Mistakes to avoid when marketing online

Treating Customers as Expendable

One of the great benefits of selling on the internet is that you have access to over a billion people. Yes, BILLION. When you think of what fraction of the total internet population you need to convert to customers to make a living online, it’s miniscule – a fraction of a fraction of a percent!

But the problem with dealing with numbers that large is that you can view any one particular customer as unimportant. You might think, “Well, it doesn’t matter if so-and-so is unhappy because there are 999,999,999 other people I can sell to.” In a way, that’s true. But in an even more important way, it’s not.

When information marketers treat their customers as expendable, or easily replaced, you lose something valuable. You lose the trust of your market.

And no matter how big the numbers are, the online world – particularly in any one niche – can also be a very small place. The time it takes for a bad reputation to be propagated is only a matter of seconds via Twitter, Facebook, forums, blogs, and other social media vehicles. It may take years to create a good reputation, but it can be destroyed in moments.

Which is someone more likely to tweet about: A routine interaction with the cashier at McDonalds, or one in which they were treated poorly? Which do you think would be retweeted ‘round the world until McDonalds rues the day they hired that particular cashier?

The same is true for your information marketing business. If you treat your customers like they’re easily replaceable, you’ll soon find that YOU are the one who’s easily replaceable. So pay attention to them. Read their emails. Respond to their questions, even if you’ve answered the same thing ten times before and it’s plainly stated on your FAQ page. Treat them like gold – because that’s what they are.

Technical Glitches

We’ve all heard info marketing horror stories of website crashes, payment system snafus, affiliate tracking nightmares, and the like. And we all think, “That could never happen to me!”

Well, it could. And someday, it probably will.

I would venture to say that there is more lost revenue due to technical glitches, than from just about any other cause. And when you add in the stress and hours spent to rectify the problems, the costs skyrocket.

Here are the most common technical glitches and what you can do about them:

1. Website crashes

Websites crash when too many people are trying to access the same page at the same time. While in theory it’s a good thing (lots of buyers!), it’s very, very bad. There is no guarantee that the person who tried to log in when they first got your email at 10AM will try again later on. They may just give up, never to return. Solution: Check your server capabilities BEFORE your launch. Call your website host and tell them you’re anticipating a big traffic surge. Will they be able to handle the traffic, or do you need to upgrade? Do what you need to do to keep the traffic flowing.

2. Payment processing issues.

What is more annoying than waiting in line to check out of a store? Or trying to buy something online and not being able to go through the checkout process? When your customers have made up their mind to purchase, LET THEM PURCHASE. QUICKLY! Typically, payment processing issues arise because your merchant account provider wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of traffic. The result? Long virtual “lines.” Ugh. Solution: As with the server issues, get in touch with them beforehand and let them know what to expect. They can beef up their own service to make sure you stay up and running. Also, TEST your process. Go through the entire purchase process multiple times, using PayPal, credit cards, and any other payment method you allow. Look for glitches and fix them – before you launch.

3. Email problems.

We’ve all gotten that email that says, “Oops, I gave you the wrong URL!” While many of us are skeptical enough to think it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy, it does happen. You put the wrong URL in your email. Your email doesn’t go out at the scheduled time. You misspell your product’s name. You misspell YOUR name. It happens. Solution: Test. Test. TEST! Check your settings, your links, your spelling. Then test again. Then double-check the settings and test one more time. Did I mention that I think you should test it?

4. Download problems.

Recently I got a slew of emails from purchasers of one of my ebooks, asking me why they weren’t able to access the information they’d purchased. Turned out, the redirect page wasn’t redirecting. Oops. This was easily fixed, but it took some time on my part to figure it out, and time on my customers’ part to email me about the issue. Time = money. You do the math. Solution: Refer to #3.

While these tips won’t get rid of every possible source of technical glitch, it will cut down on the most common issues, allowing you to keep your online business running smoothly, with the least amount of effort on your behalf.

Not Having an Affiliate Network

You probably already know that an affiliate network is a group of individuals who market your products on your behalf, and in return receives a commission on each sale they send your way. Commissions in the information marketing world can range from 50-75 percent, and sometimes can be as much as 100 percent.

Many information marketers forego the affiliate network tactic for two main reasons:

1. They think they will earn more money if they sell themselves.

2. They think it takes too much time or is too difficult to set up an affiliate program.

Let’s look at these one at a time:

Myth: Affiliates cost you money. Now, agreed, 50 percent of your revenue may seems like a lot of clams to shell out for your affiliates… but think of it this way:

100 percent of nothing is… NOTHING.

50 percent of something is… MORE THAN NOTHING.

In other words, affiliates drive customers to you that may never have heard of your product, thereby ADDING to your bottom line, not taking away your hard-earned revenues. Each and every sale by an affiliate should be viewed as added revenue that you would not have otherwise earned.

Myth:

It takes a lot of time to set up and manage an affiliate program.

Affiliate programs can be as complex as you want them to be. You can take a completely hands-off approach and use a system like Clickbank or Shareasale that will put you in touch with a database of affiliates looking for products to promote (the site takes a share of your revenues in exchange for managing your program). Or you can create your own affiliate program using a service like e-Junkie for as little as $5 a month. It’s up to you.

And while you can spend hours creating materials for your affiliates and training them about your products, that’s time invested in selling. Remember: Each sale an affiliate makes adds to your bottom line.

Relying on Others to Promote Your Product

You may think that with a strong affiliate program behind you, you don’t need to do any promotions or marketing of your product because your affiliates will do it for you. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Any published author, with the exception of the big names like Grisham, Macomber, King, and Patterson, know that you have to be your own best marketer and salesperson. Even if your publisher says they’ll market your book, you can’t count on their efforts alone.

The same is true for information marketing. The biggest push needs to come from you, not from your affiliates. The sales they make need to be gravy, not the meatloaf, if you follow my metaphor. The more buzz you can generate about your product, the more your affiliates will want to take part in the feeding frenzy by promoting alongside you, and offering the latest and greatest product on the virtual block.

Here’s a short list of ways you MUST promote your information product:

1. Create a top-notch sales page. Even if you are using affiliates who pre-sell your product, they are going to end up on your sales page eventually. Make sure you’re doing all you can to convert them when they arrive (Hint: High conversion rates also lure great affiliates!).

2. Use social media. Do the usual routine – Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter… and keep doing it!

3. Offer bonuses. Your product may be great on its own, but up the offer by adding in fabulous, can’t-miss bonuses! They’ll sweeten the pot for you and for your affiliates.

4. Keep on promoting. Once your product is launched, you may think the marketing ends. Not so! You must keep the wheel turning by periodically revisiting your marketing efforts. Hold a monthly call on the topic, add a blog post a quarter, mention it as an upsell or downsell for another product… if you don’t keep promoting, it will die a quiet death.

The great thing about promoting your products is that you often lead by example; the more your affiliates see you promoting, the more they’ll promote. And that leads to a win-win for both of you!

Not Having a Funnel in Place

Information marketers, especially those at the beginning of their career, often see each sale and each product as an isolated event. A customer comes, purchases, and leaves. Done deal. Right? WRONG!

Think about Starbucks, or Audi, or even Barnes and Noble. They are masters at turning a one-time customer into a lifetime customer. Here’s the secret of how they do it:

They have a sales funnel in place.

They know that it’s much cheaper (some say, 6-7 times as inexpensive) to sell to an existing customer rather than to obtain a new customer. They know that the potential lifetime value of a customer is humongous, but to realize that value, they must have a funnel. And you need one, too. Here’s how it might look, vastly simplified for the purposes of this discussion:

• Customer opts-in to your mailing list and receives a free report….

• When they download their free report, they receive a one-time-offer to purchase an entry-level product at a big discount, say $27 instead of the regular $49.

• They purchase the $27 product and a week later, they receive an offer to take part in a live teleconference about the product, showcasing success stories and providing tips on using the $27 product. Cost? Free.

• At the teleconference, attendees are invited to become part of a short-term group coaching program, at a flat charge of $49.

• At the end of the short-term coaching program, they are invited to join into an ongoing membership site on the topic for a monthly charge of $27.

• On an annual basis, all your members are invited to attend a live event for $299, where they can meet you in person and hobnob with their forum buddies.

See how it works? Instead of selling a $49 product once, you’ve sold them over $100 worth of products and services, with the potential to sell them hundreds more. You can do this, too!

All you need to do is draw out your current funnel, identify the gaps, and fill them in, one at a time. If you have the $49 product, work on a free product to introduce them to your funnel. If you have the big-ticket live event but don’t have the other pieces, start working backwards.

It all works together, and you can start wherever you are. The key is to start, and start now. Otherwise, you’re leaving money on the table.

Not Keeping in Touch with Your Customers

I have this friend. We’ll call him Rex. I only hear from Rex a couple of times a year, like clockwork:

1. When he has a kid graduating from college or high school and we get an invitation.

2. When he’s joined a new MLM and he wants me to host a get-together or buy something from him.

3. When he’s scheduling his summer vacation and wants to know if he can stay at our mountain home in Lake Tahoe.

You know what? I think Rex is a schmuck. Why? Because he only calls when he wants something. He thinks he’s “keeping in touch.” I think he’s using me.

Don’t use your customers. Don’t just email when you’re selling something or you want them to vote for your blog for some sketchy award. Don’t just send updates when you’re about to lay a big product launch on them. That’s transparent – and silly.

You should be trying to create a relationship with your customers. That means you get in touch not only just to check in, but to give something with no strings attached. The more you give, the more receptive they’ll be when you ask them to do something.

Here are a few ways you can stay in touch without asking for a dime (or for a graduation present):

• Record a video of FAQs or ways they can use the product you sold them more effectively. Send a link via email as a thank you.

• Send an email telling them about someone who’s used your product successfully. Case studies are awesome because they’re inspiring!

• Check in, asking them what questions they have, then hold a teleconference to answer those questions – related to your product or not. Record the call and add it to your product as a bonus.

• Send them a link to a funny video or blog post that is related to your industry (everyone likes to laugh!).

• Tweet links to valuable content.

• Post “Happy Birthday” on their Facebook page on their birthday. This is an amazing goodwill gesture and only takes a few minutes.

In sum, just think of how a friend would act, and then act that way.

Oh, and if you see Rex? Please tell him that we sold our mountain house.

Conclusion

The benefit of working online as an information marketer is that the possibilities are wide open. You can really write your own ticket for how much (or little!) you want to work, and how little (or much!) you want to make.

The drawback to having such an unstructured environment is that it can be tough to know what to do – and what not to do. I hope this short report helps you avoid some of the many pitfalls out there for information marketers. If you concentrate on serving your customers well, I know you’ll be a success.