Last night, Chris Brogan shared a link on Twitter to Worldreader – a non-profit whose mission is to bring books to the developing world through e-readers. Right now, they’re conducting initial trials using the Kindle.
I LOVE this idea, and I wanted to make a donation (even if it was a small one) right on the spot. Unfortunately, after clicking around the website, I couldn’t find a way to donate.
Now, there might be a very good reason for this. (Like the fact that they don’t officially have 501(c)3 status in the US yet.) But the fact remains, I wanted to give them my money, and they didn’t make that possible.
Which got me thinking, do you make it easy for your customers to give you money?
Let’s say someone finds their way to your website, recognizes your brilliance, becomes a fan, and wants to give you their money right away. (And the amount of money is irrelevant. The most important part is that they want to give you some of their hard earned cash, NOW.) Are you making it easy for them?
For most of you reading this, giving you money probably means buying your product. So, let’s say this instant fan finds you via your blog. How many steps do they have to take to give you money?
Do they have to visit your website, only to be redirected to your Etsy shop, where they’ll need to register for an account just to order? Or what if they find a product on your portfolio page and click on the shop button to purchase, only to arrive at an “all products” page that requires them to search for that product again?
Ok, so maybe a committed fan will make it through all those steps. But what about someone who stumbles upon your work, likes it, and wants to make a purchase? How many of those people abandon the process somewhere in the middle?
Short of putting a giant button on every page that says, “give me money now,” (and if you’re running a non-profit, I would do this!) how can you make it easier for someone to give you money?
- Define your goals. What is the #1 thing you want people to do when they get to your website? If it’s “buy your products” (and if you’re running a business, that probably should be your #1 goal) then you need to make sure your shop takes center stage.
- Allow 1-click shopping. I don’t mean 1-click shopping like Amazon, where you only have to hit one button and your order is placed. (But boy, does Amazon make it easy for me to give them my money.) What I mean is, from any page where someone encounters your business, they should be able to get to your store in 1-click. This includes your website, blog, Facebook page, etc. Go back through each of these pages and see how many clicks it takes until you get to the products page of your store.
- Have someone else test the system. Sure, you might think your shopping cart system is easy to use. But is it really? Ask a friend or family member to purchase one of your products, and have them document all the parts that were confusing or unclear. (If you’re primary storefront is Etsy, ask someone who isn’t familiar with Etsy to make a purchase.) If there are parts that are confusing, you (or your web designer) should work on fixing them.
- Make sure you can ask them for money later. Occasionally someone will come to your site who isn’t interested in buying right away. (All right, this actually happens more than occasionally.) Then, it’s important that you have a way to keep in touch with that potential customer to ask for their money (I mean, let them know about new products) later. The best way to do this is to have a prominent email subscribe button. That way you can reach out to them. But links to your Twitter stream, Facebook fan page, and blog RSS feed are also important when it comes to keeping in touch.
If you’re looking for a way to boost sales, going through your website and making sure it’s easy for someone to give you money can make a big difference. The ease (or difficulty) of making a purchase may be the difference between a sale and someone never coming back.
Well said! I love your point about Etsy. Etsy makes it easy for so many to sell their products online but not easy for someone who doesn’t have an Etsy account to buy (or someone who doesn’t want to register for an account). I have tried 3 times to register on Etsy as a “buyer” but for some reason never get the email confirmation so I am unable to buy. How many other potential customers are lost because of this?
Thanks for this helpful reminder! My blog allows my customers to shop with full navigation of my online shop (not Etsy). I have been thinking my blog may need images in the side bars to show what I sell (if readers are new to my blog + shop). Etsy is very difficult for my type of shop because every item is customizable and the quantities available vary between 10 and 500. I wish Etsy allowed experienced web designers to take more control of how our shops function. This week I updated my online shop at http://www.timelesspaper.com to be more user friendly for checkout and product customization. I’m always looking for more suggestions for better form & function. Today I’m working on a more inviting email sign up page. Thanks again!
Oh, so true. You can’t make people work too hard to buy your stuff. That’s exactly why I’m creating my own website, so that buying can be done easily for those who don’t want to register on etsy. As much as I love etsy, I think I miss sales having them as my only shopping cart.
I also saw that you can create a shop right on Facebook. I haven’t read much about this or how much it costs, but am curious as to how easy and user-friendly it is since I already have a PayPal account for my Etsy shop and website.
Why does everything in this world have to be dumbed down for everyone?
I guess I’m a good example of what not to do. My website has been around for over 10 years, my brother in law made a special program just for us to make it extremely easy to upload new inventory, keeping it fresh and current, but oh, the horror, you have to actually have to interact with me via e-mail or pick up the phone to order something.
Luckily, in my case, that’s OK with my buyers.
On-line selling of crafts has made it so interacting is less important to many, but I still like it and expect it when I am buying something handmade on-line. I get disappointing if I don’t receive, at least a “thank you for your order”. I know you got my $$$ really fast and with no pesty interruptions from me, but I still want to know that you realize that I made the CHOICE to buy from you. I think the results of making it easier to “buy” is that the personal interaction is lost and, more important, FORGOTTEN.
I think that’s an excellent point. I don’t think it has to do with “dumbing down” at all. It’s about the customer experience.
When you sell something that is nonessential, you want the experience to be pleasant and pain free for your customer. I read an interesting article that said most on line shoppers do not like splash pages, especially returning customers.
I disabled mine, and have seen a major increase in business during the past month. If someone wants to read about me, my process or ask questions, they can easily click on a side bar link.
As for non profits, KIVA is my favorite website. It’s easy to navigate and my current gifting is easily found.
xoSherry
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Excellent Advice! And this goes for just about everything – if you want someone to write an article about you (in a magazine, newspaper), make it easy for them! Send them photos, be available, answer all their questions.
I just discovered your site and I”m really enjoying your articles!
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