There are many mistakes related to this topic alone. But, before we can talk about the mistakes, let's clarify what we mean when we are referring the word "bonus" for an online business.
By most definitions a bonus means "something extra which is given as an incentive". In most cases this has some monetary value. This is also true in your online business, but many think of a bonus as something you give your employees or yourself. In this case we are giving the bonus to our customer.
When creating our online sales process we add incentives (bonuses) to increase the value of an item which our customer is buying. So let's talk about the mistakes that generally occur when using this strategy.
The first would seem obvious - and that would be NOT offering a bonus at all. It's not always needed but, in most cases, it does entice the potential buyer because they are getting a two for one type offer.
The second mistake would be that the bonus or bonuses that you are offering have nothing to do with the product you are selling. Imagine the confusion if you are offering an information product on "Buying Your First Home" and you offer a bonus of "10 Tips to Stop Smoking Now". This could actually confuse the buyer not help the sale. You want to think about what bonus you can offer that would accentuate the primary product you are offering.
In this example it might be something like "10 Secrets to Reduce Home Energy Costs". That would make sense because, as a first time homeowner, they are getting ready to spend a lot of money and you are giving them an added bonus of how to save money in their home.
Another mistake is not revealing the value of that bonus item. Yes, they will think "Oh cool, I get this bonus." But if the bonus has a stated value it will increase the overall value of your total offer that much more. Be sure to elevate the price of the bonus just to make it seem a better deal. Don't use your hard cost. Use terms like "real world value"; "retail value" or "sold online for $$"
Yet another mistake that is often seen when including bonuses on your website is the fact that there is no image to help your visitor visualize what that product looks like. Many say well it's a digital product how do you show that? Easy, you create a digital representation of that item. If it's an ebook create an ecover. If it's an audio create an image with a CD or Album cover. If it's a bonus membership site show a membership card. The visual display increases the perceived value of the bonus and makes it more real to the buyer.
And that leads to our final mistake related to bonus items which is not describing what the bonus is. Just giving the title, an image and the value is nice, but don't rely on just the image to explain what they are getting. Don't leave them guessing that it's an ebook or a physical book or a CD or mp3 audio. Give them a description such as: "This 75 page ebook reveals 10 essential secrets to reduce your utility bills with very little effort." Be sure to keep it simple though, as you don't want to deter from the sales process. Give enough information to help increase the value.
Of course, by offering digital bonuses or products this gives you a great opportunity for upselling the digital product as a physical CD for a little bit more.
To receive your free copy of the Frank Deardurff and Bret Ridgway's special report "The 7 Biggest Website Mistakes Online Business Owners Make" visit 50BiggestWebsiteMistakes.com
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