‘Straw Dog’ Offers

Posted on October 5th, 2010 by Larry Chase

Conventional Direct Marketing wisdom says that making two offers in a single ad can lead to lower response rates. That’s because providing two offers gives the reader more choices than you intended: to think about it later or make no choice at all. Very often, “I’ll think about it later” translates into “never.”

However, I know of at least one scenario in which you can make two offers in order to boost response rates. I call it the “Straw Dog” offer. This is where one choice is a no-brainer for the reader to reject in favor of the other. For example, “Pay for Your Subscription Now” versus “Sign Up for Your Free Trial.” The first offer should drive more responses to the second offer. LC

The Internet Marketing Tip above originally appeared in Larry Chase's Web Digest For Marketers which you can subscribe to at no charge at www.wdfm.com.