EXPLODING YOUR SALES BLOG POST 3

 The Ultimate Testimonial

Ok, seeing as we've done the audio and text thing with these testimonials, lets go all out, major bells and whistles professionalism with video testimonials. How often do you see streaming video testimonials up on websites? Not very often I'd say. In fact at the time of writing this, I've only seen two in my whole career, and they were great. Real people giving real accounts of using real products that worked. If any type of testimonial is going to add value to your products, it's going to be this one. A simple idea developed into an all singing all dancing, hard hitting method that works.

The next best thing to video testimonials would be inviting these people over to your house to tell you how good the products are. I admit, this is taking things to an extreme, but with all the digital cameras floating around nowadays, and the ability to capture video through the net, and the larger hosting spaces starting to appear through the thought competition, it shouldn't be more than a little time consuming to get a few of these. Well worth it in my opinion. Taking testimonials to the max.

The Standard Bonus

Right, I think we've done about as much as we can with those testimonials, so moving on a little to bonuses. Standard bonuses. Nothing fancy really, all you're doing is offering up some sort of bonus with the purchase of the product, again adding value. Generally these are known as something directly related to your product, or even better, something that will benefit you as well as the customer getting it for free.

How about putting together a small training series that allows the customer to give it away, building your reputation, as well as adding value on the initial sale? Or if you're really on a brainy one that day, how about putting something together that will make you money through educating the buyer? For example, give away an affiliate marketing course to your customers, helping them become better affiliates, allowing them to promote your stuff and make you money at the same time.

Bonuses - But Smarter

It's links like this that make up really clever bonuses, where on the surface they might just seem standard to other people that don't understand where you're coming from. Always try to put something together that will benefit you as well as the customer, whether it's increased sales, a re-branded book packed with affiliate links or links to your product they can give away, or an educational tool that will assist your customer, and put money in your pocket at the same time.

In fact, while we're talking about giving away bonuses to enhance your product, I've even seen some really effective products that are just made up of a bunch of bonuses, with no real central product. Of course they have a central theme, and are all related in some way, but this is something to keep in mind for when you've been going a while and having a slow day. As long as all the products compliment each other, and are relevant, they can come together to make a whole new product and income stream for yourself.

Bonuses Done Right

Whilet we're on this subject, please, please take note here, because if I see anyone trying to flog their product, thinking that an e-book entitled ' Doing business today, in the 60's' is going to shift more of their products, I really might have to start wondering about peoples motives. Things like this won't add $500 to your price. In fact, let me tell you how serious this issue is. If you put a dodgy bonus together, or do this in the wrong way, you can devalue your product so much, that it becomes worthless, and you just won't sell any. Simple as that.

So here's a general rule for you. If you've really thought about it, dug about and tried to find something to add in as a good worthwhile bonus to try and tip customers over the edge and to have more of them buy your product, and you honestly can't find anything that fits the bill, go with nothing or create an original info product yourself. No bonuses are better than one that puts all your customers off. As obvious as that sounds, it seems to be occurring more and more often recently, which is strange, because of the sheer number of people that claim to know what they're talking about that are teaching people what to do with online business nowadays. 

Using the example above I want to demonstrate something to you now that also seems to have become a strange epidemic that pretty much makes me and everyone else I know click right off the website and go somewhere else when looking for their products, and that's when people take too much time and put in a little too much effort into adding value to one of their products. Or so they think anyway. Have a look at this one, how many times have you seen this recently?

Example: Get your hard hitting, intensive training course, entitled 'Improve Your Fishing', consisting of two CD's packed with audio and video, showing you all the tricks, tips and tactics in use today by some of the most successful fisherman in the world!. Order now and get this proven course worth over $2500 for a measly $300. In fact, I'm so confident that it's going to help you I'm going to knock the price down further. You can get all this expertise in one place for an amazing $49.95. Order your copy now!

See where I'm coming from? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with giving special offers to people who buy there and then catering to impulse buyers, and bargain hunters, or just to show people they're getting a real good deal out of you, but from $2500 down to $49.95? That's going over the top, and unfortunately just makes your product look like a defect. How would you feel if you walked into a store and saw a top of the range 62" plasma screen knocked down from $12000 to $200? I can tell you, your first reaction would either be 'Yeah right, this a joke', or even more likely 'Whats the catch?' or 'Whats wrong with it?'. 

Remember when we talked earlier about increasing customer confidence in your products, and the whole idea of a sales letter is to squish all these problems and questions people might have with a product, while at the same time creating a want, and sometimes even a need for it. Do you see how adding too much value, too soon, or going really over the top can be detrimental? Where as you see it as giving the customers a bargain, they're seeing it as another question in their minds. Another hurdle that they need to cross, or a question they need to find the answer to before they buy your product. It's everywhere nowadays. Discounts aren't bad on their own, but in this type of circumstance, they are going to kill your sales. Most people don't even know why. If you didn't before, now you do. Don't make the same mistake.

Now one thing I don't want to do is let you think that there is only one bad way to add value (or completely remove value) from your products, because I've seen it done over and over again in different circumstances. I was going to give you three examples here, but lets take the fishing example above as one, and I'm going to give you two more, in totally different situations that will spoil your sales figures. Bear in mind these are real, live examples that are out there right now on the net. 

Example one: The 'Only want your bonuses' factor: I land on this pretty blue and white, professionally designed, well built website that immediately makes me smile (Just feels nice when something is presented like this). I proceed to read the sales copy which briefly tells me how I can get money-making tips for free if I sign up to their newsletter. I see links to back issues here too so I'm not really put off by the thoughts of this being another poor excuse to send me ads. Then comes the standard, sign up today and get this freebie. I'm happy, because it looks relevant to what I want to achieve. Now normally at this point I'd just go and sign up, but this person decided to go the extra way to please me.

E-book 1, E-book 2, E-book 3, E-book 4, Software 1, Software 2, Software 3, Software 4,5,6,7 and so on. Now on the surface this might seem like adding value to the point of people not being able to refuse, but honestly, are people signing up to their free newsletter for the freebies or for the content? Again, at first glance getting more subscribers is good right? Well, not really. Not if none of them care about your content and just wanted your collection of fifty thousand e-books. Remember, it's all about quality, not quantity, and this example shows exactly how you can add too much value to a free a product to your detriment in the end. Your quality suffers, so does your pocket, and you've totally wasted your time.

Example two: The 'Not sure what going on' factor: Here's a good one that I see a lot of, and something else thats on the rise too. In fact, to be honest, I really think this one is our fault, it's us selling these guides that tell you to sell your bonuses like they're products themselves. This is correct information, but it can be taken too far. 

Again, I'm surfing around the net and land on a site that happens to be a money making op. I'm not opposed to money making opportunities of course, and this one just happens to have a great headline that entices me to read further. The further I get down the sales letter the better it gets, until we hit the bonuses. E-book one, click here to read about this e-book (forwards me to a whole new sales letter), click here to read about this software (takes me to a whole new sales letter) and so on for three or four bonuses. By the time I'm done, I've been taken all over the place, have five windows open, read six sales letters which each try to sell me on to something else, and have trouble finding my way back to your sales letter.

It's important to remember to add value using bonuses in a way which makes your bonuses seem like real products themselves, but never ever lose sight of what you want your website to do. Don't throw people off in different directions and have them read ten sales letters for different products. It just doesn't work like that. Again while you may think you're adding value, all you're doing is distracting and confusing your visitors. When people say sell your bonuses like a real product, they mean a few hard hitting paragraphs about how this compliments the main product and you're getting a heck of a good deal, or you can't get it anywhere else, or where it's been proven etc. Don't go over the top, or again, you'll be losing customers. 

Just these two above examples (three if you include the fishing one) I see every single day, and the worst thing about it is, when people say to me, 'Why no sales from my site?' and I tell them that parts of their bonuses sections are destroying their sales letter, I get strange looks and comments. See it's like one of those little annoying mind puzzles, where the solution is so obvious people miss it, and I can tell they don't feel too proud about that, but no worries. Not a problem at all, as long as you learn from it and don't repeat the mistake you'll do fine I tell them.

Now if you've read this far and are ultimately confused or lost as to what the heck you could possibly give as a bonus in addition to your product, or don't have anything to hand, don't worry. It doesn't have to be tangible at all. It doesn't have to be an old e-book (in fact, it'd probably be beneficial if it wasn't an old e-book) it doesn't have to be a piece of software. Open your mind a little and think about other things you could offer to people along with your product. Are you respected in your field of expertise? How about a free one hour, no strings phone or video consultation with your customers purchase, or even a follow-up consultation to see how theyve done with the product youve just sold them?

This isn't such a hard thing to implement if you have the knowledge. Personally, I like my free time, and you won't get me talking to you on the phone about your business unless you've just deposited $500 into my account for the hour, and heck, you'd have to know me pretty well and be in my good books to get me down to that price too. Immediately that adds value to this product without me even offering the consultations, because I can tell you now, it took a little longer than three hours to write this guide. This is something you can do too, and if you really wanted there's nothing wrong with going a step further and actually offering those consultations, maybe 30 minutes or an hour per customer free (depending of course on how many customers you plan to get per week. Be careful not to try to give 100 people a free three hour consultation every week).

You don't have to be in the business of selling guides and info about business to put any of this together. It doesn't matter what you're selling, you can use this method somewhere, whether it's an hour free technical support, or a free 30 minute confidence builder to compliment your main product. It's totally up to you. Be imaginative, and hey, it might even lead to further consultations putting even more cash in your pocket. Again, a freebie helps your customers and you, not just your customers. An important factor, indeed, and a question you should be asking yourself when creating any value adding material. How does this help my customers and me?

A Little Something Extra

Before we move on, there's two more ways I'd like to talk to you about adding value to a product. This time, though, the bonuses we'll be offering aren't directly related to the product, and aren't necessarily given on the sales letter as most bonuses are. It's always nice to give the customer a little something extra, and this is one way to do that and again, as we talked about before, helping yourself as well as the customer.

The first example I want to talk about is adding an option for discounts related to your other products, either now, or in the future through a ticket system. A good way to do this is allow customers to add additional products to their shopping cart at a discounted price when they check out. Not only does it allow them something extra for a little less, but it allows you to make more sales at the same time, again, benefiting both you and your customer.

If this is the first product you're creating, it doesn't hurt to reward loyalty. How about giving them 10% off the next product they buy from your business? This might not seem like it'll do much on the surface, but when you turn a first time customer into a long term customer that keeps buying from you again and again, this is adding value to your products at it's finest, because it benefits you the most not just today, but far into the future, where your previous customers are picking up two, three, four, and even more of your products within a year. 

And last, something that's rather underestimated and hardly ever used (at least through the products I've purchased over the years anyway) is again, about rewarding loyalty. If for some reason you don't want to include particular bonuses on the sales letter, why not go for something a little different instead, and hit them with it after they buy the product. Granted, you're losing your additional sales power through presenting this on your sales letter, and instead handing it out after the sale, but let me assure you, if you do this, you will be remembered, and most importantly people will talk about you, and at the same time become long term, loyal customers of yours. Is there anything more valuable?

Above all, if you take nothing else away from this, I want you to remember one thing, and that's that nothing in business is set in stone. No rules that exist now will exist forever, nothing that works now will work forever. The same applies to everything written before you. Experiment, innovate, be different and you will be remembered, make wads of cash and get your name around, and who knows, in six months time you might just be sitting where I am now, typing out a report revealing the newest and most cutting edge marketing methods that youve that you've discovered throughout your journey.

Summary

● In this section we'll be taking the concept of adding value further, when we look at directly influencing your sales through the addition of value, ranging from specifically crafted offers, JV deals, consultations, bonuses and others to demonstrate perceived value or intangible goods is as good as monetary value with tangible goods.

● There are many ways to add value to your product, and the means and methods are forever changing through new and innovative twists on current techniques. It's worth looking out for these the next time you read a powerful sales letter from a trusted marketer, and asking yourself, how are they adding value to their products? Watching how others do things on their sites is one of the most valuable cost free and pretty much effort free way of research that you have in your arsenal, but it works extremely well. Keep that in mind all the time, not just throughout this section.

● A good place to start here is cut off dates and limited numbers for your sales letters. Probably the most used and widely known aside from testimonials, this one really gets the sales flowing if done correctly.

● All the cut off dates require is notification that a special offer is ending on a particular day, giving the impression that the reader will miss out if they don't buy now, an age-old and well-used, but effective, means of pushing home additional sales. 

● If using this method, use the language that shows that your low price and your special offer is only guaranteed until a particular date, this way if you decide to continue to a later date it doesn't cause a stir, and you can avoid using those little java codes that push the date forwards each day relating to the computer clock time at the visitors end. 

● Second, think about limited numbers, only allowing a limited number of people into your site a particular point in time. Again, quite widely used, and both catering to impulse buys and adding value. One of my previous sites has this system set up, and still to this day, I have people asking if there's a space open yet, and even offering more money than he standard fee to get in. 

● Now you might say that I'm losing money on such a deal, only letting people in a small number at a time, but it really doesn't happen like that. The reason the limit was set in the first place was so that I'd have time to start working on other projects and could run my other sites on autopilot, so you could say I discovered this one by accident. Don't forget that you can always raise and lower your limits if you do try this, which I highly recommend you do try, even if limiting numbers doesnt suit your situation, limiting numbers on a lower price, very likely will suit every situation. 

● The next method of adding value is the testimonial. Again, we've talked about this previously, but it deserves a mention. A standard chunk of text either well positioned on your sales letter, or down the side on your nav bar, or even a whole section dedicated to customer comments and testimonials. This does wonders for proof of your products abilities and adding value.

● Taking testimonials to the next step: How about pulling in audio? Simply setting up your answering machine to record, and letting your customers know it's there for them to leave audio testimonials is a great way to add realism and a bit of believability to your customer comments, what’s more, they're not exactly easy to fake, so you're inducing even more trust with your readers.

● How about taking things even further with video testimonials? I saw a specific marketer doing this just a few months back, and it made his sales letter really sticky, memorable and powerful. Considering I forget about sales letters just a few hours later unless I learn something, or they're pretty special and unique, this is something I urge you to try if you have the tools to put this together. 

● Next up, standard bonuses. Again, let’s not dwell on the basics of this because we've already talked about them, but how about taking standard bonus giveaways a little further?

● How about putting together a small training series that allows the customer to give it away building your reputation, as well as adding value on the initial sale? Or, if you're really on a brainy one that day, how about putting something together that will make you money through educating the buyer. For example, giving away an affiliate marketing course to your customers helping them become better affiliates, and hopefully promote your stuff and make you money at the same time. 

● It's links like this that make up really clever bonuses, where on the surface they might just seem standard to other people that don't understand where you're coming from. Always try to put something together that will benefit you as well as the customer, whether it's increased sales, a re-branded product packed with affiliate links or links to your product they can give away, or an educational tool that will assist your customer, and put money in your pocket at the same time.

● In fact, while we're talking about giving away bonuses to enhance your product, I've even seen some really effective products that are just made up of a bunch of bonuses, with no real central point of focus. Of course they have a central theme, and are all related in some way, but this is something to keep in mind for when you've been going a while and are having a slow day or want to put together a feature packed membership site. As long as all the products compliment each other, and are relevant, they can come together to make a whole new product and income stream for yourself.

● My next point is: Don't add value to the point of taking it away. Imagine if I tried to give you a bonus with this course and told you it was called 'Business in modern day 60's' and then went ahead and told you it's worth $500, as an antique maybe, but nothing more.

● If you've really thought about it, dug about and tried to find something to add in as a good worthwhile bonus to try and tip customers over the edge and to have more of them buy your product, and you honestly can't find anything that fits the bill, go with nothing. No bonuses are better than one that puts all your customers off. As obvious as that sounds, it seems to be occurring more and more often recently, which is strange, because of the sheer number of people that claim to know what they're talking about that are teaching people what to do with online business nowadays. 

● Next is your price. Have you ever seen those products that tell you that their product is worth five hundred dollars, and then crossed out next to it is a new price with the original crossed out of $250, then that price is crossed out and next to it is a $20 price tag? I think people are smarter than a lot of sales letters give them credit for.

● There's nothing wrong with giving these kinds of signals out to people, but $500 to $20? I don't think so. The reaction is either 'yeah right, this is a joke', or more likely, what the catch?, or 'Ok what’s wrong with it?' simply devaluing to the point of placing doubt in the customers mind again. 

● See how adding too much value too soon, or going really over the top can be detrimental? Where you see it as giving the customer a bargain, they're seeing it as another question in their minds. Another hurdle that they need to cross, or a question they need to find the answer to before they buy your product. It's everywhere nowadays. Discounts aren't bad on their own, but in this type of circumstance, they are going to kill your sales. Most people don't even know why. If you didn't before, now you do. Don't make the same mistake.

● Here are three real-life examples that I've seen of people giving away too much value to their detriment. Number one: I land on this pretty blue and white professionally designed site, which immediately makes me smile. I proceed to read the sales copy, and I'm pleased to report that the free publication sounds mighty enticing. I'm ready to sign up, but before I do, this person decides to go out of their way to entice me.

● E-book bonus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, in addition to a forty e-book library, software 1, software 2, software 3, software 4, software 5. By the time I got done reading about each one, I'd forgotten what the original product was. On the surface it may seem like adding value, but are people signing up for their free newsletter or the bonuses? 

● Giving the earth away is a good method to get numbers, not quality.

● Example two: here’s a good one that I see a lot, and something you've probably seen before, too. In fact, to be honest I really think this one is our fault, it's us selling these guides that tell you to sell your bonuses like they're products themselves. This is correct information, but it can be taken too far. 

● Again, I'm surfing around the net and land on a site that happens to be a money making op. I'm not opposed to money making opportunities of course, and this one just happens to have a great headline that entices me to read further. The further I get down the sales letter the better it gets, until we hit the bonuses. E-book one, click here to read about this e-book (forwards me to a whole new sales letter), click here to read about this software (takes me to a whole new sales letter) and so on for three or four bonuses. By the time I'm done, I've been taken all over the place, have five windows open and have trouble finding my way back to the original sales letter.

● It's important to remember to add value using bonuses in a way which makes your bonuses seem like real products themselves, but never ever lose sight of what you want your website to do. Don't throw people off in different directions and have them read ten sales letters for different products. 

● Two additional ways of adding value: Number one, giving discounts for other products at the checkout. Add this to your cart, and buy them together and save 50%, an excellent and fast way of making double sales in many situations. More cash for you, more value for the customer. Of course not everyone will take up your offer, but the few extra sales sure add up.

● If this is the first product you're creating, it doesn't hurt to reward loyalty. How about giving them 10% off the next product they buy from your business? This might not seem like it'll do much on the surface, but when you turn a first time customer into a long term customer that keeps buying from you again and again, this is adding value to your products at its finest, because it benefits you longer term. 

● Last, something that's rather underestimated and hardly ever used (at least through the products I've purchased over the years anyway) is again, about rewarding loyalty. If for some reason you don't want to include particular bonuses on the sales letter, why not go for something a little different instead, and hit them with it after they buy the product? Granted, you're losing your additional sales power through presenting this on your sales letter, and instead handing it out after the sale, but let me assure you, if you do this, you will be remembered, and most importantly people will talk about you, and at the same time become long term, loyal customers of yours. Very valuable.   

● Above all, if you take nothing else away from this section of the guide, I want you to remember one thing, and that's that nothing in business is set in stone. No rules that exist now will exist forever, nothing that works now will work forever. The same applies to everything written before you. Experiment, innovate, be different and you will be remembered, make wads of cash and get your name around, and who knows, in six months time you might just be sitting where I am now, typing out a report like this revealing the newest marketing methods that you've discovered.