The Power of Choice: How one copywriter uses a free offer to get the inside scoop on his market

Just last week I received an e-mail newsletter from copywriting expert Alan Sharpe (www.raisersharpe.com). Alan is a talented direct mail copywriter, coach and newsletter publisher who helps clients in a variety of industries.

In his newsletter, Alan asked if I would take a few minutes to complete a brief survey. In return he offered to send me my choice of one of several handbooks he has written. He included a link to a page on his web site that provided descriptions of each handbook and showed pictures of the covers (http://www.raisersharpe.com/handbooks/index.htm).

Being a perpetual student of copywriting, I took the bait. And I couldn't wait to complete the survey and get my handbook.

The survey itself was painless. In just a couple of minutes I answered the few short questions Alan asked. Apparently I wasn't the only one to do so, either. As of 6:30 this morning, Alan reported that he had received the following response:

• Number of opt-in subscribers who received the e-mail: 2,772
• Number who opened the invitation: 790 (28.5%)
• Number who clicked on the survey link: 405 (14.6%)
• Number who participated in the survey: 342 (12.3%)

That's a decent response by almost anyone's standard!

Of course, getting 342 people to fill out a survey and send you feedback is good business. It will surely give Alan a good feel for his current market. But that's not the real genius of his approach.
What was really clever about Alan's offer was that, in asking completers to review his library of handbooks and request the one of most interest to them, he caused a significant and immediate spike in web site traffic and got current and prospective clients to look at his books.

Furthermore, he learned precisely which copywriting issue is most important to each respondent. With a broad range of topics to choose from, the handbooks that people select reveal exactly what problem they feel most motivated to address. Prospects self-identified their area of greatest need, and Alan gained great insight into how to help them solve their problems and achieve their goals. What a wonderful prospecting and pre-qualification device!

Very impressive. Very impressive indeed. But what else would you expect from someone who claims to have milked a cow. And traveled with the circus. And taught children with disabilities how to downhill ski. Climbed the Swiss Alps, lived in a snow hole, preached verse-by-verse through The Gospel of Matthew, built a root cellar, eaten a penguin egg, lived in Jane Fonda's old house in Paris, found his wife on the Internet, walked Ken Thompson's dog, adopted two boys who have Down syndrome, slept through a live performance of Swan Lake, photographed terrorists from bushes, scuba dived with leopard seals, and had his clothes inspected by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Suffice it to say, he has a unique perspective on a lot of things. If anyone could have thought of this powerful approach to lead generation, it would have to have been Alan Sharpe.

Brilliance in Book-Selling

Leave it to Amazon.

The giant bookseller is always finding ways to outdo itself. In my inbox this afternoon I found an e-mail message addressed personally to me. Rather than promoting any old book, it was pitching one that, based on my purchase history and Wish List contents, Amazon was reasonably certain that I'd be interested in.

What's especially interesting about this particular e-mail is that it wasn't just a pitch for the book. It was a notification that the book had just been reduced in price. This takes Amazon's already-strong recommendations function one giant step further. Specifically: it adds a call to action and sense of urgency. Who knows how long the book will remain available at this low, low price?

Anyhow, the e-mail I received is copied below. How can you use this idea in your business?
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Subject: Your Price Drop Notification


Dear Robin,

We track items that you may be interested in for price reductions so that you don't have to. These additional savings on top of our everyday low price may only be available for a limited time, so act now to take advantage of this alert. Prices can go back up at any time and may never be this low again.

You can improve your recommendations and increase the number of products we watch for price reductions by rating items or adding them to your wish list on Amazon.com. We hope you like these timely price notifications and would love to hear your feedback on them at pd-feedback@amazon.com.

Price reduced from $19.99 to $13.59 (32% reduction).


Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future by Patrick Hanlon
List price: $19.99
Our previous price: $19.99
Our new price: $13.59

Suggested because you expressed an interest in Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant.