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It's not an "OTO" it's an upsell or cross-sell

by J Bold
12 replies
Little bit of a pet peeve. We IMers are so piss-poor when it comes to using proper business terms and it gets a little annoying (ya I know "piss-poor" is not a proper business term ha ha). OTO means "One Time Offer."

The vast majority of the time in this market, with WSOs especially, the offer is not truly an OTO. I'd venture it's 95% of the time or more that it's not a true OTO.

If it were, you would truly only be able to see it once and then if you tried to go back to that page again the product owner would have enabled a script (now if they used cookies you could always clear your cookies and possibly get back to that page, but that's besides the point, at least they are trying to make it a true OTO) that would not let you see the page again to make it a true OTO. Such scripts do exist, and for free (i may have found on in the War Room, in which case I suppose the entry free would be $37 for access to all the stuff people give away) or paid.

However, a huge majority of the time when people talk about or even complain about "OTOs" it's not an OTO! It's an upsell or cross-sell, depending on how the offer is structured. In fact, quite often as it's not like "upsizing" at a fast food place but just a related offer, it's a cross-sell and not an upsell.

And if you actually buy an upsell and then come back to a thread and complain about the fact that there's an upsell (WHICH YOU ACTUALLY BOUGHT!) you look stupid. I'm sorry but own up and take responsibility for your own actions. Don't quickly hand a product owner money than come complaining to them about it. Be an adult!

Just like Andy Samberg says:


And if you wonder why product owners on WSOs use upsells, I've seen stats where an front-end offer did $10K in sales and the upsell added $15K more in sales. Does that make sense to you now? People are running businesses here, not charities. Keep in mind front-end offers are often incredibly cheap and packed with value (and if they're not, you of course have the freedom to give your opinion on the sales thread, just keep it about the product only!). In fact, I haven't even used upsells enough but I probably should.

Now, will this little thread change anything? No. But I feel better now.
#crosssell #oto #upsell
  • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
    Does it really matter how we call it if we're all referring to the same thing?
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    • Profile picture of the author J Bold
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      Does it really matter how we call it if we're all referring to the same thing?

      Yeah, it does. Because they're two different things. I wouldn't go around calling a bus a "car" for example.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      Does it really matter how we call it if we're all referring to the same thing?
      I get what the OP is saying.

      And you can have a product which is an OTO, and what makes that an OTO is that the only place to get it for a lower price is on that OTO page.

      Your OTO can be an upsell, but your upsell may not always be an OTO.

      Your OTO might be a cross-sell, but your cross-sell might not always be an OTO.

      I'm dizzy now. :p
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      • Profile picture of the author J Bold
        Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post


        And you can have a product which is an OTO, and what makes that an OTO is that the only place to get it for a lower price is on that OTO page.

        True. And also that you will only see it that "one" time you are actually on the page. If you go back it's gone, if it's a true OTO.

        Also, a true OTO should make it deadly clear that once you click away, you can never receive that offer again. And then stick to it with some sort of script preventing you from seeing the page again once you click away.
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    • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      Does it really matter how we call it if we're all referring to the same thing?
      Good point. So you wouldn't mind a doctor telling you you had cancer when he meant 'a cold?'
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    • Profile picture of the author shane_k
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      Does it really matter how we call it if we're all referring to the same thing?

      Yes it does. Why? Well just like J Bold said they are two different strategies.


      The purpose of each strategy is different and the underlying principles are different also.

      An upsell is based upon the principles that those who are most likely to buy from you are those who just bought from you and people will spend more money when they are in a buying mood. So the goal is to maximize the amount of money you can get someone to spend in one transaction, thus increasing the VPV or value per visitor of each person.

      A OTO is a One-Time-Offer which is based on the principles of scarcity and urgency. The goal is to get someone to go through the process of, "wow, this is a good deal, I better get it now before I miss out." You want people to take action now, instead of thinking about it and maybe coming back later.


      Another thing is if people understand the differences between these two strategies, when to apply them and in what situations they can maximize the results from both.

      As an example, you could take an underperforming Upsell and turn it into an OTO with another one of your products, or with an affiliate product, and just by applying the principles of scarcity and urgency to that underperforming upsell, your conversions could go through the roof.

      Another example

      About two months ago, I got an email from a IMer and he had an OTO for his top 5 products and it was a 50% off deal. Now this would have saved me over $800. But I didn't check that email account for like 4 or 5 days and when I saw that email I was too late. Man I am still sore that I missed it.

      But you can bet that I am going to be ready the next time he has an OTO.

      That is another thing, when applied properly OTO's can make your subscribers more responsive. And that is an extremely powerful thing.

      So yes it is important
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  • Profile picture of the author retsced
    I think it's pretty much "common sense" if you think about it for half a second.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aegir
    I agree. The whole point of a OTO is to generate urgency to buy.
    If it is false scarcity then it has the opposite effect.
    You are now the boy who cried wolf...

    And that is an expectation you do not want to set with customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author coffeyucf
    I agree. A one time offer needs to be a true one time offer. It doesn't even need to follow a sale.

    Another pet peeve... People calling clicks - hops. Hops is a clickbank term and something used to make beer. Clicks are what the real internet marketing world call it.
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    yes, some of you are making a good point. An OTO can stand alone. It doesn't have to be used as an upsell. It could be used after someone subscribes to your list for free, for example.
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