Sell More Online By Offering a Big Fat BONUS!

I don't know about you, but I secretly love watching infomercials. I enjoy dissecting how they sell, how they get people excited, how they entice people to take action now and pick up the phone and order something they completely don't need!

As you know, these programs always offer a huge bonus or multiple bonuses for people who buy. Often the bonus is worth even more than the featured product itself. You know what I mean... they're selling you a little vegetable chopper, but they also throw in a blender, toaster, and coffeemaker!

Why do they do this? Because it makes the offer completely irresistible. The prospect thinks, "Jeez, I'd be crazy not to buy this right now!"

The same strategy works extremely well online too. Using BONUSES is also a great way to add more value to your program or package, enabling you to raise your price point. And you don't have to spend any money creating your bonus products if you don't want to.

Here are 7 ideas to get you started offering a bonus ASAP:

1. Special Report

Think of some information that relates to what you're offering that would be very helpful for the customer. Exciting titles with numbers are shown to work best, like "31 Easy and Fast Ways to Get More Clients" or "5 Mistakes Most Families Make When Choosing a Puppy." Write it in Microsoft Word, format it so it looks nice, and then use Adobe Acrobat to save it as a PDF file for easy downloading. (Be sure to promote your business and website in there too - remember it may get passed around.)

2. Resource List

Compile a list of your personally recommended resources, websites, books, and vendors that are related to your product or service. You can set this up as a PDF file as well, or create a password-protected area of your website that customers and clients can access. Example: One bonus that comes with my Boost Business With Your Own Ezine system is the "Ezine Queen Private Resource Library." It's simply a select collection of links to websites and tools that can help my customers grow their lists and run their online businesses.

3. Checklist

Are there any checklists that would be a good tie-in to what you offer? That help people do what you're teaching them to do, better or easier? Example: I have a program called "Insider Secrets to Making M0ney With Teleseminars," and one of the bonuses is the checklist that I myself use when I plan any teleseminar event! My customers love it because it makes it super easy for them.

4. Collection of Articles

Hopefully you write articles or tips on a regular basis for your own ezine or newsletter, and you may even have them posted at your website as well. Why not package your favorites into a PDF document and title it your "Top 10" or "Best of" collection?

5. Action Guide

Look at the principles, strategies, and tactics you teach in your program, and put together a separate guide to help the user do assignments, stay on track, and document her progress. (Some marketing experts say calling it an "action guide" or "success journal" is better than "workbook," because "work" can subconsciously deter people.)

6. Audio Class

Record a 60-minute audio introduction or orientation to your program. If you already offer a free introductory teleclass or do live speeches, you can simply record that. Offer it online as an MP3 download, or even better, let people listen right from the website. (You can see exactly how I set mine up here.)

7. Consultation With You

A consultation is a great bonus to offer, for several reasons. First, it lets you get to know your customers better and hear the questions they ask and issues they face. This will help you further improve your products and services to offer what they want. Second, it's a great opportunity to upsell these folks to a higher-priced program at the end of the call. For example, if they enjoyed the advice you provided on the call, they may be interested in your six-month coaching program. Don't fear that everyone who buys your product will actually take advantage of your free consultation - they won't. When I got started, I offered a free 30-minute consultation to all purchasers of my Boost Business ... system. I estimate that less than 20% of the people who bought it actually scheduled a call with me.

Digital or Physical?

I'm a big fan of digital bonuses because they cost nothing to create and there's no packaging or shipping involved. But of course you can also go with physical bonuses, especially if you're already shipping the main product to the customer anyway. My Boost Business... system is a physical package that we ship, so we add in a 2-CD program that teaches people how to get more sales from their ezine. It's simply a recording of a great teleseminar I did about two years ago.

If you're offering printed material as a bonus, don't go crazy spending a ton of money making it look great. "Good" is okay! A simple report that you have printed and bound cheaply at a copy shop is fine. Remember that people are paying you for the information you provide.

What's most important is the cover -- even if you only produce a digital report or audio product, having a graphic of it will help increase your response and make you look more professional. I use and recommend Killer Covers.

Give Your Bottom Line a Bonus This Month

So get YOUR bonuses in gear! Make a note of how your sales have been so far, and then add some bonuses and watch the numbers rise.

© 2005 Alexandria K. Brown

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is creator of the award-winning 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine' system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit http://www.EzineQueen.com

---

Why Trying to Get the Appointment Can be a Recipe for Dis-Appoinment

Why Trying to "Get the Appointment" Can be a Recipe... Read More

What to Look for in Display Graphics and Trade Show Graphics

Display graphics are graphic images used for illustration or "display"... Read More

Trade Show Display Booth ? A Marvelous Contact System

Trade show booths are one of the best direct contact... Read More

My Product is Obviously Better ? Why isn?t it Selling?

The movie, "Field of Dreams" opens with a farmer standing... Read More

Private Practice Marketing: 3 More Secrets I Wish I Knew When I First Started Out

Secret #4 - Get very comfortable asking for paymentOne of... Read More

Uncover Your Hidden Markets

Want a simple, low-cost way to boost your sales? Just... Read More

Whats Your Selling Sentence?

What's your Selling Sentence? If you have a business, you... Read More

Marking Your Territory

We all know the familiar adage "if it walks like... Read More

Top 7 Ways to Get Your Products in the Hands of Celebrities

Celebrities are the tastemakers that drive brand awareness and usage.... Read More

5 Great Ways to Reach Your Target Market

There are many ways to reach out and find the... Read More

The Advantages of Full Color Brochure Printing

A brochure can be a great promotional tool, whether it... Read More

Its Not All about the Cleavage! Or is It?

Times are a changin'! More women today work outside the... Read More

Like Brushing Your Teeth

What do the following things have in common: brushing your... Read More

Give It Away Now - The More You Share, the More You Sell!

Give away your knowledge, and you'll make money. How does... Read More

D.A.N.C.E. With Me

Recently, a client asked what he could do to help... Read More

How To Conduct Effective Online Surveys

Although they are inexpensive and product fast results, online surveys... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Spell Out Your Unique Value

I attended a "Sales Focus" seminar a few years back... Read More

Newsletters - A Great Way to Build Business Relationships

This is an excellent way to grow your business using... Read More

How to Put Law & Order into Marketing Your Legal Practice

First in a series of three articlesRegardless of your law... Read More

Joint Venture: 50 Power Secrets Of Joint Venture Marketing, Exposed

What is a Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

Shine a Spotlight on Your Professional Service Firm

As a life-long dancer, I know a bit about the... Read More

Making the Intangible Real

How do you make the intangible real? How do you... Read More

Small Business Marketing Tip - Get Attention and Be Remembered

We live in a world of noise ? not just... Read More

Marketing With Brochures

With the explosion of the internet and online businesses many... Read More

Where to Find New Customers Using B2B Direct Mail

The challenge in business-to-business direct mail is knowing where to... Read More

Name the Top Cable Network

When Cable began as Community Antenna Television in 1948, all... Read More

30-Minute Marketing

Marketing your small business takes tons of time, years of... Read More

A Perfect Partnership for Business

Too often we small business owners get caught up in... Read More

Insiders Secret to Selling Mailing Lists

If you've got a mailing list of at least a... Read More

Free or Not Free ? That is the Question

You may be in business for yourself or as a... Read More

Marketing For Profit - 6 Critical Traits

Develop These Six Critical Marketing Traits...And Success Will Surely Follow.If... Read More

Custom Lanyards - The Perfect Solution for Promotion, Branding, and Marketing

Lanyards are fast becoming the new "must have" promotional item.Events... Read More

Want To Be A Stronger Marketer? Work Your Marketing Muscles!

You want to be more flexible? You have to stretch... Read More