The one tricky part about using the internet to promote products, or anything really, is figuring out how to promote them. It is a common discussion in sales and marketing, with many opinions and options.
Here is what I do.
First, most of my social media posts have a link to something. From my experience in sales, I know that if I do not have an action step anywhere, nothing will happen. All I will be doing is posting content and getting some followers. That is about it.
To monetize the process, I have to do something else, such as add some action step for people to take after reading my content.
This is where the links come in- I can add links to either my blog, a product to buy, or my ‘free’ product (aka lead magnet that I have written about) to grow my email newsletter. And here is my secret- the types of links I use fit into 3 categories: links to my blog or a particular blog post, an actual product to buy, or my lead magnet/free product offer to join my email newsletter.
Usually, no one clicks on any links right away. I have found it takes time to start getting action on the links. The clicks I get this week usually come from posts from last month or two months ago. This might simply be because the older posts get more views, and eventually, people click on the links to check them out.
I will let you know if I make any adjustments to this process! Stay tuned!