This week, in light of the Corona Virus panic, I decided to support our community and buy online offerings from other entrepreneurs.

Like many people in the online space, I felt the anxiety of world events and how they would impact on my business and future sales.

To combat this anxiety, I decided to GIVE first (this always makes me feel expansive and abundant) and spread the love.

I started a thread on my Facebook page of courses and offerings under $100 and committed to buying $5,000 worth myself. You can see the thread here.

I wanted to spread confidence and optimism - I know how exciting each and every sale can be (I’ve sold over $10m in my online business with books, courses and my Money Bootcamp), and I want to show faith that the online world will survive these crazy times.

I bought 64 different offerings and spent a total of $6,195.32 - from online reiki and tarot sessions, to social media audits, e-courses, trainings, mediations and education plans.

I honestly didn’t take too much time deciding what to buy (most sessions are being donated), and it actually took AGES to buy that many courses so I had decision fatigue!

Here’s what I learned about how we can all improve our offerings:

1. Sales buttons matter

Make your buttons easy to find.

Many sales buttons were missing altogether or really hard to find. Don’t use cutesy names for your buttons like “I’m ready to PARTAY” - what does that mean? It’s okay to go simple and obvious “Buy Here” is totally fine!

Also - please use a different color for your button than the rest of your site. Don’t use solid boxes for anything that isn’t a sales button.

Remember - a confused mind says no - if people can’t easily find it, they’ll click away.

2. Check your mobile responsiveness

Most people are buying on their phones these days (and if your target market is sleep-deprived parents, DEFINITELY). I’m pretty tech-savvy, so if I see something isn’t mobile responsive, I’ll click around and zoom in, but not everyone will.

Some pages look amazing on a computer but crap and confusing on mobile.

Just double-check on different devices, especially older models. Get your least techy friends to check how easy your page is to navigate.

3. Simple is best

I’ve gone down the route of very sexy sales pages and the truth is that simple pages convert better. Simple doesn’t have to be ugly, but:

• Please just use normal font for your page and order forms.
• You don’t need pattern backgrounds on most pages. Turn off your pop-ups on your sales page. Don’t distract your audience with something else.
• Also - I’ve got 40-something eyes now - please don’t use super small font.
• Add more white space.
• Simplify your photos.
• Minimize graphics or video if you don’t need it.

4. Check your links

It sounds obvious but regularly check that your links are actually working. Check that your payment methods are still valid.

Also - test out other check out software. Some order forms were easy to navigate and pay in a few steps. Others were a bit more complicated or I had to click around to find the cart function.

Remember, people’s attention spans are low.

5. Take PayPal as a payment method

Fees suck, amiright? NO - fees are a part of doing business.

Not so long ago, it cost a fortune to be able to take payments online. Do you want to go back to the days of people paying via mail order? Or giving out your bank account details?

Pay the fees. PayPal is super convenient. As someone who lives in Australia but buys in USD, I prefer to use PayPal. As someone who is super lazy, I prefer to use PayPal than to find my credit card.

I clicked away from a lot of order forms when they only took credit card.

It’s not a deal breaker for everyone but your sales will probably rise if you make it easier for people.

(Note, PayPal are no longer covering the fees when processing a refund, which means that you will be on the hook for them. If you have a high ticket offer or suspect your customers often get buyers remorse, considering adding a clause that your refunds are minus processing fees. Otherwise, be prepared to swallow it)

6. Thank you pages are valuable real estate

Thank you pages are a great way to avoid buyers remorse (I talk about this in my book Chillpreneur).

Tell people exactly what’s going to happen next. Am I going to get an email with my login details? From which email? Should I check my spam folder?

Can I download your thing straight away on the thank you page? Is there an unexpected bonus or benefit you can give me? Think simple, like a checklist, nothing too complicated.

If I need to book a time with you, place the link on the thank you page not in the email.

Do I need to join a Facebook group - PUT THE LINK ON THE THANK YOU PAGE. This one thing actually reduced refunds in my Money Bootcamp.

Login emails can get lost but people can feel part of your community straight away.

7. Watch your overdelivering

I lost count of the courses that could easily be a $2,000 value that were under $50.

Considering that the conversion is the SAME regardless of your price (around 1%), wouldn’t you rather sell a higher ticket offer?

There’s NOTHING wrong with having a smaller price point (I think it’s awesome) but this offering doesn’t need to have a million bonuses. It can be simple, because it’s a simple price point.

If you overload your lower-priced offerings, why would someone buy your premium offerings? What you have to offer is already valuable.

On some pages, I had to scroll and scroll and scroll past testimonials, benefits, and long course descriptions, for a very small price point.

I get that sometimes it’s part of a strategic entry point, but more often than not, it was the final offer.

There used to be a trend of hiding the price til the last minute - but it’s also okay to just tell people the price and what they get.

8. Package things up

If you have a lot of smaller ticket offerings, do a bundle package for EVERYTHING.

Some people want all your stuff but don’t want to click around adding things to the cart individually. Make it easy for people to give you money.

If you can - use software that can suggest similar or complementary offerings. A few people did this, and I clicked to add more things to my cart.

9. Be proud!!

Lastly - I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!

I hope these suggestions are helpful - I’m not criticizing. I’m super proud of ANYONE who has an online offering.

I know what it takes to get something to market. To overcome all the doubt and fear when you’re writing your sales page, when you’re recording videos and audios and overcoming technical problems.

I know the excitement and hope, mixed with fear and dread. I know the rollercoaster of “Maybe this will work” and “But I’m a fraud and now everyone will see!”

Thank you to EVERYONE who posted your links during this experiment. Thank you to everyone who bought from the community.

Please go buy something else. Spread the abundance.

And to people who were kicking themselves that they had nothing for sale, or thinking they have missed the boat to create an online business...

Please be nice to yourself. The second best time to take action on your business is TODAY!

If you have nothing for sale right now, offer an hour of your time. Offer a gift card.

Go simple first and layer in complication later. Just get into action - don’t procrastinate anymore.

You have solutions for people

Helping people is the best thing you can do for your community right now. Yes, show up and be generous with your time and energy.

But if you have a product or service, some of your customers will still need it, so tell them about it.

Personally, I’m working with consultants and experts on websites and books to launch later in the year. I’m doing my taxes and catching up on my to-do list. I’m still having sessions with my advisers and consultants. I’m still buying. Some of your customers will be too.

Here’s how I can help you right now - my books. I recommend reading Get Rich, Lucky Bitch to work on your money blocks, or Chillpreneur (both here) to work on simplifying your business. Both very timely topics! My online course and community - the Money Bootcamp.

This is a safe place to talk money and success, with the tools to help you with money fear and resistance. You can join anytime, we have live calls every month and we’ve helped 6,000 people upgrade their money mindset.

Thanks for reading! And keep creating!

I hope you and are family are staying home and safe.

xx Denise