Inducements Increase Sign-Ups
March 29, 2000
"Would you suggest sweepstakes, money, or something else to attract more customers to sign up to your newsletter or website? What's the best tactic to use for viral marketing?" -- Sammy
Offering a special bonus adds the element of immediacy. If visitors wait until later they risk missing out entirely. Ideally, you want to offer something that is extremely easy to administer and deliver. A sweepstakes will appeal to many visitors. Money is too difficult to deliver; how about credit in your store instead? Ideally, offer a prize that can be digitally delivered, either attached to an e-mail reply message or downloaded from a "thank you for signing up" page. It takes a pretty powerful reward to get so-called "viral marketing" (sometimes called "word of mouth" or "buzz") going without spending big advertising dollars At first, just try for a reward that will elicit an immediate response from your visitors.

