YES
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That word, “yes“, is one of the most powerful words in any language. And as marketers or business owners, nothing describes what we do faster than the simple word, “yes”.
After all, that’s ultimately what we need to accomplish every day. We need people to say “yes” to our offers.
When an offer is exclusive, scarce, or in high demand, it becomes more desirable. Simple supply and demand with some old-fashioned psychology tossed in.
Whether they are whitepapers, free trials, memberships, sales promotions, or downloads, these irresistible elements can overcome a lead’s typical friction, doubt, or concern.
But why do they work?
That’s simple. These elements trigger a physiological reaction that makes an offer more valuable. People need to perceive the value of your offer to be greater than what you’re asking for in return. The higher the perception of value, the more irresistible the offer.
So how do you create irresistible offers? Thrilled, you want to know because that’s exactly what you’re about to learn.
The Element of Scarcity Is Powerful
If you look at the principle of supply and demand, you’ll notice that when supply is limited, demand goes up. Scarcity has a psychological influence on us, making us want something even more if there isn’t enough to go around.
Scarcity is great because it creates a fear of shortage, and thus a sense of urgency.
Limited Time Offers
Limited time offers are among the most popular in the scarcity category.
Just think about your average car dealership. Practically every commercial is a limited time deal. “Get 0% financing before it’s gone!”
It may seem old-fashioned because business owners have been using limited time offers for a century, but, there is a reason this tactic is still being used today. It just plain works.
Limited Quantity Offers
When something is in limited quantity, it suddenly becomes more unique or exclusive. In fact, the moment we find out that that item we’ve been thinking over for a month now may be inaccessible to us, we make a move and buy.
In fact, in several studies sponsored by HubSpot and Microsoft, limited quantity or supply offers have outperformed limited time offers.
Why? Because it’s hard to tell when an offer of limited quantity will suddenly become unavailable, while a time based offer has a known end time.
This creates unpredictably. And when something is unpredictable, it’s a little concerning, or even, frightening.
Limited quantity offers are great for not only getting people to say “yes” to your offer, but to avoid procrastination completely. Oftentimes, this tactic is the push a customer needs to finally push the Sign Up or Buy Now button.
Limited Time and Limited Quantity
Groupon is the perfect example of using both tactics very effectively.
All Groupon deals end within a certain time frame, and they limit the number of people who can buy a Groupon. That’s a powerful combination.
The site also packages these scarcity tactics with discounting, which is another great value add, especially for ecommerce businesses.
The Bandwagon Effect
It’s a natural tendency for humans to copy one another, even without realizing it, we like to be a part of tribes and social communities.
So when we notice our social circle is doing one thing, we tend to follow suit.
But what does this have to do with online marketing and lead generation? A lot, actually.
One great way to make an offer more valuable is to show that other people are participating in that offer. Essentially, you demonstrate how many people are already “on the bandwagon” using your product or service, and people will be more likely to jump onboard.
This method is also referred to as “social proof” but before the social media platforms took over, merchants and business owners simply called this the bandwagon effect.
Proof Is In The Numbers
When possible, a great way to indicate how awesome an offer is to mention the number of people who have purchased, downloaded, signed up, or donated.
Just make sure your claims are not only true, but believable.
How about a few examples?
- Webinars:
If you have a page on Facebook (or Facebook Group or Facebook Ad) promoting your latest webinar or live event, state roughly how many people enjoyed your last event.
- Blog Subscription:
Similarly, on your blog under the “subscribe” area, let people know how many subscribers you already have. If you have 7,000, state it plainly. “Join over 7,000 people getting little known tips and tricks.” This is proof that it’s a highly trustworthy blog or newsletter that people should follow.
- Conferences:
Events like SXSW and INBOUND are some of the hottest events because tons of people flock to them every year. But remember, you can also use online virtual conferences and events for a similar result.
Don't Be Afraid To Leverage Newsjacking
After Prince William and Kate Middleton got married in April 2011, no one could stop talking about Kate’s wedding dress. Within hours after the wedding, vendors began making near identical copies of the Stella McCartney designed dress.
Even national vendors including David’s Bridal now have a “Royal” category, so you can dress “just like Kate.”
When something is buzz worthy, it creates high demand. In situations like this, you can align offers with “what’s hot.”
Companies will often leverage newsjacking for this type of technique, and it works very well for offers, too.
As an example, back in 2013 people couldn’t stop talking about Pinterest. HubSpot capitalized on this craze by creating the first Pinterest ebook for business owners and marketers, How To Use Pinterest for Business. It quickly became one of HubSpot’s most successful ebooks with more than 125,000 downloads to date. That’s 125,000 email leads right there!
Because it was the first and only ebook available on Pinterest (and they made sure people knew it), and learning how to use Pinterest for marketing was in high demand, it made the offer more unique and thus more irresistible.
That’s the power of leveraging both timing and popularity to high jack the headlines and put them to work for you.
Focus on Creating An Amazing Title
Brian Halligan, HubSpot CEO and co-founder, once said that “you can have a great offer with a bad title and no one will download it. But if you have an amazing title, suddenly everyone wants it.”
Yes, people do judge a book by its cover. If your offer is a piece of content, such as a whitepaper, ebook, or presentation, put effort into creating an amazing title.
For example, let’s say you have to choose between the following two headlines:
“The Productivity Handbook for Busy Marketers”
“7 Apps That Will Change the Way You Do Marketing”
Which would you choose? Which headline appeals to you as a consumer first and foremost?
You can run a quick A/B split test, but you already know the answer. You are far more likely to download the product with the second headline.
The second option is lively, it’s actionable, it’s relatable, and it’s far from generic.
Create Offers For Different Buying Stages
The most common offer on most websites is “Contact Us.”
Sure, you want all your prospects to talk to sales, but not everyone is ready. As you know, buyers are more likely to do their own research before even engaging with a sales rep. And, every prospect is at a different stage of exploration. Some may need more education than others. That’s why it’s important to develop different offers at different buying cycles.
Someone at the top of the buying cycle may be more interested in an informational piece like a guide or ebook, whereas someone more committed at the bottom of the cycle might be more interested in a free trial or
demo. You don’t need to pick and choose; create offers for each phase, and include a primary and secondary CTA to these offers on various pages throughout your site.
Avoid Corporate Nonsense
Corporate nonsense goes by many names; jargon, gobbledygook, gibberish, blather, and a few others.
A professional image is necessary, but you still want to avoid the dreaded corporate jargon.
But, what exactly is corporate jargon?
These are nonsensical terms and phrases that have been over
used and abused, rendering them meaningless (you’ll find them mostly in the high-tech industry, but everyone is an offender at one point or another).
These words are meant to add more emphasis of a particular subject, but instead they make your eyes roll back in your head.
Some common worthless gobbledygook words you should avoid when describing your offers:
- Next Generation
- Flexible
- Robust
- Scalable
- Easy to use
- Cutting edge
- Groundbreaking
- Best of breed
- Mission-critical
Use High Value Offer Formats
Not all offers are created equal. Some “formats” of offers perform better than others at converting leads. For example, what’s more valuable, a whitepaper or an ebook.
Below are the type of offers, in order of performance, that generate the most amount of leads.
- Action Guides & Workbooks
- Templates or Presentations
- Research & Reports
- Whitepapers
- Kits (multiple offers packaged together)
- Live Webinars
- On demand Videos
- Blog (including offers in the nav or sidebar)
- Blog posts (if there is a CTA in the post)
- Ebooks
- Middle of the funnel offers: Demo Requests, Contact Sales, RFP, Etc (more sales ready offers)
It’s important to test different types of offers with your audience to determine what works for you.
While ebooks were once the best performing lead magnets, they’re now considered to be too long and time-consuming for most people.
So keep an eye on your conversion numbers. When they drop, take a look at what formats are popular. You may have to make a change. Same content, just different format.
