Blogging, Web Selling, What I've Learned.

Blogging, Web Selling,

What I've Learned.

The first person to respond to last weeks blog, Surprising Search Terms, was Bill Austin, our Web Master and designer. He asked, "What have you learned?"

I have learned several things.

o The idea that a percentage of visitors will buy and therefore increasing traffic will build sales is a myth. We do not wander around the Internet shopping just for the fun of it. We do it to fill a need for information, to find a specific product or service, to gain help in solving a problem, or to satisfy our curiosity about something we have heard about from others.

I say this because diligent tracking of web site, book orders shows that only two percent have resulted from accidentally landing on our web site. This research reveals that at least 50% of sales have come from folks that used the exact web address to get there, then looked at the information and either ordered before leaving the site, or came back one or two times before ordering. Direct contact with buyers tells us they went to the site as a result of seeing a display in an independent coffee house counter display, hearing people talking about the book, or because someone they respected told them to buy it.

o Content is key; a thirteen copy book order resulted when a buyer's wife heard two people talking about the book and suggested he look it up to use in his planned sales meeting, He searched on "perception:" "As I read about it on the site, I knew it was perfect for my sales people."

o The carefully chosen words we thought would bring people to our site were used no more than 15% of the time. My name has drawn many visitors to the site. Individual words in the title and content of the site have been the key to about 40% of the visits that resulted in sales.

o People visit a site more than once before deciding a product meets their needs.

o Price is not an issue. 99% of those who click on the buy button and see the price do buy. The price does not deter them.

o People buy from a person; we've always known and taught this and it is no different on the Internet. Reading my Blogs gives a person a chance to know me and leads to sales over time.

These are specifics; the underlying lesson to me is that our Web site is a sales presentation. "I cannot buy from you, until I know you exist." is the first sentence you see in my book. "I will not buy your product until I know how it will help me reach my goals." is the second sentence.

Your site must educate; does yours?