Where Do You Stand on Product Bonuses?
I’ve been online for twelve years now – starting in 2006 – and have learned a thing or two during this time as an online marketing strategist and entrepreneur. One thing that stuck with me from the very beginning and continues to be effective for me today is the idea of offering product bonuses to those who purchase from me (my own products, courses, and mentoring programs) and through me (the affiliate products I recommend). Bonuses work for a variety of reasons that we will explore here.
When you offer a bonus when someone purchases, you are showing that you have a generous spirit. In my day to day life I am quite generous with family members, friends, and neighbors, so it makes sense that I would exhibit the same traits in my business.
Product Bonuses are Good for Your Business and Reputation
Offering bonuses is good business. I keep a very close watch on my numbers, and when someone spends a thousand dollars on my products and courses (excluding my mentoring program) during a calendar year I schedule a call with them to find out more about them and how I can best serve them in achieving their goals. Typically they are buying everything they can in hopes this will accelerate their progress, when in reality it’s the mentoring piece they will most benefit from in the long run. That’s when I explain that if they join my mentoring they will be included in all of my products and courses at no additional charge. Yes, all of my products are a bonus to those who are in my mentoring program.
I also offer free admission to my live marketing events and workshops (I host three day events twice a year in the Los Angeles are) to my mentees, along with a once a year visit to my Santa Barbara Retreat, where I am able to work closely with them for five days and show them around the city I consider to be the most enchanting and magical place on our planet.
And during 2017 (so far) more than a thousand people on my list spent at least $49 on my products. This may be some kind of record for someone who still has a tiny (less than ten thousand names) email list. I attribute this to my product bonuses policy.
Bonuses are also very common in other industries, like automobiles and upscale clothing. My family and I regularly receive subscriptions to satellite radio, after market auto accessories, servicing that includes home pickup and delivery, and personalized styling, fitting, and accessories based on the cars and clothing we purchase. Of course, this is more typical with clothing that is not “off the rack” and automobiles that are the the top of the line for the manufactures (even Honda and Chevrolet are involved here).
But getting back to the people who have spent over a thousand dollars with me during a one year period, I will tell you that when I ask them how they found me and why they continue to purchase the answer is almost always similar. They found me through a bonus I offered for someone else’s product or course, and were then enticed to buy more because of the generous product bonuses I offered.
Another piece of this is the question of where do you get these bonuses? I create new products and online courses almost every month, and at this point in time I have almost sixty active products. This makes it quite simple for me to choose one that makes sense and to offer it as a product bonus. Other bonuses I offer include an opportunity for me to share their next product with my community (a huge one based on my email list and social media connections), introductions to service providers from my Rolodex, and a twenty minute “laser focused” call to explore where they are right now and how they will get closer to where they want to be, and a live training webinar where I will teach them exactly how to do something directly related to what they have purchased from me or through me.
Product Bonuses for Affiliate Marketing
My affiliate marketing efforts also flourish when I offer a relevant bonus. I’ve been considered a “super affiliate” for almost a decade now, and I wrote about this strategy in several of my popular books on entrepreneurship and marketing. People like Marlon Sanders, Alice Seba, Armand Morin, Dennis Becker, and many more people far more experienced than I am count on me to be at or near the top of the leader board for their launches, and my bonuses make that happen regularly when the product makes sense for my audience. Over these years I have earned lots of cash and prizes as an affiliate, far too numerous to talk about here.
I’ve been a part of a Mastermind that meets in person three times a year for about seven years now, and these other seven figure a year earners also have the same abundance mindset when it comes to serving our community. We sometimes share our ideas for product bonuses that the others had not thought about previously. Never has anyone said that we are being too generous or giving too much to those who spend money with us, or that our products were not being properly valued.
And as far as the idea that we diminish the value of our products and courses by offering bonuses? Poppycock, I say! Nothing is too good for my community of clients and customers, for they are the most discerning people in the world when it comes to making smart choices in the marketplace and the very reason I am able to live this lifestyle.
Product Bonuses Show Off Your Expertise
Product bonuses also give you the unparalleled opportunity to show your customers what else you know and have to offer them in terms of training, strategies, and systems. This has been an excellent way for me to share my expertise in a way that I could not have otherwise accomplished. Everyone benefits from this type of interaction.
This life as an online entrepreneur is a blessing. I work about fifteen to twenty hours most weeks (I work only with my mentees during most of December and July and don’t actually do any work while I am on a trip), travel the world for business and pleasure, am involved with half a dozen worthy charities and non-profits, and consult with three corporations you would recognize instantly. Each year I work with a specially chosen and hand-picked small group of people in my mentor program, meaning that I am only on the phone for a few hours each week. I have homes in two amazing cities (Santa Clarita in the desert and Santa Barbara at the beach in California) and have helped many family members to leave jobs that no longer served them by working online in some capacity.
I would encourage you to use bonuses to grow your own business, and to be as generous as possible with the people who are willing to spend their precious time and money with you. We must never take that for granted, and smothering my clients with helpful and appropriate product bonuses feels right for me.
Connie Ragen Green is an online marketing strategist working with people on six continents to build a lucrative business on the internet. Get started right away at Online Entrepreneur Blueprint and you’ll be on your way to entrepreneurship.
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