Offer rebates instead of discounts and get more income with less overhead

This piece, from PaidSurveys, tells a neat idea to give an actual bonus which people don't take advantage of - so they have to do something to get it, a great catch for freebie-seekers.

With fewer of those to support, your overhead is less and your profits greater. As well, if you set it up right, you'll have these people opt-in to a "paid" list of yours which is filled with people who already bought - so have a greater chance of buying again, depending on your service delivered and the conversations you build with them.

Customers will flock to what they perceive as a great deal. A rebate off the regular price is a great way to do that. Many times popular products have earned name recognition. Customers often type the product’s name into search engines in order to find your affiliate product.

When they do find your affiliate website, you can hook them with a rebate. You could feasibly offer a product to customers at a 25% discount off of the regular price. A customer will jump at the chance to receive a discount.

Don’t give the discount immediately however. Offer a 25% rebate instead. Why? Offering the 25% discount up front will guarantee that you sell them the product for a lower price, but a rebate of 25% on the other hand is not often utilized. For one reason or another people do not often follow up on the rebate. Only about 15-20% of customers remember to send in the rebate. This is to your advantage.

As example, let’s say the product costs $100. Your commission is 60% so you will earn $60. You can offer a rebate of 25% that amounts to $25 off. Therefore, if the customer takes you up on the rebate offer then you will make $35. However, like I said, most customers do not follow through with the rebate so you earn $60 even though you initially hooked them with the 25% rebate.

How should you offer the rebate? Explain that if the customer orders directly from your website link that the rebate is valid. Request that they send in a receipt regarding their purchase. State that the rebate is valid 60 days after purchase. You'll want to make sure to wait until 60 days have passed to make sure they haven't already requested a refund. It is very easy to pay a rebate through Paypal or by old-fashioned check.

If you are risk taker you can increase the rebate amount. It is up to your level of risk aversion and experience.

It is true that anyone could purchase a program through their own affiliate link and have massive savings up to 75%. But guess what? Most people don’t realize they can save money doing this. So point them to your affiliate link instead.

The major benefit of offering a rebate is that it distinguishes your affiliate from other competing affiliates. There maybe several other affiliates selling the same product, but you are selling the product at a discount price (with the rebate).