Case Study: 300% Increase In Website Traffic
Case Studies - Justin Premick - January 4th, 2007 - PermalinkDieting is a multi-billion-dollar industry, with many large and small players competing for the attention of would-be customers.
In such a highly competitive area, how do small business owners survive, let alone thrive?
Pam Turner knows a thing or two about it. Through her website, CambridgeDiet.org, she offers ” a total health package,” including:
- Message boards
- Personal dieting weblogs
- Success stories/encouragement
…as well as the Cambridge Diet products she sells through the site.
Serving a Niche
Having used her own products to lose weight, Pam wanted to help others do the same. She started out selling in person but found that the business wasn’t growing as fast as she’d like.
“With my medical background as a nurse and my interests in holistic health care I had a lot to offer to those who were searching for an answer to their weight and health problems.
The internet was the most obvious way to reach them.”
So, she created CambridgeDiet.org and began marketing online.
Traffic Troubles
Like any online business, Pam needed to generate traffic and build interest in her site and products.
She started by buying pay-per-click advertising through programs such as Google Adwords. However, competition for ad space in the dieting industry is intense:
“Over the past several years the cost of this kind of promotion has gotten outrageous and I have had to dramatically cut back on my visibility.
Finding a method for retaining my internet customers has been a challenge. It is just too easy for people to wander and get lost on the internet and then just end up buying off of whatever website they end up on.”
She had the solution, and the expertise and support to back it up. But she still wasn’t getting the results she wanted.
Pam Puts AWeber To Work
Pam already had some tools in place (message boards, user blogs) to build loyalty among her site visitors. Now she needed a way to keep people from ‘wandering off’ and making purchases elsewhere.
She learned of AWeber through a personal recommendation and got started creating her opt-in email campaign.
Web Forms
To collect subscribers, she implemented a simple inline opt-in form near the top of the pages of her site:
(This is a good example of how to make your opt-in form prominent so that it’s easy for people to sign up)
She also uses a second inline form at the end of her home page so that visitors can easily sign up after reading the copy there, and a popover form that appears to subscribers once per month.
After signup, she redirects customers to a web page with directions on confirming their subscription:
And when subscribers confirm, they are sent directly to a custom page on the CambridgeDiet.org website, where they can join in a discussion on the message board, read common Cambridge Diet questions in the FAQ or place an order.
Messages
Without giving too much away about Pam’s content, I can tell you that in her messages she:
- Writes using a conversational tone, especially in the early messages of the sequence
- Places contact information prominently in messages and encourages the recipient to contact her directly
- Invites the recipient to engage with other dieters on the site’s message boards
All of this helps to make her follow ups effective. Not wanting to stop there, Pam looked for other ways to engage subscribers:
“Rather then only have a stagnant unchanging website… I want one with constantly new content and interesting articles to encourage people to want to revisit… I believe the Broadcast Newsletter feature (via the AWeber feed broadcaster) is an invaluable tool.”
She publishes her blog posts and has them automatically delivered to subscribers as a supplement to her timed follow ups.
So How Has She Done?
Since she implemented AWeber on her site, Pam has seen a 300% increase in website traffic as subscribers return to the site.
She can attribute this to a combination of effective opt-in forms (her popover opt-in form alone has an opt-in rate over 7%) and messages (she enjoys an average open rate of 47%).
Sales have also increased as Pam enjoys the repeat business that had previously been leaving her site.
Best of all, CambridgeDiet.org is more able to help people address and overcome obesity:
“It is great to know that my customers are feeling supported and looked after. That is my number one priority in my business. I never want any customers of mine to feel like they are doing this alone.
I always have to smile when I get an email from someone thanking me for what I sent and how much it helped them. Having this feature has almost been as good as cloning me!”
What’s Next?
Many dieters get started as part of their New Year’s Resolutions, and CambridgeDiet.org can expect to see more traffic in the coming months as a result. So as 2007 rolls around, what is Pam working on to make her email marketing efforts even more successful?
She says that one of her biggest goals is to make changes in her message copy so that subscribers “feel like I sat down and wrote something out to them.”
———-
See how Pam uses AWeber at CambridgeDiet.org
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What Do You Think?
This is the first time we’ve published any studies of AWeber users on the site, and we’d like your feedback.
Did you get value from this? Would you like to see more examples of how businesses are implementing opt-in email marketing using AWeber?
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 4th, 2007 at 9:26 am and is filed under Case Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment response, trackback from your own site, or permalink.
January 4th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I appreciate the story about how a successful web business uses Aweber and e-mail campaigns to build and maintain their business. Please keep these kinds of blog posts coming.
January 4th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I am new user to Aweber and I found this post very very helpful.
It clearly sets out how to use a lot of the aspects of the Aweber platform to make the most from it.
Showing it step by step of how each different aspect was added to improve the websites visitor opt-in growth.
Over the next few weeks I shall be making my own thank you and verification pages now and adding them to my opt-in mail pages as it clearly shows it is much more personal and sends the prospect back to the website.
Please do add more examples.
Regards
January 4th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Congratulations to the aWeber Team and Justin for writing this excellent case history - By capturing the step-by-step of a real-life situation and successful client you’re both educating me on important uses of aWeber that, frankly, I hadn’t looked deeply into.
The additional plus is that you’ve even linked the case history to the actual tutorial part of aWeber (RSS) - which enabled me in less than a second to have your usual good guidance on implementing - Right There in front of me.
I have used the case history approach for years myself, to capture interest, build credibility and move people to act.
So - what do I think - Congratulations - again - You’re leading the Pack.
….and Thanks
(I’m not submitting my testimonials for publication at this time - but certainly wanted you to give feedback - in the hopes that you will continue these case histories)
January 4th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Excellent coverage of the Cambridge Site guys…
I’m very impressed with how you provide proactive tools *and* examples.
Since being with Aweber, my list has grown tremendously and I’ve been able to manage my subscriber activity both strategically as well as tactically. (far better than my old Autoresopnder company)
Please continue with the case studies and training tips - they’re excellent.
It would be great if you can add a "suggestion box" so that people can send in their questions and things they’d like to learn more about.
Keep up the great work!
All the very best,
Paul Bauer
http://www.dreamsalive.com
January 4th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Thank you Justin, I found this case study very helpful to remind me to keep following up and finding different ways to build a relationship with my visitors. I have been working on some new and creative ideas using the many features Aweber now has like the Feed broadcaster, which is a totally awesome tool.
best wishes,
Mashubi
January 4th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Very inspirational!
January 4th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Thanks for this case study. I found it helpful and encouraging. I, too, just added the feed broadcaster to my new, soon-to-be-launched blog and am curious to see the results from that. What I would find useful is examples of how to best maximze the "confirm your subscription" and "thank you" messages.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
You GO Pam!
Thank you for this case study, Aweber. My results having gone with you follow a very similar pattern, and it’s good to be able to correlate that with a real-life "success" story. You made my day!
Scot McKay
X & Y Communications
http://www.powermonogamy.com
January 5th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Very good information and a great example of how to utilize AWeber’s services.
I to will be implementing similar strategies on all of my websites.
Thanks for the case study and keep up the great work.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Hi Guys,
I think its great to have case studies like these so that everyone can get inspired and learn more. Every one here has his/her own way of integrating aweber into their business. By sharing, its easy to learn from each other.
Nishant Kasibhatla
Memory Vision
January 5th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Nice work. I already know the power of follow-up marketing but it’s nice to this case study.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
I really likes this case study. It was very informative and gave me a real feel of Aweber in action.
thank youd
Dionne
January 6th, 2007 at 11:45 am
I love to see the underdog win.
Here’s a case of someone- 1 person (not en entire organization!) who has some perhaps powerful information and is able to reach millions of people.
A lot of sites just don’t make it- especially in the fitness/ diet fields due to the enormous amount of competition.
I can relate to Pam’s success as I am in a similar boat.
I started my website as a small venture and was featuring outstanding content but had nowhere to go from there.
Since I have strategically placed the opt- in forms from aweber on my site, I’m getting WAY MORE repeat traffic (and subsequent sales)
Good to see some winning stories on this blog.
January 6th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Excllenet example of what can be done with aweber. I have been thinking of rolling out my own or go with a service like aweber. A case history like this really helps me with the decision making.
Thanks!
January 6th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
It’s helpful to see how other site owners are building up traffic by using alternatives other than PPC traffic.
I agree that PPC cost is getting out of hand, and to be successful in today’s internet marketing environment, you need to go deep into your niche, and provide your audience what they are looking for.
And the way the information is presented to the audience is very important. Having an empathetic tone can me magical!
January 7th, 2007 at 11:07 am
great example of how using autoresponders can increase your business. I know it has helped mine enourmously.
January 7th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I know you probably cannot provide scripts for specific industries, but please bring on more examples of how others use your services to expand our businesses. I have clients who want examples and I only have a few templates - a template for real estate offices is one example.
Thanks!
January 8th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Thank You for giving us such a complete, currrent example of what some of us are doing or should be doing more of to get more and better results from our efforts. It appears to be working for Pam.
January 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
This is a very useful article! I’ve only been using Aweber for a couple of months now but it’s made my list building ever so easy. Please continue the helpful hints and case studies. They are ever so valuable!
Blessings,
Ron Peer
http://SecretsoftheSecret.com
January 9th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Great case study! I would love to see more.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Wow! Those are really impressive results.
Although I do not have the actual before and after numbers for my web site, I know that I get around 300 visitors per day, and about 200 of them are from my aweber account emails - so I can attest to those types of statistics. My sole source of income online is through my autoresponder account with aweber.
Sean
January 9th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Excellent atricle. I found this to be very helpful to jump start my brain on ways to use Aweber. Being new to Aweber, I found this to be very helpful and would really appreciate more of this kind of suggestions. The detail, helpful hints, case study was great! Thank you for sharing this with us.
Joan
January 9th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Thank you so much for sharing that with us! Excellent
January 9th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Very good. Certainly food for thought (pardon the pun). This has given me a few ideas where I can add the use of aweber I seem to have overlooked. In particular I have a plan on my whiteboard to find business minded people particularly in the USA this spring. This article has given me ideas to integrate the "new stuff" in a sexier way into my new website. And to keep people from wandering.
Many Thanks.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Great Stuff!
Want more creative ways of using autoresponders.
Great to see it’s not just for ezines and 7 day courses.
Paul Ellis
http://www.fyipromo.com
January 9th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Keep em coming. This is extremely helpful.
Bob
http://www.WhoIsBobAlter.Com
January 9th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
This is exremely helpful and I love the way she
personalizes each confirmation step.
Keep em coming.
Bob
http://www.WhoIsBobAlter.Com
January 9th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Excellent!
I’d love to hear more about other webmasters doing successful and even unsuccessful action so we all learn here.
Again, excellent idea!
Sergio Rodriguez
January 10th, 2007 at 2:58 am
I found this to be very helpful and would really appreciate more of this kind of suggestions. Want more creative ways of using autoresponders. My sole source of income online is through my autoresponder account with aweber.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Excellent! Good encouragement for new webmasters.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Great post!
Keep em coming. I can’t imagine life without an autoresponder.
Thanks.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I’m just getting started with my business, and this is excellent information. AWeber capitalizes on a sound marketing principle, and tactically provides a great service.
Paul
January 10th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Excellent case study 300% increase in subscribers.
However I would like to know what the percentage would be without the side popoup. I find them somewhat obtrusive and of course that is only my opinion.
Thanks
January 10th, 2007 at 10:36 am
I agree with Sergio (above posting). Would like to hear from others what has worked successfully and what has truly "bombed".
Would appreciate more real case scenarios.
Thanks to the AWeber Team!
January 10th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Thanks for the tips. I’m new at on line marketing-sales, but I do know the value of offering something free at the end of articles so I can capture names and email addresses for follow up… just what you were describing in this blog. However, you missed a big chance to do the same thing yourself…no offer of free stuff in your article and the only chance of grabbing addresses is if I feel the urge to make a comment (like this).
January 10th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Still toying with the idea of signing up, but at the moment my business is a little stagnant, and I cannot aford any more expense at the moment. Found all the posts very informative though.They give me Ideas for the future.
Kind regards. Hugh.
January 10th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Case studies like this are terrific.
It definitely makes me consider joining with aweber. At the moment, my website, http://www.curebug.com, a free, natural health & wellness website updated daily with fresh articles and videos, is just starting out.
I’m probably gonna try some free autoresponders first to see how they work.
Keep up the good ad idea, a testimonial with an actual website, someone that is actually using your product and not some paid shill.
best,
Kris Kemp
January 10th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Paul asked about the use of the popover form.
For this particular site, the popover form was helpful — she’s tried with and without the popover form, and she just wasn’t getting as many subscribers without it.
What I personally like about it is that it’s set to display once per 30 days, and that her inline web form appears right about where the popover does (centered above the fold). If a visitor closes out the popover without subscribing, but changes their mind later, they don’t have to look any further than where the popover form was before.
This is a nice potential alternative for people who feel that having the popover appear every visit is off-putting.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Dale Collie wrote:
> no offer of free stuff in your article and the only chance of grabbing
> addresses is if I feel the urge to make a comment (like this).
To be clear, leaving a comment just leaves a comment. You’re not opting in to anything by leaving comments on the blog. Dale you’ve already subscribed to our primary list thru other aspects of the website. That’s follow up process is how you got to the blog.
That’s how effective follow up works.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Uniqueness of every individual’s way of doing things is one of the amazing attributes of humanity.
As others willingly show and unveil ways of achieving a goal it offers others the needed start-up and impetus to unveil their uniqueness.Great to share this information.Autoresponders are simply unavoidable.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Hi,
Like a lot of others, I have tried Adwords also and found it to be a very expensive way to start an advertising campaign, especially for a beginner with limited knowledge. After reading Pam’s experience with Aweber, I am convince that it is the way to go. My website, http://tinyurl.com is professionally done but I am at a loss re promotion, so I guess Aweber is the answer.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
I’m sorry. Slight error re my URL.
Keith
January 10th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
[…] Clever use of an autoresponder like AWeber could be the answer. Here’s a new must-read case study about how one web site owner increased her traffic by 300%. • • • About/Terms Of Use Privacy This web site is owned by, operated by, and Copyright (C) 1998-2006 Answers 2000 Limited. […]
January 10th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Hi,
This example is great. It is helpful to have real case studies such
as this. Please include others. Also, Justin’s comment about the
popover being used just once a month sounds like it may work well. It seems AWeber may be the answer to a marketer’s dream.
Siriol
January 10th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
This is a great case study . Giving new dimension to the thoughts and really inspiring. Now its the time to do some more experiments. I am really interested to have more case studies like this. this is really anice thing. Thanks to aweber team and everybody who have commented sincerely .
January 10th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Yes,I found this information very enlightening and will look back to reference it as it will probably without a doubt help me with my business.You guys are excellent and look forward to seeing more to learn from.
Thank you,
Bob Reid-new Jersey
January 10th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Thanks so much, this is the type of information I’ve been looking for in sucessful uses of Aweber. Since I’m new at all of this, hopefully you will give me more information on how all these ebooks have the great covers shown on lots of websites. I am writing one now, but haven’t a clue how to make it look so professional.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:39 am
[…] Last week, we published a case study of how Pam Turner used her AWeber autoresponders and broadcasts to increase website traffic and sales. […]
January 11th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Examples are a great way to teach and share ideas. What I love about an example like this is to be able to go to a live site and see it in action. For me, Aweber is a must use tool and I’ve just launched my seventh site - http://www.mindbodyaction.com. I’m working on the AR messages now which will form the all important initial communication link with my visitors. I can’t envision doing this without a quality AR like Aweber.
January 13th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
I really enjoyed reading your case study. I currently use your product, but only at a very elementary level. I have been considering putting more time and effort into my Aweber account, but needed to do some more research. Reading your case study convinced me that it will be worth the time and effort.
January 14th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
That is really interesting. I have tried doing a newsletter on my site before. I think I might have to try.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:55 am
Thank you for this timely article: The health industry is an area that one must treat gently and control the frequency of communications I am interested how often the broadcast emails are sent.
I find whenever we send out a broadcast email on cosmetic surgery updates someone removes themselves form the list…but at the end of the day it purifies the list.
January 15th, 2007 at 1:46 am
This was soooo helpful. I’m starting to set up my autoresponder and the examples were great. Thank you.
January 15th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
I am a firm believer in using case studies to convey a message and to build trust with potential customers.
I find that using a case study, especially with before and after figures or graphs, builds trust and confidence in a product or service… especially one that is new to the potential buyer.
I have found this in my bricks & mortar service offering Home Staging to the UK market who needed to understand the value of the service… this was best achieved using suitable case studies.
Thanks again for the article.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Thanks,
You guys are doing a great job, keep it up.
I believe that as we share we become better.
Thanks again
January 16th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
This case study is absolutely helpful!
As a newbie in the internet marketing arena who has discovered how costly paid advertising campaigns can be, it’s nice to know that a
service I’m alreading using can help turn visitors into subscribers.
Yes, please publish more case studies.
Regards,
Gwynne Curry
January 17th, 2007 at 4:24 am
Thanks for a useful article! It’s always good to see how others are using this great autoresponder service and although the case shown is similar to what many webmasters are doing, it is rare to get the facts on how it affects the statistics! Well done Pam for letting us know. Thanks.
January 20th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Hi,
You have an outstanding product!
Yes, this was very helpful to someone just starting out, like myself.
Please keep up the good work and add more examples.
Thanks
January 20th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Hi guys,
I was directed to this site through a company I just recently signed up with, to become an affiliate. That bring up a question do your site or program use affiliate. I would love to be one.
Now, what I caught my attention is I am new a this business of online marketing. And, I am coming from the real estate business, can you give me a few site to check out in the real estate business that are using your program.
I will be purchasing this program, however, I just need a little more information to whether is for the real estate business.
January 20th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
In one of the top internet marketing guru’s course I heard it mentioned that the way to design a web site or marketing materials for selling diet products is to feature pictures of all the delicious food that you get to eat. It sounded kind of funny but it is true. By understanding your niche and getting into their heads you can often discover the way to best appeal to them. And with dieters the way is through their desire to eat not their desire to diet. Notice that Pam at least has a picture of a delicious strawberry shake.
January 21st, 2007 at 12:57 am
I appreciated the story of Pam’s success! We can all learn from each other and if someone is using Aweber more effectively than others it’s good to know about it! Her personal customer service (like so many of us on who have businesses on the internet) is something that we all need reminded of on a regular basis. If brick and mortar stores were as helpful and held to the level of scrutiny that those of us on the web are…they would’t be losing so many sales! Please keeep the stories coming!
John Marquis
Ogallala Bay Rum
January 22nd, 2007 at 8:53 am
Jerbethaqui,
We do have an affiliate program. You can get started as an affiliate at http://www.aweber.com/signup.htm
We have customers in many industries, including real estate, that use our service. I cannot, however, provide you examples of who in that industry is using AWeber, as doing so would violate our privacy policy.
If you have any questions about using AWeber, please don’t hesitate to contact our excellent Customer Support Team and we’ll be happy to help.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Kudos on this study. It’s great to get some idea on how others are using the power of aweber. Just the simple ideas on where to put multiple signup forms is something most folks can use right away.
John
January 24th, 2007 at 9:43 am
I was wondering what the typical pop-up frequency most people use. Is it one time? One time per day? Every page refresh?
I once had it show once per visit on my site and got a lot of complaints from people who subscribed that said. "Why am I still getting the pop-up?"
I’d be interested to learn others philosophies on how others set up their systems.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Brad,
I don’t have any figures on what popup recurrence is used most frequently. It sounds like based on your visitors preferences, you may be better off displaying the popup once per visitor or once per X number of days.
This may be a better approach if your site is such that visitors return often to whatever page the popup is on (as is the case with Pam’s site).
February 6th, 2007 at 9:43 am
This is a helpful case study. I was also
interested in Brad’s experience with the frequency
of pop-ups.
Please add more case studies as we can all learn
from them. I would like to find out more about how
Aweber can help bring more customers to my names
business.
Thanks
February 8th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I was skeptical at first, a remnant of my addiction to instant gratification I suppose. After working with Aweber’s site, tools and great articles like this one, I’ve gained more confidence and pleasure just trying to figure things out. It’s my experience that Aweber goes to great lengths to help in any capacity they are able. Thank you!
April 18th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Wow! This kind of information is priceless! In fact, it’s almost like buying an e-book with tons of "how to" information. This portion of your site is a tremndous asset to all of your aweber members.
Hopefully you’ll continue your case studies
Thanks!
October 16th, 2007 at 3:36 am
Nice case study. Wish you had included more images to make it even more interesting.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:02 am
nice one - thanks for posting this - it’s very useful - i sure would like to see more like this.
February 12th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Great story…but what a pity or blog lacks aesthetic apeal..
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Hi,
Yes, this is a very inspiring, helpful article! Keep them coming. I’ve heard nothing but good reviews about your autoresponder. I just happen to be in the market and I will definitely check your product out first.