Combining products and bonuses is a great way for people to purchase from you online.

What does an online bonus mean?

A bonus can be described as the difference between someone sitting at the fence and you. This can also make a significant difference between you and your competitors.

This is not a new idea.

Derek was recently featured as a guest on SPi Podcast. His strong opinions about bonuses and how to include them with products to maximize conversions.

This article will discuss the art of offering bonuses and give some advice on what products you should sell online.

There are no goods for trade at this time.

Doesn’t matter.

These strategies are also useful for affiliate marketing. If you want people to click on your link, offer bonuses.

These questions will I be answering:

• How can you encourage people to purchase?
• What should you offer in addition to your main product?
• What do you do to put it all together?
• How do you give bonuses to affiliates?

Now let’s get started!

First-ever Bonus Pat Offered. What He Did Right and What He Didn’t? 

He was about to launch his first product online. The book was a study guide of 90 pages for professionals in the field of design. However, a few of his mastermind friends suggested that he include bonuses in his eBook.

He was still a rookie, so this made sense.

Pat knew that the eBook he was selling would be more profitable if there were bonuses. Pat loved the idea.

Pat couldn’t decide which bonus or combination of bonuses he should offer in the book. He had a guide of about 90 pages with practice questions and printable flash cards. What bonus could he add to his book?

He was struck by it that instant.

Bonuses could include practice questions for the exam or printable flash cards. Pat could just reframe how they were packaged in sales copy. He did exactly that.

Instead of selling the guide for $19.95, which included practice questions and a set of printable flashcards, he decided that he would sell it at $19.95 and give away flashcards and practice questions.

Similar offer. Different packaging.

Pat, although he didn’t know it, was following Derek’s advice in his post

Give bonuses to customers and give them away free.

Don’t sell the product with a bonus as a package.

Each test subject received a cupcake and two cookies for $0.75. They purchased 40% of the time.

Another group was given a $0.75 cupcake and two cookies for free. They purchased 73% of the cupcakes.

Similar offer. Different packaging.

Pat was correct. He made a mistake.

He didn’t separate the bonuses from the eBook of 90 pages. He just left them the way they were at the beginning.

While this did not cause any harm, Pat received many emails asking about bonuses after sales began to come in.

They can be found at the back of your book. “

He realized that it was a bad idea after much thought. Pat used “bum” to describe his lazy state.

Pat might have thought more about it if he realized how important it was to have three distinct PDF files.

• This is the first study guide.
• Practice questions for the exam.
• One for flash cards.

This would have helped to clarify a lot of confusion for customers and make them feel like they got more for their money.

This would have also made it easier to print the sections.

After many months of sales and many emails flooded with confused customers, he pulled out the flashcards and practice exams quickly and saved them to a PDF file. He never received any complaints.

What rules apply to bonuses?

Rule 1 – Make sure your bonus offer is included in the main product.

Rule 2 – Give bonuses apart from the main product

Rule 3 – Your bonus should always be directly tied to the product that you sell

How your Bonus is connected to your Product

Pat started his online business by signing up to 20 newsletters from different internet marketing gurus who were considered to be the best in their field.

The goal was to “learn to be the best”, but after being bombarded by email after email, Pat learned quickly how to treat his readers and subscribers.

Building relationships with the gurus was a low priority. Getting him to open his credit cards and convincing copywriting were the top priorities.

He noticed patterns in the products that they were selling. 

He would get 10-12 emails per year promoting one product (coordinated of course). It was interesting to see what bonuses they offered in addition to the main product.

Each one was very different.

They were aware that many people like him signed up for multiple email lists. Their bonuses made them stand out.

He saw some absurd bonuses.

One affiliate offered $1997.00 products once, and two others put everything in the bag. 

These additional items were between 8-10 and did not directly tie to the main product. It would however increase the package’s worth from $1997.00 up to well over $10k, for some. 

Giving away products for free can help lower the cost of your products 

These offers were overwhelming to someone looking at the emails to learn.

He didn’t know what to do with all of that data. All he needed was the right data to sell to potential buyers.

From that experience, he learned that bonuses do not just refer to the dollar amount of the package. You can’t put anything in your packages.

The bonus and how it relates to the end goal of the person receiving the product is what matters.

Give away something related to your product. 

How do you make a tasty bonus sandwich?

You should bundle your bonuses with your main product.

We have discussed before how to sell your main product and give away your bonuses for free. Derek also spoke about a bonus-giving structure that keeps the SPI community buzzing.

This is also known as a Bonus Sandwich and is vertically integrated.

• The main ingredient of a sandwich is its “meat”, or vegetable patty. One for your meat, one for your bread.

• Asking for a “bread on top” bonus could restrict your client’s access to the main goods that you trade now.

• A bonus that you give in addition to your main product is the “bread on top”. This can be used by customers once they have bought it.

Although most people include properly linked bonuses with their products it’s a good idea for them to add bread. It’s a good idea to add additional help to people who aren’t ready for the main product.

The purpose of the bonus sandwich is to convert as many people as possible into buyers. It offers bonuses that address any objections your customers might have about purchasing what you sell.

It’s easy to find the “bread-on-top” bonus. Ask yourself this question:

What could my customer do after using my product?

or

What next steps should my clients take after buying or using the product?

An “after-use bonus” might be offered if you are selling a course on creating web videos.

• An eBook about Promoting Your YouTube Videos for Maximum Exposure.

• This is a 2-part tutorial about how to transcribe video and what to do after you are done with your SEO transcriptions.

• Access to a community where you can share your videos and get honest feedback to help improve them.

The “bread-on-top” bonus can sometimes be difficult to manage Here are Pat’s suggestions.

• Please list any objections or doubts.

Pat might object to a course that creates web videos.

People can believe that they don’t want to learn how to make videos for the web because they aren’t comfortable in front of the camera. They’ll then decide to continue writing blog posts.

A book or a set of bonus videos showing you how to make professional-looking screencasts might be in your package.

• List all “things your customers would need” to use your product.

Some people might think that it is expensive to make web videos, especially if you’re selling a course.

Another bonus is a PDF with 1 to 2 pages or a diagram showing the most common camera equipment that can be set up at home.

• Ask your audience.

When in doubt, ask your audience. Ask your audience. You will be serving someone they know, so why not ask?

Get to the bottom of any concerns or reservations they may have about your main product by talking to them one-on-1 (or via Skype).

This is a must before you start creating your product. The product’s final design will be influenced by their answers. It is always a good idea for potential customers, subscribers, or readers to speak directly.

Here’s what a nice sandwich might look like:

Meat – Learn how to make web videos.

Bottom Bread – This bonus guide will help you find the best camera equipment for under $200.

Top Bread is a detailed eBook about YouTube marketing strategy that features tips and tricks from top YouTube professionals.

You can offer many kinds of bonuses

You have the freedom to create and add any bonuses you want.

Being creative will help you stand out from the crowd, especially if you are promoting something.

You can use many strategies to promote products as an affiliate.

You are probably aware of Pat’s promotion of the OpOpt-Inkin product.

Glen Allsop, Viperchill’s premium WordPress plugin Opt-in Skin. This plugin allows you to easily place optimized opt-in forms on any page of your website.

It is possible to see it in action by scrolling down to the bottom before the comments section. 

You can choose from a range of pre-loaded skins that will act as themes for opt-in emails.

Before he installed Opt-in Skin, a developer had promoted it to him. The plugin now has 5 additional SPI-themed skins.

This is an expansion pack.

This bonus is still very useful today. Pat recalled receiving emails from people stating that Optin Skin was purchased through their affiliate link because of the bonus he offered.

Opt-in skin is available for approximately one year. He’s made more than $50,000 in affiliate commissions and a bonus from this product since then.

The bonus plugin was a great “top bread bonus” that users could utilize to enhance their experience with the main product. He could have done more to create a bottom-bread bonus that would help people start an email list. Only opt-in skins can be used if they have an email list to which they can connect their opt-in forms.

Pat could have easily repurposed his blog post into a short eBook with more content for Opt-in Skin clients. His affiliate link would have attracted a lot more people.

As you can see, bonuses can be of any kind. 

• Audio and Video
• Entire mini-courses
• Software extensions
• Events and webinars
• Access to a private community or forum
• Checklists
• Guides for quick start
• Resource lists

Be relevant and useful.

What you want, and what your customers want.

How to get your bonus (and why you can’t steal it)

You have the option to deliver your bonuses in different ways depending on how you’re selling your product.

Bonuses could be included in individual sections of your membership website if members need to log in to a portal to view videos or coursework

Instructions and additional files can be added to your eBook if it is the main product.

These products can also be sent to you via email after they have been purchased.

Bonuses are not a way for affiliates to control where their customers go after they have made a purchase. They don’t even have access to the email addresses of product owners.

Pat is just one of the many people who instruct affiliates to send their receipts via email.

A virtual assistant or you can then collect emails and reply with either a link or an attachment, depending on the bonus you offer.

If you’re looking for long-term promotions (hopefully!) that work, this can be a problem. This can be a problem if you are looking for long-term promotions that (hopefully!) will work.

Here is the solution Pat used:

1. Create a new email address for each promotion. This should be easy to remember such as bonus@ or name/product@.

2. You can create an auto-response or vacation reply. It will contain a thank you note and a link to the bonus.

3. Ask your friends and family to forward your receipt via the email address you have set up. You should then send an auto-reply to them with details about how to claim your bonus.

He appreciates this solution because it comes directly from an actual email address. This means that the Gmail promotional tab problem many email service providers have to deal with doesn’t often apply here. It can also be automated.

Are you familiar with email finder tools? Take a look at this article Top 15 Email Finder Tools: Pros and Cons + Reviews 2020

Some might wonder what it means.

1. What is the best way to check receipts, even if it’s automated?

2. What happens if people share their email addresses when they see that it’s being automated?

3. Will some people receive your bonuses for free?

First, all bonuses are free.

The second…GOOD!

Pat wanted to make sure that as many people as possible could get his bonuses. He didn’t want me to just give them out publicly. In case anyone is not eligible for the bonus, he included a page to re-promote it.

Great bonuses will get people to click on your affiliate link to purchase the product. They are still new to your brand and could be customers in the future.

People who don’t buy or become customers, later on, aren’t customers or customers.

It doesn’t always have to be about being clever. These bonuses are often shared with those who are legally entitled to them.

Architecture professionals share the practice exam questions and flashcards of GreenExamAcademy a lot. This is great because it means that every copy and share gets to a potential customer who then often ends up on our site.

Every bonus comes with the URL of the website and the promotional content for the paid items. Customers are encouraged to share their bonuses with coworkers and colleagues.

Why not ask for the receipt?

These are some reasons why

The receipt sent to the owner by a person proving they are a buyer is proof of that fact.

Marketing is all about building an email list. It is the best thing to have an email list of buyers. Amazon’s 300,000,000 users are more valuable than any number on Twitter or Facebook.

Forwarding receipts is a real exchange. The experience of buying, selling, and receiving more will be even more rewarding.

This creates additional bonuses to the bonus.

If Pat were to give away his Optin Skin Bonus publicly (meaning anyone could download it even before buying Optin Skin), it wouldn’t make sense.

It wouldn’t be as cool to have it. It’s important to ensure that your bonuses are “cool enough to get your hands on span.”

Before I End up…

I hope you found this helpful. I hope that you will also use it when you sell something by yourself or through an affiliate.