If you have a FileMaker application which you would like to sell, then you of course will need a website to help you sell it. But the mistake which many people make is that they do not realize what exactly is the purpose of that website. That is, they so generalize it in terms of content that their website loses its potency.
There are really just three things which your website must do to sell your FileMaker application:
1. Add Value
This is the ‘sticky’ factor. You need to attract people to your website the first time, and then you need to keep them coming back. The best way to do this is with original, high-quality content. You need to keep writing new articles which provide the kind of information which your target audience is interested in finding.
This also assumes that you know who is the target audience for your product. Have you defined them? Do you know their basic demographics, their problems, and needs, as related to your product? If you do, then you can write content which will attract them to your site.
So, Add Value, is the first requirement for a high quality site.
2. Build Your List
The second purpose of your website is to build your list. It is all about list building. If you can build your list, your potential audience for your product grows. This is the step which takes the longest to happen. That is why you need to start building your list now.
In order to build your list, you need to invite people to sign up for your newsletter. This is often achieved by providing a quality white paper, or other product-related give-away of interest to your readers. If you want to grow your list, this freebie needs to have good quality, something of real interest. Perhaps even something which they would have to pay for elsewhere.
Be sure to make it very easy on your site to sign up for the newsletter. Don’t tuck it away in some corner. Make it accessible from every page of the site.
3. Sell Your Product
The final purpose of your website is, of course, to actually sell your product. This is why you are doing what you do. So this process as well needs to be easy and seamless.
Find an ecommerce option that keeps people on your website, without getting pulled away to a website somewhere else. The eCommerce cart you use should have A-B testing, the ability to analyze cart abandonment, and low fees. Not all are equal so do some comparisons before you commit. Once you commit to a shopping cart option, it becomes very difficult later to switch.
Selling your product includes a whole set of questions related to your business model. Will it be a one-time sale and download? Will it be a subscription model? What will you do about updates and upgrades? How will you handle tech support and complaints and reimbursements? What is the next upsell option which you will present to your customers? How will you continue to maintain that customer relationship?
So there are many things which you could do with your website, but there are just three things which it must do. If you maintain a laser focus on these you are more likely to experience success in selling your product.