A GUIDE TO DIGITAL LITERACY.

1.2. Converting subscribers to money.

If the subscribers you gain in Step 3 of the journey remain engaged, some
of them will be ready to increase their level of commitment. They like the
information you share and have begun to trust you, so they’re ready to invest
in one of two ways: either with time or money.
This is a critical stage in the Customer Journey and one that frustrates many
business owners. The key to success in this stage is to employ what we call
“entry-point offers.” These offers are designed to give the new prospect
tremendous value without forcing them to put too much “skin in the game.”
At this stage, to ask for a significant investment in a complex product or
service would be asking too much, too soon. You’re still in the early stages of
relationship.
In fact, it’s too early even to concern yourself with profitability. That’s right: in
this stage of the Customer Journey, you might lose money on the prospects
you acquire as buyers.
This is, perhaps, the most important lesson you must learn so it bears.

Examples of Marketing That Generates Conversions
There are two types of entry-point offers: those that require a commitment
of time, and those that require a commitment of money. Here are some
examples:
• The VP of Operations at a large company purchases a high-dollar
management consultant’s book for $8 on the consultant’s website.
• A daughter of elderly parents schedules a walk-through visit at the local
retirement home.
• A man takes advantage of a $20 teeth whitening service at his local dentist.
Notice the price point of each of these offers: from $8 to $20.
Your goal here is not to make a huge profit. It’s to get customers, to shift the
relationship between you and your subscribers. Because, as you’ll see, once
someone is a customer, it’s much more likely that person will purchase higherticket, more complex products and services and do it more frequently.
Remember, one of the costliest (in time, money, resources) marketing activities
your business will undertake is the acquisition of customers. The good news is
that once you’ve acquired them, you don’t need to pay to acquire them again.
Here’s an example of an offer from GoDaddy that does a great job of acquiring
new customers with extremely low-priced domain registration services: