TECHNIQUE #2 - HOW TO READ YOUR
VISITOR'S MIND!
Wouldn't it be great if you could get inside your visitor's minds? To find out why
they decided to sign up to your newsletter, buy your product - or even
more useful, why they didn't! Just imagine what you could do with that knowledge...
Actually, you can do exactly
that. It's the second most valuable technique I use to boost my site's
profits, but it sounds so simple you're in danger of ignoring or
overlooking it altogether - because, despite its simplicity, I estimate
that about 99% of sites attempt it, but get it completely wrong...
How To Read Your Visitor's Mind
First
off, let's be clear... there is really only one way to do this, and
that is to ask! Ask your visitors what they think, why they did what
they did, or why they didn't perform the action you requested.
Now, it sounds ridiculously obvious, doesn't it? Yet don't be
fooled by its simplicity. I'm willing to bet that 99% of all sites
on the Internet fail to get into their visitor's minds at all. Here's
why...
When it comes to asking what's on a visitor's mind, the vast majority of sites I've seen simply have a "contact us" (or a
"feedback") link, leading to a contact form or email address. This is not asking for feedback - it's simply providing visitors with a method of
communicating with the site owner.
A few sites do ask for feedback, but those that do, usually require a
visitor to fill out their name and email address into a form first.
The
problem with this is that there are many reasons a person might not
want to give out their email address: they may not trust the site enough;
they may not want to risk being subscribed to anything, and being
followed up ad nauseum with marketing messages; they may not have the
time or inclination to write a full email; or they may simply wish to
remain anonymous.
Besides, by the time an email has been written, the initial thought and feeling may not be as fresh, since it takes time to compose an email. As I'll show you shortly, my technique enables you to capture the thoughts of the visitor in the moment.
However, I'm sure you're wondering...
Why Is It So Valuable To Read Your Visitor's Mind?
Let
me give you an example. Let's say a visitor comes to your site, and
likes your product... but something holds them back from buying - maybe
a nagging doubt or a query.
True, there's a possibility they might
email you for clarification... but there's also a good chance they may
simply not bother, and you lose them as a potential customer - possibly forever.
If
you could have "read" their mind in the first place, you'd know precisely what was
holding them back, and you'd know how to help them put aside any
nagging doubts in order to help them decide to buy.
Now, I'll give you a real-life example of this in a moment, but first...
How To Capture Their Thoughts - In The Moment!
Let me show you how I capture the thoughts of at least 20% of my site's visitors, and about 50% of my subscribers, at precisely the right moment to see exactly what they are thinking - and how I use this to increase sales.
I use something called a Feedback Seeker.
Basically, these are special forms that allow visitors to send me
feedback anonymously without needing to include their email address.
I use these to ask some very simple questions, that help me get into the mind of my visitors. My favourite question is,
"What have I missed that would convince you to buy today?"
I
ask relevant questions like these at strategic points on my site, such as underneath the order
button or subscription form - so that the feedback gathered is
spontaneous, and reflects what they're thinking at that precise moment!
How To Profit From This Knowledge
I
receive dozens of comments that help me to gain an insight into the
things that were holding them back from making a purchase. For example,
for the Feedback Seeker program itself, here are just 2 comments I
received in response to the question as to what was holding them back
from purchasing:
"Telling me whether it can be easily inserted into a wordpress post"
"You say not database required but you don't say how the data IS stored."
Now
remember, these are comments that may not have been asked by email. So
they are valuable insights I perhaps wouldn't have gained, had I not
asked!
What did I do with these comments? I created a Frequently Asked Questions page, answering questions like these! This has helped to boost my conversions.
On
a subscription page I wanted to know why a person might hesitate to
sign up to a free offering, so I asked the question, "What would
motivate you to subscribe today?"
Among many, one particular comment was intriguing:
"50
parts sounds like a lot. I'd rather read it all in one go and keep my
train of thought. I want to know, too, whether you're just gathering my
name to use it to sell endless offers from your "best friends" in the
business."
This comment
gave me some extra ideas for split testing, i.e. improve my "what I do
with your email address" blurb, and see what happens if I remove
mention of the number of parts in the email series.
Each comment is an insight into the mind of your visitor at that moment - you are virtually "reading" their mind!
Plus, each comment can help you to understand why people are buying or not,
their concerns and worries... and it can give you great ideas to test.
Don't underestimate the value of "reading their minds"!
Now, here's a related but different technique that's very powerful:
TECHNIQUE #3 - HANDLING CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS... AUTOMATICALLY!
With the next technique, let me show you how to take a customer's objection to buying and turn it into a sale... automatically!
Click here to discover Technique #3. |
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Who Is Paul Hancox?
Paul
is from sunny England. He has been
marketing on the Internet since 1998. He edited an email newsletter
that eventually grew to over 160,000 readers, and in 1999 he wrote his
first ebook 51 Steps To Mega Traffic. He also wrote Viral Marketing Secrets (2001) and Small Changes: Big Profits
(2003, 2008). As a programmer he has also created several powerful
Internet marketing tools including Viral Refer Pro, Sales Page Master
and more recently he created the PHP programs Power Split Tester,Feedback Seeker and Dynamic Deadlines. |
How To Increase Your Sales Without Increasing Your Traffic
Technique #1 - Putting Your Site To The Vote
Technique #2 - How To Read Your Visitor's Mind
Technique #3 - Handling Customer Objections - Automatically
Technique #4 - Creating Real Urgency That Works
How To Apply These Techniques On Your Site Right Now
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