Increasing Internet Sales: How!?
As you may know, I run the website MTW:ED, a subscription web-service which scans expiring domains with Google PageRank and other popularity values. When it first launched (as a subscription site), it was getting around 4-5 subscriptions per month: enough to pay for hosting, and to make a little profit. When sales declined, I took some actions in attempt to regain them. It worked for a little while, but sales have continued to decline. The site seems to have a lessening presence in the search engines, and relies on mostly direct traffic: not good for getting new customers.
From this article, I hope to provoke a discussion of ways to increase sales. First off, I’ll discuss the methods I have tried:
Google AdWords
MTW:ED doesn’t have a high presence in Google for high-quality keywords. I decided to try Google AdWords. It certainly increased sales, but cost more than what was being earned (about twice as much). My budget wasn’t big, and I didn’t have much opportunity to experiment, but I can give this advice if you are going to try AdWords:
- Be clear about what you are selling.
- Mention a price: many users have an idea of what they are willing to spend. Let them know in the ad so you don’t waste money on ‘just curious’ clicks.
A video
I had never created a video before; certainly not for a sales pitch. However, I knew that product demonstration can mean a lot, so I put together a short video in attempt to sell the service. I put it on the homepage, but did not notice any increase in sales. I’m sure that videos demonstrating your product can only be beneficial.
A special offer
My third and last attempt involved offering a free, 7 day trial. Unfortunately, people tend to take advantage of the 7 day trial, but have no need to subscribe to the service beyond that.
Your turn
Well, as I said, these methods didn’t exactly go to plan. They may work for some services, but for MTW:ED they have made little difference. What I am really interested in is your ideas: please tell me how you have increased sales, and what methods could work for MTW:ED.
