Before you decide on selling anything online, you need to first determine who your customer is, what they often purchase, and why they are purchasing online.

This is called "customer comprehension". The better you understand your customer, the easier it will be to sell stuff to them. Obviously, at the core of any business, the ultimate goal is to create a profit. To create a profit, you must have customers and you must be able to sell to these customers.

One of the most common mistakes I see people make is promoting to a customer (or audience) before they fully understand who their audience is. It is very easy to waste money promoting what you "think" people want, rather than what they are actually looking for.

Don't make assumptions on your customers, gain an understanding. You will be much more successful.

Before we go any further, we need to understand the steps someone takes between the time they learn of a product or service, to the time that they actually make a purchase. That is what my goal is to help you understand.

Let's look at some known facts about a customer:

(1) Customers rarely buy on their first point of contact to a product
(2) It typically takes a person 7 times (this could be website visits, email newsletter, etc.) before they make a purchase online.
(3) Customers do not buy from people they don't trust
(4) Customers are exchanging "money" for something that will improve upon their existing situation
(5) Customers have more access to product information and reviews than they ever have
(6) Most customers can see through scammy promotions, in fact are turned off

I am going to show you how to catch people later in their buying cycle so you can increase your chances of someone "buying" versus having to walk them through all points of contact. This will simplify the selling process drastically!



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Roguebandit Premium
If I promote a specific brand item or create a review on it, would I have to worry about copyright claims? For example, if I created a review for a specific Nike short, the company won't have any problem with me using their name? Also, how would I get images for a specific brand's product? If I uploaded a picture of that Nike short, there won't be any problems? Where would I be able to get a photo of that specific product legally without actually purchasing it?
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IAnum1 Premium
You register with the company as an affiliate. Then they allow you to use the images together with links they give
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Roguebandit Premium
Thank you so much for the help, good luck with your business!
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MindShadow Premium
Great question, Im asking the same thing for my website which will have copyright characters.
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Wyn434 Premium
Good stuff. I am bit confused since reading the portion using golf. My niche is new golfer and I am having trouble coming up with content. I am trending towards content to teach about golf history, golf play, equipment, rules, etc but how does one sustain this or even begin to monetize it.
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CassiOfTroy Premium Plus
Hi Wynne,

On your website, you will create content on those topics.
The more content you create, the higher the chance that internet users doing research on golf history, play, etc., will find you.

Content is your real estate in the online world.

All the best,

Cassi
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IAnum1 Premium
You get ideas for content from keyword research. Put a keyword phrase into jaaxy and see what related terms come up. Use some of the terms with the alphabet soup technique and get more terms for your posts.
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AnnieHerman Premium
It's very exciting to see how the customer relationship comes full circle. I'm now seeing true customers posting and taging me on social media, and my email list growing a few people each week. Now, if only I could find the right message to send to my newsletter. Everytime I send (once per month) I expect to see a handful of dropouts lol!
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calvinsept Premium
Hi Kyle...I just wanted to touch bases with you on The Customer Purchase Lifecycle...I've already completed the reading and I must say that my whole sense of using keywords for marketing has ,,,"Truly Been Opened"... to new mental avenues of approach
There was no need to jot down or take notes here. My interest has also reached a new level..

"LOVE IT"
Thanks
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makmrkt Premium
Calvin, you have been introduced to an expanse of knowledge to define your future. Keywords are the building blocks of your potential websites. If you haven't heard it yet, look at the low hanging fruit to hone in on for your websites. Peace, Mark.
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Shatten333 Premium
Thanks Kyle - this sentence grabbed my attention:

One of the most common mistakes I see people make is promoting to a customer (or audience) before they fully understand who their audience is.

I find this to be true: Even people on facebook find it hard to give a simple (Like). Interesting! It then becomes a good subject: Who are we selling to, when it comes to customers?
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