Promotional Offers Can Create Prospects
For ecommerce websites, a sale is a desired outcome. However, in some cases, building a mailing list of interested prospects can also be very valuable. In this article, we'll discuss some of the principles for developing a compelling offer to get visitors to convert in a non-financial transaction.
Principles of an Effective Offer
There are two important elements in creating an effective promotional offer. It should:
1. Qualify the visitor.
2. Be delivered at low cost to the merchant.
Perhaps you've visited websites that offer some sort of monthly drawing for a popular prize like an iPod. Such a drawing will help the website develop a list of prospects that would like an iPod, preferably a free one. My feeling is that this is primarily effective if you are selling iPods. Only an offer that directly relates to your products or services means that you are building a qualified mailing list.
The term "low cost" is a relative one. For some companies, an offer would...