Internet Marketing
Applying
Psychology to Internet Marketing
By Terry Dean
The best
advertising writers are those who have some
knowledge of psychology. We are not dealing with
"new" people online. We are dealing with
the same people who have the same desires they
have always had.
The style
changes a little online, but the same approaches
that worked one hundred years ago will also work
today. Don't forget that.
Advertising
mediums change. Effective advertising does not,
because effective advertising is based on a
knowledge of human nature.
Remember the
first principle of advertising. Your prospects are
inherently selfish. They will ask one question of
everything your web site does, "What's In it
for Me?"
That is the
first question you have to answer with your web
site. It has to tell and show your visitors what's
in it for them. What would they get out of
ordering from your site that isn't available
anywhere else?
Below are four
aspects to the human make-up which you can and
should use throughout your Internet advertising.
1. Curiosity
is a powerful motivation.
Just about
every information product you see advertised has
the word "Secrets" in the ad somewhere.
People are afraid to miss out on something. They're curious to find out just what those secrets
may be.
Use this to
your advantage. With information products, I love
to write the sales letters so that they hit on the
curiosity hot button. You can take advantage of
this factor of human nature by providing some of
the results which were achieved through your
information system, but not actually revealing
what the system specifically is.
You will notice
that I do this a lot in the bullets that I create
to go in the sales letter. They will tell you that
there are 3 insider secrets to ______, but they
won't tell you what the 3 secrets are.
The purpose of
this is the pull on the curiosity of the
reader...and cause them to order.
2.
Extravagance at a bargain price.
People want to
keep up with the Jones'. They want the absolute
best, but they want to feel like they got it at a
bargain price. No one wants to feel that they paid
too much for anything. So, you need to give them
an impressive value at a bargain price.
In many
products and cases, this simply boils down to
explaining the exact process it took to create the
product. For example, with an information product,
it may have taken you 5 years of research and
$20,000 in testing to come up with the information
in this product. If so, tell them about it.
When your
company builds a widget, it might search the
country for the best wood available. Half of the
wood in the factory is rejected. You have over 60
people who actually work on the wood to create the
product you sell (in the ad itself you would tell
people what many of them do), and you may have 5
people who put it through a strict 13 step test to
assure it's quality.
Even if all of
your competitor's go through the exact process you
do to create the product, it will still be
effective for you to tell the story to your
customers. This is called preemptive advertising.
The person who first tells the story is the one
who garners the trade. Anyone else who seeks to
follow them ends up looking only as a copycat, not
the originator of the system.
Once the
customer understood the value involved in the
product, they were glad to be able to purchase it
at such a bargain price.
What process
does your product go through that will add a value
to it in your customer's eyes?
3. Fear of
Failure and of Making the Wrong Decision
This is the
biggest barrier that we have to overcome
throughout the selling process. People are afraid
they are going to make a bad decision in buying
your product. They are afraid you are going to rip
them off and not provide them with the product
they are expecting.
Everything that
you say as an advertiser is immediately looked at
with a grain of salt. People have been lied to
before when it comes to advertising, so they look
at your ads wondering if you are any different.
Unless you find a way to overcome this fear of
"being taken" in your prospect's eyes,
you are not going to close a majority of sales.
There are
basically two aspects to overcoming this
resistance. The first way is by presenting and
adding credibility to your ads. Credibility is
produced through your "proof" and
through the testimonials which you provide.
It is often
said that salespeople without testimonials have
skinny children. It is next to impossible to build
the credibility you need in the eyes of your
prospects without testimonials.
The second way
to overcome this resistance is by giving a risk
free guarantee or a better than risk free
guarantee. Let your prospects know that they can
return then package for any reason.
Plus, give them
several bonuses in the package which they can keep
even if they return the package for a full refund.
An even better
method of overcoming this buyer's resistance is by
allowing them to try out the package for free, and
having them pay for it at the end of the trial
period. Which one you rather buy from? Would you
rather buy from the person who gives you the horse
to try out for a week and allows you to pay
later...or the person who requires up-front
payment?
Think about
ways where you can overcome the buyer's resistance
by offering a more risk free proposition than all
of our competitors.
4.
Exclusivity
People like to
get a "special" deal which is made just
for them. They like to be told that they are
special. They like to have their names mentioned.
They like to have their names engraved on the
objects that they purchase.
I have learned
how to apply this factor to my own sales. I run a
subscriber only special to my 30,000 ezine
subscribers now once a month...People love it.
They are getting something for a special price or with a special bonus that isn't available to the
general public. They are getting it just because
they are one of my newsletter subscribers.
All successful
Joint Ventures are also based on this element of
exclusivity. A special deal was created with the
list owners partner ONLY for their customers. No
outsider can participate. The list owner cares so
much about their list members that they negotiated
to get them this special price or special deal.
These endorsed types of mailings have been known
to produce sales rates as high as 10% -
20%...which is completely unheard of in any other
venture.
"FREE"
without an understanding of the value is actually
dangerous.
Along the same
lines, the word "FREE" is actually being
overdone online. To some people it appears that
everything is free online. Using the word
"Free" without explaining the actual
value involved does not profit you according to
final sales figures.
When you are
giving away a freebie from your site, it isn't
your goal to just attract visitors I hope. You are
not after freebie seekers. Your final goal should
be to sell more of your products and services to
your visitors. This is not accomplished through
just handing out the most freebies.
This is
accomplished through explaining the value of your
products and services...then offering the freebie.
Claude Hopkins recorded that even back in his time
you should never offer a sample to anyone unless
you have had the chance to tell them your product
story.
Unless you have
actually had a chance to show them the value of
your offering, it could possibly diminish the
value of your actual product.
Tell your
prospects the actual value of the freebie. Then,
tell them "why" you are offering it
free. If you just listed the value at $97, but
never told them why it was worth $97 or why you
are giving it to them free, then your statement is
worthless. You must both explain why the free
product is worth $97 and why you are giving it to
them for free. Tell them that you know letting
them use it for free will get them hooked and that
they will keep coming back for more. Tell them why
it is free...or don't offer it at all.
This is why
there is so much confusion online concerning
giving freebies away at web sites. Some experts
recommend giving away freebies. Some recommend
that you don't give anything away. It is all a matter of understanding and showing the
"VALUE" that you are giving away for
free...and if it brings your visitor back to order
from you. The ordering process is what you are
after.
Remember the
marketing statement, "Tell me why, and then
I'll buy."
Terry Dean, a 5
year veteran of Internet marketing, will Take You
By The Hand and Show You Exact Results of All the
Internet Marketing Techniques he tests and Uses
Every Single Month" Click here to Find Out
More: http://www.netbreakthroughs.com
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