Are you ready to boost your sales figures to the next level? If you're looking for the most effective way to gain new customers and encourage new sales, you can't overlook the importance of marketing. Getting the word out there about your products is vital; after all, people can't buy your digital good if they don't know it exists.
What Are the Options?
When it comes to marketing, you have two primary options: prepaid and profit sharing. While there are several different types of prepaid advertising from which you may see varying levels of success, profit sharing plans are generally built around affiliate marketing programs.
Free Vs. Paid
Purchasing banner ads on websites frequented by your target demographic, spending money to boost your signal on social media and working with advertising aggregate services all fall under the heading of prepaid advertising. Programs like Clickbank and affiliate networks operated by your ecommerce provider are profit sharing systems, which can help you to increase sales without requiring a substantial up-front investment.
You don't pay for affiliate marketing in advance. Instead, your affiliate is paid a small portion of the proceeds from each sale they generate. You don't have to make steep payments before sales start building, and you're not paying for ads which may or may not be effective. Your affiliate only gets paid when their efforts translate to a sale, so they have a vested interest in promoting your product effectively.
Where to Start
The first step to marketing your digital good should be, in most cases, signing up for any affiliate networks to which you have access. Ecommerce platform managed systems are a great starting point.
If you're planning to supplement affiliate marketing with prepaid options, it's time to do a bit of research. Think about your target audience, and places where they're more likely to encounter your ads. Don't overlook the importance of self-promotion, either, which doesn't have to cost you a dime and helps to boost visibility.
Friends and Family
Your organic reach is, essentially, the number of people you can reach on your own through grassroots efforts. These are the people in your immediate network, like family and friends, and the people in their immediate networks which would see your product marketing copy through shares on social media or hear about you through word of mouth. While your organic reach is finite, it's also powerful when you're just starting out. Encourage friends and family to share your social media updates, promote your brand and talk about your products. You may be surprised by how many sales come your way, simply because a friend-of-a-friend noticed a social media post.
Building a Following
A loyal following will marketing your products and encourage the people they know to make a purchase, simply because they believe in what you're doing. Few marketing schemes are as powerful or as effective as a group of satisfied customers. Make sure you're focusing not only on product quality, but also great customer service. The happier people are with your digital good and the service you provide, the more they'll talk the product up to the people they know.
Assignment:
Are you ready to start building your business? To get ready for your first marketing push, here are a few things to plan for and consider:
- Who is your target audience?
- Where are they most likely to hear about your digital good?
- How can you create a great customer service program that encourages people to spread the word about your product?
- Do you have access to an affiliate network through your ecommerce provider?
Start drafting a marketing plan today, building around these ideas. Remember, it's up to you to get your promotional efforts off to a strong start. Don't let valuable opportunities pass you by; find the options that work best for you, and start building a digital goods empire.