in return for their feedback.

For example, I did this on one of my sites that sells an e-book. In return for their honest feedback, I actually gave them a free copy of the e-book. That might seem extravagant, but it cost me nothing and I got some excellent feedback. For instance, one potential buyer thought it would take too long to download, and another even thought it would be sent through the post! So I was able to update the Web page to reassure them of the download time.

Many people hate using pop-up windows because they annoy Internet users, and that is true to some extent. However, these people are already leaving your site! So what's the harm?

Labels: market research, sales conversion, survey

"How do I take my coaching practice and turn it into a primarily web based business? Sorry this isn't very specific, I am really at the start and wondering where to begin."

This is a good question, and one that most of my clients face when they first build their Web site.

The trap that many people fall into when first going on the Web is that they hope their Web site will bring them heaps of new clients from around the world. In practice, that just doesn't happen. This is especially true of a service business, like coaching, where most of your clients probably come to you by referral anyway.

It is possible to reach new markets on the Web, but it does require an investment of time, money and expertise. Another option - and the one that I recommend to most new clients - is to look at ways of using the Web to service your existing clients. For example, you could create a password-protected area on your site and provide additional resources for clients in that area. This would increase the value of the service you offer, which means you're offering more value, and can increase your coaching fees.

Labels: market research, Web strategy