How To Use Scarcity On Your Website To Increase Sales

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“When people ask for time, it’s always for time to say no. Yes has one more letter in it, but it doesn’t take half as long to say.”

Edith Wharton 24th Jan 1862 – 11th Aug 1937

digitalmarketingbarnstaple_createscarcityThis week we’ll focus on increasing sales. Nothing happens without a sale. There is no business, no marketing, no support, no money! Yet so few businesses – especially small businesses – focus on the sales process, or the sales funnel if we are talking about online sales.

So I thought we’d start the week off by talking about using scarcity as an ethical tactic to increasing sales.

We’ve all had this – and done it ourselves; “I need to think about it”. If a prospect says they want to think about it, it means they aren’t coming back. They might mean to. But so much happens. There are so many distractions, conversations, jobs to be done. There could be a multitude of genuine reasons for not getting back to you, but nothing means “no” unless they say “no” – and even then you can still ask why!digitalmarketingbarnstapledevon_createscarcity

But everything they say besides “no” which still results in them walking away may as well be considered as a no. It’s hardly ever – as in practically never – going to result in a sale.

So how many ways do you have to eliminate the prospect’s ability to waffle over time? Scarcity is one way. Urgency is another. Rarity is yet another.

In practical terms:

  • The price goes up.
  • The bonus goes away.
  • Supplies are limited.
  • There are only a few spots left.
  • I have another guy interested in it coming by later.
  • Your competition is gaining on you, or increasing their lead.
  • Time is of the essence, act now and get a free gift.

digitalmarketingdevon_createscarcityI used the word “ethical” at the beginning and I do mean do the right thing. If you say that the offer ends on Monday, then it ends. If you offer a bonus to the first 20, then no more after that. You have to be sincere and stick to what you have said.

Some businesses have said that they don’t want to turn away a sale after the deadline but you have to. The deadline is the deadline. It will help your business grow in the long run as people see that you stick by your word. They will be “trained” in future when they see another offer or bonus. They’ll act on it quicker so as not to miss out again.

So, how does this apply to online sales and your website? There are various ways we can use…

  • A pop up with a special offer.
  • A countdown timer with a deadline.
  • A bonus which is created to add to the initial offer if purchased within a certain time.
  • A product which goes up in price with every sale, so people can see the price increase when they revisit the site.
  • A limited edition product with a countdown – only 5 left.
  • Cookies! You’ve all seen it. You do a Google search for a lawnmower and then lawnmower adverts follow you around online all day, on every site you visit.digitalmarketingexeter_createscarcity
  • A “chat now” pop up which allows people to engage with you online while they are on your site.

All of these are methods you will see when surfing the ‘net. Why? Because they work!

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Right Click Digital
1 Bridge Chambers
Barnstaple
Devon
EX31 1HB

www.rightclickdigital.co.uk
Tel: 01271 523 586
 

 

The Psychology of Colour in Branding Your Business

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Colour psychology and how it relates to your business is a genuinely controversial aspect of marketing. There are a great many misconceptions around colours and persuasion. A lot of the “science” is simply anecdotal, hunches or conversations.

The issue with colour and how it affects us is down to many aspects; elements such as personal preference, experiences, upbringing, cultural differences, or context, often muddy the effect individual colours have on us. So the notion that colors such as yellow or purple are able to evoke some sort of hyper-specific emotion or response is about as accurate as reading Tarot cards!

In the area of branding and marketing, there have been numerous attempts to classify consumer responses to different individual colours, but the truth of the matter is that colour really is far too dependent on an individuals personal experience and can’t be universally translated to specific feelings or reactions.

That being said, there are broader messaging patterns to be found in colour perceptions and colour DOES play a fairly substantial role in purchases and branding.

In an appropriately titled study called Impact of Color in Marketing, researchers found that up to 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on colour alone (depending on the product).

With regards to the role that colour plays in branding, results from studies such as The Interactive Effects of Colors show that the relationship between brands and colour hinges on the perceived appropriateness of the colour being used for that brand.

The merits to choosing one colour for your company logo or branding over another are easy to see. But without context, choosing one colour over another doesn’t make much sense. In other words, does the colour “fit” what is being sold.

There is very little evidence to support that orange will universally make people purchase a product more often than silver. Certain colours do broadly align with specific traits (e.g., brown with ruggedness, purple with sophistication, and red with excitement). But nearly every academic study on colours and branding will tell you that it’s far more important for your brand’s colours to support the personality you want to portray instead of trying to align with stereotypical colour associations.

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It’s the feeling, mood, and image that your brand creates that play a role in persuasion. Be sure to recognise that colours only come into play when they can be used to match a brand’s desired personality.

There is no easy, clear-cut set of guidelines for choosing your brand’s colours, but it is worth considering do the colours match your product or service and reflect the “feeling” you want to convey.

Just by having that conversation and making those colour considerations, you’ll be doing what very few SME’s do!

 

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Right Click Digital
1 Bridge Chambers
Barnstaple
Devon
EX31 1HB

www.rightclickdigital.co.uk
Tel: 01271 523 586

Web Design Barnstaple: 3 Things To Avoid When Emailing Your List - Updated for July 2016

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When you decide to have an opt-in list, it is not just a matter of sending your subscribers your promotional newsletters or catalogs. There are many things to consider in avoiding many complications. While there are so many ways you can make people subscribe to your list, there are also some things you must do to avoid subscribers from wanting to get off from your list.

Aside from that, you also want to avoid any problems with the law and your internet service provider or ISP. There are now many laws and rules that are applied to help protect the privacy of the internet users from spamming and unwanted mails. With the popularity of the electronic mail as a medium for marketing because of the low cost, many company’s have seized the opportunity and have flooded many people’s e-mail accounts with promotional mail.

But, with an opt-in list, you avoid this annoyance because people subscribe to the list; they want to receive the newsletters and promotional materials. They have consented to being on the list by subscribing themselves, just don’t forget to put an unsubscribe feature everytime in your opt-in list so that you avoid any confusion. There may be times when an email account was provided when the real owner didn’t want to subscribe.

It is essential that you keep your list clean and manageable. Arrange it by using the many tools and technologies available for your opt-in list. Do not worry; your investment in this marketing strategy is well worth it with all the coverage you will get which will likely be converted into sales then to profit.

Keep yourself and your business out of trouble and potential run-ins with the law and the internet service providers. Keep your operation legit and clean. Your reputation as a legitimate businessman and a legitimate site depends on your being a straight and true marketing strategist. As a tip, here are three things to avoid when emailing your list.

1) Take notice of your unsuccessful sends. These are the e-mails that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable messages, are those messages that, for whatever reason, were not successfully received by the intended recipient.

There are bounces that happen or occur because the server was busy at that time but can still be delivered in another time. There are also bounces because the inbox of the recipient is full at that time. There are those bounce messages that are simply undeliverable ever. The reason for this is that it may be an invalid email address, a misspelled email address, or an email address that was abandoned and erased already.

Manage your list by putting markings on those that bounce. Erase an email account from your list so that you have an accurate statistics and records as to how many are actually receiving your mail. You may also want to check the spellings of your email addresses in your list. One common mistake is when an N instead of an M is placed in the .com area.

2) Always provide an unsubscribe feature in your site and an unsubscribe link in your mails. When someone in your list files a request to be unsubscribed, always take that request seriously. If you don’t take them off your list and keep sending them your e-mails, you are now sending them spam mail.

When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business can get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to the authorities and maybe blacklisted by many internet service providers. You will lose a lot of subscribers this way and many more in potential subscribers.

3) Do not provide pornographic or shocking and disturbing content in your newsletters. It is hard to decipher the age of the recipient and many complaints may stem from these. Controversial issues also are to be avoided to not be branded by your subscribers. Stick to the nature of your site and business.

Always remember these tips in this article so that you can have a healthy relationship with your subscribers as well as be kept within the boundaries of what is allowed in sending mails to an opt-in list.

What Next?

We are your local Web Design and Online Marketing company based in Barnstaple, Devon. We help small and medium sized businesses all over the UK and the world make the most of their online presence.

If you have been thinking about ways to bring in more customers to your business, email marketing is a great tool to help you engage better.

You can call us on 01271 324 841 – or complete our Contact Form.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Right Click SEO Ltd, Bridge Chambers Business Centre, 1 Bridge Chambers, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1HB

Web Design Barnstaple: How To Grab Your Readers Attention With Your Subject - Updated for July 2016

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The race for supremacy in the internet based businesses has been really heating up and many sites have been put up to help others to get ahead for a small fee. But there are also ways in which you don’t have to pay so much to make yourself a good list of loyal followers. Having a satisfied web traffic and visitors allows you to put up a foundation wherein you can build an opt-in list and make it grow from there.

An opt-in list allows you to provide newsletters to your subscribers with their consent. When people sign up, they know that they will be receiving updates and news from your site and the industry your represent via an e-mail. But that doesn’t mean that all of those who subscribe read them at all. Many lists have been built due to an attachment with free software or for a promotional discount and such. Some are not really interested in receiving e-mails from companies and just treat them as waste of cyberspace and delete or trash them without so mush as opening the e-mail and scanning them.

You can change all that. While forwarding an email message is relatively after producing your newsletter. Getting people to open them is not as easy. You don’t want to waste all the time and effort used in making the newsletters, you want people to read them and have their interests piqued. Interested enough to go to your website and look around and most especially purchased and acquire your products or services.

One of the numerous ways you can tempt or persuade your subscriber is by providing a well thought out and well written subject. The subject of an email is what is often referred to when a person or a recipient of an email decides whether he or she wants to open or read an e-mail. The subject could easily be regarded as one of the most important aspect of your promotional e-mail.

Your subject must be short and concise. They should provide a summary for the content of the e-mail so that the recipient will have basic knowledge of the content. This is really vital in grabbing the attention of your readers and subscribers. You want your subject to instantly grab the attention of your subscriber and get them to be intrigued to open up your mail. Remember, it is not necessarily true that a subscriber opens up subscribed mails.

A good subject must always be tickling the curiosity of your recipient. It must literally force the recipient to open the mail. A certain emotion must be ignited and get them to open the mail. It is essential to use specific words to get the reaction you need. Keep in mind that the recipient or subscribers spends only a few seconds looking over each subject of the e-mails he receives. You must grab your reader’s attention right away.

There are many forms you can use for your subject. You can provide a subject that says your e-mail contains content that teaches them tips and methods on certain topics. An example of this is using keywords and keyword phrases such as, “How to” , “tips”, “Guides to”, Methods in and others like that.

You can also put your subject in a question form. These may include questions like, “Are you sick and tired of your job?” Or “Is your boss always on your case?” Try to stay on the topic that pertains to your site so that you’ll know that your subscribers have signed up because they are interested in that topic. This form of subject is very effective because they reach out to your recipients emotions. When they have read the question on your subject, their mind starts answering the question already.

You can also use a subject that commands your reader. Statements such as “Act now and get this once in a lifetime opportunity”, or “Double, triple and even quadruple what you are earning in one year”. This type of subject deals with the benefits your company provides with your product and services.

You may also use breaking news as your subject to intrigue your subscriber. For example, if you deal with car engine parts you can write in your subject, “Announcing the new engine that uses no gasoline, It runs on water”. This creates curiosity with the reader and will lead them to open the mail and read on.

What Next?

We are your local Web Design and Online Marketing company based in Barnstaple, Devon. We help small and medium sized businesses all over the UK and the world make the most of their online presence.

If you have been thinking about ways to bring in more customers to your business, email marketing is a great tool to help you engage better.

You can call us on 01271 324 841 – or complete our Contact Form.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Right Click SEO Ltd, Bridge Chambers Business Centre, 1 Bridge Chambers, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1HB

Web Design Barnstaple: How To Get Your Subscribers Begging For More - Updated for July 2016

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Just as an experiment, a friend of mine subscribe to ten different opt-in e-mail marketing lists to see which ones are effective. Many websites and online businesses have resorted to sending promotional materials to people who have subscribed to them in an effort to boost their sales or traffic. Opt-in email marketing sends newsletters, catalogs updates and many more promotional materials to website visitors who have agreed to be updated whether monthly, weekly or semiannually.

Through e-mail, an internet user that is on the list will receive their updates through email. If a promotional material piques their interest they will go to the site to learn more or to purchase outright. For the website operators or owners, this is a chance to remind their list of their existence and parlor their wares. With the numerous sites in the internet that offers the same products or services in one way or the other, the competition can get pretty tight and it is easy to be forgotten.

Back to my experimenting friend, he tried to find out which opt-in marketing strategies grabbed a person into begging for more. Some would send in very simple fashion, some would very outlandish while there are some that would just lie in between. The differences could easily be noticed and some have gotten the idea of an effective opt-in marketing strategy. He dubbed them effective because he felt like he just couldn’t wait to go their site and learn more, the more persuasive ones even got him halfway to reaching for his wallet and to his credit card before he realized this was only for an experiment.

Many companies and site present their promotional materials in a wide variety of concepts. Each has their own distinctive style and designs, but more than the outline and the presentation, the content and the articles are what keeps the attention of your potential customer locked on to your opt-in marketing medium. Creativity is the key here.

From talking to many satisfied opt-in list subscribers and forums, I have learned of what is essential in opt-in marketing and what makes the subscribers begging for more instead of lining up to unsubscribe.

Keep your promotional materials light, creative and original. Many people are stressed out as it is. Getting a stuffy business proposal rather than a light hearted e-mail may just agitate them more. A warm friendly smile or banter is always more welcome than a serious business meeting or proposal. While you do want your customers to take you and your products and services seriously, you also want to show them that you know how to have fun.

Splash some color in your emails as well as provide some photos and articles that can be related to you but show good news or good light hearted images as well. Provide a newsletter or promotional materials that will keep them in a light mood. Make your materials eye catching and grabbing that they wont be able to take their eyes of them. Pique their interests.

Have good content and article, even if it means investing in an experienced and professional copy writer to write them for you. An effective copy writer should be able to build trust between you and your customers. They should be able to establish your credibility in what they write. It must be informative but not too stuffy. Let go of the professional jargons and “talk”to your recipients.

A good article and content should be able to outline the benefits of your product and services and why they need what you are offering. But do not look to be overeager and too persuasive. It should be able to entertain as well as lead them to buying from you.

Your promotional materials should be clear. Don’t leave people guessing. You should lead them to you and not vice versa. Explain to them what they need to do in a manner that won’t be confusing. Try to anticipate also what your target client needs. Do your research and information gathering, many sites will be able to help you with that.

Provide clear and crisp images of what you are offering. If the people know what you have for them, they are more likely to beg for more. For example, if you are selling a car, provide them photos but only enough to encourage them to go to your site for more.

What Next?

We are your local Web Design and Online Marketing company based in Barnstaple, Devon. We help small and medium sized businesses all over the UK and the world make the most of their online presence.

If you have been thinking about ways to bring in more customers to your business, email marketing is a great tool to help you engage better.

You can call us on 01271 324 841 – or complete our Contact Form.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Right Click SEO Ltd, Bridge Chambers Business Centre, 1 Bridge Chambers, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1HB

Web Design Barnstaple: How To Build A List Of Eager Subscribers - Updated for July 2016

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Every online business provides great service to generate satisfaction among their customers. As each and every customer receives satisfaction over their products or the services they get, there is a great chance that they will become a return customer and buy again. Better yet, they will recommend you to other people that could generate more business for you and your site.

As more traffic is driven to your site, you can entice many of them to subscribe to your mailing list or opt-in list. This is a list where in website visitors agree to be sent promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and such that could keep them updated about your site or the niche of your site. These promotional materials are sent via e-mail to the members of the list in different time intervals.

When using e-mail as the media of your marketing and advertisements, you eliminate the need for high costs. Email is free and if you can manage to make your own promotional advertisements you can also save a bundle there. With an opt-in subscribers list, you are pretty sure that what you are sending out is received, viewed and read by the subscribers and not simply being deleted. They have signed up for service and have consented in receiving it.

This means that there are constant reminders to your subscribers about all your products, new products and services as well as any promotions and special deals you are having. There is also the chance that they can be forwarded to other potential customers as they tell their friends and families about you and your site.

Of course you should be also aware that a subscriber may unsubscribe when they feel that they are not getting what they want or expected. Make sure that they are satisfied with your opt-in marketing strategies and keep them excited in receiving your newsletters and catalogs. Here are some tips that can help you build a list of eager subscribers.

Make your promotional materials interesting and fun. Try to use a little creativity but not too over artsy. Build around what your product or service is about. For example; if you are selling car parts, put some pictures of what is new in the auto parts world, a new wing door possibly that can fit any car and make it look like a Lamborghini.

Try to research what people are looking for, these way, you stay one step ahead of them all the time and you will be their bearer of new tidings. They will be eager to receive what you are sending them because they new you always have fresh and new things to share with them.

Write good articles that can be very informational but light at the same time. If your subscribers enjoy your articles, they will go to your site by clicking the links that you will be putting on your newsletter to read some more. You can provide articles that can connect to many people. Be diverse in your articles. Put something humorous, then put something informational, then put something that has both.

Are you wary about this because you don’t like writing? No problem, there are many professional and experienced article writers that can do the job for you for minimal fees. They know what they are doing and can provide the need that you have for your newsletters, the money that you pay for your articles are going to be met by the many sign-ups and the potential profit from the sales that you will get.

Create and send an E-book to your customers about anything that is related to your business or site. Use your knowledge and expertise in the field you have chosen to help other people who are similarly interested. Offer this e-book for free. You can write about anything informational and helpful to your subscribers. For example; you can do manuals and guides in so many things. This e-book could be used as a reference for many people.

Share this e-book with everyone, even other sites; just make sure that they don’t change the links in the e-book that will lead people to your site. If you want, you can always get some people to write it for you just like your articles. Your investment once again will be covered by the great marketing this will generate.

Add e-coupons in your newsletters that will help them avail to special discounts. Put a control number in your e-coupon so that they can only be used once. When people get discounts that can be found in your newsletters, they will be eager to receive your newsletter in anticipation of what you are promoting next.

If your subscribers can get benefits from your newsletters, they will be very eager to receive them. Just don’t flood your mailing list with mails so that you don’t annoy your subscribers.

What Next?

We are your local Web Design and Online Marketing company based in Barnstaple, Devon. We help small and medium sized businesses all over the UK and the world make the most of their online presence.

If you have been thinking about ways to bring in more customers to your business, email marketing is a great tool to help you engage better.

You can call us on 01271 324 841 – or complete our Contact Form.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Right Click SEO Ltd, Bridge Chambers Business Centre, 1 Bridge Chambers, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1HB