Jill is one half of a lifestyle entrepreneur duo who helps others ditch their day job in favour of building a business doing something they love. In this 6-Part Series, she will share some of her most savvy business tips and tricks.
Jill Stanton // Philippines // ScrewTheNineToFive // Lifestyle Entrepreneur
I love blog readers. I mean, who wouldn’t? But blog readers do not equal customers.
What I’m after is paying customers, who don’t just read my content and watch my videos, but buy my programs and services. Customers who want to invest in their business, take it to the next level and actually make their time surfing the web worth it.
Those are the people I want to invest my time and efforts in and I’m sure I’m not alone on that.
I’ll admit, when I first started out online I had NO CLUE about conversion strategies. I just figured “Hey, I have people reading my blog! I must be doing things right!”.
Here’s the thing I didn’t realize: A website that doesn’t sell isn’t a business, it’s a hobby. And if I can be frank here, I ain’t got time for no more hobbies.
So, how can you start to transform your website into a customer-convertin’ machine?
3 QUICK TRICKS FOR CONVERTING READERS INTO CASH GENERATING CUSTOMERS
Before I get into my schpeal of conversion strategies, allow me to clear one thing up…
I am not saying that you shouldn’t want people on your site browsing around, reading your content, watching your videos, or downloading your podcasts. After all, that’s how they become acquainted with you, and start to trust you. So yes, I’m definitely all about free content.
I’m just saying that shouldn’t be the only model you are after, and you definitely shouldn’t just sit there with a hope and a dream willing them to buy from you.
So with that being said, let’s talk shop, shall we?
Trick #1: Internal Links
I am tempted to hang my head in shame while admitting that up until about a year ago, I didn’t have one internal link on any of my big money-making websites.
Fortunately, I wizened up to the fact that every single blog post you ever write MUST have at least one internal link to another relevant post on your site, or even better, a product or service you sell.
I mean, think about it: If you are referencing something within your content, but don’t link to it, that reader is never going to skip onto new posts of yours, or discover your killer product or service.
How can you rectify this?
Devote one full day (depending on how big your site is) to combing through every single one of your posts and adding in internal links where necessary.
Trust me, it will do wonders for not only increasing your time on site (something that makes Google smile), but it will help to build a relationship faster with your audience than if they were to just read one post and then bounce off your site.
Trick #2: Calls to Action
This is by far my favourite conversion strategy because it works so damn well, and is as simple a strategy as they come!
Now to get really specific with this trick, the calls to action I’m really referring to are the ones you place at the bottom of your post.
Out of all my 20-something websites I have built, the one call to action (or CTA) that converts the best is the one I always include at the end of my post. Why? Because when your readers or viewers are finished consuming your content, they need something to do—and a solid CTA gives it to them.
Just be sure to stick to just one CTA at the bottom of every post and not overload them with too many options. So instead of inviting comments or feedback, why not include a CTA that invites that person to either sign up to your newsletter or check out your [insert product or service here].
Besides, just about every person who has ever read a blog post knows that there is typically a comment section below if they truly feel compelled to leave their thoughts.
And really, what would you rather have: A comment or a sale?
Trick #3: Webinars
I am truly obsessed with webinars. I’ve only just started dipping my toes into the webinar scene, but I can already see just how powerful they are for converting those attendees into either paying customers or newsletter subscribers.
Just make sure you actually pack your webinar with as much content as you possibly can. I know it might sound like you are giving away more than you want to, but the psychology behind it actually works in the opposite way.
So instead of thinking “Oh I don’t need to buy that because she already gave me everything I need for free”, your customer will actually think “Hot damn! If she gave away this much for free I can’t imagine how valuable her paid content is!”.
And just like that you will have converted an attendee into a lead, and leads make a business profitable.
And profits making you a happy business owner!
Jill is an affiliate marketer and lifestyle business owner hell-bent on teaching others how to use affiliate marketing to replace their income and escape the 9-5. She can usually be found over at ScrewTheNineToFive.com or scrolling through an endless stream of picture quotes on Facebook.
