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Click Thru To The Sale
by Vincent J. Gomory
http://vinj.referralware.com
This article explains the click thru process that
occurs when a subscriber reads an ezine. The example
below describes four types of click thru rates and
explains how to accurately measure Conversion rates.
There are actually four measurement rates in the sales
cycle:
1) Click thru to the article - the ezine click thru rate
2) Click thru to the writer's web site - the web site
click thru rate
3) Download of material or request for information
- the response rate
4) Purchase of product - the conversion rate
Scenario:
You are a writer who has published an article that is
running in an ezine with a circulation of 10,000 readers.
You are lucky. You have the lead article and the majority
of readers will affix their eyes to your script.
The Ezine Click Thru Rate
Let's say that 50% or 5,000 people select your article.
When they click on the link, they will go to your article
on a sub page or area of the ezine.
This is the ezine click thru rate.
The Web Site Click Thru Rate
People who decide to click thru to your article will do a
number of things:
- they may read the first sentence and lose interest
- they may scan the article but fail to click on your link
in the byline
- they like what they read and decide to click thru to your
web site.
In our example, we will assume that the Web Site Click Thru
Rate is 10%. 500 people like your article enough to 'visit'
your web site. The web site click thru rate is a visitor
rate. Many people confuse this with the response
rate. A response rate ( step three) implies action on the
web site. People who surf your site are not respondents.
They need to take action.
In the brick and Mortar world a visitor is a respondent.
When you go into a retail store and are 'just looking', you
are one step away from the sale. In the online world, the
visitor needs to take an extra step to be included in
the response rate. They need to take action. In the brick
and mortar world, the action is the sale.
Taking Action - The Response Rate
At this point, the reader has turned into a visitor and is
one step away from becoming a respondent. The visitor
becomes a respondent when they take one of the following
actions:
- they subscribe to your newsletter by providing their
email address
- they download a free ebook or software tool from the web
site
- they request additional information through an email form
Why is this significant?
When a visitor takes action it is the first time in the
process where you have taken some control over the sale. Up
until now, the reader and visitor did not commit in any
way. They begin to commit when they allow you to
influence them. You influence the visitor when they give
you the ability to contact them with your autoresponder and
provide them with further information. It is at this step
in the sales process that pre selling occurs.
Again, let's assume that your response rate is 10%. 10% or
50 people take action and request additional information.
Making the Sale - the Conversion Rate
So, here we are at the end of the process. We have 50
people out of the original 5,000 who may buy your product
or service. This is a far cry from the original 10,000
subscribers, 5,000 readers and 500 visitors. We will
assume that your pre selling was effective and results in a
5% conversion rate. This sounds awful I know - but its
reality. 5% of 50 is 2.5. 2.5 sales does sound demoralizing
especially when you compare it to the original 10,000
subscribers.
As you can see, the number of readers in step 1 is crucial
to the outcome.
I have purposely taken a worst-case view of this process to
illustrate how difficult it is to make sales on the web. A
more realistic approach would be to eliminate step 1: the
ezine click thru rate. Most ezines do not publish
multiple articles in their ezines. In most cases, your
article would be the only one for the reader to read.
In this case, your sales would double!
10,000 people read the article
10% or 1,000 people visit your web site
100 people respond and 5 sales are made.
Still, you're no millionaire. But, you should now have a
more sophisticated understanding of the click thru process
and the trigger points you must capitalize on to make your
sales.
Trigger Points In the Sales Cycle
Let's review each of the four steps in the sales cycle and
apply a trigger point or influence for the reader to move
to the next step in the cycle.
1) The ezine click-thru rate
This rate is influenced solely by the ezine publisher.
As a writer you must depend on the ingenuity and
effective presentation of your article and its placement
in relation to other articles, ads and offers. There is no
question that the layout - the 'look and feel' of the ezine
will motivate people or bore them.
2) The web site click-thru rate
This rate is influenced by the quality of your web site
content. The quality of content is directly related to the
pre-sell added value You provide. Visitors need to be
motivated to become respondents. Click-thrus alone do not
provide buyers. You as the writer/website owner are on the
hook for this one. Your article reeled the reader in, what
are you going to do with him/her now?
3) The response rate
Again, this depends on the quality of your offerings. The
quality of your offerings is heavily influenced by the
quality of your web site content. In order for your
products to establish credibility with your visitors you
must first establish credibility and trust through your
communication.
Great care must be taken to 'pre-sell' your audience. You
must provide added value to your prospect in order for them
to be motivated to purchase your product.
What is added value?
Added value is real and perceived. When you offer unique
information and content for free, you are providing real
added value. When you offer a better way of life, a
creative alternative to a dead end lifestyle or a more
creative way to manage time, you are offering a 'perceived'
added value. It is usually a combination of the two
that will help you establish credibility and trust with
your audience.
4) The Conversion rate
The list of respondents you obtain is a captive audience
that has agreed to be part of an opt-in mailing list of
subscriber list. These people have been 'pre-sold'
and are your best prospects for future sales. You can
maximize your results by maximizing your responsiveness.
This is where auto responders can help. Once a
prospect has 'responded' they want to receive a reply
immediately. Nothing destroys credibility faster than a
slow reply. Your autoresponder should include a select group
of articles or marketing pieces that continue your pre-
selling campaign with closely timed emails that extend the
life of your offer in the prospects mind. The longer you
can extend your offer in the prospects mind, the greater
chance you have to convert the sale.
The author, Vincent J. Gomory is a resume writer, career
consultant and e marketing professional.
Visit http://vinj.referralware.com
This article courtesy of ...
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
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