Online Marketing Business
7 Ways To Persuade Customers To Buy Your Upsells

If you want to make more money with your business, one good place to start is on your order forms.
Think about it…
You have a prospect with a credit card already in their hand. They’re in a buying mood.
So how do you create a backend or upsell offer that gets your prospects clicking the “Yes” button? Like this…
1. Make Sure The Upsell Enhances The Main Offer

The very first thing you need to do is make sure any upsell offer is tightly related to the main offer. In fact, not only should it be tightly related, ideally your upsell should enhance the use or enjoyment of your main offer.
Now you can do the same thing, no matter what you’re selling. For example:
- You’re selling a meal-planning app. Offer a low-fat cookbook as an order form upsell.
- The main offer is a copywriting course. You can offer personal copy critiques on the backend.
- Your main product is all about setting up and running a successful blog. You can offer tools on the backend, such as a package of useful WordPress plugins and professional themes.
- Your main product is a “how to get out of debt” course. You can offer an upsell that includes items such as a debt-management workbook and personalized debt-management counseling.
- You main product is a set of kettlebell training videos. You can offer the kettlebells themselves as an upsell.
In other words, don’t just toss any ol’ offer in front of your prospects. Be sure your upsell and main offer go together like… well, like hamburgers and fries. J
Next up…
2. Offer An Irresistible Deal

Dropping a related offer in front of your prospect is great. But turning that offer into an irresistible deal is even better.
Take the fast food example again. If you order a burger with a small fries and drink, the clerk will ask you if you want to “biggy size” the order for just a small extra charge. The deal is irresistible. You get a LOT more food for just a tiny bit more money.
For example:
“I usually charge $997 per month for this sort of coaching. But as a valued member of my new copywriting club, you’ll get a special price of just $497 per month for this same high-quality coaching…”
Next…
3. Use Short-Form Copy

You’ve got an eager prospect sitting in front of your order form with their credit card in hand. Now is not the time to put another long sales letter in front of them. They’re eager to buy. Putting another wall of text in front of them might just have them hitting the back button and abandoning the order form!
So what you need to do now is simply focus on the benefits of the upsell offer. In fact, your upsell may be nothing more than a benefit-driven headline, a list of benefits, and a call to action.
TIP: As always, test to find out for sure what your audience responds to the best. Test different headlines. Test your bulleted list of benefits. You might even test short-form copy against a short sales video.
Next…
4. Frame The Price

The next thing for you to remember is that you’ve already sold your prospect on purchasing the main offer. They’ve already agreed to whatever price you’re charging.
Let me give you an example…
Let’s suppose you’re selling a home study course for $99, with an upsell offer for $25 for an app:
When it comes time to ask for the order, do NOT do this: “Would you like to add this offer to your order for a total of $125 for the course and app?”
Suddenly that sounds like a lot. The prospect is going to start second-guessing their purchase. And you could lose the entire sale.
Instead, focus on the upsell price only: “Would you like to add this app to your order for just $24 more?”
Ahhhh… that’s better. That sounds doable. And since the prospect is already planning on spending $99, that extra $24 doesn’t sound like any big deal.
It’s all in how you frame it. 🙂
Next…
5. Create A Sense Of Urgency

Nothing gets people clicking the order button like a real sense of urgency. And one great way to create this sense of urgency is by making your upsell offer scarce.
For example, you might create a one-time offer. This is an offer that’s only available right now. If the prospect doesn’t grab it, they won’t be able to get it later. Or if the product is available elsewhere, the prospect will need to pay full price.
A good example of this is when you go shopping on a site like Omaha Steaks. If you spend a certain amount, such as $50, you’ll get a list of “add on specials.”
These are tremendous deals that you can ONLY take advantage of while you’re on the order form. You can still buy the steaks themselves later, but you’ll pay through the nose to do it.
For example:
“Special one-time offer: add this meal-planning app to your order right now, and you’ll get it for 50% off the regular price! If you leave this page, this offer disappears for good… so click here now to grab your discount before it’s gone!”
Next…
6. Use A Strong Call To Action

The good copywriting rules apply to your upsell just as they do to your main offer. And that means you can’t just drop the order link in front of your prospects and expect them to click it. Instead, you need to provide a strong call to action. This means you tell prospects what to do next, and give them a good reason to do it.
For example:
Click here to add this app to your order – and remember, this special offer disappears when you leave this page, so order now!
Those should be the only two options on the page. Prospects will either add to their order and continue making the purchase, or they’ll skip your offer and just stick with their original order.
Now here’s a little trick you might consider testing and using…
Phrase your “yes” and “no” options in a way that helps persuade people to click the “yes” options.
For example, let’s suppose you’re selling some sort of weight-loss information. Your option buttons might look like this:
“Yes, I want to get ready for the beach!”
“No, I don’t want to get rid of my love handles. J”
See how that works?
The “yes” option is positive and provides a benefit. The “no” option forces the prospect to agree with something that they probably don’t really agree with. That’s going to make them stop and reconsider your offer.
Here’s another example:
“Yes, I want to save money on heating and cooling bills!”
“No, I don’t want to save money.”
Another:
“Yes, I want to boost my conversion rates and make more money!”
“No, I don’t want to make more money.”
One more…
“Yes, I want to run a new marathon PR!”
“No, I don’t mind running as slow as a turtle. J”
And finally…
7. Make It Easy

If you followed all the tips above, then you have a prospect who’s as ready as she’ll ever be to place her order. At this point, your goal is to make it as easy as possible for her to place that order and grab the upsell.
Here are the dos and don’ts to follow:
- Do make it one-click easy. If you’re presenting an upsell right after the customer has already filled in the order form, then make it as easy to buy the upsell as clicking a button. In other words, do NOT make your prospect fill out the order form or their credit card all over again.
- Don’t make them go through a gauntlet of upsells. Sometimes marketers throw three, four, five or more upsells in front of the prospect. They can’t get to the order form without accepting or declining these offers. Or, worse yet, they can’t get to their purchase without seeing all these offers.
- Don’t do that to your customer! Instead, put one or at most two well-placed offers in front of them. But if they decline, send them straight to the order form. Don’t make them go through a gauntlet of offers, which will make them feel like carnival workers are barking at them.
- Don’t make them “register” before ordering. If you need your customers to create an account, then have this account co-created during the purchasing process. Even if the amount of “work” for the customer is the same, framing is the key here. If a customer is suddenly forced to “create an account” before they can place an order, they may just dump their cart.
Now let’s wrap things up…
Conclusion
You’ve heard the saying, “strike while the iron is hot.” When it comes to sales, the iron is about as hot as can be when you have a prospect filling out an order form. That’s why it’s a great time to “strike” by offering an upsell offer they can’t refuse. So boost your sales by inserting upsells on your order forms today – and boost your conversions using the seven surefire tips you just discovered!
How Often Should You Email Your List?

Is there a right or wrong way on how often should you email your list? We all know that your list should be treated as if it is a goldmine. Think about it. How would you react if you were bombarded with emails that provided no real value with the sole purpose of getting you to buy something?
Would you say that once a week or month is enough. You certainly do not want to inundate your subscribers with too much information, but at the same time you do not want them to forget about you either.
Why It is So Important To Frequently Send Emails

If you get it wrong when sending your emails, you could border on being annoying, in which case your subscribers will unsubscribe from your list. On the other hand, if you communicate often enough at just the right times and frequency, you have a better chance of making more money than the average marketer.
Some marketers recommend that you stay in touch by sending your list a weekly newsletter. While others say twice a week is not a bad idea as an absolute minimum.
When would it be considered as wrong to send out scheduled emails? Randomly sending out emails is not such a good idea. Say, you send emails 3 times per day over a 4 day period, then you decide to send out 2 per day for a week.
If you carefully consider what is needed to foster a positive relationship between you and your subscribers, once a day would be regarded as a good start. Provided you share very useful information in the form of free videos, mini reports or something that has real meaning in their lives. It must be new, exciting and content that has not been shared previously.
When you establish frequent contact you will start accomplishing some important factors that are needed to grow your business, such as:
- Strengthen your authority in the Niche that you are in
- Establish credibility and trust with your readers
- Demonstrate that you are here to stay
- Increase your chances of being foremost in the mind of your subscribers when it comes to purchasing your offer
- Fully showcase the benefits of making use of your products or services
Most importantly, when looking for an answer on how often should you email your list, you should bear in mind that your subscribers should be treated like family. This can be done by sending them an email where you simply state how much you appreciate them, then give them valuable information that will make a difference to their lives. All this without any strings attached.
Things To Avoid When Sending Emails

Do not shove all kinds of marketing messages in the face of your subscribers to try and twist their arms into buying this or the other from you. Unless, of course, you do it in a tasteful manner where they get to realize the value in owning a particular product you have.
Some marketers go all out to promote anything and everything for the sake of making money. Avoid doing this. Send emails that focus on useful information and list sources that will add value to the life of your subscribers. Never think that you are bothering your readers if you have something of value to share with them.
Should You Broadcast Messages Or Send Autoresponders?

If you intend making a special announcement, then a broadcast message as a one off email would be ideal. On the other hand autoresponders make the lives of internet marketers so much easier.
Which one of the two would be better to use?
There is no right or wrong answer in this regard. Below are a couple of guidelines to help you along:
Broadcast messages – If you are a very organized individual who are able to send broadcast messages consistently on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, then this would the way to go.
Autoresponders – Most people and business owners already live a very hectic life, and would therefore prefer making use of autoresponders. This way you can keep in touch with your prospects for months if not years. All this without even being there. All that is required of you is to do the work once, then set and forget about it.
The only problem is that too much automation can become impersonal to the point where people do not feel valued. It won’t be a bad idea to relate a story to your subscribers every now and again. You should mix it up a little. Make use of an autoresponder, but also broadcast something of importance every now and again.
For instance, on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday you could set your autoresponder to do its thing. Make a point of personalizing your messages on all the other days, which would include making use of broadcast messages.
Your subscribers will see you as a real person and not think they are dealing with a robot. This is the kind of approach that is highly recommended.
Test it by taking a closer look at how often your mails get opened, etc. If you experience too many unsubscribes, then it is a sure indication that you are overdoing it. Close monitoring is the key to your success.
7 Email Subject Lines To Increase Your Open Rates

Your email’s subject line is the gatekeeper of your email campaign. When you invest hours of work into getting the segmentation right and nailing the email copy, you absolutely want your email to get read!
The average person gets dozens of emails every day – and this may include coupons, newsletters, social media notifications, password resets, lead nurturing emails, invitation to parties, and so on. It’s a lot of material to sift through, never mind open, and most people open the emails based on how effective the subject line is.
People’s inboxes are always full of messages so it’s all too easy for them to hit Delete without a second thought; yet email can be a powerful tool when used to market your business. Subject lines that convey a sense of urgency tend to have higher open rates than say, those that offer freebies, and the use of first names has been found to increase the open rate by a small margin.
But there’s a lot more to subject lines than first names, and knowing which factors affect open rates can help you draft effective emails. Here’s a quick guide to get you started:
1. Localize And Personalize

You’ve probably come across basic personalization in email marketing- “Hey John, would you like..” It’s pretty common nowadays and perhaps a little overused but that does not mean you shouldn’t personalize your subject lines. You get a better effect when you use customer attributes and actions to tailor your emails. Remember the following:
- Use first and last name
- Modify the subject line based on the recipient’s location
- Mention their actions on the website- favorite features, what they’ve been up to, etc
- Clothing stores are very specific to gender when highlighting products
2. Be Very Specific

Whether you’re sending notifications or direct updates, you need to be clear about each campaign and your objectives. However, being upfront doesn’t necessarily mean revealing everything the email is about, but assuming you’re targeting specific segments, then you need to point that out in the subject line.
It might sound counter-productive to let people know why you’re sending them emails but it’s actually the best way to get their attention and get click-throughs.
3. Take Time To Build Momentum

Auto-responders are very effective at sustaining a life-cycle email marketing campaign. The series makes it easier for you to present yourself to the recipients and allow you to build momentum, because you shouldn’t just email people out of nowhere.
Informative subject lines can be used in a series to build momentum and increase your email conversions but unfortunately most businesses send less emails than they could for fear of annoying their recipients. If the emails are relevant and helpful, you shouldn’t worry about annoying the readers.
4. Test Everything!

You may have read that short subject lines are more effective at boosting opens: it’s one of the many marketing quotes thrown around but the truth is you can never be sure how true that is for your own audience. Subject lines are relative to your audience and there really isn’t any hard rule when it comes to length.
To give you a better picture of what works in subject lines, here is a compilation of 7 email subject lines people went crazy about:
1. ” Hey”
When handling inbound marketing, simple subject lines have the best results. This particular example is not about a smart or short subject line, but rather the effective combination of casual personalization and the sender name paring- for instance if you received an email from the president with this subject line, you’d be curious to find out what he has to say.
You may also try paring a goofy mascot with a serious subject line.
2. “As You Wish”
Learn what makes your audience tick and employ a few psych principles to get their complete attention. For instance, this subject line was taken from a movie, The Princess Bride, and UncommonGoods used it on their buyers for a more personalized effect.
3. “Where to Drink Beer Right Now”
Okay, so not everybody loves beer, but imagine receiving this in your inbox at 18:45 on a Wednesday night? I mean, think about it: you’ve been holding it together since Monday and now you need to decompress with a few of your buddies before the weekend gets here; and then you get a notification just as you’re about to head out and it says “Where to Drink Beer Right Now”.
The timing alone makes this subject line a winner.
4. “Not Cool, Guys”
We’re not all equipped to be snarky writers but you can play around with the subject line and find a way to make it stand out.
5. “You’re Missing out”
You may have heard about FOMO, an acronym for fear of missing out; which is actually a big deal now in our interconnected society. Naturally, people don’t like to miss out on things, and a smart marketer will exploit this vanity by initiating an effective marketing campaign.
6. “DO NOT Commit These Facebook Atrocities”
No matter how reserved or down-to-earth you are, nobody likes to do things wrong.
This line spells out “DO NOT” using full caps for effect, so that way readers will notice the message in their inbox.
7. “What Can You Afford?”
This is an interesting and somewhat encouraging angle; showing your audience a bunch of products that are RIGHT on their budget. Its also kind of competitive, your audience pitting cash against what’s available on the market.
You needn’t be a psychologist to play this game; just pay attention and you’ll see a number of opportunities. Remember principles such as scarcity, urgency and social proof, and see how they boost your conversion rates.
5 Simple Techniques To Build A List From Blogging

Any online marketer worth his/her salt would have heard the line, “The money is in the list.” It has been repeated ad nauseam and still thousands of beginner marketers are clueless as to how to build a list.
To make matters more burdensome, most autoresponder software companies charge a monthly fee for their services. So, this is a recurring cost that must be recouped quickly to keep the beginner marketer in the green.
When you’re first starting out on your blog, you’ll not need to build a list. You should first track the amount of traffic on your website. The moment you’re getting 50 to 100 unique visitors to your blog daily, it’ll be time to sign up for an autoresponder. This will buy you some time if your budget is tight.
Using A Freemium As An Incentive

A freemium is a gift that you’ll give away for free in exchange for an email address. The freemium could be a short report, or a 3-part video training or a checklist, etc. What you give away has to be of value and congruent to the niche you’re in.
You can either outsource the job or create one yourself from scratch. Alternatively, you may use private label rights (PLR) content and rebrand it. This will allow you to create a product with your branding quickly while maintaining quality.
Connecting Your Autoresponder

Once your lead magnet is ready, you’ll need to create a landing page for it. You can do a quick Google search for ‘best landing page examples’ to get an idea to model. You may wish to get a cover image done for your freemium on Fiverr.com.
After your landing page is complete and looks great, you’ll want to sign up with an autoresponder like Active Campaign or Aweber, and embed the sign up form on your landing page. Most of these software have video tutorials to guide you. So, don’t get put off by the ‘tech stuff’.
Once the form is embedded, you’re well on your way to collecting leads and building a list.
All Roads Lead To Rome

In this case, Rome will be your landing page and this is something that you own.
To mitigate the risk, you’ll want links from these social media entities pointing to the landing page on your blog. In this way, you’ll be able to siphon traffic from these high traffic sites and build a list of subscribers who wanted your freemium. Now you have some degree of control and your own asset.
Opt-in Tools

One of the best tools you can use to build a list on your blog is Thrive Leads. The software has options for you to create a non-intrusive scroll mat that allows readers to sign up. Besides the scroll mat, there are also sticky bars and pop up options for you.
Thrive Leads is designed to help you get as many subscribers as possible from your blog. It’s a worthwhile investment that will reap dividends many times over.
Locking Your Content

This is one of those techniques that’s annoying to some people, but highly effective nonetheless. You’ll need to use a content locking plugin to execute this method. If you have Thrive Leads, you can use it too, with a few tweaks.
Basically, you’ll have an interesting and highly valuable blog post where you share some insider information. Somewhere around the center of the post (preferably the most interesting part), you’ll insert the content blocker.
Some readers may get put off and close the page, while others will sign up. Whatever the case, you’ll know that those who signed up are truly interested in what you have to say and you’ll be building a list of highly targeted subscribers.
By now you’ll realize that building a list on your blog is a piece of cake if you have traffic coming in. All you need to do is insert forms for them to sign up to your list (in a variety of ways). With the versatility of Thrive Leads, a good landing page and a value-driven freemium, and a solid autoresponder, you’ll be able to build a list of targeted and interested subscribers in just a matter of time.
Drops make an ocean. So, get started today and in a few months from now, you’ll have an email list that trusts you and buys the products you recommend. This is where you’ll find the money in the list i.e. the saying should more accurately be “The money is in the customer list.”

Copywriting For Beginners: How To Write Good Sales Copy

Learning to write good sales copy isn’t something you can learn by reading a quick tutorial – it takes practice. Although you probably won’t turn into a world-famous copywriter overnight, there are a few tips you can use to increase the response from your sales letters.
It needs to grab the attention of your visitor quickly. Your headline might have shock value, ask a compelling question, or be the beginning of an extremely interesting story. “Six months ago, I was living on the streets of L.A., homeless after my Adjustable Rate Mortgage soared so high I couldn’t make the mortgage payments, but now I’m living in a sky-rise apartment twenty stories up that I paid seven figures for…”
This makes the reader want to know more – how did this person go from being destitute to being wealthy? Good sales copy usually tells a story that the audience can connect with. Copy ideally shouldn’t tell a fictional story, though.
You certainly don’t want to run into any trouble with the FTC or an attorney general with something to prove. Good copy gives people a reason to keep reading. If you tell an interesting, compelling story that’s somehow related to the product and how it will affect them, it will naturally appeal to your visitor.
Every single paragraph should lead into the next paragraph, drawing the reader further and further into the pitch.
Consumers usually buy based on emotion, and then they justify their purchase with logic. They rarely buy based on logic alone.
They don’t buy a product because of the features – they buy because of the benefits it will provide to them, the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) factor. If you’re selling a car, you can’t tell the buyer that it has Corinthian leather seats, ABS brakes, and a superior sound system.
You have to sell them on the fact that their neighbors and coworkers will be envious, girls will flock to them, and they’ll feel like the king of the world whenever they drive it. Then they’ll buy based on the fantasy you’ve just given them, and they’ll use logic to justify their purchase later.
Within each online sales letter, you’ll want to have a main headline, numerous sub-headlines sprinkled throughout, and aside form the written storyline, you’ll want to add sections of benefit-driven bullet points that break up the monotonous text.
So. the headline is incredibly important. But it isn’t the most important part of your sales copy!!
Any idea what that is?
This is the big idea – the main premise around which you’re going to build your sales letter.
I’m talking about the primary purpose and promise of your product. This is the desired outcome your prospects have been hoping for.
Without a big idea, your sales copy will be pretty much the same as anyone else’s which will make converting your prospects much harder.
But with a powerful big idea, you will be able to stand out and this gives your prospects hope that your product or service may be the one that actually delivers on its promises.
This can make all the difference in marketplaces that are saturated and sophisticated i.e. they have been exposed to the same type of offer for years.
If you are in a niche that has a high level of marketplace sophistication, it is imperative that you are able to stand out and having a big idea and a unique mechanism helps you to do just that.
And you should be incorporating the big idea and/or unique mechanism into your main headline(s) to grab attention and arouse curiosity, so take some time to develop these to draw your readers in.
Don’t forget the call to action at the end and a Post Script (PS) or two that sums up the order in case they’re bona fide skimmers who hate to read.
In all honesty, most people will not read the entire sales letter, but skim to the things that grab attention such as headlines, bullet points and the PS which is why it is important to really work on these to either increase the pain points or clearly explain the benefits.
Go to some of your favorite sales pitch sites and emulate their style and approach. Bookmark it for your “swipe file,” where you borrow ideas (not content) from the original author and use it on your own target audience.
The best sales copy is a complex mix of marketing and sales messages. The marketing is about the prospect; their desires, pains etc. and the selling is about the product; features etc. so the best sales letters focus heavily on marketing.
The reason for this is that a good marketing message can create a lot of desire for the product before you even mention it and this makes selling much easier.
And be reassured; writing good, persuasive copy is a skill that can definitely be developed by anybody. Like anything, it just takes time and effort to get good at it and hone your skills.
But if any skill is worth developing, especially online, it is being able to write persuasive sales copy, so I urge anyone reading this to seriously consider learning it as soon as they possibly can; it will pay dividends in the future, believe me.



