Over the years the one thing that I have focused
on more than anything else is the TRAFFIC. The traffic is what fuels the net.
The traffic is REAL people looking for something. Most buy a million
'hits' or they may be silly and buy a million 'Impressions.'
But what they are TRYING to buy are targeted eyeballs. People, buyers,
potential new customers, looking for their specific product. Many have not
looked past THAT. But what is it about those buyers? How did they get to your
site? Why did they get to your site? Ask questions. Get into their mind set.
Profile them like you worked for the FBI. See the FBI catches criminals by
putting themselves into the minds of the suspect. They get so deep that they
basically may be able to figure out the criminals next move before the criminal
figures it out. They know what they are going to do before they do. That same
type of thing works for the customers coming to your site. When you figure it
out for one you make a sale. When you figure out many, you make many sales.

You don't have to be that sharp to figure out
that Christmas is probably the single slowest day of the year on the net. But
do you know the second slowest day? The third slowest day? The tenth slowest
day? The biggest day? The second biggest day? The third biggest day? Do you
know why August 15th is important? Labor day? October 12th?

Let's start with August 15th. To me, this is one
of the most important days of the year. Why? Because on June 21st summer
arrives and surfers think more about surfboards than going shopping onlione. So
you see a steady decline in traffic and earnings. Most factories in The USA
close for July 4th week. Some run half shifts that week and then half the crew
comes back and the other half goes on vacation. Then you have the heart of
the vacation season. The last 2 weeks in July and the first 2 weeks in
August. Europe goes on Holiday. The world is just out and they are distracted
by life. So during this period it is a bit harder to get things done and it's a
time and opportunity to recharge your batteries for the next business cycle
that starts on August 15th. It may be invisible to the naked eye, but that is
the day that a real transformation begins.

As I said before, you need to get into the MINDS
of your customers. What are they doing on August 15th? Just look in your local
papers. BACK TO SCHOOL!! So while some think August 15th is the middle of
summer, and it is for some, the majority of folks are buying school supplies,
and clothing for the upcoming school year. They are making the TRANSITION from
summer to fall. A transition that takes about 8 weeks to complete. So August
15th represents the day that folks start to come back and pay attention again.
Not the heavy hitters. They are just going on vacation. But if you deal with
the MASSES, they are coming home each day and the eyeballs grow and grow until
we have full strength again. When does that happen you ask? The
answer.....November.

Now this may not be true for all business in all
industries. There are many seasonal businesses that different rules may apply.
For example on Candy.com, August is a very big month and interesting who the
buyers are. This time of year candy.com gets “Industrial buyers” of candy
products. School districts search vendors and start placing their orders. Retailers
are also in play because Halloween candy starts to go on the shelves in the
next few weeks. These are just things I have learned since owning the domain name
and never actually selling a single piece of candy directly. But knowing who is
coming to your site is vital if you are going to enjoy GREAT success on the
net.

And let me add for the record, we are taking the
'Long' view. There is another view. It isn't seasonal. It isn't
monthly. It isn't even weekly or daily. It is HOURLY. Why do I even bring any
of this up? Well for one thing, very few know it. Even fewer will agree with
it. Many will be asking what the hell is he talking about?? I will repeat something
I have said year after year. 'More sales are being LOST on the net than
are actually being made on the net.' So then I say this and they don't
know what the hell I am talking about so they just shrug their shoulders and
move on. Well, just like there is a science and an art to selling in the real
world there is a science and an art to selling on the Internet. The companies
that understand this dominate their industries. The companies that don’t are
losing market share to those that do. It’s the greatest shift of market share
across the board in history.

I have the ability to go to virtually any website
that is doing commerce, has traffic, and in 15 minutes I can increase their
sales by a minimum of 15% and likey much more. I have done it many times. It’s
easy for me. There are certain common and repetitive MISTAKES folks make that
nobody ever told them were mistakes. So if they don't know, they don't see and
they can't fix. Do you expect somebody to fix something that important that
still doesn't understand what I have written here over the last few months? All
I can do is try to give certain pieces of the puzzle that may lead to a better
understanding. It could be as simple as a font change, a color change, a change
in the location of a specific button. Usually a combination of all these and more.
They need FRESH EYES to pick up those shortfalls that can make a huge impact on
their bottom line. Most people just scoff if off. They don’t believe a few
SIMPLE changes can add more sales. Ok, that is their right…..but they are wrong
and it is costing them money. Costing them business. It is costing them
customers that are likely being picked up by their competitors. Their
businesses are getting weaker by the day and it is invisible to them until it
hurts and by then it is too late. That is the cost they are paying.

It’s the heart of summer. Go have some fun,
enjoy life, un-wind. Don't look for anything dramatic, just a trend. Like
a large ship turning around, it takes time and the slowest part is at
the beginning and at the end. The bleeding stops and the healing begins on August
15th.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz