Why do you need to keep people coming back to your website ?
It’s simple really. If you’re trying to make money online, you need to have people visiting your website. (DUH!)
But here’s something you may not know…
very few people will buy anything the first time they visit your site. Multiple surveys have shown, most people need to visit your website at least 3 to 5 times before they feel comfortable doing business with you.
So, getting visitors to your website is the first step, but just as important (maybe even more so) is giving them a reason to return.
Here’s 3 ways to keep people coming back to your website…
1. You can sell your stuff for the lowest price. That’s how sites like Amazon.com do it.
When you go to Amazon you can find practically anything you want, and their prices are hard to beat. Discount sites like Amazon have a tiny profit margin, but they make billions of dollars worth of sales every year, so it adds up nicely.
The problem with competing on price alone is you’ll need to keep lowering your prices to compete with everyone else who’s selling on price alone. So unless you can sell at a huge volume, you’ll find yourself in a downward spiral, heading towards extinction.
Hey, I’m not trying to talk you out of it. I just want you to know what you’ll be up against.
2. Another way to keep visitors coming back is to offer them something they can’t get anywhere else.
This works for the short term, but eventually someone else is going to start selling a similar product or service. In which case, you’ll need to keep adding unique aspects to your offer, or else you’ll find yourself heading towards the price competition I mentioned above.
3. The third way to keep people coming back to your website is to become a trusted authority in your niche.
This is the one I recommend. Here’s why…
Show people you’re an expert and let them know you’re here to help them, and they’ll be more likely to trust you. When people trust you, they’re far more likely to do business with you, even if you’re not the cheapest guy in town.
It’s true… Even though the economy is still a bit ‘shaky’ and many people are looking for bargains, most people are willing to spend a couple dollars more when they trust the company they’re doing business with. Wouldn’t you?
Think about it this way…
If you spend a few dollars more than you think you should, but you get exactly what you want, from a reliable source… You’re talking about pennies.
But, if you spend less than you ought to, and you get screwed… Then you’ve lost it all.
Most people understand this. Even if it’s only at a subconscious level.
So, how do you become a trusted authority in your niche? There’s a number of ways to convince people you know what you’re talking about, and even more importantly show them you’re here to help them.
I’ve written a couple posts about some of the more effective ways to accomplish this. You can read them by following the links below…
How to become an authority in your niche, explains a few basic ways to increase your value as an expert.
How to build your email list, describes the basic methods for getting visitors to sign up for your email list, so you can communicate and engage with them regularly.
We’re talking about retention. What makes visitors keep coming back to your church, returning week after week. Earlier Jon posted on why he and his family picked the church he s at and I d love to continue in this vein.