I know I’ve offered them, but I just signed up for what I thought was a report with real information in it…and what I got was a welcome and you’ll be hearing from me over the next 3 weeks!
Argh! I signed up on impulse, and I want the information now…right now, and not getting that information immediately left me feeling ripped off.
E-courses have long been recommended and used very effectively as freebie or ‘pink spoon’ offerings (think Baskin Robbins samples) for building a list, but observing my own reaction I’m wondering if their usefulness has passed.
I’ll never buy anything from this person nor will I refer to her. To be honest, I wasn’t going to buy from her anyway, but I might have liked what she had to offer enough to make a referral.
Here’s what I’m thinking…
The internet offers up immediate gratification for whatever information you seek so expecting a subscriber who just heard of you and signed up on impulse, to happily wait around for 3 weeks to get the information seems rather silly. It’s not how the internet works.
Now don’t get me wrong, ‘pink spoons’ are essential. In fact I think ‘pink spoons’ actually need to give more than a taste…more like a free ice cream cone or even a free ice cream cake.
Certainly the trend in internet marketing circles is to offer lots and lots for free…with a huge, expensive launch to follow (more on those some other time - not overly fond of them either).
The point is that offering large amounts of information for free is becoming the norm and, honestly, it’s a great way to let people really get to know you which is exactly what you want. People buy from people they know, like and trust so rather than teasing them with hints about who you are and what you have to offer, give them a substantial experience.
Rather than an e-course, I would suggest offering a substantive report, a video, an audio recording (interviews are awesome) or even an audio or video with a written transcript.
Give your new subscriber something that really shows your stuff that can be quickly and automatically delivered. That person has just cracked the door open to see who you are. Don’t waste the moment by asking them to wait around because they won’t and you won’t get a second chance.
So what do you think? Do you like e-courses? Have they outlived their usefulness? When you sign up for something do you prefer a pdf report, an audio or a video? I’d love to see your comments below.
Talk soon,
Susan
