Is traffic really SO important?

[richdirtygirl]

I have been thinking about this for a while... (yes.. sometimes I think )

And popped now... because of Traffic drill... nice offer, got in to check it out.

What part of the efforts and resources of my business should I put into traffic?

Yesterday there were 2 threads about people with tons of traffic and no money...

Copywriters are paid their weight in gold to increase conversions... sometimes 1% makes a BIG difference...

So, is it ALWAYS traffic SO important?

This is what I found out so far: traffic is important when you have a BUSINESS in place. If I have a full sales funnel that works and a plan for those customers for, lets say, one year from now... then I get wild about traffic because I know it means money in my boot.

But go and look for traffic like desperate when you have nothing to sell or offer... well... it is like getting a nice boy/girl home and falling drunk in the bed... before even starting...

Your thoughts?

RDG

[Steven Wagenheim]

Yeah, getting traffic with nothing to offer is kind of like what you said.

Except I wouldn't know what that's like cause I've been married for over 24
years.

[Chris_Willow]

If you have traffic, your copy doesn't need to be that good as long as it converts at least 0.5%...
However if you have no traffic your conversions need to be a lot higher.
Traffic is good (as well as the getting drunk etc part)

[JohnMcCabe]

You are definitely on the right track.

It's kind of a 'the chicken or the egg' thing...

You need some targeted traffic so you have something to convert.

Then you need to work on conversions.

Then you look for more traffic.

Back to work on conversions.

And so it goes...

You keep testing traffic sources and offers and copy, until you can profitably pay more for a visitor than your competitors. When you reach that point, you can own your market.

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Yeah, getting traffic with nothing to offer is kind of like what you said.

Except I wouldn't know what that's like cause I've been married for over 24
years.

Ahh... Steven. That's a wise decision... men are way more productive and healthier that way...

Didn't you notice that most of divorces come from women?

Hum... if she stayed with you so long... you must be something.

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Chris_Willow

If you have traffic, your copy doesn't need to be that good as long as it converts at least 0.5%...
However if you have no traffic your conversions need to be a lot higher.
Traffic is good (as well as the getting drunk etc part)

Yes, dear, traffic is HOT.

But how much of your resources you put in bringing traffic in each stage IS the key thing here...

RDG

[write-stuff]

I'm going to wager that you need all three: (1) traffic, (2) a good product, and (3) a good promotion.

Any one of the three can be increased to improve sales. And a deficiency in one or more will obviously have the opposite effect.

- Russ

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

You are definitely on the right track.

It's kind of a 'the chicken or the egg' thing...

You need some targeted traffic so you have something to convert.

Then you need to work on conversions.

Then you look for more traffic.

Back to work on conversions.

And so it goes...

You keep testing traffic sources and offers and copy, until you can profitably pay more for a visitor than your competitors. When you reach that point, you can own your market.

Hum... NICE! we are getting a long way here John...

It is like you start slowly come and go and gain speed on the go... Now we are talking...

One of the things here is: you need a plan, at least a plan, about how you are going to make the money get to your boot before getting all wild about traffic. Or am I a natural blond? (yes, I am)

RDG

[Neil Morgan]

The cycle thing is a good description of it.

Get traffic
Tweak for better conversion (or increased visitor value)
Get more traffic
Tweak for better conversion (or increased visitor value)
Rinse and repeat

What I wanted to add is that it gets easier and more predictable the more traffic you have, because you can see quicker and more clearly what effect your tweaks are having.

It's also worth saying that all traffic is not made equal. I'd rather have 1 highly targeted visitor than 100 passers-by.

Cheers,

Neil

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by write-stuff

I'm going to wager that you need all three: (1) traffic, (2) a good product, and (3) a good promotion.

Any one of the three can be increased to improve sales. And a deficiency in one or more will obviously have the opposite effect.

- Russ

Russ, honey, you lost me here:
traffic and promotion are similar for me... where do you put the difference and why they are both so important?

Sorry... you know... I'm just a girl...

RDG

[Paul Ashbrook]

One thing that I learnt from Ken Evoy at SBI several years ago was: get the traffic first, and only then put in place your monetisation.

If you've got a regular, predictable supply of free traffic, then you have all sorts of options open to you. You could make your own product, run affiliate programs, adsense etc.

[Dana_W]

Originally Posted by Neil Morgan

The cycle thing is a good description of it.

Get traffic
Tweak for better conversion (or increased visitor value)
Get more traffic
Tweak for better conversion (or increased visitor value)
Rinse and repeat

What I wanted to add is that it gets easier and more predictable the more traffic you have, because you can see quicker and more clearly what effect your tweaks are having.

It's also worth saying that all traffic is not made equal. I'd rather have 1 highly targeted visitor than 100 passers-by.

Cheers,

Neil

Very true. For instance Social media traffic - and this may sound ironic coming from me, the queen of Twitter - really does not convert that well for a lot of things. If you get a bunch of people from Digg or Stumbleupon to your sales page or affiliate site or MFA site...you've brought in the wrong crowd. They aren't going to buy anything. And they will probably be annoyed that you even sent them there, and will not trust anything else that you recommend.

I'd have to agree that traffic alone isn't the answer - although if you have a killer site and traffic you're in like Flynn. Whoever Flynn is.

[dvduval]

Traffic can be helpful to get you started (but buying it usually does not work). The best traffic comes from well placed links on other high traffic sites. And remember traffic is no substitute that building quality relationships with your customers.

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by dvduval

(but buying it usually does not work).

You cannot be serious???... have you ever heard of Pay Per Click?....

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Neil Morgan

The cycle thing is a good description of it.

Get traffic
Tweak for better conversion (or increased visitor value)
Get more traffic
Tweak for better conversion (or increased visitor value)
Rinse and repeat

What I wanted to add is that it gets easier and more predictable the more traffic you have, because you can see quicker and more clearly what effect your tweaks are having.

It's also worth saying that all traffic is not made equal. I'd rather have 1 highly targeted visitor than 100 passers-by.

Cheers,

Neil

Woww Neil... loved it!!

We are getting closer to a plan...

If I get my agenda and need to do a todo list about a new business, long term... it would go something like this...

find profitable subniche: traffic available, money available and competition
learn about the customer
model a product
check others doing the same
find a unique view
setup a squeeze
Traffic via adwords to the squeeze
check response with competition offers as affiliate

if it worth it:
get to know my list while developing a cheap product (about a month?)
setup a second website with teh product
check it with my list
is works as expected...

press more in adwords
start web 2.0 adn blog campaigns...

.....

My todo goes more detailed and goes at least a year in the future before calling the first outsourcer... BUT

how many have a business plan before start using resources (time, money, whatever...)?

can be this part of the reason some don't really get there? because they don't know where they are going?

Shhhhhhhhhhh too much for me... better go and grab some strawberries...

RDG

[Kay King]

Didn't you notice that most of divorces come from women?

Actually, only about 50% of divorced people are women....

You want to increase traffic consistently - but you don't spend a lot on traffic until you have a good offer that converts. Once you have a great offer, a good site and product, traffic and tweaking for conversions is the end game.

As others said, it's a process but targeted traffic drives the process for the long term. That means smart marketers consistently use every means possible to bring in more traffic - not just the one or two methods that are currently getting the most buzz.

kay

[Lance K]

Once you get your offer converting at a good rate, the transaction side is pretty much automated. I'd say spend 20%-30% of your time testing ways to improve conversions and come up with other automated back-end products/services. Spend the other 70%-80% driving traffic.

Once you have an offer that converts, YES traffic IS THAT important.

I'd go so far as to say that if you have the traffic first, you can almost always come up with a way to monetize it. But the best product/service in the world will die a rapid death without traffic.

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by richdirtygirl

can be this part of the reason some don't really get there? because they don't know where they are going?

Yep.. without a structured business plan, all you have is a randomly collected hub of ideas that may or may not make you some cash.. for a solid income and a business built on solid foundation, you need a drawn up business plan..

And also you need to follow me back on Twitter

Peace

Jay

[MaskedMarketer]

Originally Posted by richdirtygirl

how many have a business plan before start using resources (time, money, whatever...)?

can be this part of the reason some don't really get there? because they don't know where they are going?

RDG

Dirtygirl,

There are only a couple ways to increase revenue with your business.

1- More traffic or more people to see your offer

If you have 10k visitors a month and you double your targeted traffic you can essentially double your sales. This equals more money in your pocket.


2- Better conversions with a higher average sale price

How do you get better conversions? Have a more influential website? Build a better relationship with prospect?

How do you get a higher average sale price? Raise prices and/ or create a a backend.

If these are the only 2 ways to increase revenue to your business, why would you spend your time on anything else less important? If you can outsource the work, do that.

The problem why a lot of people fail is because they are not really entrepreneurs. A lot of people have the lottery mentality and don't have a concrete business plan to focus on.

You do not NEED a business plan, but this type of thinking can be one reason why a lot of people fail.

Create your business plan. See that the niche is worthwhile. Create your identity, brand in the market, have a USP and competitive advantage.

You should do well.

[Neil Morgan]

Lance

Once you get your offer converting at a good rate, the transaction side is pretty much automated. I'd say spend 20%-30% of your time testing ways to improve conversions and come up with other automated back-end products/services. Spend the other 70%-80% driving traffic.

Apart from maybe the percentages themselves, this is EXACTLY what I do, particularly in relation to the automation of back-end sales.

One consequence of adding back end sales (cross-sales) at different prices etc, is that the water becomes a little more muddy - a conversion per se doesn't mean anything when you have different priced products on the backend.

And if you add upsells to your main product, again, conversion rate becomes a less relevant measure because your customers are spending different amounts.

So, back to my old mantra...

...focus on visitor value instead of conversions where you're measuring the value of visitors to your site, who may buy any of your products with upsells or may be existing customers who come back for cross-sells.

Bottom line is, it doesn't really matter what they're buying - as long as they're spending money. If you know how much they're spending per visitor you can monitor how this changes as you tweak your site or pricing or add more upsells and cross-sells.

Cheers,

Neil

[MaskedMarketer]

Originally Posted by Lance K

I'd go so far as to say that if you have the traffic first, you can almost always come up with a way to monetize it. But the best product/service in the world will die a rapid death without traffic.

Yeah, traffic is like a life or death decision in a business.

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by meterman

One thing that I learnt from Ken Evoy at SBI several years ago was: get the traffic first, and only then put in place your monetisation.

If you've got a regular, predictable supply of free traffic, then you have all sorts of options open to you. You could make your own product, run affiliate programs, adsense etc.

Sorry hun... I don't know Ken, he must be something...

When he said that, he was talking about a new business in a new niche or about an idea inside a niche he already managed?

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Dana_W

Very true. For instance Social media traffic - and this may sound ironic coming from me, the queen of Twitter - really does not convert that well for a lot of things. If you get a bunch of people from Digg or Stumbleupon to your sales page or affiliate site or MFA site...you've brought in the wrong crowd. They aren't going to buy anything. And they will probably be annoyed that you even sent them there, and will not trust anything else that you recommend.

I'd have to agree that traffic alone isn't the answer - although if you have a killer site and traffic you're in like Flynn. Whoever Flynn is.

Mmmm that's a fun concept...

So you need to add to your plan which 2.0 use and how... to get the right message to the right person in the right moment... and get buyers.

Off Topic... I can't send you direct message in twitter... thank for teh comment about the avatar. it's cute, isn't it?

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Kay King

Actually, only about 50% of divorced people are women....

LOLOLOLOL wait until I get you...

I said "come from women", meaning "started by women" ...

Originally Posted by Kay King

You want to increase traffic consistently - but you don't spend a lot on traffic until you have a good offer that converts. Once you have a great offer, a good site and product, traffic and tweaking for conversions is the end game.

As others said, it's a process but targeted traffic drives the process for the long term. That means smart marketers consistently use every means possible to bring in more traffic - not just the one or two methods that are currently getting the most buzz.

kay

Now we have a consistent plan... LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Lance K

Once you get your offer converting at a good rate, the transaction side is pretty much automated. I'd say spend 20%-30% of your time testing ways to improve conversions and come up with other automated back-end products/services. Spend the other 70%-80% driving traffic.

Once you have an offer that converts, YES traffic IS THAT important.

I'd go so far as to say that if you have the traffic first, you can almost always come up with a way to monetize it. But the best product/service in the world will die a rapid death without traffic.

Nice!!!!! This is the situation I had in mind when started this thread...

I am starting out, receiving info from everywhere, they all tell me traffic is THAT important... I have an idea, don't think further, set it up and drive traffic... and then I have kind of a dead business because never cared to see if i had a business at all...

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

And also you need to follow me back on Twitter

Jay

I am following you back, honey... you are too cute to leave you out.

Twitter is pmsing... I can't send out some messages to people i know is following me, and some had problems to get to me... and that's is to say something...

RDG

[Paul Ashbrook]

Originally Posted by richdirtygirl

When he said that, he was talking about a new business in a new niche or about an idea inside a niche he already managed?

RDG

It could work for either. I used his system to build a website around an offline business that my wife owns. It does work as a traffic building sysytem. But you have to be patient and persistent. You can get details by googling Sitesell (name of his company).

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by meterman

It could work for either. I used his system to build a website around an offline business that my wife owns. It does work as a traffic building sysytem. But you have to be patient and persistent. You can get details by googling Sitesell (name of his company).

Ahh... so you already HAD a business... that makes a big difference...

I know Sitesell! of course! It is very cool.

RDG

[Neil Morgan]

One of the first ebooks I read all those years ago was was Ken's Make Your Site Sell.

It was 500 pages of super content for $20 or some such.

I still use his concept of MWR (Most Wanted Response) in everything I do today.

Cheers,

Neil

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by MaskedMarketer

You should do well.

Ohh... I DO...

RDG

[MaskedMarketer]

Originally Posted by richdirtygirl

Ohh... I DO...

RDG

You can always do better and improve

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Neil Morgan

Lance

Apart from maybe the percentages themselves, this is EXACTLY what I do, particularly in relation to the automation of back-end sales.

One consequence of adding back end sales (cross-sales) at different prices etc, is that the water becomes a little more muddy - a conversion per se doesn't mean anything when you have different priced products on the backend.

And if you add upsells to your main product, again, conversion rate becomes a less relevant measure because your customers are spending different amounts.

Are you tracking the visitor buying history?

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by MaskedMarketer

You can always do better and improve

You BET!

RDG

[Neil Morgan]

RDG

Are you tracking the visitor buying history?

If you mean in relation to offering additional products and services, then yes.

Existing customer see different offers, depending not only what they bought, but also when.

Cheers,

Neil

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Neil Morgan

One of the first ebooks I read all those years ago was was Ken's Make Your Site Sell.

It was 500 pages of super content for $20 or some such.

I still use his concept of MWR (Most Wanted Response) in everything I do today.

Cheers,

Neil

Thanks!

RDG

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Neil Morgan

RDG

If you mean in relation to offering additional products and services, then yes.

Existing customer see different offers, depending not only what they bought, but also when.

Cheers,

Neil

Woww that's high tech!

I was thinking more on an accounting system like the one i have for my videos, etc... At any point I can get the info of all videos bought by a person and when, also if he is part of any of the membership sites and if he bought some friends' videos via affiliate... Then we can send some cards with perfume and have one of the girls call with additional offers.

I guess it is pretty much the same... yours sound cooler...

RDG

[Ross Dalangin]

Yes, traffic is the key to have sales. No questions about that. It's like having a business without a client.

Another example is you have a website and the one know that you have a site is only you!

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Ross Dalangin

Yes, traffic is the key to have sales. No questions about that. It's like having a business without a client.

Another example is you have a website and the one know that you have a site is only you!

Yes, honey,

once you have a business it is THAT important... we were talking about having traffic BEFORE a business...

Can you imagine? calling in some girls to your party and forget you live in mom's home? one bedroom apartment... you have a nice couch in the living room where she is watching her favorite soap opera...

RDG

[Danielle_B]

Not to hijack the thread at all, cuz I'm learning from it as well, but can someone take a minute to explain what back-end offers/sales/products are?

I get the main product and the upselling....I just haven't figured out the back end stuff you reference.


Thanks!

~D, the temporary interruption from your main program person....

[Neil Morgan]

Danielle

Upsell - increasing the value of a sale.

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Would you like to go large?"

Cross-sell - selling related products to existing customers

Training manuals
Support plans
Complementary products

Like in Amazon's "recommend products" system.

"You bought product A, we though you would also like product B"

Cheers,

Neil

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Danielle_B

Not to hijack the thread at all, cuz I'm learning from it as well, but can someone take a minute to explain what back-end offers/sales/products are?

I get the main product and the upselling....I just haven't figured out the back end stuff you reference.


Thanks!

~D, the temporary interruption from your main program person....

Keep hijacking girl!

This is a great question!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Neil... you a sun! chuick!

RDG

[Danielle_B]

Originally Posted by Neil Morgan

Danielle

Upsell - increasing the value of a sale.

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Would you like to go large?"

Cross-sell - selling related products to existing customers

Training manuals
Support plans
Complementary products

Like in Amazon's "recommend products" system.

"You bought product A, we though you would also like product B"

Cheers,

Neil

So the "recommended products" is the equivalent of a back end sale?

I used to work for a huge company based out of New Orleans that some of you drunken all night party ppl might know, called Fat Tuesday's. It's a frozen daiquiri chain...anyway, we had to teach our bartenders how to upsell the daiquiris out of their standard free cups into Squeeze bottles or why they needed T-shirts, etc. I get that part. I just wasn't sure what the back end sale was.

If I understand you properly Neil the back-end sale encompasses any other sale technique that isn't the main product, right?


~D.

[Neil Morgan]

If I understand you properly Neil the back-end sale encompasses any other sale technique that isn't the main product, right?

Yes, and sold later, not at the same time as the main product. Meaning a point-of-sale upsell isn't a backend sale.

Cheers,

Neil

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by BuddyT

Although given the online persona RDG has chosen, she might have a different concept of "back end".

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

I keep both concepts in mind... you can count on that...

RDG

[Danielle_B]

LOL....as the girl who started the "Naked..." threads, this made me giggle.

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by richdirtygirl

I am following you back, honey... you are too cute to leave you out.

Twitter is pmsing... I can't send out some messages to people i know is following me, and some had problems to get to me... and that's is to say something...

RDG

you know that....

[Adam Carn]

Rich Dirty Girl (daydreams) Now what was the question?

[richdirtygirl]

Originally Posted by Adam Carn

Rich Dirty Girl (daydreams)

YOUR day dream? chick!

Originally Posted by Adam Carn

Now what was the question?

the question was: Is traffic really SO important?

RDG

[Terry Ma]

Simply put, no sales, nothing move.

But no traffic, nothing sells.

[Adam Carn]

Originally Posted by richdirtygirl

the question was: Is traffic really SO important?

RDG

Hmm I'm sure you cause traffic jams.