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Interesting Technique I've Never Seen Before

by JoshuaG
5 replies
Today I was looking for some direct marketing(DM) information and I visited a famous DM'ers website.

This place is beautiful from a direct marketing perspective.

Its a non-stop hard sell extravaganza made to squeeze every living cent from your pockets.

I loved it.

But the reason I'm posting is because of one particular series of techniques he used on his site that I thought was incredibility smart.

Here's the process:

-He offers $655 worth of free products. (nothing new here)

-You fill out the opt-in (name and email only...again nothing new)

-After filling out the opt-in you are directed to more copy and an order form to have the product mailed to you. (This is a bit different from the usual download route for info products)

- On the order form you have to provide a credit card to pay for shipping. The shipping price seemed high, from my perspective he is making money from the shipping cost alone.

-Because you gave your credit card you are also enrolled in a forced continuity program.

I know this is very similar to CPA stuff, but the opt-in before the order form is something I've never seen, especially for digital products.

I think its a smart technique and here's why:

The prospect has invested energy towards a desired outcome. If they don't follow up by completing the order form, they feel they have wasted their energy watching the video and filling out the opt in form.

Besides that feeling of "well if I've gone this far.." there is also the "momentum factor".

The short opt-in requires an action response and preps the prospect for more involved actions (filling out the order form)...it creates momentum.

And who knows, maybe if you don't fill out the order form he will email you a link where you can download the free stuff a week later!

All pretty amazing and definitely an approach I'd like to test in the future.

What do you think of this process?
#interesting #technique
  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hlatky
    I think that it is wrong.

    If you are going to give someone your CC, you shouldn't be hit with some hidden additional charges.

    Unless it says that they will be charged for this continuity program in clear bolded text (which I doubt is the case), I think that this should be illegal.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarah S
    This is an interesting technique to be sure, and one that I haven't seen before either, but I'm not sure how I feel about it though.

    If I were the person signing up, there would be several things running through my mind, such as:

    "Are these products really worth over $600, or is this just a huge mark-up to get a profit?"

    "Hmm...I have to pay for shipping, and it's a bit pricy, so this "free" product isn't really free. Is it still worth the cost of shipping and handling to me?"

    "How long will it take for this package to arrive? Am I going to have to wait 6-8 weeks to get my information, instead of an instant download? Time wasted is money lost for me."

    "If I'm not happy with the product, it's going to be a huge hassle if I have to send it back and wait for a refund..."

    "Do I feel at ALL comfortable giving my credit card information to this source? Is it trustworthy or not?"

    "How do I feel about being forced into a continuity enrollment? Am I comfortable with that idea?" (For me, this is usually a huge turn-off.)

    Also, I'm more of a person who loses interest in something the more hoops I have to jump through to get it. At a certain point, I just say "forget it." Plus, if did go through all of the steps to actually order the product, just to get a free download link in an email later, that would actually just make me upset for having paid the shipping and handling and going through all the trouble.


    I'm not trying to shoot this idea down, especially since I know you're keen to try it. I just thought I'd point out some of the things that you might want to think about or address in your campaign that could potentially prevent people from following through with their order.

    I hope that's helpful and not discouraging!
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  • Profile picture of the author JoshuaG
    If you are going to give someone your CC, you shouldn't be hit with some hidden additional charges.

    Unless it says that they will be charged for this continuity program in clear bolded text (which I doubt is the case), I think that this should be illegal.
    Yea I agree, hidden charges are not cool. And fortunately, while not in bold text, it is clearly explained in the copy.

    The part of it I don't like is that I know people are often lazy and/or forgetful. The result is people paying for something they never wanted.

    I'm not trying to shoot this idea down, especially since I know you're keen to try it. I just thought I'd point out some of the things that you might want to think about or address in your campaign that could potentially prevent people from following through with their order.

    I hope that's helpful and not discouraging!
    Thanks for the insightful post. Its good to know whats going though peoples heads in a process like this.

    And don't worry about putting me off!
    But thanks for being a considerate person!
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  • Profile picture of the author scrofford
    I don't like the forced continuity stuff, therefore I think the whole plan is bad. I wouldn't use it.
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