Your offer is critical to your success. And one great way to boost response is to offer “FREE Shipping.”

Without a powerful offer that projects strong perceived value, you’ll get less response.

Extra shipping charges, for instance, usually depress response–especially if the charges are high. It’s the number one reason people abandon shopping carts–or fail to start the buying process at all.

Consider these FREE shipping solutions:

• Amazon’s membership program Amazon Prime is a healthy revenue stream: 6 million subscribers paying $79 a year. Customers who pay this get free 2-day shipping, plus access to other benefits…as long as they remain members.
• Amazon’s Quidsi subsidiary, which sells diapers, pet supplies and soap, among other items, offers similar memberships at its sites, too.
• And last year, several major e-tailers also began offering some version of free shipping.

So FREE shipping is a standard you’re measured by. It’s an offer your customers often can’t refuse.

But how can you afford to battle Amazon and L.L. Bean?

Here are 7 ways:

1. Set a threshold. Non-Amazon Prime members must spend $25 or more to get free shipping. Tip: Set your minimum just above your average sale. Customers will spend $10 more to “save” $10 on shipping.
2. Offer free shipping…at a nonstandard delivery time frame. Non-Amazon Prime buyers may get “free shipping”… but it takes 3–5 days, instead of 2 days for Prime. Tip: You’ll need multiple shipping speeds and options to make this work.
3. Join the club. Start a club for free shipping, charging an annual fee. Most shoppers will end up buying more this year than without the club. Tip: Add other benefits to membership as well, such as “first look” on sales and blow-outs, upgrades, etc.
4. Trade it for something you want. Offer a “one-time” free shipping benefit for customers who “liked” them on Facebook or “followed” them on Twitter. Tip: Snag new buyers with an “introductory special offer” so they know it’s temporary.
5. Give them a choice. Structure it with another benefit to encourage more sales. “Free shipping when you buy 3!” or “Sign up for auto-renewal,” for instance. Tip: Buyers like the options, and they usually opt for the quantity discount.
6. Bring a friend. Offer free shipping for current customers who refer new ones. Tip: This is not a “general” offer. Only send this deal to current customers and consider a separate landing page with this promotion.
7. Special times include special treatment. Apply free shipping to orders for seasonal or short-term deals. Customers must buy in a certain (short!) time to get the deal. Tip: Do it to reduce inventory on items you lose money on if they never sold.

Yes, it’s odd that customers are willing to pay for “free” shipping. But they are. You can compete with the big guys, with some creative–and still free!–shipping.

Send me your current shipping offer and I’ll help you make it zing! And then get ready to ring with new sales. Email me at craig@cdmginc.com.

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Direct Response · Envelope Strategy

To win more leads and customers, write engaging direct response copy that motivates the most stubborn prospect. It ultimately increases your response.

One key way to do that is to be specific…

• Use actual numbers every time. For instance, don’t say something has “about 300″ uses. Instead, say it offers “283 swift solutions” to benefit your customer. Rather than “$20 a month” say the service is theirs for “only $19.79 monthly” or (better!) “only $4.94 a week.”
• When relating anecdotes or offering testimonials about your product, use real names (with last initial only!) and other “real-world” elements such as actual cities (Pittsburgh or Kyoto), the month and year (or even the date if you know it) and the exact benefit received by the customer.
• In closing the deal in direct mail or online, literally ask the prospect to buy: Nothing vague or clichéd about “Support” your cause or “Partner with” you.
• And get to the point fast–no throat clearing!

For copy that increases response, send me what you have for a FREE evaluation. Email me at craig@cdmginc.com.

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It doesn’t matter what you write in the letter if they don’t open it. Because it’s what’s “outside” that counts.

Do you know…

• The 5 “prompts” your prospect looks for on the envelope?
• The 2 biggest dangers to your envelope copy?
• The 3 answers to envelope dilemmas?
• And the absolute #1 thing you must do to get them to open your mail…
  every time?

Watch this 2-minute video to find out.

Then send me samples of your envelopes for a FREE, gut-check review of your envelope copy! Email me at craig@cdmginc.com for more information.

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Not always as it seems…

Check out these two email subject lines for a tourism campaign to the island of Fiji…

Your Opinion Counts–Win a Fiji Hand Tote
vs.
Take the 5 Minute Fiji Survey–Win $50

Which would you open?

Well, 12.3% more recipients opened the email with the first subject line, above. It has the “You” focus and a believable, somewhat exotic prize. And 5 minutes these days can be a lot to ask.

BUT…

The second email–with the exact same internal copy for both emails–nabbed one-quarter more click-throughs: 25.3% more recipients followed through on the offer.

Why?

Actually, it goes back to that “less successful” subject line. Once the recipients did open the email…the 5-minutes-for-$50 sounded pretty good–and they clicked on.

Lesson: Measure BOTH open rates and click-through rates to see which of your A/B splits produced the most actual responses and conversions. If you get “more” with “less”…you win!

• Bonus: Test this on your Pay-Per-Click ads also–because you want fewer “looky-loo” clicks + greater overall response to your offer, to save money.

Send me your best emails–subject lines and internal copy–for my free evaluation to craig@cdmginc.com.

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