Effectiveness of 'bonus' products

Hey Van80,

I can't talk about out of print books, but bonuses are always helpful and dare I say, a necessity for most marketing material.

The point of the bonus is to increase the PERCEIVED VALUE of the whole package. If you were just selling an ebook for $37, then a prospective buyer might think that they are paying too much for one book. In the age of the Kindle, they'd start looking at cheaper alternatives.

However, when you throw in the bonus, your package becomes EXCLUSIVE and they can only get it from YOU!

The people who provide low quality bonuses are probably providing it just for the sake of it. They don't know how to build a proper business and are trying to make a fast buck today, before being broke tomorrow. All because they don't know how to build a long term business!

Always provide awesome bonuses my friend.

Abul

Find something that is cheap, but a nice gift. Consumers value the free gift more than worry about the value OF that free gift. That is not to say that you can rip them off and trick them, of course. I am just saying that you can give them something meaningful which is very inexpensive for you, that will mean a lot to them.

Maybe your health niche stuff is weight loss related. Have some custom "rubber bracelets" made, like the "livestrong" ones - use those as a free gift in the mail, provided your profits will cover it. Or raise your price a few dollars to offset the hit. Market it as their own constant reminder, that they are doing good for themselves, stuff like that.

That's just one idea - you can get many things custom-made these days, custom make a useful product or motivational product (the bracelet falls into the category of the latter), and it would be intellectually appreciated by your consumer. =)

Also, I agree with Abul - perceived value. And you can't put a price on encouragement (in the example of the free bracelet).

If you have good quality bonuses then you can increase the value of your product. Some people will actually buy the product to get the bonus.

Evaluate what would be a great ebook to enhance your product. Let's say your health product is about lowering cholesterol. You might want to include some bonuses about herbs, research on side effects of statin drugs, foods known to lower cholesterol, etc. Make each one a separate bonus. You can find some good PLR out there for a bonus which you can then revise to make your own. If you have the funds you can hire a ghost writer.

Think about this, if bonuses didn't work why do on-line and off-line folks offer bonuses?

Good luck to you!

We offered a bonus product with one of our kits and so far it's been a bust! Sold exactly two of them. On the other hand we put a different product on sale and were swamped with orders. To us, a lower price gave us many many, more sales than a bonus did, and the bonus was a good one, not something cheesy.

Bonus products related to the products that you're trying to sell can only help to improve perceived value, and to help and "bulk up" your offer. 9 times out of 10 they boost conversion rates.