As information marketers, we’ve all heard horror stories of website crashes, payment system snafus, affiliate tracking nightmares, and the like. And we all think, “That could never happen to me!”
Well, it could. And someday, it probably will.
I would venture to say that there is more lost revenue due to technical glitches, than from just about any other cause. And when you add in the stress and hours spent to rectify the problems, the costs skyrocket.
How Information Marketers Can Resolve the Most Common Technical Glitches:
- 1. Website crashes.Websites crash when too many people are trying to access the same page at the same time. While in theory it’s a good thing (lots of buyers!), it’s very, very bad. There is no guarantee that the person who tried to log in when they first got your email at 10AM will try again later on. They may just give up, never to return.Solution: Check your server capabilities BEFORE your launch. Call your website host and tell them you’re anticipating a big traffic surge. Will they be able to handle the traffic, or do you need to upgrade? Do what you need to do to keep the traffic flowing.
- Payment processing issues.What is more annoying than waiting in line to check out of a store? Or trying to buy something online and not being able to go through the checkout process? When your customers have made up their mind to purchase, LET THEM PURCHASE. QUICKLY! Typically, payment processing issues arise because your merchant account provider wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of traffic. The result? Long virtual “lines.” Ugh.Solution: As with the server issues, get in touch with them beforehand and let them know what to expect. They can beef up their own service to make sure you stay up and running. Also, TEST your process. Go through the entire purchase process multiple times, using PayPal, credit cards, and any other payment method you allow. Look for glitches and fix them – before you launch.
- Email problems.We’ve all gotten that email that says, “Oops, I gave you the wrong URL!” While many of us are skeptical enough to think it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy, it does happen. You put the wrong URL in your email. Your email doesn’t go out at the scheduled time. You misspell your product’s name. You misspell YOUR name. It happens.Solution: Test. Test. TEST! Check your settings, your links, your spelling. Then test again. Then double-check the settings and test one more time. Did I mention that I think you should test it?
- Download problems.Recently I got a slew of emails from purchasers of one of my ebooks, asking me why they weren’t able to access the information they’d purchased. Turned out, the redirect page wasn’t redirecting. Oops. This was easily fixed, but it took some time on my part to figure it out, and time on my customers’ part to email me about the issue. Time = money. You do the math.Solution: Refer to #3.
While these tips won’t get rid of every possible source of technical glitch, it will cut down on the most common issues, allowing you to keep your online business running smoothly, with the least amount of effort on your behalf.
