Sometimes you find yourself with a great product that just isn’t selling.
And when that happens, you have to wonder:
Why aren’t people buying?
You KNOW it’s a great product (or service). Your marketing is on-point, and you have a proven sales funnel.
So what’s the problem here?
Well, sometimes when a product isn’t selling, the problem isn’t with the product… but with the OFFER.
See, your offer is different from your product.
Having a good product is important. It’s essential, really. But… it’s not enough. A good product on its own may not sell.
Instead, you need to frame that product as part of an irresistible offer.
Don’t know how to do that? Well, don’t worry. You’re about to learn!
This is not one of those “read and absorb” type of posts. This is a mini-online workshop. So, I want you to get out something you can write with — pen and paper are fine, or you can open Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
And as you go through these ten steps, work along with me in your notebook.
When you’re done, you’ll have a page full of great ideas to help you turn your great product into a great offer… one that sells.
Now, some of these steps may not apply to your business — although most of them will. But even if it seems like one of these steps doesn’t apply to you, I highly recommend you try it anyway.
Getting creative here can uncover some great insights that lead to a truly standout offer.
So… got something to write with?
Let’s get started!
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 1: Write Down the Name of Your Product or Service
We’re getting started easy: just write down the name of your product or service.
Keep in mind this isn’t your brand name or your company name, but the generic name of one particular product or service. 
So not “KFC,” but “fried chicken.” Not “DigitalMarketer” but “digital marketing certifications.”
Here’s my example for you to follow along with:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
Right away I want you to realize that what you’ve written down is NOT your offer. It’s just your product or service.
Soon we’ll start to figure out ways we can present this product as part of an offer.
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 2: Write Down the Price
Next, just write down how much the product or service costs. Like so:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
Now you have a product/service and a price. Technically, this is an offer… but it’s not a very compelling one.
Sadly, this is about as far as many companies ever get! They create a product, sell it for a certain price, and that’s all there is to it.
But we’re going to go beyond that and explore some ways to help you structure that product as a more compelling offer. And we’ll start by playing with the price.
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 3: Add Some Payment Terms
The first modification we’re going to make to your offer has to do with the payment terms. In other words, give people the option of breaking up the cost into multiple payments.
So, instead of making one payment of $995, we give users the option of making three monthly payments of $395:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
This technique is especially effective for higher-priced items (certainly anything over $1,000) but is worth testing for any product over $200 or so.
Generally speaking, you want the one-time payment to be less expensive overall. Here’s an example of this on one of our sales pages. The one-time payment costs $1495, and the monthly option adds up to $1770:
Another way to change the payment terms is by offering annual vs. monthly payment plans. This works well for SaaS companies and other subscription services, like Birchbox:
Once again, you would discount the monthly price for anyone who pays up-front for the whole year. This will incentivize people to give you more revenue up-front.
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 4: Add a Discount
Discounts are a classic, time-tested way to get more people to take your offer.
Retailers do it all the time, as you can see in this Kohl’s ad:
Of course, the downside to offering discounts is that it eats into your profit margin. But they make up for it by increasing their total volume of sales.
And keep in mind, an added benefit of advertising discounts like this is that it gets people “in the door” (and/or on your website). And some of those people will purchase your non-discounted items.
For our example, we might offer a limited-time 50% discount when a new certification is launched:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $495
Next, to craft an irresistible offer, think about what you can add to your product to make it even more enticing…
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 5: Add a Bonus or a Premium
Just about every product or service can be improved with some kind of free bonus.
In this example, Birchbox offers a free beauty tool when you sign up for their subscription service:
At DigitalMarketer, we could offer an autographed copy of Ryan’s book for anyone who signs up for our digital marketing certification course:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $495
- BONUS: Buy a Certification Course, Get an Autographed Copy of The Invisible Selling Machine
Try to keep your bonus consistent with your product, like the examples above. But even if you can’t think of a relevant bonus to offer, something is better than nothing. 
As an example, banks have been known to offer a free Keurig if you open a new checking account with them. Keurigs don’t really have anything to do with checking accounts, but it’s a nice bonus that might be enough to persuade you to choose one bank over another.
Next, I want you to see if you can package your product as part of a bundle…
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 6: Create a Bundle
A bundle is where you take several different products or services and package them together in the same offer. It’s a more expensive purchase (because it includes more products), but you offer a discount on the items when they’re purchased together.
You see this all the time in combo meals at fast-food restaurants:
If you have several different versions of a similar product, you can offer them together in a kit like this:
When you start to look for it, you’ll notice that a lot of companies use this strategy of bundling.
Cable companies like to bundle your TV, internet, and phone bills; they offer a discount on the services if you purchase all three together.
Insurance does the same thing by offering to bundle your home and auto insurance:
As long as you offer more than one product or service, you should be able to create a bundle. Give this one a try; it’s a great way to increase your average order value. 
Here at DigitalMarketer, we already offer our certifications in a bundle… it’s our premium subscription service, called DigitalMarter HQ (soon to be Lab+):
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $495
- BONUS: Buy a Certification Course, Get an Autographed Copy of The Invisible Selling Machine
- BUNDLE: Sign Up for DMHQ and Get Access to All Our Certification Courses for as Little as $83/Month
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 7: Reverse the Risk
Every purchase involves some risk, and the fact is: you can’t eliminate it.
There’s always a chance that something will go wrong — the product will break, your service won’t live up to its promise, the customer just won’t be happy for whatever reason.
And while you can’t eliminate risk… you can reverse it. In other words, take that risk off of your customer and put it on yourself.
The most obvious way to reverse the risk is with some sort of money-back guarantee or return policy:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $495
- BONUS: Buy a Certification Course, Get an Autographed Copy of The Invisible Selling Machine
- BUNDLE: Sign Up for DMHQ and Get Access to All Our Certification Courses for as Little as $83/Month
- RISK REVERSAL: 14-Day Free Trial, 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Take Zappos for example. A big part of Zappos’ success is due to their generous risk reversal. Their offer of 100% free shipping and returns is such a big part of their brand image that they put it in their AdWords headlines:
Another way of reducing risk is to offer a free trial period. This is a low-commitment way to get new customers in the door for a subscription service, like we do with DigitalMarketer HQ (soon to be Lab+):
This technique might not work for small impulse buys (like a pack of gum), but any product or service with a decent price point and a sales cycle should include some sort of risk reversal.
Sure, you might have to give a customer their money back every once in a while… but because risk reversal helps to generate so many additional customers, it’s almost always well worth the cost.
In the next step, we really start to dial things up…
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 8: Add Urgency
Up until now, we’ve explored different ways to make your offer more compelling. We’ve given your prospects several good reasons why they should take your offer.
But we still have to explain why they need to take your offer right NOW.
Keep in mind that in the world of sales, later almost always means no. If a prospect visits your sales page and decides to “come back later”… you have probably lost that sale.
This is where urgency comes into play. Urgency gives people a reason to buy right now, today, rather than putting it off for tomorrow.
So, how can you inject some urgency into your offer?
The most natural way to do this is through a combination of scarcity and/or a deadline.
Scarcity: This is when you have only a certain number of products available. Amazon uses this technique when they tell you they have “Only x left in stock – order soon”:
Deadline: This is when your product is only available for a limited time. In this example, the discounted pricing is only available until August 15:
The next thing you have to decide is: What should you do after your urgency passes? In other words, what do you do when the deadline is passed or when the limited number of products are all gone?
You have a few different options:
- The product is no longer available. This works well with special or limited-edition products, including live events (which have their own built-in natural deadline).
- The product is still available but at a higher price. If you’re running a sale or promo, the discount price should go back to normal after a certain amount of time.
- The product is still available but without the bonus or premium. If you’re offering a bonus (such as during a product launch), you can remove it after a certain amount of time or after a certain number of purchases have been made.
When we’re marketing a new Certification Course, we usually offer a discount for early adopters… but that 50% discount only lasts for a limited time. If you don’t sign up during the promo period, the price jumps back up to $995:
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $495
- BONUS: Buy a Certification Course, Get an Autographed Copy of The Invisible Selling Machine
- BUNDLE: Sign Up for DMHQ and Get Access to All Our Certification Courses for as Little as $83/Month
- RISK REVERSAL: 14-Day Free Trial, 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee
- URGENCY: Price Jumps Back Up to $995 After Initial Promo Period
Keep in mind, you should never create “fake” urgency — such as telling people that you have only a few items left in stock when you have plenty, or claiming that a discount is going away when it really isn’t. That kind of deceptive marketing will come back to bite you in the end, as people start to learn that they can’t trust you.
But anytime you can build REAL urgency into your offer, it’s always a good idea to do so.
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 9: Champion a Cause
The last way to craft an irresistible offer is by championing a cause.
Some examples of this include:
- Donating a percentage of sales to charity
- Donating time or products to people in need
- Supporting a worthwhile social cause
Championing a cause can be just as powerful as offering a discount. It increases sales while helping to create positive associations with your brand or company — and it makes the world a better place! It’s a win-win-win.
One of the most successful examples of a company that does this well is TOMS Shoes. For every pair of shoes you buy from TOMS, they’ll donate another pair to a child in need:
Here at DigitalMarketer, we have an annual event every Thanksgiving called “Black Friday Bootcamp.” During the season when most people are focused on buying material possessions, we run a charity event focused on donating money to finding a cure for children’s cancer:
Our past participants love the good-natured spirit of the event. And in the meantime, we’re making the world a better place — bonus!
- PRODUCT: Digital Marketing Certification
- COST: $995
- PAYMENT TERMS: Three Monthly Payment of $395
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $495
- BONUS: Buy a Certification Course, Get an Autographed Copy of The Invisible Selling Machine
- BUNDLE: Sign Up for DMHQ and Get Access to All Our Certification Courses for as Little as $83/Month
- RISK REVERSAL: 14-Day Free Trial, 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee
- URGENCY: Price Jumps Back Up to $995 After Initial Promo Period
- CHAMPION A CAUSE: Sales Benefit Childhood Cancer Charities
How to Craft an Irresistible Offer Step 10: Layer Your Offers
OK, at this point we’ve gone through a number of steps designed to help you craft an irresistible offer. The final step is to layer these elements together and test different combinations of them.
You probably don’t want to include ALL of the offer elements you wrote down on your paper. Adding in too many parts to your offer is likely to confuse people. (And in case you were wondering, confusing visitors will definitely NOT help your conversion rates.)
But you should come up with different combinations and different ways to present your product or service in a way that makes people want to take action.
For example, a fast food company might come up with this offer:
- PRODUCT: 3 Pieces of Chicken, Fries, and a Soft Drink
- COST: $10.95
- DISCOUNT: On Sale for $6.95
- URGENCY: Today Only
- CHAMPION A CAUSE: 10% of profits will benefit the Washington Elementary School Parent’s Association
Or a software company might offer:
- PRODUCT: Invoicing Software
- PAYMENT TERMS: Pay Yearly For 20% Discount
- BUNDLE: Add Time Tracking Software and Get 30% Off Each
- RISK REVERSAL: 30-Day Free Trial
So, you’ve made it through the steps on how to craft an irresistible offer. Now what?
Your Product Is Not Your Offer
If there’s one thing you should take away from this post, it’s the fact that your product is not your offer.
Your product is your product, and an offer is a different way of presenting or selling that product. Every product or service that you provide can be part of multiple different offers.
As you’ve just learned, there are many, many different ways to structure an offer. They can range from relatively straightforward (like a week-long sale) to fairly complex (with deadlines and disappearing bonuses).
There’s no way to really tell in advance if an offer is going to work or not. So, the only thing to do… is to test them!
When you hit on the right offer, the difference in sales is night and day. It’s not out of the question to see 10x the sales on the same product as part of a different offer.
So, get out there and test a better offer for your product!
