Believe it or not there are many instances when giving away bonuses with your product will actually turn people away from your sales copy.

Sometimes the bonuses offered are not related to your product, other times they give the impression that you need to add on heaps of bonuses to make your product have any value at all.

There are many people making absolute fortunes from their products because of the bonuses they offer in their sales letters, and there equally as many people who don’t give bonuses yet also make fortunes.

On the other side of the coin you will find that there are many people who offer hundreds of dollars worth of bonuses with their product yet fail to make a sale, and people who do not offer bonuses who also fail to make a sale!

It all boils down to the perceived value of your product and how it can help your prospect solve his problems.

If you have a product of exceptional value to your prospect then it will sell no matter what.

Note that value does not mean price!

“A low priced item may have no value to your prospect, but selling the same item for a much greater price often increases it’s value and makes him buy it!”

Of course, if you are in a very competitive market, then adding hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of bonuses to your product can help sway your prospect to buy from you rather than from a competitor

You may think I am taking this a little too lightly, but the truth is you can sell your products WITH or WITHOUT bonuses, I and countless others have done so before and continue to do so.

Obviously, whether you sell your product or not all depends upon the quality of your sales letter, if the copy is lacking then no amount of bonuses you offer will have an impact upon your sales.

Present a poorly written sales letter to your prospect and he may not even get to see the thousands of dollars worth of bonuses he’d get if he were to buy your product – You’d lose him after the first few lines!

Here are a couple of examples of the way you can write your sales copy if you choose to offer or not offer your prospect some bonuses.

If You Include Bonuses:

Some websites showcase the bonuses you will get when you buy their product by listing the graphic covers of them inside a table in their sales letter.

This is more effective than just making a list of the products names as it shows that your prospect is getting a real product – thus adding perceived value to the whole offer.

If you don’t want to list all the individual products then you could write some text similar to the examples below.

• Buy my product now and I will give you $1,000 worth of fantastic bonuses absolutely FREE. Where else will you find an offer like this?
• For the insanely low price of $97 you get an immediate ten-fold increase in that investment! That’s right, immediately you order my product I will send you $1,000 of amazing bonuses absolutely FREE!
• Let’s do the maths. You get Product 1 + Product 2 + Product 3 + Product 4 = $1,000.00. That’s $1,000.00 worth of products for only the price of one. It would have cost you $1,000.00 to get the same products if you were to purchase them individually elsewhere, where else can you get a bargain like that?
• List all the free products in a table and put the value next to them, at the bottom of the table total the value up and highlight it. Point out to your prospect that this is what he gets FREE when he buys your product.

You can combine any of the above methods to really increase the impact, i.e. showcase all the graphics then add some text similar to “let’s do the maths…”

Combining both the graphic of the bonus and the value of it really drives home what a great bargain he is getting when your prospect buys your product.

Many times a prospect will buy your product just to get the free bonuses. I myself have been swayed over to buying a product just because I wanted one of the bonuses and didn’t want to pay the full price for that bonus!

If You Are Not Giving Any Bonuses

In this instance you are relying upon the perceived value of your product to your prospect to convince him to buy.

Earlier in your sales letter you have stated exactly how your product can help your prospect solve his problems. Now you tell him that you’ve already proven that your product is exactly what he needs to solve all his problems, and that if he cannot see the value of it for himself, then, no amount of bonuses will convince him otherwise.

1. It is obvious that there are little (or no) bonuses added to this offer. But if you are not convinced of the true value of this product (or service), no amount of bonuses will ever convince you.

2. Unlike most offers out there, I am NOT going to give you any bonuses. But look at it this way: I have kidnapped a top copywriter who charges $10,000.00 for every sales letter he writes. I have made him spell out his secrets for you, and you get to have his brains for only $97. Would a paltry few bonuses make this information more valuable?

3. Which one are you more interested in? Getting the $1,000.00 worth of bonuses which you might or might not get around to using, or investing $97 in the product alone and learning how to write your own professional $10,000.00 sales copy which you will continue to profit from for years to come?

4. I suppose you think that a few paltry bonuses would make this product even more valuable? Well let me tell you that if that’s what you’re looking for you’ve come to the wrong place.

5. If you cannot see the true value of this product and understand just how much more benefit you will get from using it than by me adding a couple of hundred dollars worth of bonuses to the package, then this product is not for you and I don’t want you to waste your money buying it!

There are valid arguments for using both methods, and generally, as long as you can convince your prospect of the true value they are going to get when they invest in your solutions, you will make your money, with or without offering bonuses.

If you do decide to offer bouses in your sales letter do make sure that they compliment your product. Offering bonuses about dog training when you are selling a product that saves you time and money is hardly likely to sweeten the deal for your visitor is it?

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Stuart Elliott is a world class copywriter who has written numerous stories on sales letters and copywriting. Drop by:
http://howtowritekickbuttcopy.com to pick up a free copywriting power guide.

Article copyright Stuart Elliott 2006 all rights reserved. You may only reprint this artitcle in it’s entirety and you must include this resource box.

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Okay, so you’ve collected a whole sheaf of testimonials for your product, now you need to use them in the most effective way. But before you go plastering them ‘willy-nilly’ all over your sales letter let’s just recap why you need them.

They are a psychological trigger to your prospect that tell him your product is good, they remove the barrier of being a pioneer. They make him think “…if these people have bought this product then it must be good and can really help me with my problem”

Where to put them…

As a Lead in to your sales letter

If you have a ‘big name’ testimonial you can insert it just after your main headline – you state what your product can do and the big name immediately endorses it. In effect he is saying “…yes it’s true listen to what this guy is saying” – very, very powerful.

Woven into your sales letter

As you spin your story and feel you may be raising some questions or objections in your clients mind add a couple of testimonials and they will immediately quell those thoughts.

As a side bar

You could include a box of testimonials as a side bar to your main letter, that way they are always in your prospects mind as he reads your story. Any time he has a doubt he only has to glance at a testimonial to ease his mind.

As an enticement to buy

Just after you mention your price you can include a couple of testimonials before the order button. This immediately removes any doubt about the value of your product, “…after all, these people saw the price but still bought it so I’m making the correct decision” flashes through his mind.

Endorsements also reinforce your prospects decision to buy:

“…they’ve got it – I mustn’t be left out by not getting it!”

As a further enticement to buy

Include a whole string of testimonials at the end of your letter and then another buy button,

“ …why am I still worried? All these people have bought, it must be good – I’m gonna get one!”

An added benefit of using testimonials on your web site is that it can help with ‘link popularity’ in search engine results as well. If someone endorses your product there is a good chance he is going to mention your web site when he is talking or writing to others.

For this reason if you are ever asked to give a testimonial you should seriously consider it (but don’t put your name to a second rate service or shoddy product!) Every time your testimonial is shown your URL is also shown – some extra free advertising is never to be sniffed at!

Speak to you later,

Stuart

Hi there,

Yesterday we were talking about the need to include powerful testimonials in your sales letter now let’s have a look at some ways you can get them.

In the ideal world your satisfied customers will simply write to you with a tetimonial and thank you for the solution you have provided them for their problems.

Whilst this does happen quite frequently it often takes a while for such testimonials to filter through and you need them now especially if you have a new product that hasn’t made any sales yet.

In fact this is a common dilemma for many an Internet Marketer:

So how do you get testimonials for a new product you haven’t offered it for sale yet – without faking them?

It really is quite simple – you ask people for them!

Who was it who said “ask and you shall receive?” that’s all you have to do, but you may also have to offer a little bribe in the way of a complimentary product to make someone take the time to give you a testimonial.

The first people to ask are your customers – give them a week to use your product then drop them a short note asking if they like your product and also whether they’d be prepared to send you a testimonial stating how your product has helped them solve their problem.

When you ask for a testimonial don’t forget to ask the giver for a copy of his photo.

Here are some other ways to create powerful testimonials:

1. Hold contests for the best-written testimonials. Give the writers a reward, gift or some publicity in exchange for their testimonials.
2. Ask your customers, vendors, suppliers, and any associates you have. Use them to promote your products and services. When you use testimonials to add credibility to what you do, you are letting your customers do some of the marketing for your business.
3. If you are just starting out or have a new product, give a sample version of your product or trial service to those whom you know. They can be your business associates, friends, or people whom you know need your solution. This is the fastest way you can get testimonials – it’s the old saying, “give to prove your worth.”
4. Get top names, influential people and experts to endorse your product. Look for their e-mail addresses, E-mail them and politely ask for their endorsement. All they can do is say no, but if they say yes, then what a powerful endorsement.
5. You can participate in active forums and newsgroups where people of similar interest and mindset gather around and discuss the same topic. This is a good place to meet people and get their testimonials. You simply give them a sample of your product, ask for their testimonial and get their permission to publish it. If your product is of genuine quality, you can count on them to send their honest opinion in and spread the word for you.

After reading the above you will see that you have to give copies of your product away to gain testimonials and you may be thinking “but I’ll be losing money like this!”

Look at it in a different way…

A few testimonials will dramatically increase your sales, so the money you ‘lose’ by giving a few copies of your product away to collect some powerful testimonials is actually an investment in your riches. You’re not going to be giving away millions of copies of your product just to collect a dozen or so testimonials are you now?

What’s more you can use this process to test the accessibility of your download page links to make sure that people from different regions can access your website – You score both ways!

Using Testimonials

Okay, so you’ve collected a whole sheaf of testimonials for your product, now you need to use them in the most effective way. But before you go plastering them ‘willy-nilly’ all over your web page let’s just recap why you need them.

They are a psychological trigger to your prospect that tell him your product is good, they remove the barrier of being a pioneer. They make him think “…if these people have bought this product then it must be good and can really help me with my problem”

So with that statement in mind have a think about where you should put them in your sales letter and I’ll be back tomorrow with another update so that we can compare notes.

By the way if you want to share some other ways that you’ve collected poweful testimonials leave a comment for our other readers to look at – after all we’re all one big family right.

Speak to you tomorrow,

Stuart.

When you write a sales letter you are writing a short story telling your prospect how good your product is and how it can help him solve his problem but…

“Your words alone are not enough to convince your prospect to part with his hard earned cash and buy your product…”

While reading your letter he will have two big fears that you need to address…

1. The fear of being the first or only person to get your product and
2. Does it really work?

You could go on and on rattling about what a good offer you have for your prospect, and why he should buy from you, but unless you can prove that other people have bought it, and it has helped them, it’s going to be very difficult to convince your prospect to buy from you.

This means you need testimonials.

“Testimonials from your other customers are one of the strongest marketing tools available…”

A testimonial is a statement from a satisfied customer saying what great service he has received from you or how your product has transformed his life.

As soon as your client sees a few testimonials in your sales letter he immediately relaxes, they take the pressure and fear of making a mistake from his shoulders. After all, he thinks, “…other people have bought from you and been satisfied so why shouldn’t I?”

Whatever you do though, do not fake them! It is better to have no testimonials than a bunch of lies staring at your client – lies always catch up with you in the end.

What to Have In Your Testimonials

• Testimonials are about YOUR product or service – not you. They should show how much your product or service has helped other people not what a great person you are. Your prospects are only interested in how your product can benefit them or solve their problems. (Remember ‘ What’s in it for me?’)
• Results. The more specific they are, the better. Interested prospects want to know what benefits and results other customers have had from using your product or service.
• Quality / quantity. If you can get the top names in your niche or field to endorse your product, it will help increase your sales. If you do not know of any experts or ‘top names’ who will endorse your product, you can make up for this with the quantity of testimonials. The more testimonials you have, the more convincing your sales letter will be.
• Customer’s essential details. Include your customer’s Full Name and City/State/Country after his or her testimonial. You should include your customer’s web site URL or contact e-mail address where applicable (with permission). Also, if you can, get your customer’s to forward a photo and paste it alongside the testimonial. Photos add credibility and show how pleased your customers are when using your product.

A word of warning here…

Don’t hyperlink your testimonial givers website URL – any clickable links are an invitation to leave your page and go to someone elses sales letter.

If you include a photograph, you should host it on your own server – many web browsers are set to show only the images from the originating site. This means that if you simply include an image sourced from a different website your reader may only see a blank space insted of a photo.

Great, you now understand why you need testimonials, tomorrow I’ll show you how to get them even if you’ve not sold any products yet…

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Stuart Elliott is a world class copywriter who has written numerous stories on sales letters and copywriting. Drop by:
http://howtowritekickbuttcopy.com to pick up a free copywriting power guide.

Article copyright Stuart Elliott 2006 all rights reserved. You may only reprint this artitcle in it’s entirety and you must include this resource box.

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When you present your solution to your prospect you must be careful to stress only the benefits of your product. Why?…

Let me ask you a question?

What happens when you do not explain the benefits of your product in your sales letter?

Answer: No sales!

That’s right, NO SALES. Remember that your prospect is looking for ‘What’s in it for me’ all the time, he wants to see how your product can help him with his problem.

More often than not, authors often mistake features for benefits. I have reviewed many sales letters and, sadly, find this common mistake all too often.

Put yourself in the shoes of your prospect, what are you looking for?

You’re looking for something that can help you solve your problem. Now, tell me, if I advertise a book and write:

“Get your copy of ‘Profitable Copywriting Secrets’ today, all of it’s pages are made of the latest wonder plastic, it has an indestructible cover and will last for years!” does this make you want to buy it?

No!

Why not?… How will the indestructible cover and plastic pages help you solve your problem? They are features!

Now consider this:

“Get your copy of ‘Profitable Copywriting Secrets’ today. As you read it you will start to see your own eye-popping Sales Letter developing right in front of you and by the time you’ve read the book you will have crafted a Sales Letter so powerful that it will attract more money than you ever dreamed possible!”

Wow, I want a copy! I’m going to open this book and I’ll immediately know how to start developing a humdinger of a sales letter and by the time I’ve finished reading it I’ll have a sales letter that’ll make me rich…..

I think you get my point! “Start reading and you’ll develop…” and “have crafted a sales letter so powerful…..” are both benefits!

Look at the definition of both, benefit and feature:

• Benefit. According to the Pocket English Dictionary’s definition, it means an advantage; to be useful or profitable to. (Synonyms: gain, profit, do good) – Tells your prospect what’s in it for him.

 

• Feature. According to the Pocket English Dictionary’s definition, it means characteristic. (Synonyms: boast, have) – Tells your prospect about the product i.e. whether it’s digital or physical.

A couple more examples:

• You sell a slimming powder from your web page (physical product). The features of your product are: scientifically formulated, easy-to-digest powder packed in a tin or carton. The benefit of your product is that consumers can now lose weight the easy way and still get all the nutrition they need to stay healthy!

 

• You sell ‘ace’ tennis balls from your web page (physical product). The features of your product are: professionally designed, long lasting and high quality tennis balls for your next match. The benefits of your product are: Save money and increase your scores!

 

• You sell an information product on your web page (digital product). The features of your product are: digital product, in ‘PDF’ format and has Master Resell Rights. Therefore, the benefits are: your customers can download it instantly, they can read it on any computer and they can sell it and keep all the profits for themselves!

When you write your sales letter you should include both the features and benefits in your copy, but you sell the SOLUTION or benefit, NOT the feature!

Remember “What’s in it for me?” You did not buy a refrigerator because it was a refrigerator, did you? You bought one because it will keep your food fresh!

Before you write your sales letter study your product (you should own and have used it extensively in any case) and list the features and benefits. When it comes to the sale, the benefits to your prospect are what will make him part with his hard earned money.

“The selling point is not in the product but in the solutions and benefits the product gives!”

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Stuart Elliott is a world class copywriter who has written numerous stories on sales letters and copywriting. Drop by:
http://howtowritekickbuttcopy.com to pick up a free copywriting power guide.

Article copyright Stuart Elliott 2006 all rights reserved. You may only reprint this artitcle in it’s entirety and you must include this resource box.

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