How to recover from a lull in digital product sales

It can happen to the best of us: one moment, your digital products are flying off the metaphorical shelves, and the next, things have slowed down so much that you feel the need to take some action – and fast!

Analytics can only get you so far; to really get to the root of the problem, you need to look at your store from the customer’s perspective. Is there some element of your business that has gone unattended? What updates need to be made? What are the strategies that will pique the interest of your customers and make them want to buy again? What are some things you can do to add extra incentive or take advantage of different segments of your audience?

First things first… breeeeaaathe. 😌 We’ve got you! In this post we’ll look at some actionable steps you can take today to push past the lull and get sales flowing again.

Offer bundles

As a general rule, product bundles sell better than single products, giving customers more value for their money – and who doesn’t love a good deal? In fact, customers often choose the better deal over the better price when given the option. Use this to your advantage! Here are a few options you might consider:

Similar product bundles – this kind of bundle includes products that are from the same line, series, category, or topic, giving customers the opportunity to score a deal on similar products they are already likely to be interested in. For example, a travel hacking eBook bundle, a collection of tropical-themed logo templates, or access to several health and fitness web apps.
Sequential product bundles – this gives customers several products that are part of a learning sequence, such as a digital course. For example, a special deal on an entire digital marketing course sequence (levels 1, 2, and 3), or a bundle of how-to videos in order of prerequisites.
Top product bundles – this can include your top sellers or most popular products, which is especially appealing to customers for its high value.
Add-on bundles – this kind of bundle focuses on one core product, plus other complementary add-ons or extra products that bump up the value. For example, you might create a “quick start” bundle that includes a pack of Photoshop actions, along with a PDF guide and video tutorial series.

Incentivize

Another way to inspire some action is to offer special sales and incentives. This can be things like short-term sales or other time-sensitive offers, which get customers acting quickly, as the window of opportunity is limited. Alternately, you could offer other extras or free add-ons, such as a bonus PDF guide, podcast episode, or graphic asset pack (for example), a bonus product, an extra discount on a future purchase, or bonus access to gated content. Anything you can add onto your product increases the value the customer receives, making the offer more enticing – and more likely to get people buying!

Segment your mailing list

One of the most useful tips for successfully communicating with your mailing list subscribers is simply to get to know them; segment them into groups based on factors like types of products purchased and engagement with newsletters, marketing emails, and certain types of content that they care about. This helps you direct your marketing efforts to the right people, personalizing the experience while also making your communication as effective as possible.

If you use a service like MailChimp, you can define groups of subscribers by things like purchase activity, location, date, and other factors – and customers can also select from groups you’ve created for them when they subscribe to your newsletter. Delivering only the content that is most relevant to them helps prevent against unsubscribes, and keeps them engaged with your brand, ultimately promoting sales conversions as well!

Address cart abandonment

When investigating why you’re experiencing a lull in sales, it’s wise to look into the cart abandonment problem. Most eCommerce stores experience a cart abandonment rate of almost 70%, which means that, for one reason or another, nearly 7 out of 10 people decide not to buy at the last minute. In order to understand what’s going on, you might decide to use a tool like Jilt, which tracks abandoned carts, and even sends cart recovery emails on your behalf. These efforts can make a huge difference in sales, and help you establish relationships with your customers at the same time.

Have great digital product demos

Because digital products are intangible, it’s crucial to showcase them with high-quality demos in order to give your customers the confidence to buy. From sample excerpts, MP3s, and videos, to trial periods and watermarked images, creating a digital product demo is one of the best ways to build trust in your brand and let your customers really experience your products, leading to better sales; everyone wins!

Rebrand and refresh

Auditing your brand experience from start to finish is essential, and it’s also one of the things that you have the most control over. Customers can easily get turned off by outdated branding, a cumbersome purchase process, a clunky, hard-to-use layout, or any elements that might inhibit sales. In an effort to create an enjoyable shopping experience that improves conversions, take some time to examine the following components of your brand experience:

Your website

Your website represents everything about your brand, from the look and style, to your brand voice, quality standards, technical expertise, and industry authority. It’s also your most powerful marketing tool and channel. It’s important to make sure that you’re making the most of your website if you want to present your brand well and give your sales a boost. Here are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating your website:

Does it adhere to the standard anatomy of a digital product website?
Does it need any updates? Are there any bugs or broken features?
Is the design modern and relevant? Are you lagging behind your competitors in style or functionality?
Does your logo, tagline, or content need a refresh? Are there any spelling or grammar errors that need fixing?
Is your digital product copy engaging and interesting?
Is your purchase process streamlined and efficient?
Are you providing great support?
Do your product pages have quality demos, artwork, images, product descriptions, and testimonials?

Social media

In the digital age, social media has become the new town center; it’s the place where people go to find out what is going on, what you have to offer, and what your brand is all about – including what people are saying about it. If you want to polish up your social media, take a look at the following things:

Is your brand look cohesive across all social media platforms?
Do you post consistently at regular intervals?
Do you ask questions to engage your audience?
Do you comment and interact with your customers?
Are you utilizing the major social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?
Are you posting relevant, interesting content?
Are you using images optimized for the different platforms?
Do you utilize video content?
Do you have enough positive ratings on your Facebook page?

Emails and newsletter

Good communication is essential when it comes to selling digital products, especially if you want to nurture a loyal following of customers that will return to your site to purchase products regularly. While there’s no perfect method, these are a few of the things you’ll want to consider when assessing the effectiveness of your emails and newsletter:

Do you send a regular newsletter?
Do you offer any incentives for mailing list signups, such as free products, goodies, or access to exclusive content?
Do you segment your subscribers, directing different types of content to them that is relevant to their needs and interests?

Get affiliates and influencers on board

Don’t underestimate the power of great affiliates! The magic of working with affiliates is that, once you give them some basic support and resources, they essentially do the promotion work for you. Affiliates can significantly boost your business overall and bring in all kinds of traffic that you might have previously missed out on. Similarly, expanding your brand reach to the audiences of popular social media influencers and other industry figures with large followings on Instagram, for example, can do wonders for beating the lull and bringing your numbers up.

Audit the sales experience from start to finish

Sometimes markets change, they become saturated, or customers just lose steam – and if you want to keep your digital product sales healthy and out of lull-land, you may have to make some adjustments now and then. People have a lot of choice these days; with so many options available to them, it’s up to the businesses themselves to stay relevant, stay competitive, and offer enough value to make people want to spend their hard-earned money. If you’re experiencing this kind of change and wondering what to do about it, try implementing one of the ideas in this post and measuring your progress over time. Ready to say lull-a-BYE that dip in sales?! 🙋‍♀️

Did we miss anything in particular? We’d like to hear from you, so if you have some wisdom to share, be sure to leave us a comment below!