The One-Time Offer and Your Online Marketing Business : Help or Hindrance?

The One-Time Offer and Your Online Marketing Business : Help or Hindrance?
An online marketing business can be very complex when you
think of all the ways you can market a business online.
You may decide to choose one or two main methods of
internet marketing, or you may choose several techniques.

If you're a seasoned internet marketer with an online
marketing business, or even a newbie embarking on a new
online business venture, you will have probably already
encountered the One-Time Offer (OTO) as one of these
methods of marketing.

A one-time offer is a sales page that might pop up in
several different places that allows you to make a purchase
- now or never. You only see the page once, so you have to
read it carefully and decide whether or not you want to
make the purchase, or skip the offer forever.

It's a very clever online marketing business sales tactic
that works for some, but doesn't work so well for others.
Successful and well-known internet marketers like Mike
Filsaime use the OTO as a method that helps them generate
millions of dollars each year.

I have also used the OTO as a method that would supposedly
help me generate more extra cash. For example, I tried OTO
GoldMine, a system designed for the newbie to make extra
cash by offering software and other products related to
internet marketing for usually a very low price.

At first I jumped at this free opportunity. Who wouldn't
when you hear all about how well one-time offers capture
those internet surfers who are rushed to make a decision
now, or lose the opportunity forever?

I added it to my online marketing business website so that
each time someone left my site, it was set to show the OTO
Goldmine offer page, which offered products related to my
site, as an exit screen, much like you would capture
subscribers with an exit pop-up.

After at least a few months, I realized that the OTO ? at
least for me, and the way I was using it ? goes against
what I really believe and value when I think about my
online marketing business and what it is meant to do. As
excited as I was to put it up, I was equally excited to
take it down.

After all, I am not all about suckering people into
spending their money just because they visited my website.
I am more about building an honest business and
recommending products as I see fit.

That does not mean that I used the OTO GoldMine product in
the best possible way. You can really make a lot of extra
money with this system, and they are effective enough that
they are used by the pros out there.

Perhaps the one-time offer is meant to be used more
carefully. For example, if someone purchased something off
my online marketing business website, it would be an ideal
time to present a one-time offer after they have made their
initial purchase. Most good salespeople know that it's
good practice to offer something else of related value upon
making a sale.

I, on the other hand, placed the OTO in a place where
people visited my site, decided they didn't want anything I
had to offer, and then they saw my OTO sales page. It was
as though I made a desperate attempt to squeeze one last
penny out of my visitors who didn't want anything in the
first place! Bad me.

I have learned my lesson, but have not returned to the
one-time offer, which, I admit did not make me any pennies.
Even though the products were valuable, there are many
places to get the same products for free when you have an
online marketing business.

You may also advertise the OTO in traffic exchanges as a
sales page, or to your newsletter list. I still maintain
that you will only be successful at this if you do it
right, and put the OTO's in the right places at the right
times, and have an unbelieveable offer that can't be
refused.

I guess what you hear me saying is that the one-time offer
is good if you are a somewhat experienced online marketing
business marketer, and know exactly how, where, and when to
use the one-time offer to your advantage, and your
customer's benefit.

Online marketing businesses are not all about making money
online. That is certainly an added bonus, but be careful
about how you go about the one-time offer. You don't want
to lose the trust and respect of your valuable customers,
so learn all you can about one-time offers, and work on
building those customer relationships first.

I may try the OTO again for my online marketing business in
the future, but rest assured, I will be smarter about it
next time. Live and learn, as they say!

----------------------------------------------------
Liane Bate owns a Plug-in Profit Site web business, and is
author of 100+ articles related to online business and
internet marketing.
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