Selling Real Estate - Advice Article

Innovative Ways to Attract Online Business

Make your web site as consumer friendly as possible with these helpful tips.

Perhaps you’re the new owner of a business, or have been long established in an actual retail shop, and just want to put your items online to show the world what you have to offer.

The easiest way to do this is by being selfish! That’s right, think of what YOU like to see when you surf or shop online. Do you appreciate the beauty of a photograph that makes you want to put that product in the shopping cart, or are you lulled into a buying frenzy by moving images or techno music? Or does a simple text only site make the most sense to your needs?

Ease of Use
Most of us want things to be easy, whether we’re driving to the supermarket and want to find the fastest way to get there, or shopping online. We would probably all consider the way a site loads in less than 30 seconds to be more acceptable than a site that takes far longer and rewards you with a red X where a photograph should be!

Easy navigation is like the street that runs from east to west, not dividing into a dead end or curving into another street name. Buttons that are clearly labeled as to what the page represents, for example, on my site I clearly mark which button is for soap and which is for the monthly specials page. So should your site be concisely marked so that the visitor is encouraged to stay and learn more about your products. If you’re selling shoes, have the easy to read button, tab or link read shoes, not hoofwear! Being cute is nice, but being accurate with your description will get you more hits/sales!

Contact Page
Who are you? Obviously you’re quite familiar with your face when you see it every morning, but to millions of online surfers, you’re just a domain name or an e-mail address. Regardless of the fact that you may only have a couple of pages to serve as your online business card or e-tail store, or thousands of pages, you must include your contact information on every page! Why? Because you want to be contacted, right? That’s why you’ve chosen to put your site up. You must include an e-mail address, but that’s only for starters. To gain a potential customer’s trust, show that you’re an established entity. No matter what your location, if you do business from the United States, France, China, Germany, etc. and want to ship/do business with folks in other countries, you need to include a physical street address. That way, those of you who don’t choose to pay via credit card, PayPal or eCheck, can send you a check or money order. This address can be a post office box, a street address does look more like you own a serious business.
Phone and fax numbers are also a necessity. Even if that is a cellphone, please try to include that for those people who may wish to call and ask you questions about your products or service.
By being accessible both online and offline you stand a much better chance to do more business than you would if you just remained an online mystery site!

That Page About You!
Don’t be shy about telling customers who you are and what you’re doing with such a nice online presence! This is where you sell the fact that you are an expert in your field and why you’re the one they should buy from. Facts and figures sell, so if you can prove that you won those awards or have sold that many units, or have been in business since the fax machine was invented, then put that on your page.

Add your picture, so that more than the person in the mirror can see it! Show close-ups of your products, your company, and your other employees. Ok, so maybe you’re a bit camera shy. Then share a few lines of personal information about a hobby that may tie into what your eCommerce site is about. Tell how your company began – perhaps it was from a hobby that is now your business. Give statistics, if that’s your way, but not too many so as to confuse a potential buyer. If possible, be funny, be witty, be cheerful. Perk up someone’s visit to your site so they’ll feel compelled to journey over to the shopping cart and add a few items. Or maybe they’re too busy for now, but they’ll bookmark it and return later.

Testimonials Sell
There are thousands of companies that sell soap and other bath & body products online. If you sell real estate, list your properties sold, if you repair shoes, have customers write their impressions on how quickly they were fixed, etc. What makes my site different than the others? Testimonials. Real, genuine, heartfelt testimonials from people who have bought and used the products. Include a person’s name and location and their quotes about a service well done or a product well received. In fact, add a few of your testimonials on your main page so they may end up on Google’s or Yahoo’s search engines as part of a description!

Lisa Maliga, writer & owner of Everything Shea Aromatic Creations [http://www.everythingshea.com] offers a fragrant selection of designer shea butter glycerin soaps, exclusive Whipped Shea Butter, & unique SoapCakes to personalize for gifts or promotions.

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