Where are your "buy buttons" and are your customers using them?

Not long ago, I received a message from a man who had read my book, “Build, Grow, and Monetize your Online Platform.”  He told me he had read it from cover to cover and was interested in building an online platform of his own, but he wasn’t sure which direction to take.  He had multiple ideas but was also working a full-time job and didn’t want to make poor use of the limited free time he had to build something.

After emailing these details to me, he asked me a simple question, “Do you offer coaching packages for people like me?”  I replied and told him I did, then I pointed him to the bottom of the home page on my website where he could register for a session.

He clicked the button, signed up immediately, and paid for the coaching session.  

Earlier today, I was talking with someone who had contacted me after hearing an interview I did on a podcast.  Recently, I was a guest on Rich Avery’s “More than a Pastor” podcast, and this particular gentleman had heard that interview.

We scheduled a quick phone call and enjoyed a great conversation.  At the end of the call, I gave him the coupon code Video321 and told him he could use it to gain free access to the Platform Launchers Video Vault for 48 hours where he was likely to find additional answers to some of his specific questions.  By the way, if you use that code, it will also work for you.

In that case, I didn’t sell this gentleman anything, but I was able to point him in a direction where he could click a button and gain access to content that I know he will find quite helpful.

I mention these two recent examples because I want to point out a commonality between them both.  Both situations provided a great opportunity for me to direct a potential customer to a button they could click on my website where they could purchase something helpful to them.  And even though I gave one of them free access to some of our training videos, I’m sure that if the content I just shared with him was helpful, he may choose to utilize some of my other resources or let others know that those resources and training tools exist.  And if someone else comes looking for them, they’ll find the process of purchasing access to them just as easy as these two gentlemen did.

A few months back, I was having a conversation with our Members’ Club about earning income online.  That’s a goal that most of our community members would like to reach.  Some of them are already making a full-time living from their online content, which is great.  Some are making supplemental income, and some of our newer members are still preparing to make their first dollar online.

To those who hadn’t started making an income yet, I asked the question, “If someone went to your website, what would they find for sale?”  In a few cases, there wasn’t anything for sale yet, and I guess it probably goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), if you don’t have anything for sale online, you aren’t going to make an online income.

Nick Loper, the host of the “Side Hustle Show” podcast wrote a book several years ago called “Buy Buttons.”  It’s a great book and I’d recommend it to any online entrepreneur.  I like the term “buy buttons” that he uses throughout the book because it’s a reminder that our websites and online platforms should be peppered with buttons that make it easy and obvious for people to be able to purchase the content and services we’ve put together that can help solve their problems.

Do you have any “buy buttons” on your website?  If someone wanted to pay you for something you’ve created or a service you’re uniquely qualified to offer, would they find an easy way to do that just by visiting your online platform?

I realize some of us might still be saying, “I’d love to add some buy buttons, but I don’t actually know what to sell.”  If that’s how you’re feeling right now, let me break down a few options that might spark a few ideas for you.

And if one of these options seems interesting to you, let me encourage you to experiment with it.  Start offering it on your website as soon as possible.  Add a “buy button” that anyone can click to start paying you for your expertise.

Some options to consider offering with a “buy button”…

1.  Offer your freelancing skills.  This can include writing, graphic design, programming, web development, marketing, virtual assistance, and more. Websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer connect freelancers with clients seeking their expertise.

2.  Open an online store.  You can use Amazon, eBay, or Etsy to sell physical products, or you can sell digital products like ebooks, courses, or software.  A friend of mine just started selling custom-designed necklaces in her online store.  Within a few days of announcing it, she nearly sold out her entire inventory.

3.  Sell someone else’s product.  If you don’t have something of your own to sell, become an affiliate for a product someone else created and share the revenue with them.  I was just asked to begin offering my courses on another person’s platform with this kind of arrangement.  It can be a real win/win scenario.

4.  Offer coaching or consulting.  Coaching can be one of the fastest ways to earn an income online.  It’s also rather lucrative.  I recently spoke for an author’s workshop and I told the audience how much they could be making with coaching.  They were shocked, especially when I told them the going rate for online coaching is $200/hr.

5.  Sell a course.  It doesn’t have to be long, but I’m sure there’s something you can create that others would find valuable enough to purchase.  If you use Kajabi for your website like I do, you can host it through them.  If you don’t use Kajabi, you can use Udemy, Teachable, Thinkific, or Coursera to host your course content and process your payments.

6.  Offer mini-services.  I’m sure there are odds and ends that you’re good at that others might be willing to pay you to do.  Make them available online, put a reasonable price tag on them, and add a “buy button,” then see what happens.  You might be surprised to learn what kind of help you could offer that others might pay you to do.

This is just a small list of suggestions, but each of these options could help you gradually generate a healthy online income.  The important thing is to start making options available.  It’s often the tasks that seem so routine and easy to us that strike others as a superpower.  Make your superpowers available online and get your income train rolling.

-John Stange