Many times your audience will determine the type of bonuses you give away. Additionally your resources and your testing and tracking results will help you hone in on exactly what to give away and where to spend your time.
Here are a few common bonus types and their advantages and disadvantages.Written Products – EBooks, reports, and online courses.
Written products are a common bonus product because they can be easy to create. They’re also easy to repurpose for multiple uses. You can create an eBook and give it away as a bonus product while at the same time using the content and repurposing
it to create articles for marketing purposes. (If you’reAdditionally, they’re easy for your customers to access and download and many times the information can be evergreen which is helpful if your customer doesn’t get to the book right away.
Reports are short (around seven to nine pages) packets of information that can be downloaded by your visitors. These can be the perfect choice for visitors with slower connections and for low to moderately priced products. If you have eBooks created already, they can easily be repurposed into a number of smaller reports.
**The higher the price of the product or offer the more value the bonuses should offer.E-books , like their traditional print cousins, come in all shapes and sizes. For the most part, they’re generally around 10 pages or longer with roughly 250 words per page. Graphics and screenshots can really add to the professional quality of an e-book. Additionally, if you already have a few reports you’ve created, they can be repurposed to create an eBook.
Workbooks can provide unique value to your audience and are wonderful bonus products for many niche markets. These are questions and answer sheets that will help guide your visitors through a particular process like ‘Learning to Create Great Titles,’ ‘Create Keyword Saturated Articles,’ ‘Write a Business Plan’ or other similar topics.
Online Courses can be anything from a five part autoresponder series to a comprehensive course with workbooks and action steps delivered as a downloadable book, workbook in a series of downloads or one large download. Some online courses run more than 300 pages in length and can be quite a process for customers to download and print.
The downside to written content is that it has to be written… And once it’s online, it can be easy for others to copy and distribute. There are ways to overcome both limitations, and we’ll talk about creating your content next. To overcome the free distribution aspect, you can simply assume that it’s going to happen and embrace it. Make sure your product is top quality, has embedded links and is branded for your business. Of course copyright notifications and careful tracking help deter would be thieves.
Service BonusesServices are easy to give away as bonus products because they don’t require your customer or prospect to download anything. You simply need to create a code or contact form for them to fill out to retain your free service.
Of course, this isn’t a bonus that everyone can give away; it works best for service related businesses. However, you can combine products and services in some instances.
For example, if you are selling an extensive online course on how to start a business you could give away two hours of consulting/coaching time with the purchase of the course.
The cons to giving away a service are that you will have to find a system to track and manage who has taken advantage of the bonus and who hasn’t. You’ll have to be involved in the delivery of it, rather than being able to automate it.
Audio and Video Bonus ProductsAudio and video products have become the next big thing. They’re a powerful form of content and they’re rapidly growing as the marketing tool of choice for many businesses both large and small. If you are comfortable in front of the camera then you can put together a lecture series or just one production that explains the benefits of a particular aspect of your products.
Seminars and workshops can also be recorded and given away as a bonus. Expert interviews recorded via audio or video are excellent resources for bonuses and add tremendous value to people interested in your industry or niche. Additionally, they add to your company’s credibility.
Audio and video offer numerous benefits not available through standard print content, including:•The ability to showcase your company personality. Customers are demanding authenticity and transparency online. They want to know who you are and what your company is about. Video is the ideal way to communicate your personality.
• The ability to tell a better story. Video and audio give your company a unique opportunity to show rather than tell – anyone familiar with good storytelling technique and advertising knows the old adage, “Show, don’t tell”.
• The ability to create a number of bonus products. Your audience members have their own preferences for consuming content. While some still prefer a print product like an eBook or a report, others enjoy the convenience of a video or an MP3 they can download and listen to on their computer or in their car. Video and audio products are growing in demand.
Common products include:- Product reviews- “How to” guides- Seminars / Training courses- Interviews- Audio books- Podcasts
• The ability to connect with and capture the attention of your audience in a whole new way. If your audience has become accustomed to print, video and audio may light a fire under them again and inspire action.
The downside to audio and video bonus products is that not everyone is equipped to create them and they can take up a bit of space on your server if you offer a number of audio or video bonus products.
SoftwareSoftware bonuses offer a fantastic perceived value. If someone is buying a product and you’re giving away a software program as a bonus product, they’re going to feel much more comfortable that they’re spending their money well.
The downside is that software products can be complicated and expensive to create and recipients may have questions on how to use the software so you may spend more time than you’d like on support issues.
Other Possibilities Include:Upgrades - For websites with paid subscriptions, upgrades as bonuses are always a great option. They benefit the visitors without costing the hosts.
Reviews - If you are an expert in your field or if you feel comfortable reviewing others in your field then you can offer free reviews of websites or materials as bonuses. Many people desire the feedback more than anything else that is available.
Consultations - Feedback may be great, but one to one guidance is even better. Offering free (usually one time) consultations can be a great incentive for many visitors, and they are likely to pass that information on to others that they know.
Resources - Offering a list of links, books, or other informational resources is the perfect bonus for informationhungry visitors.