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Showing posts with label MONEY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MONEY. Show all posts

Saturday

Ways to Make Money While You Sleep

30 September 0
Easy Ways to Make Money While You Sleep

Who wouldn’t want to earn money even while they sleep? The concept of passive income has gained significant popularity in recent years, offering individuals the opportunity to generate revenue with minimal effort. Whether you’re looking to supplement your income or build long-term wealth, passive income streams can provide financial stability and freedom. In this article, we explore easy and effective ways to make money while you sleep, allowing you to maximize your earning potential and create a more secure financial future.

Embrace the World of Affiliate Marketing


Affiliate marketing is a powerful method to generate passive income by promoting products or services and earning a commission for each sale or referral you make. Start by identifying an area of interest or expertise and find affiliate programs that align with your niche. Join reputable affiliate networks or reach out directly to companies that offer affiliate partnerships. Create engaging content, such as blog posts, videos, or social media promotions, to attract your target audience and drive conversions. As your content gains traction, your passive income potential increases as well.


Invest in Dividend-Paying Stocks or Funds


Investing in dividend-paying stocks or funds can be an excellent way to generate consistent passive income over time. Dividends are regular payments made by companies to their shareholders as a share of their profits. Research and select reputable companies with a history of paying consistent dividends and consider diversifying your portfolio across different sectors. Alternatively, you can invest in dividend-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds. By reinvesting the dividends or opting for a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), you can compound your earnings and increase your passive income over the long term.


Create and Monetize Digital Products


In today’s digital age, creating and monetizing digital products can be a lucrative way to generate passive income. Consider your skills and expertise and develop digital products such as e-books, online courses, stock photos, or templates that provide value to your target audience. Platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Udemy, or Etsy offer convenient avenues to sell and distribute your digital products. Once you’ve set up your products, they can generate income on autopilot as customers purchase and download them, allowing you to earn money while you sleep.
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Friday

Understanding Inflation: How It Erodes the Value of Your Money

29 September 0
Understanding Inflation: How It Erodes the Value of Your Money

Inflation is a common economic phenomenon that affects individuals, businesses, and entire economies. While it may seem like an abstract concept, its impact on your everyday life is very real. In this article, we will explore what inflation is and how it erodes the value of your money over time.

What is Inflation?


Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, resulting in a decrease in the purchasing power of a currency. In simpler terms, as inflation increases, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. It’s often expressed as an annual percentage.

The Erosion of Purchasing Power


One of the most significant ways inflation affects you is by eroding the purchasing power of your money. Let’s say you have $100 today, and the inflation rate is 2%. That means in a year, those same goods and services that cost $100 will cost $102. So, your $100 can buy slightly less than it could before.

Adjusting Financial Strategies


To combat the eroding effects of inflation, you may need to adjust your financial strategies:
  • Invest Wisely: Consider investments that historically outpace inflation, such as stocks, real estate, or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS).
  • Budget and Save: Create a budget that accounts for inflation, and save and invest accordingly. Avoid keeping all your assets in low-yield accounts.
  • Diversify: Diversification can help spread risk and capture potential returns that outpace inflation.
  • Consider TIPS: Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities are government bonds specifically designed to protect against inflation. They adjust with inflation and provide a guaranteed return above the rate of inflation.
  • Review and Adjust: Regularly review your financial plan and adjust it as needed to keep up with changing economic conditions.
In conclusion, inflation is a persistent force that can erode the value of your money over time. Being aware of its effects and taking proactive steps to protect your finances, such as investing wisely and budgeting effectively, can help you mitigate the impact of inflation and secure your financial future.
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Secrets of YouTube Monetization

29 September 0
Secrets of YouTube Monetization: Views, Earnings, and Everything in Between


YouTube has emerged as a massive platform for content creators worldwide, offering opportunities to not only share their creativity but also earn money. However, the question on every aspiring YouTuber’s mind is, “How many views do you need to make money, and how much does YouTube pay?”
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of YouTube monetization, shedding light on the requirements for earning money, how much YouTube pays, and the various factors that influence a creator’s earnings.

Understanding YouTube Monetization and View Threshold

YouTube’s Partner Program is the key to monetizing your content on the platform. To be eligible for this program, creators must meet certain criteria, including the number of channel views and subscribers. Previously, creators needed 10,000 public channel views to join the Partner Program. However, as of February 2021, YouTube has implemented a new policy requiring channels to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months to be eligible for monetization. This change was introduced to ensure that channels with engaging content and an active audience could benefit from the program.

Earnings and Factors Affecting YouTube Payments


Once a channel is eligible for the Partner Program, creators can begin earning money through various monetization methods, such as ads, channel memberships, and Super Chat. However, the exact amount a creator earns from YouTube can vary significantly based on multiple factors. Firstly, ad revenue depends on factors like the ad format, viewer demographics, and ad engagement. Secondly, YouTube’s revenue-sharing model means that creators receive a percentage of the revenue generated from ads shown on their videos. On average, this ranges from $0.01 to $0.03 per view. Other factors like the niche of the content, the level of viewer engagement, and the duration of video views also impact earnings. It’s essential to focus on creating high-quality, engaging content and growing an active and dedicated audience to maximize YouTube earnings.

Conclusion


Earning money on YouTube is an exciting journey that requires dedication, creativity, and engagement. The new threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours challenges aspiring creators to produce compelling content that resonates with their audience. While the exact earnings per view may vary, focusing on building a loyal fan base, optimizing ad revenue, and diversifying monetization strategies can significantly impact a creator’s YouTube earnings. So, if you’re passionate about sharing your talent and ideas with the world, dive into the world of YouTube, meet the eligibility requirements, and embrace the potential to turn your passion into a rewarding career on this dynamic platform.
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5 Ways to Make Money Through Video Games

29 September 0
Level Up Your Earnings: 5 Ways to Make Money Through Video Games


In the world of gaming, what was once a leisurely pastime has transformed into a booming industry with opportunities for players to turn their passion into profit. If you’re an avid gamer looking to monetize your skills and dedication, here are five exciting ways to make money through video games:

Twitch Streaming and Content Creation


Platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming have turned video game streaming and content creation into legitimate careers. By broadcasting your gameplay, providing commentary, and engaging with your audience, you can earn money through ads, donations, and subscriber revenue. Building a loyal fanbase and delivering entertaining content is key to success in this competitive field.

Esports and Competitive Gaming


If you excel in a specific game, consider diving into the world of esports. Professional gaming competitions offer substantial cash prizes and sponsorships for top players. Whether you’re a skilled Fortnite builder, a strategic League of Legends player, or a precise Counter-Strike shooter, competitive gaming can be a lucrative path if you’re among the best.


Game Testing and Quality Assurance


Video game developers rely on testers to identify bugs, glitches, and issues before a game’s release. Becoming a game tester allows you to play upcoming titles while providing valuable feedback. Many gaming companies offer paid positions for quality assurance testers, making it a unique way to earn money while contributing to the industry.

In-Game Items and Skins Trading


Several games, especially within the realm of multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs) and first-person shooters (FPS), allow players to purchase and trade in-game items, cosmetics, and skins. If you have a keen eye for market trends and rarity, you can buy, sell, or trade these virtual assets on various platforms, such as Steam’s marketplace or third-party websites, to generate income.

Game Development and Modding


If you have a knack for game design and coding, consider creating your games or mods (modifications) for existing games. Platforms like Steam Workshop or Nexus Mods allow developers and modders to monetize their creations. While it may require a significant initial investment of time and effort, successful indie games or mods can yield substantial returns.
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Things Teenagers Need to Know to Become Rich

29 September 0
7 Things Teenagers Need to Know to Become Rich


I hope that you can teach your children proper etiquette, positive values, and a balanced diet. But can you teach them financial security? Can you really know what to say about money to them?

I had the opportunity to sit down recently and interview Mike Zisa. He is now a financial consultant as well as a teacher at Pennsbury High school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Zisa is the author of The Early Investor: How Teens & Young Adults Will Become Wealthy. We spoke about our community-based children and the value — and the rareness — of high school financial education. Lisa shared the most important lessons for all children of secondary schools to remember when they graduate.

Saving Money Is Not the Same as Spending Money


Saving basically puts the money into accounts like a deposit, check, or cash in a bank. Cash deposits including short-term CDs can also be included (Certificate of Deposits). With investing, you can even make your money incredibly secure and readily accessible. Investing is the act of spending the capital to purchase securities such as stocks, shares, property, and other investments that are expected to rise in value for a longer period of time. Investing your money was the best performer of your career.

Use Compound Interest

Compounding is when your savings and/or dividend income generates extra income. In other words, aggregation is where the income generates income. Compounding really lets the wealth rise exponentially! The younger you are, the more time you have to work together.

Start early investment

This is the stage on which Zisa is most adamant. It was his drive to write his book. The quicker you start investing your money, the longer you need to allow the benefits of combining to generate capital over the long term. Consider this: if you begin to spend $3,000 a year at an average growth rate of 6% at age 25, you’re around $680,000 by age 65. If you’re just 35 years of age, you’re worth $260,000. Time has the most important influence on long-term wealth generation. Begin to invest now.

Don’t Buy Stuff That You Can’t Afford


We live in a world that now needs and wants things. There’s nothing wrong with wasting money, so it’s all wrong if you don’t spend it. The money you spend does not contribute to the accumulation of debt that will lead to a financial catastrophe.

Use Credit Cards Responsibly


Credit cards will be a big part of your financial life. The loss of your financial well-being may also be credit cards. Many adults have used credit cards to buy needless and frivolous goods only for extreme debt, which may be unavoidable. It is important to note that by using a credit card, you borrow money that you must repay. A couple of important items to note about a credit card:
  • You charge extraordinarily high interest rates if you don’t pay the whole balance
  • Don’t buy things with a credit card without the money you have to pay for them.
  • Keep in mind introductory interest rates and balancing deals
  • Scan the print (the very small print you do not want to read) of the credit card.
  • Pay the whole balance by the due date
Purchase Properties Rather Than Obligations

Purchase stuff that makes you money, not stuff that makes you owe money! For example, when you invest in a stock that pays a dividend (a portion of the company’s profits) every three months, you collect cash for not doing anything at all. If you buy a mortgage, every six months you collect interest payments. This is referred to as passive profits. Conversely, if you buy a loan of some kind, you already have accrued debt that you have to pay with interest. Obviously, such loans, such as a mortgage, might be required to buy the first home or even a car loan. But other debt forms will maximize your liability and hamper your wealth-building capability.

Set a Budget to Save a Rainy Day


A budget is essentially a projection, normally monthly, of projected revenue and expenditures for a given time in the future. You will track how much money you spend on some goods and services by setting a schedule. A vital element of the budget is to set up a cash account, known as an emergency fund, every month. An emergency fund is funded you saved to provide cash for an unusual incident in your life. You should preferably have an emergency fund equivalent to living costs of three to six months. You should keep the emergency fund safe, easily accessible assets such as a deposit certificate (CD), a money market account, or just a savings account.

Zisa obviously assumes that the financial stability journey starts early. As in all aspects, parents should teach their children financial literacy through role models. You will save and save your own children if you live beyond your means and learn the behaviors required to live a less exhausting and rewarding life.
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Monday

10 Weird Ways Big Companies Make Money Online

21 May 0

 My goal today is to show you how ten big companies make money online in weird, outside-the-box ways.
 
Groupon

Leaping from $30.5 million in year one to $713.4 million in year two, Groupon is the fastest growing company in the history of the world.
 
How does Groupon Make Money?
 Groupon features local daily deals around the world. Companies choose to set up a group coupon that Groupon sells for a day and keeps a percentage of the price of the coupon (usually around 50%).
The reason it works so well is because the deals are 50-95% off, they only last a day, and nobody gets their coupon if they don’t sell a predetermined number of coupons. So when people buy the coupon, they tell their friends to get it too. If they refer three people, they get the Groupon for free.
 
Airbnb

Started as “Air Mattress, Bed, and Breakfast,” Airbnb is an online service that matches people who want to rent out a room with vacationers who are looking for short-term rentals outside of the traditional hotel.
 
How does Airbnb Make Money?
 
Airbnb has been labeled as “among the next generation of multibillion dollar startups” by the New York Times. They charge travelers a 6-12% service fee and require hosts to pay a 3% fee for every booking through their site.
 
With this business model, Airbnb was valued at $1 billion in July 2011.
 
Zynga

Zynga is the company behind many of the world’s top social networking games including FarmVille, CityVille, and Mafia Wars. They’re reportedly valued at $15-20 billion.
 
How does Zynga Make Money?
 
Zynga makes money through people purchasing credits within their games and through partnership agreements with large companies.
 
Using FarmVille as an example, players use real money to purchase “Farm Cash” so they can progress in the game. FarmVille also conducted an ad campaign with McDonald’s where people could, for one day only, visit the McDonald’s farm, grow tomato and mustard seed crops, and earn McCafe Consumables so their farms would grow faster.
 
In March 2010, Zynga also started selling prepaid cards for virtual currency at more than 12,000 stores across the US. I remember seeing FarmVille gift cards at a 7-Eleven in downtown Denver and thinking, “there’s no way anyone would buy that…would they?” I was wrong.
 
Activision Blizzard

World of Warcraft, more affectionately known as WoW, is an online role-playing game owned by Blizzard Entertainment (now Activision Blizzard) with the world’s largest online gaming userbase: 11.1 million subscribers as of June 2011.
 
How does World of Warcraft Make Money?
 
Activision Blizzard makes money with WoW by charging $15 per month to play the game. They also sell physical discs and expansion packs. It’s the bloggers equivalent to a membership site with upgradable accounts.
 
A neat factor about their game, however, is that people can play the game, collect virtual gold, and sell their gold for real money.
 
People and companies, yes companies, make a full-time income doing just that. Then they sell their high-ranking profiles to people who want to skip the grunt work of running through the first portion of the game.
 
Edit: Thanks to Joey’s comment, I found that selling gold and profiles is strictly against WoW’s terms of use. We don’t endorse this practice but it’s interesting how it works.
 
Dropbox

Dropbox is a Web-based file hosting service that lets people save their documents, photos, etc. to the cloud so they can access them from any internet-connected device. It was started in 2007 by a pair of MIT graduates through the Y Combinator.
 
How does Dropbox Make Money?
 
Dropbox operates under a freemium business model where people can get started for free, but pay for more space as they want to host more files.
 
Dropbox is expected to reach $100 million in revenue by the end of 2011.
 
99designs

99designs hosts graphic design contests where graphic designers compete to create logos for clients. As a result of these competitions, clients get to choose from an average of over 90 logos and only the winning designer gets paid.
 
How does 99designs Make Money?
 
Clients post logo and other design projects and pay upfront. Then designers submit their logos to the client. The client selects his favorite and the designer gets paid, minus a small fee that goes to 99designs.
 
UserTesting.com

UserTesting.com offers low cost usability testing experiments where you can hire their army of independent usability testers to look at your website and give you a detailed report on what they think.

How does UserTesting.com Make Money?

They typically charge $39 per usability test and they pay their testers $10 per test. So they keep $29 per test for setting up the systems and processes that make this previously daunting task simpler.
 
The beauty of this company is that they can hire anyone – in fact the less savvy the better – to perform these usability tests.

Woot!

Woot pioneered the one-deal-a-day online business model where they feature one incredible deal every day.
 
How does Woot Make Money?
 
Much like Groupon, they use creative copywriting and limited-time offers to sell other company’s products on their homepage. Since they drop-ship these products, they don’t have to offer customer support or manage overhead like traditional companies. As you probably guessed, they get a cut of every sale.
 
In June 2010, Woot was acquired by Amazon for an undisclosed amount.
 
QuiBids

QuiBids offers a radical take on the long-established internet auctioning industry. People have reported receiving up to 95% off things like $3.52 Apple iPads and $1.07 Nike putters. The catch is that it costs you $0.60 to place a bid and you have no guarantee of winning the auction.
 
How does Quibids Make Money?
 
Some products receive upwards of 1500 bids which means QuiBids is taking home $900 in revenue just from people making the bids. But QuiBids claims that they maintain a 5-10% profit margin as a company because they end up losing money on 50% of the things they sell.
 
Any Lucky Day

Any Lucky Day is a smaller company that’s run by a young entrepreneur named Giancarlo Massaro. Similar to Woot, they profile a company-of-the-day. But instead of selling the company’s product, they hold a contest where they give the product away.
 
How does Any Lucky Day Make Money?
 
It costs a base price of $150 for a company to be featured on Any Lucky Day. They also offer a few upgraded options including publishing rights and a small listing for an extra $50 apiece.
 
Compared to traditional advertising like magazines and billboards, $150 is an incredible deal with seemingly more engagement because you have to visit the company’s website before you can enter the contest.
 
The Wrap-Up
 
The point of this post was to get you to start thinking outside the box on how you make money with the internet. You can continue to place sidebar ads and promote affiliate products, but the internet is your oyster when it comes to all the options you have for monetizing your website.
 
Remember, making money from a blog is bizarre to most people. So you’re on the right track.
 
Do you know of any other companies with weird, outside-the-box monetization strategies?
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Friday

Things Most Sales Pages Are Missing (fix these today to increase conversions)

18 May 0
9 Things Most Sales Pages Are Missing…

So you’ve got your website up and your sales page is live with a great offer, but your visitors aren’t converting very well.

You’re looking at your traffic stats and comparing them to your sales, and you’re starting to feel disappointed and annoyed.

Could it be that your sales page is missing one or all of these 9 essentials?

I learned the hard way what not to do when selling products online and this article will help you understand how to dramatically improve your sales page conversion rate – even if you’re just starting out.

Today we’re going to look at nine things most sales pages are missing and why they’re destroying your conversions.

But before we get started, it’s probably a good idea to understand what exactly a conversion rate is.

Some of our readers are so new to making money online that they’re not even clear on this point.
What is a Conversion Rate?

A conversion rate is the percentage of your prospective customers who follow through with a specific action you want them to take. For instance, a website can track the following kinds of conversion rates based on the amount of visitors the website is receiving:

The percentage of website visitors who call the company.
The percentage of website visitors that buy something from you online.
The percentage of website visitors that fill out a form. There are several ways to increase online conversion rates, let’s look at nine of them:

1. Prove It
You can make claims about your business to your prospective customers, but they’re probably not going to swallow everything you feed them whole. In addition to your claims, always try and include social proof! Social proof might mean customer testimonials, 3rd party website reviews, and even case studies. Prove to your prospective customers that your existing customers are doing well.

I love the way the real life customer testimonials from ExpertPhotography.com fit so appropriately into their sales pages.


2. Transparent Contact & Support Information
Having a telephone number, email support link, and live chat option can dramatically increase trust in a website. It makes it look like there’s a real business behind the website, and that there are real people to get in touch with.

IncomeDiary makes getting in touch incredibly simple and obvious as you’ll see on the screen grab below…

I’ll let you in on a little secret… We hit record sales the very first day we used SnapEngage (live chat client) on one of our software websites. I highly recommend you try it for at least 30 days – it’s free.


3. Credibility & Trustworthiness Showcasing “trust” seals from organizations like the Better Business Bureau and security firms like Verisign will almost always increase conversions. Again, this makes your website look like a serious business with serious validation.

Bills.com makes sure your eyes keep moving down the sales page and that their credibility sticks in your head as it’s the final thing you see on the page.


4. 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee 
When you offer a guarantee, it gives customers a lot more confidence in what you’re selling. They know that they can get their money back if they find your claims aren’t true. Also, if you have a better guarantee, like 90 days compared to 30 days, then that will help too.

People want to know they can get their money back, and they want to know that they will have plenty of time to try out your service or product without any risk.


5. Headlines
A headline is probably the first thing your visitors are going to see. It should compel them to read more, instead of exiting your site. If you can capture their attention with a headline, then you can keep them reading. If you can keep them reading, then you are more likely to convert them. Don’t underestimate how significant of an effect a good headline can have.

And here is something to remember…

“80% of emotional impact will be determined by the first 20% of the copy.”

Hire a seasoned copywriter just to write your headline, if that’s all you can afford.

Here is a great example of a sales headline that PopupDomination used for years and years – that converted like crazy!



#6. Calls-to-Action
Even if you’ve gotten your web page visitors to stay on your website and read what you have to say, you still need them to buy. They might want to buy already, but that’s not enough. You have to make it really clear to them – how to buy, why they should buy, and that they should buy right now. Include a call-to-action at the end of your sales letter, or right near your purchase button.

CrazyEgg.com has an incredibly simple landing page with a great call to action being the first thing you see. An extremely easy way to do this and make it look professional is with a nifty little software known as OptimizePress.


7. Simplified Website Layout 
When visitors come to your web page for the first time, they want to be presented with a simplified website layout – not a whole lot of clutter, flashy graphics, or annoying distractions. Show them clear navigation and a straightforward sales path like the team at ManPacks.com, and you’ll have a better chance at making them stay.

OptimizePress is a WordPress plugin and theme that allows you to create clean and professional landing pages, membership sites and blogs, without having coding or design knowledge.


8. TOS/Privacy Policy
When you include a link to your TOS/Privacy Policy, it shows prospective customers that you take their private and financial information seriously. A trust seal at the bottom of the site, near those links, is even better. Show your prospective customers that you will protect their information just like Basecamp.com does with their “Not-so-fine print.”


9. Social Media Builds Trust & Sales
Even if you don’t close a sale right away, if you build up your social media fan-base, followers, and friends, you’ll be able to interact with them on a daily basis. Giving away free content and direct interaction builds trust and will help you close future sales. Go for the long-term approach, don’t discount building up a list, a social media fan base, and an army of loyal blog followers if content marketing is a part of your overall sales strategy (it should be).

Proudly display your products, fan count and/or social shares to your existing fans and potential customers just like EJ does on EJCarrion.com

Word of warning, if you have a small social following, this method could end up hurting your conversions rather than improving them, so test it and see how it works for you.


Remember, having an intuitive and user friendly website can be the difference between a bounce and a conversion.
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Design Features Guaranteed to Boost Sales and Conversions

18 May 0
What’s the one thing that all businesses have in common?

You guessed it, they exist to generate revenue for someone, whether it be shareholders, co-founders, or small-time owners.

Of course, the issue with generating revenue is that you’re required to convert leads into customers, which is why so many startups and small businesses focus on things like compelling copy, split testing, and email campaigns.

At the end of the day though, no matter how well you court a future customer, there’s really only one thing that they want, and that’s a guarantee that they’ll get something out of the purchase.

Some people want results, some want gratification, and some want happiness, but at the end of the day it all boils down to one thing: avoiding regret.

People simply don’t want to make a purchase that they’ll regret, and saying no is their way of avoiding just that. But you know they won’t regret it; you simply need to prove it to them.

How do you do it? You use a convincing guarantee to silence that objection and get them to take a leap of faith.

Is your guarantee good enough to do that?

Let’s take a look at 10 of the most popular examples and see if we can find out.
Standard Guarantees

1. The Money Back Guarantee

This is probably the most popular guarantee in the world. In fact, it’s so popular that it’s no longer viewed as a benefit, but as a right.

The origins of the money back guarantee go back as long as people have been buying and trading goods…it’s a natural offer.

The problem is that it’s so overused and average that unless your product is extremely valuable (like a car) or easy to return (commodity products, such as retail goods), then you’re going to have an incredibly difficult time overcoming an objection with this guarantee alone.

That being said, it’s certainly better than having no guarantee at all, and if you communicate this well in your sales material, you’ll at least mitigate some of the risk to the buyer.

Chrysler recently tried this with their line of automobiles, but recalled it a few short months later. Almost every existing retail establishment, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, chain book stores (brick and mortar), Amazon, and Apple (online) offer a guarantee of this caliber, but most of the time, it’s hidden in the fine print, which is a poor idea.

Instead, take the example of Rockable Press and make the benefit clear and concise. You’ll have a much higher success rate as a result.

2. The Risk-Free Guarantee

This is a close relative of the money back guarantee because it’s essentially the same thing, the only difference being the context surrounding it.

Risk free guarantees work best with high cost products, services, recurring billings, and products with amazing, but yet to be proven claims, such as the ShamWow and/or a variety of Internet Marketing products.

A risk-free guarantee, which has been used by everyone from Frank Kern to Billy Mays, gives your customer a chance to try something before they buy, or at least commit to buying.

SEOMoz offers a risk-free guarantee for their SEO services, as quoted in this line of their pricing and signup page:

“If for any reason you’re not satisfied with your membership, simply e-mail xxx@seomoz.org during your first 30 days and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.”

The great thing about a guarantee like this is that it pushes people over the hump and moves them from “I’m considering it,” to “what the heck, I’ll try it.”

3. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee

This is the hallmark of the new generation, and is a great take on both the risk-free and the money back guarantee.

How does it work?

Instead of simply offering a customer’s money back or giving them a chance to try before they buy, you create an offer that’s advantageous to both the customer and your business.

A 100% satisfaction guarantee not only guarantees that the customer will be happy, but also guarantees that you’ll get another chance to save the sale by offering an exchange or 2nd chance effort.

From a customer’s perspective, you’re not only reducing risk, but you’re reducing it almost completely. You’re guaranteeing a result, which as we talked about earlier, is the most important aspect of the conversion. You’re guaranteeing their satisfaction, which in turn negates the opportunity for regret.

It’s a win-win.

For a company like Inkd, which expends a tremendous amount of creative resources during the logo design process, the satisfaction guarantee gives them a chance to keep working until they get it right.

Hampton Inn, managed by Hilton Hotels, offers a similar guarantee for their rooms. If you aren’t satisfied, you don’t have to pay. Being that they trust in their overnight experience, they can offer this guarantee, knowing that 99% of the people won’t use it.

When someone does, they get the feedback they need to improve their experience.

4. The Forever Guarantee


When I was a teenager, I got tired of working for McDonald’s and decided to move into marketing, where I spent 2 years working in direct sales for a company that offered the most incredible guarantee I’d ever seen.

Cutco sold high-priced cutlery that was guaranteed to rock your socks off. The only issue was that most people simply weren’t in the market for high priced cutlery.

However, when I told them that by buying today, they’d never have to buy another knife again, they suddenly re-thought their position. Cutco’s “Forever Guarantee” meant that by buying a set of knives today, they’d save hundreds, if not thousands by never having to buy another.

Most people buy cutlery like they buy pots and pans, which is every few years. Rather than racing to the bottom, Cutco raised prices and improved their guarantee instead.

I can personally attest that this guarantee alone earned me 10-25% increases in revenue, and tens of thousands in sales.

5. Low Price Guarantee


When a lifetime guarantee, or Forever Guarantee, won’t work, consider taking a page out of the Amazon.com playbook, which is to not only offer returns, but offer a low price guarantee right along with it.

If you pre-order an item from Amazon.com, they’ll guarantee that you’ll be charged the lowest price the item has been sold for, rather than the price at the time of purchase.

Furthermore, they guarantee that low-price for 30 days after purchase, meaning that if it goes on sale, you’ll get a refund of the difference.

Another example of this type of guarantee is with retail outlet Best Buy, who offers price matching on any in-store item.

Though it’s slightly more difficult to use this for online info-products and services offered in only one place, it’s a perfect option for online retailers.

6. Free Trial

In an age of freemium business models, the free trial has become not only the norm, but a customer expectation.

Looking at startups, such as Dropbox, Evernote, Mailchimp, and CloudApp, you can see that their approach is to offer a free and premium service, hoping to attract a small percentage of free users into paid users.

Online video host Wistia offers a single service, yet gives new customers a chance to try via a 15-day trial. Online help desk Zendesk offers a 30 day test-drive of their service.

If you’re a small business or startup offering a service, a free-trial might be your best bet for moving leads into your customer development cycle. One thing to note is that the most common trials are those that require no credit-card in order to get started, but you’ll want to use an analytics product to track and split-test conversions of this type.
Outside the Box Guarantees

7. The Extreme Guarantee

You knew it was coming didn’t you? How can I discuss guarantees without mentioning Zappos’ incredible “Free Shipping, Free Returns, Free 365 Day Return Policy?”

Not only can you buy a pair of shoes from Zappos and send them back if you don’t like them, but you can keep them around for a year before deciding to do so!

To sweeten the deal, Zappos even offers to pay for the return shipping, including a label with your original purchase.

This is such an incredible guarantee that you simple can’t ignore it. There are claims of Zappos accepting even slightly worn shoes, knowing that they’ll probably retain a customer for life in the process.

If your product is one that begs to be tested, worn, or played with before purchase, consider using Zappos as an example for how to get it right. Yes, their margins are lower than the average online retailer, but they develop passionate and loyal customers, which is something that can’t be said of other online storefronts.

It’s because of philosophies like this that Zappos does over 1 billion in sales annually.

8. The Double Guarantee

Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity and traveler to almost every place on Earth, has decided that a single guarantee isn’t good enough, so he’s gone Billy Mays style and “doubled the offer.”

“If you read the guide, listen to the audio sessions, and put in a good-faith effort, I am not allowed to keep your money if it doesn’t work for you. You have to let me know if this happens, and I have to refund your money promptly. You have 60 days to succeed before I return your money.”

Specifically, I want to ensure that you can earn at least $200 a month ($2,400 a year) in new income through what you learn. Obviously, I want you to do even better than that – but this is the bar of success for the guarantee.

In addition, there is the usual, 365-day guarantee – if it doesn’t rock your world anytime in the next year, just tell me and you get your money back.”

Wow. It’s almost as if he’s begging you to top it. The question is, can you?

Well it works well for Chris, who sold well over six figures of information products in the past year.

9. The $1 Million Service Guarantee

Have you heard of Lifelock, the company that promises to protect your identity at all costs? If you have, you’re probably familiar with founder Todd Davis publicly stating his Social Security Number on TV and Radio, but what you might not be familiar with is their 1 million dollar guarantee, which states:

“LifeLock works to help stop identity theft before it happens by taking proactive steps to reduce your risk. But if you become a victim of identity theft while you are a LifeLock member because of some failure or defect in our service, contact us and we will act on your behalf to repair any damage. We will spend up to $1 million to hire lawyers, investigators, consultants and whatever else it takes to restore your name and help you recover the direct losses from the identity theft.”

That’s a pretty good way to negate risk, wouldn’t you say?

While I don’t recommend giving your SSN away, nor do I recommend backing up with $1 million that you can’t afford, this is a great example of how you can take an ordinary guarantee and make it look infinitely stronger.

The lesson learned in this case is that if you believe in your product, then put your money on the line to prove it. Because of this guarantee, Lifelock earns well over 100 million per year in revenue.

Danielle LaPorte, App Store, PragProg

10. The Zero Guarantee

I know what you’re thinking…”how can this help me improve conversions?”

My answer to you is this: Apple doesn’t seem to have a problem with iTunes, nor does my favorite online bookstore, the Pragmatic Bookshelf.

The truth is that in some cases, you simply can’t offer a guarantee, so rather than omitting one from your sales page, you can take the other road and tell your customers that your products are so great that you don’t offer refunds.

Danielle LaPorte recently did this and earned $11k in 11 hours with this product. It worked not because she acted in defiance, but because of her explanation here.

Why do I like it?

Digital products are abused by serial refunders and non-action takers on a daily basis, and this sort of fearless approach not only shows confidence, but builds it with your audience in the process.

The “I don’t need your refund money” approach creates an atmosphere of exclusivity, and we all know that there’s nothing we want more than that which we cannot have.

It might not work for your product or service, but if you’re brave enough, I’d love to see you try it.

So what’s your company’s return policy, or do you not have a guarantee at all? It’s likely that there’s no perfect guarantee that works for across the board, but hopefully after learning from these examples, you can be a little creative in redefining your approach to the guarantee business.
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