3. The soft offer. This approach still appears to be the most popular, however the language used to describe it varies from one business to another. I’ve seen it stated as “Free 30 day trial” or “Risk-Free Trial”. Most include the phrase “Send No Money Now.” But I have noticed several tests that tack on the “Payment enclosed/Bill me later” option in an effort to get cash with order, even though it’s a soft offer.

4. The hard offer. While the soft offer makes up the lion’s share of the offers out there, the good, old hard offer is still used. Hard offers—no free trial—seem to work best with a very low per campaign price, $5 per product. Many times a premium is included upon payment to boost cash with order. And a 100 percent money-back guarantee appears to help generate response as well. Unlike the standard guarantee that promises a refund on all “incomplete calls,” the 100 percent money-back guarantee tells the subscriber that he can receive a full refund if he’s ever disappointed with the product. Some business managers are hesitant to commit to a full refund, but rarely does a customer take advantage of the guarantee and claim his refund—and the technique does appear to lift response.

5. The Fast 50. Another way to boost response is with an old standby—the Fast 50. This sweepstakes of sorts offers a premium or gift to those who are among the first 50 replies received. Since you can’t make a purchase necessary to enter, you generally have to give the option of letting the respondent say “no” to the service, “but tell me if I’ve won a prize.”

6. Premiums. Once a mainstay of practically all voice broadcasting campaign offers, premiums are not used as widely today as they once were. Workshops, books, free perks, and calculators were common giveaways. Some were awarded only when the payment was received. Others were sent just by signing up. Very few of my clients use premiums these days, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider testing one in your next promotion. “You never know until you try” seems to be a good rule of thumb here.
In fact, that’s the best rule of thumb for all the offers I’ve mentioned here. The beauty of vocie broadcasting is that it’s easy to read results. And that means it’s easy to tell if one offer works better than another, if adding a premium helps boost response, if “1 year free” works better than “2 years for the price of 1,” and so on.
In the world of vocie broadcasting, it’s “test, test, test.” Do it—and find the offer that works best for you.