How to "upsell" on the Web - A copywriting case history

Ivan Levison —
Direct Mail, E-mail and Advertising Copywriting

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THE LEVISON LETTER
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Action Ideas For Better Direct Mail,
E-mail, Web Sites & Advertising

Published by
Ivan Levison, Direct Response Copywriting

May, 2008
Volume: 23 Number: 5

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How to "upsell" on the Web - A case history
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It doesn't matter what you're selling on the Web. There's an excellent chance
that you could boost profits by trying to do some "upselling."

I'll show you one terrific way to do this, but let's start with a definition.

Webster's New Millennium Dictionary defines "To upsell" as "To try
to persuade a customer to buy a more expensive item or to buy related
additional products at a discount."

EXAMPLE: You and the car salesperson have agreed on the price of your
new car. You're all set to sign on the dotted line when you're asked if you'd
also like a sealer treatment to keep your perfect paint job looking great. Or
an extended warranty "to give you peace of mind for years to come."
A classic upsell.

EXAMPLE: Your dental hygienist cleans your teeth then asks if you
might be interested in getting your smile a little brighter with some
teeth whitening treatments. Another classic upsell.

You get the idea. Now let's take a look at an example of effective
upselling on the Web.

A company called Parallels sells an excellent product that lets you run
Windows on a Mac without rebooting.

Join me right now at their Online Store which you'll find at:

http://www.parallels.com/en/buyonline/

The first item for sale at the top of the page is Parallels Desktop for Mac
which sells for $79.99. Click on the orange-colored "Buy Now!" button on
the right. (Don't worry. You're not buying anything yet.)

As you can see, you're instantly at a landing page with the headline:

"Buy a 2d copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac for only $49.99"

The copywriter begins:

"Using more than one Mac? Is creating your favorite virtual machine on
just one computer not enough? Looking for that perfect gift for a Mac friend?
Right now you can get a second copy of Parallels Desktop
3.0 for Mac for only $49.99!"

Then they give you four reasons why "two are better than one."

Finally, Parallels' copywriter encourages you to buy the second copy
of the software by using the bright, happy, orange color for the "Yes,
buy two copies" button, and a boring gray for the "No, buy just one copy" button.

This page is worth careful study because it's a perfect example of
Web upselling at its best. Everything is geared toward the extra sale.
From the headline to the photo of the two boxes, to the four reasons, to the two
order-buttons, the page is totally focused on making that extra sale.

I'll bet Parallels sells a TON of extra software because they're executing
their upsell perfectly.

How about you? Can YOU think of ways to sell more product by putting
the power of upselling to work on your Web site?

If you need some copywriting help with an upsell, a cross-sell, or a
plain old SELL-sell, give me a call at (415) 461-0672.

What kind of results can I get for your business when you have me do
your copywriting? Take a quick look at:

http://www.levison.com/testimonials.html

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How To Get In Touch
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Ivan Levison
Direct Response Copywriting
14 Los Cerros Drive
Greenbrae, CA 94904

Phone: (415) 461-0672
Fax: (415) 461-7738
E-mail: ivan@levison.com
Web Site: http://www.levison.com

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