In the world of e commerce, there are two ways to get customers. The first is “Free Traffic.” Free traffic doesn’t cost money, but it does require your blood sweat and tears, along with your most precious commodity, time. It takes work! Free traffic means that you are going to be an active participant in forums and other social groups and interact in the question and answer parts of the forum. As part of your answer, you are going to always drop a link to your website or affiliate offer.
If the reader likes your answer or article enough, they may actually click your link and traffic is created. The great thing about this method is that you get to interact with others and help them solve a problem in real time. You become part of a larger community. The more you get to know your prospective customers, the better you can serve them. And to be totally honest, since we are all part of the service industry, it behooves us to really understand what each other wants. The reason for this is that if you need/want something and I can provide you with your needs/wants, then the odds are that you will buy from me and not continue the search. It becomes a win-win deal.
I remember when I was shopping for a car. I walked into the dealership, announced, “Who wants to make money?” Of the shocked salespeople (normally car sales people surround the potential customer like shark bait), only one spoke up. I told him what I was looking for and gave him my budget. Of course, he didn’t listen, at first, and tried to put me in a vehicle that far exceeded my budget. I protested, but he insisted that we try it, so he could see what I really wanted. He wasted 20 minutes of my life, which I can never get back. But, realizing that he was about to lose the easiest sale of his life, he suddenly “remembered” a vehicle, “that they just got in” that would fit my budget and requirements. I saw it, drove it, loved it and bought it. Why did he make the sale? Because he listened to a motivated customer and fulfilled the needs.
Paid traffic is different. You don’t need to interact with people on forums. You just need to pay the price and your sites get top billing in Google searches. If you know what you are doing, then you will narrow down the parameters of your advertisement to your niche audience. You are trying to zero in on people who are motivated buyers and not just “window shoppers.” If done properly, you will see sales very quickly. If done incorrectly, you will potentially lose a lot of money. Just think of how many postcards and advertisements from local businesses and car dealers that end up in the recycling bin without you even looking at it. But the truth is that while it seems like a waste of money, the truth is that if they get 3-4 sales, they probably have recouped any loss. The odds are that, depending on the area served, they will make many more sales, or at least have their business in your mind, should you need them.
Within paid traffic, there is something called “hot traffic.” These are people who have recently bought a particular item in the last 6 months. This is a big factor for mail order companies. People on the mail order lists are apt to continue buying. The same would be said for e commerce. Once I became a customer and/or give my email, you better believe that my inbox will be deluged with information of upcoming sales. Imagine getting hold of that list! The odds of making sales just increased dramatically.
So which is better? It all depends on what you want. Do you want to build an organic list of people that trust you and are likely to listen to your recommendations because you made an effort to listen and try to help them? Or would you rather pay for advertisement that will be targeted to a specific audience. Clearly the way to make money faster will be through paid traffic. But, if you develop relationships, your best long term bet may be organic traffic.
Do you agree? Let me hear from you.
No comments:
Post a Comment