Persuading People to Buy
Posted On: 2010-12-06
I think I started this Monday with something close to a feeling of gloom but it hasn't taken long for those thoughts and feelings to disappear.
Introducing a client their new website is always scary ... you never quite know whether you've nailed it or not ... and there's nothing quite like watching the smile begin to appear when they get their first look at the site. The smile says it all and if you see that smile you just know that you've got the site right ... and the first new site for today produced that smile.
Of course producing a website for a client is one thing because most of the people that we work with have a vision of what the site should look like and if you can produce that they're happy. Producing a website that actually makes money for a client is something all together different because we know what a site design needs to have that money-making ability but many clients don't.
And that's what I want to talk about today ... building websites that actually persuade site visitors to buy what you're selling.
Of course no website is ever going to persuade you to buy anything is it?
You're too tough ... too experienced to ever be persuaded to buy a product simply by something that the web designer or site administrator has worked into a website aren't you? Obviously everyone else is an easy mark but you're certainly not.
We all like to think that we're too hard-bitten to be easily persuaded by a website to buy a product but people who are experienced in persuasion marketing will tell you that it's not difficult to persuade just about every one of us to buy something that. So if just about everyone can be persuaded how do we go about doing that persuading?
Well there are a number of things that we can do to persuade people to buy what we're selling but there are just three that we will concentrate on here.
Social Influence
People are social creatures ... pack animals if you like. We're often persuaded to do something simply because other people are doing it too. If there are lots of people doing something can they all be wrong? Surely, if they're doing it then shouldn't we be doing it too?
If a million people are doing something or have done something and you tell site visitors that a huge number of people have already done that same thing then those who haven't done it yet will be more inclined to take the action that you want them to.
If a million people have already joined your sponsor's site then might not the next person who visits your free site be influenced by those numbers to do the same thing and join your sponsor's site?
Obviously you don't want to go over the top with the numbers you're quoting ... you want to make it believable ... and if you do that you might just persuade that next site visitor to part with his money.
They might miss out
Let's face it people don't like to miss a bargain so deals ... items ... all become more desirable and even more valuable as they become scarce. If you say that you have 10 of something left then you will arouse a level of interest in people who might buy what you're selling. However if you say that you only have two of an item left and there will never be any more offered for sale many more people start to want the product and they'll buy even though they may not have had that intention when they arrived on your site.
If you're offering a special deal it doesn't really have much appeal until potential buyers begin to see that if they don't act immediately then they're going to miss out. The special becomes even more special.
Of course incorporating that concept into an adult marketing site can be a challenge but if you can overcome that challenge then you're going to be on a winner.
Positioning your product
So you want to sell a particular item or a membership in a particular sponsor's site. Maybe that sponsor is offering a great deal for members that will keep them recurring month after month and you're going to be paid a percentage of income each time the signup rebills.
Perhaps the sponsor is going to give you a great deal for every signup you send him and you want to make sure that you maximize your profits. So how do you give yourself a better chance of making a sale?
Well over in mainstream persuasion marketers call it 'framing' and all you have to do is sit the offer you want people to buy between at least two other offers that make the one you want to sell look really good. Over in mainstream a computer shop might really want to sell off a bunch of novelty mice so they display it in their window with a really cheap mouse on one side and a really expensive gaming mouse on the other.
Suddenly the price point of the novelty mouse appeals to people. It obviously looks a whole lot better than the cheap budget priced mouse and while it may not look as good as the gaming mouse the price point is going to make it look so much more appealing.
After all who wants to pay $79.00 for a gaming mouse when there's one on display where the right and left buttons are boobies and the price tag says $9.95? Of course if you do sell a gaming mouse that's a win but you might sell a lot more of the novelty mice.
Look at ways of framing your sponsors and you could be laughing all the way to the bank.
Learn the art of persuasion and you could be doing a lot better than you are now.