"Let Me
Taste It First"
By Thomas Benton
I was in Sam's Club last weekend. Everywhere
I turned someone was offering me a "taste" of one concoction
or another. I was given the opportunity to taste appetizers, casseroles,
meats and desserts. It's really difficult to stay on a diet in
these places!
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home.
Guess what ... more product demonstrators wanting me to sample
their wares. Then I went to the mall that afternoon. You guessed
it. Every business in the food court was offering a free taste
of their menu items.
Then it occurred to me. I've been getting free
"tastes" on the web for years! So have you. If you've
ever downloaded a demo or evaluation copy of software, that is.
What happened? If you learned to use the software and liked it,
you ordered when the trial period expired. Right?
Which do you like best? Reading a huge "scroll"
of sales copy that convinces you to make a "risk free"
purchase? You've got to buy first and return it for a refund if
you don't want to keep it.
Or, reading a few short paragraphs that describe
the benefits of a product and then invites you to try it before
you buy it? You download it and don't spend any money unless you
want to keep using it.
I must confess, I prefer the try-before-you-buy
approach.
This is a proven way to get someone to try your
software. But, does the try-before-you-buy technique work well
with other products?
It isn't a good idea to ship a book or some other
tangible product without being paid first. You're sure to get
ripped off numerous times.
How about eBooks and eCourses? Depends. Can you
present partial content that will be tantalizing enough to persuade
the reader to purchase? You allow the reader to taste your product
by unlocking the first few chapters. (The remaining content is
locked and requires a password). You can also limit the evaluation
period so that it expires after a predetermined time. Your customer
must purchase a password or registration code online to unlock
the remaining content and deactivate the expiration date.
You can turn your eBook into a viral marketing
piece if you use software that allows rebranding. Your affiliates
can offer free download of your eBook from their sites. Through
the rebranding, they get credit for the sales made through their
downloads. Clickbank's affiliate program works well with this
plan.
Include links to other products, both your own
and those you're offering through an associate relationship. You
never know. They might decide against buying your eBook, but decide
to buy something else that captured their interest.
If you want to take a look at a working example
that includes password protected pages, expiration date, and a
resources page with affiliate links, visit http://www.webdesignwisdom.com/magsite.
Download my eCourse, "How to Build a Magnetic Web Site: Accelerated
Basic Training for the Internet Entrepreneur". You'll also
see instructions for downloading a rebrandable version that you
can offer at your web site.
How about private sites? Depends. If your private
site offers constantly changing and updated material, a free trial
period might work for you. You'd need to assign temporary passwords
with an automatic expiration in a few days. You might also password
protect certain directories that wouldn't be available to the
free trial users.
Give your customers a "free taste"
if you can. So what if they don't buy after trying? More than
likely they wouldn't have bought anyway. And, besides, they might
just pass it on to a friend who'll make the purchase.
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