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Psychological Tricks You Can Use On Your Website (Part 3)

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So, we have reached the last part of the different psychological tricks you can apply on your online business. If you want to review on the previous two blog posts, you can click here to go to the 1st part, or visit this link to read the 2nd part.

These concepts are not my own and this is inspired by the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Without further adieu,  below are the last 3 psychological tricks you can apply on your website to generate more traffic and gain more customers:

  • Price

  • Nowadays, it’s tough to convince potential buyers. They don’t purchase an item just because it’s the cheapest.  Now, customers after their money’s worth. They look for the best deal available online before deciding where to buy.
  • The classic example of using the “$19.99” tag is a very effective pricing strategy.  This tactic convinces buyers that an item is only $19 even though it’s practically $20. It manipulates customers that they are saving a lot, but the truth is that there’s not much price difference to be honest.
Price tag barcode

reading the price tag.

  • Right Timing

  • Amazon is able to perfect this strategy. For example, when you add a book to your cart, Amazon gives you other book recommendations. Once you are ready to check out, it will inform you that customers who purchased the book also bought these items.
  • Similarly, if you are selling action cameras, why not offer a extended warranty plan when they reviewing their cart. Perhaps, you can also offer camera accessories or micro SD cards for video storage.
  • Do not offer these extras if they are still pondering on what digital camera to buy. Some cameras are compact while some have waterproof features. It’s totally unnecessary to overwhelm customers with accessories at this point.
  • Once they have purchased an item, you can send a “thank you” email and include a list of compatible accessories for their chosen device.

  • Colors

  • Online shopping is mastering the art of persuasion and one way to persuade people is through the psychology of colors. Just by the appearance or color of your website’s CTA buttons, it could help you increase conversion rates. Thus, it could lead to more sales.
  • Color remains to be the strongest visual hint for online shoppers. In a one survey, 93% of consumers considered to buy an item because of its appearance alone. The remaining 7% is because of the item’s texture and smell.
  • Additionally, 85% of consumers admitted that they purchased a product because of its color. It’s no doubt that color influences brand recognition. Other factors aside from color, include: design, convenience, and the power of words.
  • To give you a more concrete example, the color red and orange can uplift your website and give a hint of electrifying and energetic vibe. Blue is a good color for weight loss. So, if you are selling food, avoid the color blue. Did you notice that the leading fast-food chains are never use blue? They’re usually red, orange, or yellow.
  • Blue, however, calms the mind and encourages trust. So, it’s ideal for services like banks, high tech products, and more. If you want to know more about colors, you can learn more about it here. If you need color scheme tools, this post will help you. Lastly, if you need tips in choosing the right color scheme, this article is for you!

There you have it! That wraps up the blog posts about the different psychological tricks. So, what have we learned? Understanding your customers is crucial in creating a persuasive website and compelling UX experience. Apply these tips when designing a new web page or when you are devising a new marketing plan.

Psychological Tricks You Can Use On Your Website (Part 2)

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Welcome to the 2nd part of the series. If you have missed the first batch, you can catch up here. I will still discuss how psychology helps in promoting your website. The concepts discussed on this post can found in a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

Knowing what encourages web visitors to click CTA buttons will help you design a website that fosters a persuasive user experience. In the end, these strategies will benefit both your business and your customers. Here are 3 ways to help you gain more web visitors:

  • Personalize

  • Customers tend to mistrust companies that are clearly after sales and profits. With that being said, do not focus too much on the business side of things. Connect with your audience and interact with them.
  • Nurture trusting relationships by genuinely caring for your audience. When they see how much you care, they will trust you. You are not some faceless website, but you are now a dear friend.
  • Before you blurt out words and send out emails, ask yourself first, “Is this something I would say in real life?” Read your blog posts, email messages, and status updates. Check if it sounds too scripted. If you can’t imagine saying it to another person, then, don’t include it.
  • Stop following a certain structure because this is you and you have your own personality. Frankly, you don’t have to follow or imitate a website just because they are popular. You have to show the unique you and don’t think too much about what others might say.
  • Remember the famous Latin proverb, “Fortune favors the bold.” When you restrict yourself and follow a generic path, it will never work. The cookie-cutter messages are boring and unconvincing. Add your personal touch by including actual expressions. Tailoring online posts and website content make you sound more human.
  • Who doesn’t like special treatment? So, add their names once you want to send a marketing email instead of writing a generic “Hello,” or “Good day!” Experiment with your available resources and you really don’t have to speak formally at all times. Showing your own charm and sassiness makes you less robotic.
Friends posing for a photo

Choose to be a caring friend and not some faceless business entity.

  • Authority

  • If a famous celebrity or renowned expert leaves a positive review, feature it on your website. Businesses nowadays share reviews of people, whether celebrity or not, on social media.  These reviews on Facebook or Twitter are effective because they are shared by actual people. To be honest, no amount of well-crafted sales talk can compare.
  • Never underestimate the power of a positive review. These seemingly unimportant people are actually important. The reviews help the undecided to give your products a try, and to trust the quality of what you are selling.
  • So, highlight those enthusiastic and ecstatic reviews and reply by saying thanks because it reflects your success and boosts your trustworthiness.

  • Limited-Time Offers

  • When a certain product is only available for a short period of time, people tend to rave about it. The demand increases because in people’s minds, they feel that they should not miss out on this exclusive offer.
  • It’s an effective marketing strategy because people are afraid of missing out of what others are doing. There’s always a desire to be updated and be in the know with all these rewarding deals online.
  • Thus, web visitors will always take action if they know that a sale ends in 72 hours. There’s a sense of urgency that will surely encourage them to participate.

Psychological Tricks You Can Use On Your Website (Part 1)

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In this article, I will discuss how psychology affects consumer behavior. Marketing and psychology go hand in hand in promoting an online business. The concepts discussed on this post are inspired by Robert B. Cialdini‘s book entitled, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

You can understand more competently the concepts of a successful business strategy or the makings of a lucrative marketing campaign by studying consumer behavior. Thus, how you design your website can greatly influence more conversion and increase web traffic.

This will be a 3-part series of blog posts. Below are the first 3 ways to entice your website visitors and increase conversion:

  • Barter

  • The first step is to get their email addresses in exchange for FREE items. Once you obtain their email add, you can now introduce them your products. Market your products in subtly and offer them freebies like an FREE ebook or an 20-day premium to your softwares.
  • In this way, these potential customers will feel obliged to listen to you because you gave them a free item. Now, they will more likely read your emails and view your blog posts. When the time comes they will finally your product and buy it,  they will ultimately choose you more than any website out there, who never really gave them freebies.
  • The concept of reciprocity is the perfect example of Newton’s third law of motion. For every action you give to your audience, there’s always an equal or opposite reaction from them. You website will get more visitors once you give something first.
  • This system of barter has been proven to generate positive results. Anywhere on the internet, you are always asked for your email before you can access a website. You need to sign up first to fully access shopping websites like Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and Walmart.
  • Web visitors will always ask the question, “What will I get from this?” If you selling a product, try offering a FREE shipping voucher. If you are selling VPN tools, consider educating people about virtual private networks.
Buying fruits in exchange of money

A typical example of barter: exchanging money for certain goods.

  • Commitment

  • One way to strengthen brand loyalty is to create a sense of commitment or pledge. If people follow your website, or if they follow you on social media, they insert themselves in your world. They have now publicly showed their support.
  • They can now easily know what you’re doing and keep up with the latest updates. Humans are known to oblige. So, once you give them exclusive offers for following you, they will also remain consistent to your brand.  They will promote and defend your product.

  • Influence

  • This is related to the 2nd item. One follower can indirectly recommend your products to their friends. You are more likely to have another website follower if you inform them that their friend is also registered on this website.
  • One notable website that uses this strategy is Facebook. The different product pages on Facebook are promoted in such a way that you are told that your friend likes this page. Perhaps, you may wish to give it a “like” too!
  • Influence is a used by, not only Facebook, but also different social media websites. These websites know the power of peer pressure and they know that it’s hard to say no to a friend’s recommendation. We have to admit that when a friend raves about a product on social media, it is notably convincing.

Why Free Shipping Matters and How You Can Offer It On Your Website

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It’s NO secret that a FREE SHIPPING offer helps greatly in converting website viewers to customers. According to Comscore’s webinar on February 11, 2010, the resource speaker Gian Fulgoni mentioned that 75% of the online shoppers asked answered that they would switch to another online retailer if shipping was not free during the checkout process.

In a 2008 survey conducted by Forrester Research, online retailers noticed that their web department became larger by 18%. However, 40% of the customers surveyed expressed that they were shocked at the shipping costs. Thus, carts were abandoned upon checkout. Sadly, many orders did not push through.

Two Brown Boxes

The Many Ways to Offer FREE Shipping

The Free Shipping Tactic

In order to generate more sales, several online retailers decided to add FREE SHIPPING as one of their selling strategies. Rather than shopping at Amazon, where shipping rates are calculated per item, customers now prefer websites like Wordery and Book Depository. These businesses make use of the “free worldwide shipping” marketing. How can people say NO to that?

The trend continues to increase and many businesses follow the same suite. There are a variety of ways to offer the FREE SHIPPING strategy:

  • Free Shipping Will Be Available Once You Reach the Minimum.

    • Amazon may not offer free worldwide shipping. However, they utilize this shipping strategy. They only provide free shipping for orders above a certain amount. When you order over $25, you are entitled to a free shipping option upon checkout. The package will be delivered to any U.S. state within 5-8 business days.

  • Flat-Rate Shipping Strategy.

    • Another popular marketing strategy is the flat-rate shipping. This option is cheaper than weight-based shipping especially if the items are quite heavy. The United States Postal Service offers a Priority Mail program to any U.S. destination. With its flat-rate shipping option, the shipping cost is uniform for all packages as long as it is not beyond the 70 lbs. maximum weight.

  • Free Shipping Only Applies to Selected Products.

    • Offering free shipping when you are selling a bundle is ideal. It encourages customers to try out the product bundle. Instead of just buying a piece, you are enticing them to get a bundle + FREE SHIPPING. For example, you can offer a jewelry set that includes a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet. Group products that complement each other and offer them as a bundle to take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING offer.

  • Limited-Time Offers During the Holidays.

    • Limited-time offers are effective marketing tools in order to cross-sell other items. It’s a terrific way to subtly tell customers to check out other products. Amazon is great at putting together related items. They will show you their “customers who bought this item also bought” list. So, you will end up adding more items to your cart in order to stock up for the holidays.
    • This is also an effective strategy to sell the remainder stocks in your inventory. It’s the perfect move to remind people that this is their last chance to buy multiple quantities. For example, you can offer a buy 5, get 1 promotion.

In conclusion, there are many faces to the FREE SHIPPING marketing strategy. These are only some of the popular options. If you want to know more on Amazon marketing strategies, I’ve posted about it here. In designing a website, it’s also important to take note of these consumer behaviors. You need to study how marketing strategies like FREE SHIPPING affect eCommerce and how it can help your improve your online store.

3 Marketing Strategies You Can Learn from Amazon

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Woman Shopping on Her Phone

What can we learn from an eCommerce mammoth like Amazon?

Amazon made public that the company had an income of $60.5 billion for the last quarter of 2017. These enormous numbers are proof that people all over the world go big during the Christmas holidays. Indeed, Amazon is a major player when it comes to holiday sales. So, what can we learn from their strategies in selling a variety of items? I’ve listed a few of their techniques that you can apply when designing your own online shop:

  • Amazon is known to be the best in upselling.

    • So, let’s define upselling first. It is a way for the seller to convince the buyer in spending more money on other products that enrich or improve the main product, which he/she is already purchasing.
    • Upselling is common in fast-food chains when they ask you if you would like some fries with the burger you ordered. Now, upselling is used by a variety of online retailers.
    • Upselling works no matter what industry you belong to. There are countless of ways to upsell. In fact, in the travel industry alone, a survey revealed that 48% of the passengers and 59% of the hotel guests expressed their interest in upgrading and adding supplementary services to their current package.

  • Next is the Amazon’s ability to cross-sell.

    • Cross-selling happens when you suggest related items that complete their existing purchase. These recommended items may be from another vendor and not from your own product line.
    • For example, when you search for a dash cam on Amazon, one of the choices is the APEMAN Dash Cam 1080P Car Recorder. Amazon, then, reminds their customers to buy it with the SanDisk 32GB Memory Card and the Dash Cam Mirror Mount.
    • Since your customers are already buying something, you can use this as an opportunity to sell them more items. Thus, more profit for you! Did you know that in 2006 Amazon gained nearly 35% of its income all because of cross-selling and recommending related items?
    • If you’re buying a car with a monthly payments of $679, adding another $32.79 a month for a complete car care kit does not feel so heavy on the budget. As you can see, it’s not only the online retailers that utilize this strategy. Even the service providers apply cross-selling!

  • Amazon also applies the pre-sell strategy.

    • This means that Amazon is encouraging customers to buy in bundles. Customers will get their items at a reduced price if they add multiple products in their cart. Also, if their total reaches a specific amount (over $25), the shipping cost will be removed as long as the items will be delivered to the same mailing address.
    • This strategy will encourage people to buy more even if they’re not interested in the suggested items. People think they might need someday in the future.

What can we learn about these 3 strategies that Amazon perfectly mastered?

Consumers are after getting a good deal. People feel good when they think they saved a lot of money from taking advantage of the many holiday sales available online. In order to generate more sales for your website, you need to study human behavior. Amazon has proved to have mastered these strategies. If you are an online retailer, it would be a shame if you wouldn’t put these marketing strategies into good use. When designing a website, it’s crucial to applies these helpful strategies.

Three Uncertainties of Affiliate Marketing and How to AvertThem

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Brown Framed Eyeglasses

What is affiliate marketing? Who are the affiliates? Do  you plan to add an affiliate program on your website? This article will focus on the 3 main reasons why investing on an affiliate marketing is not necessarily profitable for your website. If an online business is unaware of its many layers, the affiliate system may risk damaging the brand.

Your affiliates is considered your brand’s marketing partner. They can either be bloggers, reviewers, YouTubers, influencers, celebrities, or even an average person. As affiliates, they are tasked to promote your products and services. If they are popular online, these people can drive in sales your website. However, there are affiliates who do not.

Be careful of these kinds of affiliates:

  • Underperforming Affiliates.

    An affiliate is bringing in a new customer to your website. However, there are affiliates that are benefitting from the efforts of other affiliates. These certain affiliates capture customers who about to buy a product from your website. When the customer completes there purchase, these affiliates get the incentive. They did not do much but they get the reward. Meanwhile, the other affiliate legitimately endorses and markets your products to people via their blog, social media accounts, review channels, and more.
    Thus, you get to pay these underperforming affiliates huge commissions than the ones actually doing their jobs. To prevent these kinds of no-work affiliates, you must evaluate thoroughly the results of your affiliate marketing. Examine each affiliate’s technique in promoting your products. Constantly study the methods so the system doesn’t reward this behavior. This reason alone makes you want just scrap any plans of affiliate marketing because it does require you a lot of time to dig and study how each recruit found your website.

  • Dishonest Affiliates.

    These unethical affiliates should not be confused with the kind of affiliates listed above. These bad apples are worse than the underperforming affiliates. They know what they are doing is illegal yet they still continue to engage in deceptive activities just to collect monetary incentives.
    Dr. Mehmet Oz shared his personal experience in a Huffington Post article. He stated that some online marketers used his name and credentials to promote products. It got to a point that his own brand was at risk. He did not endorse these products that unethical affiliates claim. To stop the issue, Dr. Mehmet Oz used his own TV show and inform the public that they are being deceived by these shady marketers. He even hired investigators to find out who these online marketers are.Sadly, some companies know about this unethical marketing strategies, but they just refuse to face the issue head because it generates revenue. There are companies that are totally clueless of their affiliates shady methods. Either way, these affiliates will definitely put the company in a bad light. You wouldn’t want to work with people like that in your own business. To avoid these illegal affiliates, you would have to screen each of your affiliates carefully, train them on how to represent your brand, and constantly monitor their marketing activities once they part of your company.

  • Disorderly incentives.

    Even though affiliate marketing has evolved, misaligned incentives still exist today. Fortunately, there are companies who are carefully their partners. They cut ties with affiliates who are not representing the brand with integrity and who accept kickbacks. This action will definitely help the affiliate program reach a better place.

At the end of the day, it is still up to you if you wish to invest in affiliate marketing. This type of marketing method does not provide equal opportunities and it can easily get derailed if not managed correctly. Websites nowadays opt to choose email marketing instead.

How to Effectively Use Twitter to Promote Your Website

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Tuned on Gray Laptop Computer

If most of your audience aren’t on Facebook and Instagram and you get more inquiries on Twitter, focus on getting more content out through Twitter. It’s quite different from Facebook since Twitter is considered a microblogging site. Posts are limited to 280 characters only.

Here are ways to effectively use Twitter to your advantage:

  • Use Hashtags.

  • Twitter is one first social media platform to apply the use of hashtags. Now, it seems like every social media website followed the suit even the famous Facebook! Users can look up a particular hashtag and engage with the accounts and tweets related to it. The top hashtags of the day are reflected on the home screen. You can click on the hashtags and chat with other users!

  • Tweet, tweet, and tweet.

    A tweet’s lifespan is only around 18 minutes long. If a message does not get retweeted or shared, try again. Reword each message and tweet again the content. Create tweets of the same content at least 3 times and schedule them at 3 different times also.

  • Use Twitter’s Advertise feature.

    Another way to promote is to explore the advertising function. Basing from Twitter’s business page, you have an option to promote a trend, an account, or a tweet. If you choose trend, you will be promoting a hashtag. If you are promoting an account, make sure your account details are provided. Don’t forget to add a link to your website! Promoted Trends, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Tweets. No matter which you choose, Twitter includes a Promoted icon so users know the difference.

  • Reach out to Influencers.

    On your journey, I’m sure you have people who you look up to and brands you trust. If you mention them in a blog post, share it on Twitter and mention them. It might a hit or miss, but it won’t hurt if you try. Some may choose to share your post to their followers. Thus, your post will reach new audiences!

  • Use the Right Keywords.

    Like hashtags, the use of keywords is also important. If there’s a Twitter ad campaign, they usually target accounts that uses certain keywords on their latest tweets or search queries.

  • Join Twitter Chats.

    Twitter is a microblogging website and you might wonder, “How do people chat with limited characters?” The chats are more of like an online gathering. All the participants use the same hashtag during the entire duration of the chat. Questions and answers should include the hashtag so people can easily scan through previous responses. Twitter chats are great if you want to share ideas, connect with your followers, and discuss among the group certain topics.

  • Tweets Should Be 120-130 Characters Long.

    Twitter now supports up to 280 characters, but it does not mean you have to compose message that long. Tweets that have a higher click-throughs are the shorter tweets. So, keep ’em around 120 characters.

  • Mention People.

    Interact with people especially those who reply to your posts. A simply thank you would be appreciated by them. If they ask a question, answer them. It’s a great way to ask/answer without having to compose an email. Most companies provide customer support on Twitter and they are just one tweet away. Users get immediate response about their concerns.

  • Tweet when Your Followers are Online.

    Make sure your audiences are awake to see your tweets. You will have more followers that will retweet your posts.

  • Schedule Your Posts.

    This is related to the tip above. If you realize that most of your followers are online late at night, you don’t have to stay up all night to share your content. You can schedule tweets ahead of time using Tweetdeck. Schedule the same content at 3 different times and dates.

  • Add a “Click to Tweet” Button.

    Once you know that most of your website visitors are from Twitter or are using Twitter, make it easier for them to share your blog posts by adding a Twitter button. They will just have to click the button and then, they will be redirected to Twitter to send their tweet.

  • Share Your Reaction.

    Twitter is not a place for automated messages. People there add a personal touch. You should also share your personal reactions to popular posts. You could also appreciation posts from time to time. Give a shout out to your loyal followers!

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