David Fiske Affiliate marketing & web development musings from Fiske Towers

Important lesson in internet marketing. Well, not so much marketing but more so working for yourself.

If you are working by yourself to get something decent earning you an income, you have to remember how precious your time is.

The reason I say this is that sometimes you have to remember to not go over the top when creating your site.

I had an email from Play.com saying their January sale has started today (21st December 2006).
 
The thing is, they also sell sat nav systems. I had over looked them when I first build the site.

I was all set to create a feed for them when I thought to myself "what value will this add?".

There is no point in adding expensive retailers or those who cannot get anywhere near the cheaper ones. Not yet anyway.

In the case of Play.com, their sat nav systems are just under the RRP. Therefore, if I added them, they would be pushed to the bottom of my list.

The only benefit I could see with adding Play.com is that my visitors would be reassured by the wide selection of retailers I have on the site. But for some, the selection could be too big and confusing.

Remember, I do not know a lot about my visitors at this stage. I could stereotype and say they would be gadget using people, of a wide age range (my grandfather owns a TomTom). As for gender, I would say there would be a mix of male and female visitors, though I would not like to make presumptions at this stage.

However, I may get visitors all year around looking for sat nav systems for their partners, their parents, their children, etc. These visitors may know nothing about what specifications they want, just that they want a sat nav system.

The first visitors would more than likely be interested in getting the cheapest price. They would therefore like to see a wide range of retailers and feel safe in their knowledge that they are getting the cheapest price out of 15 retailers.

The second group may be confused and want stability. They would undoubtedly look at the retailers rather than the prices. They would be looking for high street names: Argos, Currys, Comet, and so forth. Whilst Amazon may have the cheapest price, they would rather pay more and order from a company they have used before. After all, we are human. A large proportion of humans like stability and hate change - preferring to deal with companies we have used before and developed a relationship with.

Okay, so some of the second group may be price conscious but the chances are they would stick to their preferred retailers.

The moral of the story is this. If it doesn't add value for the majority of your visitors, do not add it. Yet. Remember that what may not add value now may add value in a week, a month or even a year's time.