BoomTime Blog
How to Sell More Instant Gift Certificates
July 5th, 2007 • Posted by Stephany Toman • Permalink
Increasing your online sales has never been easier! By choosing to sell Instant Gift Certificates on your website you're acknowledging the power of the Internet, and the ever-increasing trend to buy online vs hassle with traffic, deal with long lines and get stressed where it's possible to avoid it.
Now what? You've got the link up on your website. Your logo automatically appears on every BoomTime Instant Gift Certificate you sell, effectively extending your brand online. You're poised for online revenue greatness, but there's still more you can do.
Position matters. Where did you place your Instant Gift Certificates link? It should be above the fold, ie easily visible, ideally on every page of your website, in the same place so people don't have to work to find it.
Frequency matters. Repeat yourself. Seriously, your Instant Gift Certificates link needs to show up on every page of your site, in the same place. Oh wait, I'm repeating myself.
Use your navigation well. Be sure you have an Instant Gift Certificates link in your main nav. Businesses that do tend to sell more. And make sure your navigation is consistent on every page of your website.
Feature your Instant Gift Certificates! Go ahead and dedicate a small paragraph to your cool Instant Gift Certificates. A heading like "New! Instant Gift Certificates" can work well. Text like, "We have the perfect last-minute gift! Design, preview and immediately print or email an Instant Gift Certificate" will do the trick. Note: Avoid graphics with this mention. People have been trained to ignore them. Turns out if a person is besieged with flashy graphics and banners for long enough, they simply tune them out over time.
Embrace the Boom! You're a BoomTimer now. You're unique, and you're offering a great gift solution for your online shoppers. Always include the word "Instant" when you're describing your offerings. Lots of businesses offer gift certificates, only savvy ones know enough to offer up "Instant Gift Certificates."
Link directly.Make the link from your Instant Gift Certificates links in your site go directly to your Instant Gift Certificates page.
Promote printing, too! Emailing Instant Gift Certificates is convenient and FAST. (Good for the last-minute buyers.) Guess what? 75% of people actually print them out at time of purchase–they are beautiful, after all!–so be sure you tell them they can.
Role play with your website. Close your eyes and pretend that you've never seen your website before. Play the role of first-time visitor and see if you can figure out how to buy an Instant Gift Certificate. It should be very straightforward and nearly effortless. If it's not, simple changes can do the trick!
Now go on back to your website and tweak it. It'll make a difference.
Posted in Website Design, Gift Certificates, General • Share • Trackback