Anatomy of a GREAT Offer ...

As a copywriter myself, I'll like you to believe that
copywriting is all there is to making more sales. But that just
wouldn't be true.

The first thing I look at before I take on a new client is what
they are really selling--their primary offer. If I cannot sense the
value of the offer then I decline their project.

Nothing can be more distressing to a copywriter than trying to
sell a product that he or she knows is not worth what the
business owner may think it is worth. Selling the proverbial ice
to Eskimos is an ordeal akin to sitting in a dentist chair for a
root canal without Novocain.

It is often said that bad copy can sell a great product but great
copy cannot sell a bad product. There is some wisdom in this
saying but it's not totally correct.

You see, great copy CAN sell a bad product but the temporary
success will eventually backfire. You'll get a ton of refund
requests and you can damage the image of your business in the
marketplace.

(As a side note, if your refund rate is close to zero percent
this means that your product or service is under-priced or your
sales message isn't strong enough.)

Second only to great sales copy is the actual OFFER you are
making--the value you are offering to the customer in return for
their monetary investment. Some products literally sell
themselves because you know that they satisfy a genuine need in
the marketplace. And there are others that require used-car
salesmanship to get them in customers' hands.

An effective offer is made up of essentially five critical
elements:

1. A primary product that is new in some respect: the product or
service itself, the price or even a version. You may often see
companies try to present an old product in a new light by using
the terms "new" and then eventually "new and improved".

2. A bonus for responding to the offer. Some people question the
effectiveness of using bonuses but they work. There are customers
who will buy the main product just to get the bonuses. Any
marketer who thinks that customers will see through this
technique and so don't use bonuses is leaving a lot of money on
the table.

3. A free gift just for responding to the offer. This is
different from the actual bonus itself and is given just for
taking the time to even inquire further about the offer. It may
be a free report of a pen with your company name but it's given
just for showing interest - such as visiting your website.

4. A discount on the price. This is the same as offering a sale
but discount that lasts forever is NOT really a sale. What makes
the discount special is the limited time it will be available.
Some marketers use a script to update the expiration date to be
always midnight the next day, but this can erode their
credibility. No one likes to know that they were "pushed" into
making a buying decision when the same offer is made to 'late
comers'.

5. A time limit or number limit on the offer. People are
typically procrastinators and will always want to make the
purchase tomorrow. If you place a time limit or quantity limit on
your offer you'll see the increase in sales. You will be
providing a strong incentive to act now and not later.

Now the BEST offers will have all five of these elements at the
same time. You may choose to use most of them but why not get the
synergistic effect by using all.

I see so many offers made by businesses that would do so much
better if they offered bonuses or set a limit on quantity sold or
made some effort to 'fatten' the offer for the prospect. You can
always brainstorm and find a way to increase the perceived value
of your product or service, and small additions can produce big
results.

You may want to take another look at your offer--not just the
sales message--to see what may be missing. A reworked offer may
just take your business over the top.

-Ray Edwards