How to Use Welcome Emails to Generate More Sales

 

Have you ever been pelted by a popup asking you to provide your email address to join a company newsletter the second you land on a website? Yeah…annoying! You haven’t even had time to check out anything on the site, and the company is already clamoring for your email. It’s like walking up to a random woman, not even asking her name, and then trying to score her phone number. Very few people—if any—will respond positively to that.

This is not the best way to generate more sales with email marketing. With this in mind, check out these welcome email tips so you get more deals from your website without annoying your customers:

  1. Use Double Opt-In

Going this route helps ensure people who genuinely want to receive your emails are on your list. You won’t get spammers. You won’t get people who complain, believing they never subscribed to your list in the first place.

Using this strategy, your email marketing software will send visitors who initially provided their email address a subsequent email asking them to confirm their subscription, ensuring only visitors genuinely interested in getting emails from you are on your list.

  1. Strike While the Iron is Hot

Some companies wait a few days or a week before sending you an email after you join their list. They do this to send everything in one big batch, which makes more efficient use of their time and resources. However, that’s a big mistake! This strategy throws potential sales out the window because customers are much more likely to act when they have a high level of interest. And you know that since they just joined your list, they have a strong interest in your company right now.

Please take advantage of this vested interest and send them a welcome email, possibly offering a discount for purchasing. This brings them closer to your inner circle and keeps you top-of-mind for future emails.

  1. Deliver Exceptional Value

Your welcome email can serve as the kickoff to what’s called a “drip” campaign. With this strategy, you send emails over a set period, each containing more helpful information than the last.

To snag attention, you tell people something new each time. Maybe you dispel common myths and misconceptions in your niche. Perhaps you share new research. Originality attracts attention. Tell people the same old stuff they hear everywhere and have no reason to pay attention to you.

At the end of your drip campaign, you ask for a sale. This can be a reasonably expensive purchase because you spent so much time educating your new subscriber. And if they don’t buy, at least you’ve caught their interest!

That’s a large part of the battle, in and of itself.

Wrapping Up

So yes, it can quickly transform your welcome emails into a potent sales-generating weapon. And the best thing is that they will repeatedly sell—without costing you additional money!

4 Essential Online Marketing Metrics to Know

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

There’s so much information on online marketing you can easily find yourself pulling your hair out in a desperate attempt to know which content to pay attention to.

No worries—we have you covered. Here’s what you should care about when it comes to online marketing metrics:

  1. Sales Conversion Rate

You’ll most often hear this referred to as a “conversion rate,” referring to the percentage of customers who perform any given action. While this technically doesn’t need to take shape as something that results in a sale, for our purposes, let’s assume “conversion rate” refers to this same action as a concern that truly matters to your business.

Conversion rates for service-based businesses typically run in the 1-3% range. So, it’s essential to know that just a few more website visitors could result in 50% more sales.

You can always track the conversion rate. This cannot be easy, but it must be done.

  1. Revenue by Referring Source

Who/what helps you bring in the most revenue out of all possible channels driving customers to your site? In-person, word-of-mouth marketing? Google? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Paid search? Other unknown sources?

When you uncover this information, you can identify where to spend more time marketing and where/how to shore up any weak areas.

  1. Social Media Engagement

Size doesn’t matter—at least concerning social media. If you have a large audience who doesn’t engage with your posts, your ability to capture and grow the same is of little consequence. Possessing an engaged audience who takes action in droves whenever you post is better.

With this in mind, it’s great to know the engagement rates of your audience. This means measuring metrics such as comments, likes, shares, and mentions, which carry much more meaning than the size of your audience.

  1. Open Email Rates

This is the engagement metric to measure for emails, telling you just how engaging your email content truly is. Again, a smaller, more engaged audience is more important than a larger, less engaged one. You only need a few hundred subscribers!

More is always better, but if just a couple hundred more subscribers can result in more sales, that makes a big difference for your bottom line. Your email list subscribers love to purchase because they’re your best customers. After all, only your most devoted customers join your email list.

Plus, this is an easy metric to track and also tells you what interests your audience. In this way, you can learn what to discuss on your website, in your social media profiles, and even in person—piquing consumer interests and resulting in more sales.

Wrapping Up

For any small business, these are key metrics to keep in mind regarding online marketing. As they improve over time, you’ll undoubtedly notice a difference in your bottom line.

What to Consider Before a Major Website Redesign

What to Consider Before a Major Website Redesign

Think now is the time to give your digital storefront a significant overhaul? It just might be! Before you and your design team dive in, be sure to think through these critical questions first:

  1. What Do Your Customers Want?

While your website should make you happy, it’s ultimately more important for your customers to feel satisfied with its overall design and performance—as they’ll use this platform to evaluate whether or not to do business with you. A website that pleases you may not have the same effect on the people you’re looking to win sales from.

Per the website monitoring experts at Pingdom, page-loading times directly impact bounce rates (the number of visitors who view just one page on your site and then leave). So, while you might crave newfangled site features, this comes at a cost if it leads to longer load times. Keep this in mind during the redesign process.

  1. How Can You Use Your Website to Boost Sales?

Yes—it’s essential for your website to look spiffy and modern. An old website communicates to potential customers that you’re perhaps no longer in business. Or, they might think the same might hold for other parts of your business if you don’t care about your website.

Besides ensuring your website boasts an updated look, it needs to drive your customers to action: whether you sell products, services, or both. You can rely on various design techniques to boost the number of visitors who make a purchase and collaborate closely with your designer to implement the right enhancements for the products and services you sell.

  1. How Can You Integrate Content Within Your Site?

Will your website feature videos, a blog, case studies, white papers, podcasts, and user-generated content?

You know your site needs content, but it’s also essential to know not all of the above are required. Just one form of content will do. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to understand your unique strategy—which will ultimately impact your website design. Content presentation dictates just how much of the same your market will consume. And the more they digest, the more likely they will become paying customers.

Wrapping Up

While there is a boatload of other considerations to remember before redesigning your website, these are some of the top items to consider. Plan accordingly and watch the conversions roll in.

 

 

How to Quickly Analyze Your SEO Competition

One great thing about the internet is that you can quickly gather heaps of data concerning your competition—not too shabby compared to those Yellow Pages days of yesteryear.

How to Quickly Analyze Your SEO Competition

A solid competitor will highlight their competitive advantages on their website to attract more

customers. With this in mind, researching your competition is far easier and faster than ever. Here’s how to go about this in 2022 and beyond:

  1. Keyword Research

SEMrush allows you to check competitive keywords for free. While you may be able to eyeball your competitor’s keywords at the small and local business level without it, if there’s any complexity in doing so, SEMrush will help add clarity—free of charge!

  1. On-Site Optimization

One major ranking factor is your competitor’s ability to optimize their website for their target keywords. Their primary keywords must appear in the page title (the big blue one that pops up when you do a Google search), in their meta description, and on the page itself (about 2-3 times or so).

Watch for an “unnatural” use of keywords, meaning those that sound “awkward” or “forced” when read out loud. Google does not like this kind of optimization. However, it still pulls ranking ability but not as much as keywords that sound “natural” (those you barely notice while reading the sentence out loud).

Overdoing or underdoing this represents an opportunity for you to gain an advantage.

  1. Internal Linking

Competitor site links that link to other pages on their site is called “internal links.” This is another vital ranking factor Google analyzes.

There are dozens of articles (and plenty of hot debate) about the best internal linking practices. Yet, generally, internal links should make it easy for users to navigate your site, link to more helpful information, and point most frequently to the most important pages on your site.

Check out this great in-depth blog post on internal linking from Neil Patel.

  1. Content Analysis

The uniqueness of content outshines all other content creation aspects when it comes to getting noticed by Google.

Long is good. But if it’s already been said 10,000 times elsewhere, it’s not as good as something brand new. Check your competition for frequency, rank, and freshness.

  1. Design

Your website doesn’t need to be beautiful or even eye-popping (although both are good). But it does need to reflect a modern look to show you’re still in business (not all SMBs understand that).

It must also feature easy-to-use functionality and quick speeds while making sense to visitors—these factors may suggest it’s time to seek a professional opinion.

If your competition has an older-looking design, it can allow you to trump them in search.

Wrapping Up

So yes, analyzing competition at the local level—featuring smaller websites—isn’t an overwhelming task. Moreover, you’ll frequently unearth accessible opportunities for nice gains in your search rankings.

 

2 Risks to Take and Avoid in 2022’s SEO Environment

 

As a business owner, you’re used to taking risks. After all, you wouldn’t have gotten to where you are without doing things that make you uncomfortable.

Of course, you don’t take foolish.

2 Risks to Take and Avoid in 2022’s SEO Environment

Risks. You learn as much as you can about the viable paths forward and then remove as much risk as possible from the options available to maximize your chance for success.

Well, it’s no different with SEO. Take a second to learn some intelligent SEO risks to take and silly ones to avoid in 2022 and beyond:

  1. To Take: High-Quality Backlinks

If your website boasts hundreds of links pointing to you but just a handful going back out, Google rewards you less than if you maintain a balance. Why? The search engine behemoth believes reputable websites happily link to other websites with equally strong (or more robust) reputations.

No optimal ratio exists, so make sure you add links to quality websites in your niche that also help your visitors in some way.

  1. To Avoid: Using Your Keywords in Your Links’ Anchor Text

It used to be that adding your keywords to your blue anchor link text would drive up your search rankings quite nicely. This also fits logic: you want your website to rank for specific search terms, which you highlight so Google knows what to organize you for.

Alas, some no-good SEOs found methods to spam thousands of links with their exact anchor text across the web—artificially boosting these websites to the top of search results, which Google (and searchers) didn’t want.

So now, Google penalizes this practice. No one knows a precise ratio for how to avoid this, but the consensus holds no more than 1-3% of links pointing to your site should include your exact keywords in the text.

  1. To Take: Redesigning Your Website

Yes—this one carries significant risk if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why it’s essential to go with a designer with lots of experience who can prove they protect client search rankings. And, with the right firm, you’re possibly in for an excellent orders boost!

Users expect your website to feature a modern design. They also want a site that’s easy to use. Moreover, you can employ plenty of small SEO ins and outs in your plan that affect your rankings.

With the right partner, this can be a big win for your SEO.

  1. To Avoid: Using “Doorway” Pages

“Doorway” pages may target multiple cities or locations but link to one specific page. They can also summon various similar pages in search results, which Google and web searchers don’t like.

You can create pages on your site relevant to various cities and suburbs. After all, searchers need to know you offer your service in their location. You’re okay if you don’t link and drive searchers back to a single final destination on your site.

Doorway pages, as they are used, actually offer little utility and typically spam keywords to achieve search visibility. Discussing the benefits of your products and services and highlighting why you’re different and better than the competition does provide value and won’t irk Google (or searchers).

Wrapping Up

So, there you have it: smart SEO risks to take and foolish ones to avoid.

Which will you choose in 2022 and beyond?

 

Does Your Website Use “Thank You” Pages?

Does Your Website Use “Thank You” Pages?

“Thank you!” It’s a globally recognized phrase everyone appreciates. You can’t say it enough. Is there ever a wrong time to say “thank you”? And, since the web’s merely an extension of real-life conversations, why don’t you see “thank you” pages more often?

Now, we’re not just saying this to improve your web etiquette. Thank you pages also serve a legitimate business purpose to deepen your relationships with consumers and transform more passers-by into ecstatic paying customers.

But…how do you do that? Learn from these concrete examples:

  1. Thank Customers for Joining Your Email List

This is a prime opportunity that gives your customers a chance to buy. After all, they’ve already expressed high interest in your company by signing up for your email list—which takes a lot of trust-building!

Although you’ve already incentivized your customers to join your list, use your thank you page to do this yet again. For example, you can offer a 50% product discount if they purchase within the next 24 hours.

Try different approaches because you never know which one will work best.

  1. Offer Premium Content

This approach may work best for service-based businesses. Why? They typically have longer sales cycles that require more convincing and cajoling to make a sale (compared to product-based companies). It’s certainly more difficult to sell something you can’t see than you can!

So, when customers request emailed content, call up a thank you page that presents other related content they may also enjoy: perhaps a video, podcast, ebook, guide, white paper, or anything else of the like.

  1. Use Written or Video Testimonials

Immediately after a customer completes your email form to inquire about your services, you can redirect them to a thank you page with social proof. This can take shape as a video or written testimonial, for example, clearly illustrating challenges customers encountered before using your product or service and the results after that. Using written testimonials, try to obtain images of your customers to add credibility.

This strategy will ultimately help convince customers they’ve made a wise choice and will reap the results they want by choosing you.

Wrapping Up

So yes, saying “thank you” is always a great idea. And remember to project a genuinely thankful attitude while doing so!

Customers can sense whether you appreciate them or merely see them as another set of dollar signs, but when you’re genuine, that will keep them coming back time and time again!

 

Are You Optimized for Voice Search?

Voice search sure is fantastic. Rather than slowly typing into a search bar and making mistakes, you use your voice—and most of the time, Google and Siri get it right the first time!

Ok. So they’re not perfect. But they’re perfect. And just a search or two yields precisely what you want from your voice search.

Here’s the thing:

96% of businesses fail to list their business data accurately on Google, Yelp, and Bing (which account for 90% of local business searches). So even when customers search for your business, they’ll have a more difficult time finding you than necessary…if they even see you!

Or, you can look at it another way: by making a few simple changes, you can scoop up a bunch of customers your competitors would otherwise get.

Simple-to-Fix Mistakes Most Businesses Make

The data shared earlier and below comes from an Uberall research report. While most local businesses don’t list their company data correctly, the problems are simple to fix. Specifically:

● 50% of businesses don’t list their opening hours correctly
● 30% of businesses don’t list their website address
● 25% of businesses don’t name their location
● 20% of businesses don’t list their street address

What These Mistakes Cost You

Statista shows Americans spend 261 minutes (4.35 hours) per day on their smartphones: a trend that has increased every year since 2012.

And remember, 5G wireless technology—which enables faster and more extensive data transfers than ever before—was recently adopted nationwide. As bandwidth and ease continue to increase, so will mobile technology use.

What’s the actual cost of the afore-mentioned oversights? Hard to say. But it’s most undoubtedly significant, given the size and strength of these market trends.

You Can’t Ignore This Quick Win.

In business, you’re constantly comparing the size of the investment versus the reward. In this case, there’s no need to invest many resources—if any at all! Updating your business location information across leading search sources is not an overly arduous or costly task. Yet, doing so can pay dividends.

Small investment. Much bigger reward. A no-brainer for most businesses.

Is your business information accurate? Now’s the time to check, so you don’t miss out on the power of optimized voice search results.

6 Top Reasons Potential Customers Leave Your Website

Is content “king?”

Well, yes, but there’s a qualifier: visitors judge your website by its design, first and foremost. They won’t make it to your content if you turn them off.

Research shows that 88% of website visitors never return to a website after a bad experience. So, you have to nail it the first time. 6 TOP REASONS POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS LEAVE YOUR WEBSITE

Looking for examples of mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones yourself? Perfect!

Derek Halpern at Social Triggers cites a study by Dr. Elizabeth Sillence of Northumbria University in the UK. When she tasked study participants with finding hypertension websites they trusted/distrusted, 94% of participants based their trust on website design issues. Likewise, here are some top mistakes that turned them off:

1. Clever/Creative Website Names

Clever rarely works online. Visitors want to know they’re in a credible place…and the right place! Therefore, you’re much better off naming your site something like “The Hypertension Research Center” rather than “Hypertension World” or “Digital Hypertension.”

In any online communication, clarity trumps creativity. Why? While creativity may make sense to you, consumers may not understand what you mean. So, aim for clarity every time.

2. Cluttered, Busy Layouts

The more options you offer, the more visitors explore routes you don’t want them to take.

Please keep it simple. Even if you can only eliminate 1-2 clicks, that’s still a big deal. Every additional page or required action results in lost conversions.

3. Boring Web Designs

Yes. Visitors judge a book by its cover. Maybe they shouldn’t, but they do.

Hence, your website needs a lively, engaging design that isn’t off-the-wall or overly creative. That’s a tricky balance to negotiate, and why enlisting the help of an experienced professional makes sense.

4. Pop-Up Ads

Advertising adds revenue…but at what cost?

Typically, you need massive traffic following years of hard work building an audience before you can consider making substantial money off ad revenue.

For smaller sites, relying on pop-ups means shooting yourself in the foot.

5. A Corporate Feel

Nope. Today’s user is just not impressed by web design and content strategies that scream “corporate.”

The power of web-based sales lies in creating uniquely personal experiences targeted to niche audiences. Visitors want to feel like you made your site just for them!

While you may go after smaller niches, your conversion rate will skyrocket because you serve your audience so much better in a way that speaks to their unique needs.

6. Slow Load Times

Do you patiently wait out slow load times? Or do you start to feel frustrated, angry, and annoyed?

Everyone has a slightly different definition of “fast” and “slow.” However, what exactly should you aim for?

Maile Ohye, formerly of Google, is here to answer your question: “Two seconds is the threshold for eCommerce website acceptability. At Google, we aim for under a half second.”

Now you know what to strive for.

While page load speed is made up of many factors, having a fast website server is essential to page load speed.  At Red Coyote Services, we work hard to ensure our servers have dedicated resources, exceptional processing power, memory, and disk capacity.  Bandwidth is not an issue at RCS.  Let’s add your website to our hosting services.  You can do so by contacting us to start the website hosting program.

How Content Actually Drives SMB Sales in 2022

“Wow! That’s the most amazing blog post I’ve ever read on foot and ankle care!”

Hmm…we bet nobody’s actually ever said that. Why? Not because of the quality of the content or the topic, but because that’s not how content marketing works in consumer minds.

At the end of the day, blog posts don’t drive quick sales.

If Blog Posts Don’t Sell Fast, Then Why Create Them?

Truthfully, blog posts do win you more sales. It’s just that their work takes 6-18 months to pay off. Why? Because content marketing works like this:

First, someone reads your spectacularly helpful post on foot and ankle care. They may or may not have a severe problem to warrant treatment.

Some of your readers will opt to take care of the problem themselves. There’s nothing you can do to sell that type of person—it’s just who they are.

However, many people who read your post understand the value of an expert and would instead not handle the issue themselves. And here’s the critical point: while they may not have a severe foot or ankle problem right now, they may experience one down the road. By writing valuable content that wins their attention and is more helpful than any other blog on the same topic, you invite many readers to remember you.

They follow you on social media. They bookmark your website. They email your link to themselves for safekeeping. They join your email list. They share your content with a friend. And then, over time, as you continue to feed them valuable and engaging content, you become more of a priority in their minds as someone they want to listen to. These consumers won’t turn to your competitors because they very much love what you have to say. Finally, they schedule an appointment when they have a problem you can solve.

That’s how content marketing works. When you attract an audience, you initiate a massive, unstoppable ball of momentum that sells quickly and repeatedly.

Can You Use Content to Speed Up the Sales Process?

Yes. Blogs sell slowly. They give helpful advice on various topics, which helps, and their consistency keeps you visible in search engines. They’re necessary to your marketing success. Yet, do you know what converts more of your blog readers into paying customers? Real-life success stories!

Also called “case studies,” these stories detail the problems your customer approached you with, why they chose you over a competitor and the results you generated. After you weave a few customer quotes throughout the story to add credibility, this makes you an easy choice for other potential customers facing the same problem.

You can keep your customers’ info anonymous. However, receiving permission to use their real name—or even their first name and last initial—lends more credibility to your story and leads to quicker sales.

Small businesses often lack this strategy. They want to use facts. However, as the old marketing saying goes, “Facts tell. Stories sell.”

Find some stories—you certainly have some—and then use your social media profiles, website homepage, and email list to promote them and watch the business roll in!

If you need assistance, we can help! Contact us to see how, our consulting is free!