In order to locate products that sell online, we need to understand what people already want to buy. Finding a good choice of idea or product is always accompanied by interfacing the demand for the product in the current market and the level of competition or market share that the product will be having in the long run.
“What should I sell? What products are hot selling? These are the questions most people are trying to find an answer in order for them to make the definite decision. And if we really want to know the answer to this question, our only choice is to do some research. There are all kinds of twists along the road that may lead you to think you have a high-demand idea. We must be able to understand and satisfy the need, wants and expectations of our customers on a certain product that they’re trying to buy. This three are called the basic needs or minimum requirements in a purchase. Needs are the basic reasons or the minimum requirements consumers are looking for in a product or service. They are called the qualifying or “gatekeeper” dimensions in a purchase. Wants are the determining dimensions among many choices. Expectations, on the other hand, are values or intangibles associated with a product or service. Expectations are actually part of “wants” but they become extremely important when products or services are not differentiated.
For example, in reading a logic book, university students look for the following: Relevant logic concepts use of simple language, easy to understand and affordable prices. These similar ideas can be applied to Internet Sales as well. After all, the Internet is just another place to sell products. The basic concept of demand is the same there as it is anywhere else, and has been all the time.
Now, the second thing that must be considered in finding “hot” products to sell are the level of competition or the market shares do your product will have. Market share or level of competition means the ratio of your brand sales versus the total market sales. While companies would naturally define its target competitors, it is actually the consumers who ultimately decide the competitive frame, or the list related products or services that consumers consider when exercising their purchasing power. We must therefore choose the market segment where we can have a potential leadership or at least a strong challenger role. Because the overriding objective of getting into this business is not just to satisfy the needs and wants of our customers but to do so profitably better than his competition. Otherwise, our competition will end up satisfying the customers better than our own interest.
Third factor to be considered in finding hot selling products is finding out the general interest level about the product. General interest in a product helps us to gauge where our demand and competition numbers fall into the big picture. Simply saying, if there isn’t much demand for the product, and there isn’t much competition, it would seem that it might not be good a good put up for sale. But the research doesn’t stop here; there is one last thing to be considered to exactly find the hot selling products that you’ve been looking for. We must also learn how others are advertising those products. If there are a good number of them doing so, it may mean that it’s a good product to get into. Coming to the last phase of the process is analyzing and evaluating all the information that has been collected. We have to look at all of the data we have collected on demand, competition, and advertising, and make decision as how they all balance out.
And here are several factors or aspects that must be measured: (a) not enough demand means not enough people are going to buy (b) too much competition means not enough of a profit to go around (c) too much advertising drives up the price of pay per click ads, and competition as well (d) not enough general interest, combined with low demand, means there may not be a good market even if there is competition trying to make the sales.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Twenty Ways to Boost Traffic and promote your site
1) Yahoo Answers.
You can go through and start answering questions at answers.yahoo.com.
You'll be surprised at the many questions left unanswered in many categories. You can become an "expert" within many fields by answering questions, and having relevant links point back to your site. It's a quick way to build back links and actually have targeted users viewing your site.
Check it out at answers.yahoo.com
Be sure to never spam. It's important to be friendly with your answers, and provide good relevant information. The goal here is to have the user to trust you.
To get started simply browse the categories or you can search for questions. For example you can do a search for "making money" and it will produce questions people have asked about "making money".
2) Myspace.com
Create a myspace account and start marketing to the users. Some quick tips for myspace are:
a. Never spam
b. Join as many relevant groups as possible and participate within the groups.
c. Post interesting bulletins that provide useful information
d. Send friend requests to users within the groups you've joined.
e. Use graphics in your posts to catch the attention of the reader.
f. Use catchy titles, anything boring will be ignored.
g. For non-targeted friends, you can look into friend trains such as friendstorm.net
h. To automate friend adding, comment posting and bulletin posting you can check friendbot.com and madderadder.com
3) Yahoo Groups
Join yahoo groups. I've joined groups within the "Home Business" section and promoted my products/services to group members. You can also create your own group as well. One of the keys here is to offer free reports and tools to the users, and then use that free report to up sell your main products/services.
You can find home business groups at the link below:
http://finance.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Business___Finance/Home_Business
The marketing/advertising groups at the link below:
http://finance.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Business___Finance/Marketing_and_Advertising
4) Stumbleupon.com
Download the stumbleupon toolbar and ensure you click "I like this" to all of your websites, and have your friends and family do the same and click the "I like this" to all your sites. Also create pages specifically for stumbleupon that either is funny and odd, which can range from funny pictures to funny videos. You'll find many users clicking "I like this" and on those pages you should have links to all your other sites, and perhaps even Google Adsense to earn money from all the visits you'll receive. This works well since Stumbleupon users love to browse sites that have odd and funny stuff, or even free stuff would work good as well.
5) Forum linking
Every forum you join, always have a signature file that contains links to your most treasured websites. Be sure to use your preferred keywords within the links or perhaps catchy titles to entice clicks.
6) Craigslist.org
Submit free ads to craigslist.org. Be sure not to spam the classifieds.
One or two ads per week in a few select cities are fine. If you submit too many then your ads can be flagged or labeled as spam, so be careful with how many submissions you make. Always use catchy titles to ensure your ad is read.
7) Site maps
Always have a site map for all your sites, and ensure the site map is submitted to Google. You can create a free site map using the following site.
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/
Once your site map is created, then upload it to your site, then submit it to Google using the link below:
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview?hl=en
8) E-Book Giveaway
If you have an e-book, give it away free, this can help build your mailing list and get more traffic to your site and offers. Ensure the e-book is of good value and that you'll have an up sell product to then make money from the subscribers at a later date.
9) CSS Website Design
When having your website designed it's best to use CSS to organize the layout of the site rather than using tables. CSS can power the layout using div tags instead of table tags. This will ensure your design is tableless. It will allow your textual content to have more weight when viewed by the search engines. If you have a designer, ensure you request "CSS Tabless Design" for your next website layout.
10) Submit To Directories
Most people already do this, but just in case you haven't, you should submit to directories. You can find a list of directories below:
http://strongestlinks.com/directories.php
The above list some of the better directories to submit to. By submitting to these directories you can acquire back links and more traffic to your site.
11) Tell a Friend
You can install a tell a friend script to your site that will allow users to "refer" your site to their friends and colleagues. The downside to this is that some spammers try to manipulate tell a friend scripts. Be sure the one you use actually has "image verification" to limit form manipulation; otherwise you may find spammers trying to use your form to send spam.
12) Search Engine Optimization
Always read up on the latest with optimizing your website for search engines. Some good forums to review for free tips are:
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12
http://forums.seochat.com/
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/
http://www.searchengineforums.com/apps/searchengine.forums/
I would join each of these forums or at least review the forums for the latest tips and strategies on search engine optimization.
13) Squidoo.com
Create a lense at squidoo.com, this is one of the latest fads.
14) Social bookmarking sites
Submit to each of these sites.
http://del.icio.us/ PageRank: 8/10
http://www.furl.net/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.simpy.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://del.icio.us/ PageRank: 8/10
http://www.backflip.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.blinklist.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://bluedot.us/ PageRank: 6/10
http://de.lirio.us/bookmarks/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.diigo.com/user/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.shadows.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.markaboo.com/ PageRank: 5/10
http://ma.gnolia.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://linkagogo.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://netvouz.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.mister-wong.de/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.spurl.net/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.rawsugar.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.stumbleupon.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.digg.com/ PageRank: 8/10
http://www.blogmarks.net/ PageRank: 7/10
http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.netvouz.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.taggly.com/ PageRank: 5/10
http://www.lookmarks.com/ PageRank: 5/10
http://socialbookmarking.org/ PageRank: 5/10
15) Article Promotion
Write articles are short reports and submit to ezinearticles.com,
goarticles.com, articlecity.com.
16) Site Explorer
Submit your sitemaps using Yahoo Site Explorer, similar format to
Google Webmaster Tools
http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
17) Epinion.com
Post your opinion on products and services related to yours on
epinion.com
18) Alexa.com
Review popular websites on Alexa.com, and at the end of the message have your URL listed. It may not hyperlink automatically but a few people may still copy/paste into their address bar. Just make sure your post is really a review and not spam.
19) Newsletter Box
Always have a newsletter box on your website that will allow all visitors to subscribe for updates on your site. This can be a real winner, as you'll be able to market your product or service to these subscribers. You can use aweber.com, getresponse.com, constantcontact.com for the newsletter subscriptions.
20) Pay per Click search engines
I've listed this last since almost everyone does this, but I can't have a list of marketing tips without mentioning PPC. Google Adwords, Microsoft Ad Center and Yahoo Search Marketing are the big three. Other options are SearchFeed.com, Goclick.com.
For a comprehensive list of pay per click search engines see link below:
http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Hopefully one of the marketing options mentioned caught your eye. I've used these various avenues to boost traffic to my sites on a regular basis. You may not get a flood of traffic overnight, but combining these methods can result in gradual increase traffic, and in some cases you can receive a tremendous boost. It's all about your efforts and sometimes having luck on your side helps as well :)
You can go through and start answering questions at answers.yahoo.com.
You'll be surprised at the many questions left unanswered in many categories. You can become an "expert" within many fields by answering questions, and having relevant links point back to your site. It's a quick way to build back links and actually have targeted users viewing your site.
Check it out at answers.yahoo.com
Be sure to never spam. It's important to be friendly with your answers, and provide good relevant information. The goal here is to have the user to trust you.
To get started simply browse the categories or you can search for questions. For example you can do a search for "making money" and it will produce questions people have asked about "making money".
2) Myspace.com
Create a myspace account and start marketing to the users. Some quick tips for myspace are:
a. Never spam
b. Join as many relevant groups as possible and participate within the groups.
c. Post interesting bulletins that provide useful information
d. Send friend requests to users within the groups you've joined.
e. Use graphics in your posts to catch the attention of the reader.
f. Use catchy titles, anything boring will be ignored.
g. For non-targeted friends, you can look into friend trains such as friendstorm.net
h. To automate friend adding, comment posting and bulletin posting you can check friendbot.com and madderadder.com
3) Yahoo Groups
Join yahoo groups. I've joined groups within the "Home Business" section and promoted my products/services to group members. You can also create your own group as well. One of the keys here is to offer free reports and tools to the users, and then use that free report to up sell your main products/services.
You can find home business groups at the link below:
http://finance.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Business___Finance/Home_Business
The marketing/advertising groups at the link below:
http://finance.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Business___Finance/Marketing_and_Advertising
4) Stumbleupon.com
Download the stumbleupon toolbar and ensure you click "I like this" to all of your websites, and have your friends and family do the same and click the "I like this" to all your sites. Also create pages specifically for stumbleupon that either is funny and odd, which can range from funny pictures to funny videos. You'll find many users clicking "I like this" and on those pages you should have links to all your other sites, and perhaps even Google Adsense to earn money from all the visits you'll receive. This works well since Stumbleupon users love to browse sites that have odd and funny stuff, or even free stuff would work good as well.
5) Forum linking
Every forum you join, always have a signature file that contains links to your most treasured websites. Be sure to use your preferred keywords within the links or perhaps catchy titles to entice clicks.
6) Craigslist.org
Submit free ads to craigslist.org. Be sure not to spam the classifieds.
One or two ads per week in a few select cities are fine. If you submit too many then your ads can be flagged or labeled as spam, so be careful with how many submissions you make. Always use catchy titles to ensure your ad is read.
7) Site maps
Always have a site map for all your sites, and ensure the site map is submitted to Google. You can create a free site map using the following site.
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/
Once your site map is created, then upload it to your site, then submit it to Google using the link below:
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview?hl=en
8) E-Book Giveaway
If you have an e-book, give it away free, this can help build your mailing list and get more traffic to your site and offers. Ensure the e-book is of good value and that you'll have an up sell product to then make money from the subscribers at a later date.
9) CSS Website Design
When having your website designed it's best to use CSS to organize the layout of the site rather than using tables. CSS can power the layout using div tags instead of table tags. This will ensure your design is tableless. It will allow your textual content to have more weight when viewed by the search engines. If you have a designer, ensure you request "CSS Tabless Design" for your next website layout.
10) Submit To Directories
Most people already do this, but just in case you haven't, you should submit to directories. You can find a list of directories below:
http://strongestlinks.com/directories.php
The above list some of the better directories to submit to. By submitting to these directories you can acquire back links and more traffic to your site.
11) Tell a Friend
You can install a tell a friend script to your site that will allow users to "refer" your site to their friends and colleagues. The downside to this is that some spammers try to manipulate tell a friend scripts. Be sure the one you use actually has "image verification" to limit form manipulation; otherwise you may find spammers trying to use your form to send spam.
12) Search Engine Optimization
Always read up on the latest with optimizing your website for search engines. Some good forums to review for free tips are:
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12
http://forums.seochat.com/
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/
http://www.searchengineforums.com/apps/searchengine.forums/
I would join each of these forums or at least review the forums for the latest tips and strategies on search engine optimization.
13) Squidoo.com
Create a lense at squidoo.com, this is one of the latest fads.
14) Social bookmarking sites
Submit to each of these sites.
http://del.icio.us/ PageRank: 8/10
http://www.furl.net/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.simpy.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://del.icio.us/ PageRank: 8/10
http://www.backflip.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.blinklist.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://bluedot.us/ PageRank: 6/10
http://de.lirio.us/bookmarks/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.diigo.com/user/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.shadows.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.markaboo.com/ PageRank: 5/10
http://ma.gnolia.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://linkagogo.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://netvouz.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.mister-wong.de/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.spurl.net/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.rawsugar.com/ PageRank: 6/10
http://www.stumbleupon.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.digg.com/ PageRank: 8/10
http://www.blogmarks.net/ PageRank: 7/10
http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.netvouz.com/ PageRank: 7/10
http://www.taggly.com/ PageRank: 5/10
http://www.lookmarks.com/ PageRank: 5/10
http://socialbookmarking.org/ PageRank: 5/10
15) Article Promotion
Write articles are short reports and submit to ezinearticles.com,
goarticles.com, articlecity.com.
16) Site Explorer
Submit your sitemaps using Yahoo Site Explorer, similar format to
Google Webmaster Tools
http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
17) Epinion.com
Post your opinion on products and services related to yours on
epinion.com
18) Alexa.com
Review popular websites on Alexa.com, and at the end of the message have your URL listed. It may not hyperlink automatically but a few people may still copy/paste into their address bar. Just make sure your post is really a review and not spam.
19) Newsletter Box
Always have a newsletter box on your website that will allow all visitors to subscribe for updates on your site. This can be a real winner, as you'll be able to market your product or service to these subscribers. You can use aweber.com, getresponse.com, constantcontact.com for the newsletter subscriptions.
20) Pay per Click search engines
I've listed this last since almost everyone does this, but I can't have a list of marketing tips without mentioning PPC. Google Adwords, Microsoft Ad Center and Yahoo Search Marketing are the big three. Other options are SearchFeed.com, Goclick.com.
For a comprehensive list of pay per click search engines see link below:
http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Hopefully one of the marketing options mentioned caught your eye. I've used these various avenues to boost traffic to my sites on a regular basis. You may not get a flood of traffic overnight, but combining these methods can result in gradual increase traffic, and in some cases you can receive a tremendous boost. It's all about your efforts and sometimes having luck on your side helps as well :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)