...Would you take a free $100 bill if you read that ad?

First off, let me ask you a question: If you knew for a fact that above offer was legitimate and true in every way... How many $100 bills would you buy? (Dumb question, right?) Then why didn't people try to buy thousands of them? There's only one reason: The ad did not have credibility. And even though this example is on "outside edge", same problem exists in virtually every ad on net. I'm here to tell you that no matter how good you think you've established your credibility in your current sales letter, you can do more - and doing so will put your sales through roof!

OK, what's wrong with ad we ran?

1) Too many exclamation points. Makes it sound "hypish" and destroys credibility - without credibility, no sale.

2) We don't identify ourselves in ad. That's a terrible mistake, and I don't just mean our company name... Any scam artist can register a fictitious business name, and they're easy to hide behind. Without a clear identity behind offer - to defray any fears your prospects may have - even best offer with a triple your money back guarantee means nothing... you won't get sale.

You should always have a "clear identity." You should have a phone number, address, and whenever possible a fax number. NEVER use hotmail, usa.net, or other throw-away free email addresses. Those who are out to scam you and run *almost always* use throw-away email addresses - free email addresses. At least with a legitimate ISP email account, customer has some feeling you can be found if you turn out to be one of "bad eggs" - a scam artist.

3) Need to give credentials. I should have established that I'm an expert in my field, should have listed famous and successful clients I've worked with ...you get point. You must do everything you can to show your credentials, because that helps to build credibility.

4) Need testimonials. I should have listed happy customers of ours and happy people who had previous order $100 bills, using FULL names whenever possible, not initials. Testimonials are a great way to gain credibility. Even weakest of testimonials can make a dramatic difference in your sales. HARVEST those like golden nuggets they are... When a customer writes you saying nice things, *always* write back and ask, "Can I quote you on that?" - You'll be surprised how many say, "no problem" and this alone can make such a difference in your success you won't believe it until you've tried it.

5) Give full contact info like our business address and phone number to establish that we're "real people". There are many services where for a few dollars a month you can get a "one number for everything" services, taking both voice mail messages and faxes and forwarding them to you via email.

6) Here's a very important one: We need to explain WHY WE ARE DOING THIS. Lots of people miss this point. If I explain that we're giving away $100 bills as an experiment, or because I'm a wealthy philanthropist, etc., people understand what's going on, and there's a better chance they'll believe me.

I hope these tips have been of use to you. If you put these concepts into action in your online marketing, you should easily be able to increase your sales.

P.S. -Once we applied credibility tactics I just listed, we "sold" a $100 bill to very first person that we contacted. Yes, they *do* make a difference!!

5. REMOVE THE OBSTACLE OF RISK

Do you know major reason why people don't buy something they want or need? They don't want to take chance of getting something different than they expect and maybe even losing money. You can eliminate this risk by guaranteeing satisfaction. If you sell products, offer a liberal money back guarantee. If you provide a service, offer to continue working without additional charge until promised result is achieved.

6. DIVERSIFY

It's easier and less expensive to get more business from satisfied customers than to find new customers. Continually find or develop new products and services related to what you sell -- and offer them to your customers. Affiliate programs offer a quick and low-cost way for Internet based businesses to add new products and services to their inventory.

7. NEVER STOP TESTING

Continually test and evaluate effectiveness of everything you use or do to promote business. Here's a highly effective 80/20 guideline you can use. Invest 80 percent of your advertising budget and effort in proven promotions and 20 percent in testing new variations. Most businesses using this system continue growing -- even in a highly competitive market.

Take a few minutes to evaluate how well you're implementing each of these seven marketing principles in your business. A small improvement in just one of them will boost your sales immediately. An improvement in several will generate a big increase in your total sales volume.