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Marketing Strategies to Help Increase Internet Sales

"Discover the Killer Marketing Strategy I'm Using to

     Help Increase My Internet Marketing Sales

     by more than 30%!"

People are always coming up to me and asking, "What can you

tell me to help increase my Internet marketing sales?"

All too often, when I ask them to tell me about their

business models, I discover they're selling only ONE

product. So I ask them, "Have you ever considered selling

*backend products* to your customers?"

Backend products are simply products you can offer to your

existing customers, after they've made their initial

purchase.

Because you know what they've already bought from you, you

should have a good idea of other things your customers

like to buy. And that should make it easy for you to think

of new things they'd want to purchase!

Backend products can be anything you think your target

market might be interested in. For example, if your site

sells cameras, new products could include:

    * Add-ons like wide-angle or telephoto lenses for your

      cameras

    * eBooks that teach people how to take better pictures

    * Other complementary products, such as camera cases or

      tripods

The brilliance of this strategy lies in the fact that you

already know what your customers like to buy!

So you can easily create highly targeted offers for them

-- leading to higher conversion rates and more sales...

and more money in your pocket!

The truth is, if you're not following up with your customers

and targeting them with highly appealing backend products,

you're losing out on a TON of profit.

In fact, by adding just ONE more product to your site, you

can increase your revenues by 30% to 50%!

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Why you need to think "lifetime value" rather than

"single sale"

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The other day I got an email from Amazon.com telling me

about a new Internet marketing book they just got in stock.

They knew I might be interested in it because I've bought

other Internet marketing books from them before. (Hardly

surprising, right? :)

And I *was* interested in that new one, too! In fact, as

soon as I got Amazon's email, I immediately clicked

through to their site, checked out the book, and bought it!

And in doing so, I boosted my "lifetime value" to Amazon by

another 20 bucks.

Lifetime value is simply the income generated by a single

customer over the course -- or "lifetime" -- of your

relationship with him or her.

If you sell only one product, then your customers' lifetime

value will be limited to the net income that comes from a

single sale of that product.

But if you sell a wide range of products, your income will

grow exponentially!

And selling to existing customers is easier and cheaper than

selling to strangers because you've already cultivated a

relationship with them: You've put in the time and money

to...

    * Get their attention

    * Establish your credibility

    * Build their trust in you

    * Overcome any resistance they may have to buying online

    * Close that first sale

On top of that, you now know what your customers like!

So, after that, it's much easier to sell to people a second

time... and a third... and a fourth... and so on.

If you reward your customers for being loyal, they'll reward

YOU by becoming even more loyal!

Take the book I bought from Amazon... all they had to do was

send me an email about a product they thought I'd like,

based on my previous purchase history. They didn't have to

sell themselves as a company to me because I've already

bought from them before.

In fact, I've bought maybe one book a month from Amazon over

the last five years at an average of $20 each -- meaning my

lifetime value to them so far is $1,200!

And it's much easier -- and way cheaper -- for Amazon to

sell me 60 books at $20 each than to persuade 60 new

customers to each buy one $20 book.

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When to follow up with your customers for maximum returns

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The best time to offer your customers backend products is

when you're given a natural opportunity to follow up with

them.

Here are some examples of what I mean: You can...

    * Follow up after a PURCHASE:

      Right after someone buys from you, you can send them

      a "thank-you" message that includes an offer for a

      related product.

      For example, if you sell project management software,

      you could offer your customers an eBook that gives

      them advanced project management tips and techniques.

      Or, if you sell "how-to" guides that teach people

      how to build their own sundeck, you could offer

      customers a special package deal on the tools they'll

      need for the job.

    * Follow up on a PURCHASE ANNIVERSARY:

      An easy way to get a follow-up promotion in front of

      your customers is to send them an offer one month, six

      months, or even a year after they made their first

      purchase.

      Email them to ask how they're enjoying the product,

      and let them know you've got similar products

      available at a special discount price that's being

      offered only to previous customers.

    * Follow up whenever you can provide NEW PRODUCTS OR

      INFORMATION:

      If, for example, you sell snowboard equipment and

      clothing, and you've just received stock of a cool new

      snowboarding jacket, you could contact your customers

      who bought a snowboard or boots and offer them a jacket

      at a special discount.

      They're obviously snowboarders, so there's a good chance

      they'd be interested in a new jacket.

The important thing to remember is, the backend products you

offer HAVE to be things your target market is going to be

interested in.

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Seven killer backend product ideas you can use

to expand your profits by more than 30%

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There's no doubt about it: Following up with your customers

and offering them backend products is a great way to boost

your profits without eating into your marketing budget.

But how do you find the killer products that make this

strategy so profitable?

It's a lot easier than you think! For example, you can...

    1. Offer products that complement your initial product:

       For example, if you sell golf clubs, offer your

       customers a golf club bag to carry them in.

       Or you could offer golf balls, golf tees, golf shoes,

       golf training videos -- the list is endless!

    2. Sell more of the same product at a discounted price:

       If your product is refillable or needs to be regularly

       replaced, this strategy works especially well. For

       example, if you sell things like printer cartridges,

       camera film, or batteries, you've got it made!

       But even if your product isn't refillable, you can show

       your customers you appreciate them by offering them a

       special discount on the product they've already bought.

       That way, if they like the product, they can buy it as

       a gift for family and friends.

    3. Use paid subscriptions as backend products:

       If you've established yourself as an expert in your

       industry, you can build on your reputation by offering

       a subscription to "premium" information, only available

       to members, as a backend product.

       For example, if your main product is a fly-fishing kit,

       you could sell a subscription to an exclusive course

       on advanced fly-fishing techniques as a backend product.

       You could deliver this paid-for content through a

       members-only web site, or by email.

    4. Try splitting up your current product:

       For example, if you were selling a book on how to

       "declutter" your home, you could offer a basic version

       for $9.95 to generate a large volume of sales at a

       low price.

       Then, 30 days later, you could offer your customers

       an advanced, expanded version that includes home office

       management and scheduling tips for $29.95 or even

       $39.95 -- and increase your profits dramatically!

    5. Try selling your customers an upgrade to their product:

       If they've used and liked your basic model, your

       customers will be open to receiving offers for the

       upgrade version.

       For example, if you sell eBooks teaching people how

       to use a particular piece of software, you can sell

       updated versions to previous buyers when the software

       package in question is upgraded.

    6. Write a book or create a video:

       eBooks are great backend products with high profit

       margins! Consider writing a short book on a topic

       that's related to your product or service.

       For example, if you sell gourmet puppy food, you might

       consider writing a book titled, "Training Secrets

       That Will Have Every Puppy Housebroken and Learning

       Basic Obedience in Less Than One Week!"

       You could even offer a special video that complements

       your product or service. For example, if you sell

       barbecue equipment, you might offer a video that

       teaches people how to perfect their barbecuing technique.

    7. Offer someone else's product!

       Probably the fastest -- and EASIEST -- way to add new

       products to your site is to join another business's

       affiliate program and recommend their products in

       exchange for a percentage of each resulting sale.

       Selling affiliate products can be a very lucrative

       way to increase your sales, especially since you

       don't have to spend any time or money developing a

       new product of your own!

       To learn more about joining affiliate programs,

       go to:

         - http://www.associateprograms.com

         - http://www.refer-it.com

         - http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com

       ... or check out IMC's top-rated affiliate program at

       http://www.marketingtips.com/assoc

Whether you create brand-new backend products that

complement your existing products, or sell other people's

products through an affiliate program, you need to know how

to target the right products to the right customers...

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 Divide and conquer: Segment your list for maximum effect

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"Segmentation" simply means dividing your list into smaller,

more focused groups so you can send mailings out to more

targeted audiences.

It's one of the most effective ways to market products or

services on the Internet because it allows you to send

product offers ONLY to people who are extremely likely to

be interested in them.

And, as backend offers obviously go only to previous

customers, you can create messages that are specifically

tailored to them based on what they bought, when they

bought, and other pieces of personal information you've

collected from them.

This allows you to create messages that are highly targeted

and, importantly, highly PERSONAL.

After all, it makes sense that people respond favorably to

offers that are tailored to their own personal wants and

needs. (That's why I opened that email from Amazon and

bought the book they offered me!)

In fact, a study by MarketingSherpa shows that email

marketers who use segmentation have a 72% higher

click-through rate than those who don't divide their lists!

We learned firsthand how effective this technique is a few

years ago, when we decided to conduct a little marketing

experiment.

We took a small list of our customers and split it in half,

then sent an email to each group that was exactly the same,

with only ONE exception.

The subject line of the first email read:

        Here's all the info you need

The subject line of the second email, which had EXACTLY the

same body as the first email, had been customized to display

the recipient's name. For example:

        Bob, here's all the info you need

Now, we had a hunch that the personalized subject line would

do better than the generic one. But what we discovered

surprised even us! The email with the personalized subject

line had a response rate 64% higher than the one without!

And that was the ONLY difference between the two campaigns!

The body of the email was identical in both cases, and so

was the offer. It was that one small change in the subject

line that boosted the response by 64%!

As you can see, if you HAVEN'T been personalizing your email

promotions, now is definitely a good time to start. Can you

imagine what a 64% increase in sales and profits would do

for YOUR bottom line?

Of course, you can personalize the body of your email as

well as the subject line, and you can use ANY information

you've collected about your customers and subscribers, not

just their names.

For example, let's suppose you run a travel company and that

you know which of your customers are single young women.

Using this information, you can create a promotion that

caters specifically to them. You could start your email off

like this:

        Hi Susan,

        I thought you might be interested in learning about

        the special "Girls' Weekend in Vegas!" promotion

        we're currently running.

        For the low price of just $500 each, we're inviting

        you and three of your friends on an all-inclusive

        weekend in America's favorite party town -- including

        your airfare, hotels, and meals -- PLUS a chance to

        whoop it up at all of Vegas's hottest night spots!

By sending out such a specifically targeted promotion,

you're bound to see greater results than if you offered a

general promotion to a large, untargeted group of people.

And once you learn how easy it is to do, you'll be kicking

yourself for not getting started sooner!

Final thoughts.

The bottom line is, if you're not offering backend products

to your customers you're losing out on 30% to 50% more

income.

That's because if you sell only one product, your profits

will always be limited by the number of new customers you

take on.

It takes a LOT more time and money to acquire new customers

than it does to sell new products to your existing customer

base, so selling only one product can really eat into your

profits.

Because you know what kind of products your customers like,

it's easy to create brand-new backend products that

complement your existing products, or join an affiliate

program and sell other people's products.

And if you segment your customer list to target focused

groups of customers with products that will appeal

specifically to them, you'll show them you understand their

particular needs.

And they'll thank you for it by buying more products from

you, and staying loyal to your business

for years to come!

So that's why, when I'm asked, "What strategy will most help

increase my Internet marketing sales?" my answer is

always... "Backend selling!"

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