Traditionally most sites on the web expect their customers to come to them see their product and service and then just magically want to purchase it. From my 10+ years marketing on the web this doesn't work. At least if you're not Amazon or Ebay. What does work is capturing leads and sending them follow up email messages.
When you send a follow up email message to a perspective customer it gives you an opportunity to tell them more about your offer and build some credibility. It also provides you the opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition and reminds your prospective customers you exist. Have you ever visited a website and had some interest in what they were selling but then later forgot the name of the website? I know I have. If I had given them my email address chances are I'd receive some sort of reminder and I more than likely would return to the site.
The key to starting a successful follow up email campaign is getting your prospective buyers to opt into your email list. You can do this by offering them something of high perceived value in exchange for providing their name and email address. Once they've provided you this information there are several things you'll need to optimize your campaign. Here's a list of some of the things...
1. Send the first follow email now.
The interest level of your lead is going to very high at the time they provide their contact information to your company. Don't waste any time sending them that first email which should at minimum remind them of your website, product, and how to purchase it.
2. Send emails frequently at first.
Again, when a lead submits their information to your site their interest level in your product or service is going to be high. This tends to be true for the next few days after they've provided that information as well. Therefore don't be afraid to send one email a day for the first 3 or 4 days to your leads, building value in your product and asking for the sale.
3. Later on - send emails once in a while.
The only problem with sending too many emails is that you may begin to annoy your prospects. If this happens they're likely to unsubscribe from your list or worse they'll report your emails as spam. If they unsubscribe from your list you've lost contact with your lead. If they report you as spam it could prevent your email from getting to the prospects who are still in the list. After those first few days I don't recommend sending your leads an email more than once a week. But keep them in the list and don't be afraid to mail them indefinitely. Sometimes it takes years to convince a prospect to buy from your website.
To send any follow up email you're going to need an email auto-responder and newsletter delivery program. You can get one for a very low cost by signing up for http://WebStartsShoppingCart.com. It comes with all the tools you need to automatically schedule emails for delivery and build your first email marketing campaign.