work at home
"Cure for the Website Sales Slowdown"
By Jim Daniels -
Work at home
site.com
Many Internet marketers have
been complaining of slower website sales recently. So what is going on?
Is the web becoming too crowded with merchants? Is your small business website
doomed?
In a word, no.
I'm no stranger to slow sales periods. After all, I've been doing business
online since 1996 and have seen many trends. However, since most webmasters are
fairly new to this arena I decided that some reassurance may be in order.
Today's tip should help you in that area.
I took a hard look at my own statistics from the last five years and came up
with an interesting trend that may put your mind at ease.
My most reliable sales trend is that when mid-summer hits in the U.S.,
especially around August, website traffic and sales are usually much slower than
other times of the year. For most websites, this should not be of major concern.
(Unless, of course you are selling summer items.)
While this explanation may sound too simple, consider the effects of summer
for a moment...
- Most people in the U.S. take their vacations during the mid-summer months.
- People spend less time at their computers and more time enjoying the great
outdoors. After all, who wants to be inside surfing the web when they can be
out at the barbecue, the beach or the front porch.
So what's a small web business owner to do during these lean times? There are
a number of options. Panic should not be on your list.
When the dog days of summer hit your site, keep this 'to do list' handy and
you'll beat the heat...
1. Start or finish a project
Use this slower time to work on a project or two that you've been meaning to
complete, especially if it will result in additional long-term revenue.
For example, I used this summer to complete a project I've been working on
for years! If you'd like to preview it before it launches, see:
http://www.bizweb2000.com/getasite
2. Have a sale
If you want to fill that "slow sales void", have a limited- time sale and
announce it to your email list or customer base. After all, there's no better
place to make sales than to existing customers!
3. Start a new promotion method
Slow times require more marketing. Rather than just buying advertising
though, consider implementing a "free" promotion method. A few methods I've used
successfully online are...
- submitting articles to ezine publishers
- bartering advertising services with other webmasters
- putting together a freebie like the ebook I offer at
http://www.bizweb2000.com/freebook.htm - perhaps you can do something similar
for your business
- See http://www.bizweb2000.com/top10.htm for more ideas
4. Do a JV
A solid joint venture or two can make you enough money to take the rest of
the summer off! Find a product or service that your opt-in list or customer base
would jump at, then arrange a way for them to get it at discount while you earn
a commission from each sale. Most web owners are very receptive to joint venture
proposals. You'll find more about joint venture marketing at my site.
5. If you can't beat'em, then join'em. Take a vacation!
This one is my personal favorite. I like to use the slower summer months to
play golf a few times a week and to enjoy more time with my family. If I work a
total of 12 days in August I'm doing fine. If you are self-employed I suggest
you schedule some "downtime" during your slow times of the year. It's a great
way to keep your sanity and enjoy life!
6. Stop worrying!
That's right, don't worry too much about a lull in the action. If you're in
business for yourself, getting used to temporary slow periods is just part of
the game.
Rather than worry, take a look at the big picture: Are you happier working
for yourself than you were in that 9-5 grind? If your answer is yes, then
instead of worrying about slow periods, take that vacation and clear your brain
for the next sales rush!
That's it for today! Please feel free to print today's tip and keep it handy as
you grow your own business on the web. And if you want some more hype-free
advice on generating real, long-term, "wow!" income online, read my new five-
page web guide that reveals exactly how I did it and how YOU can do it
too...
Yes, I want
to work from home. Tell me more...
Internet Marketing
info from bizweb2000.com
Website Promotion info from make-a-living-online.com
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