The quick start guide to creating a tripwire offer and landing page
When you're trying to land new clients, it's a bit like dating. Hear me out…
You need to get to know someone before you ask them to marry you, right? You're not going to propose on the first date because there's a lot you don't know about this person yet. I mean, they could be a serial killer for all you know!
Similarly, when you're trying to make a sale, you need to “date” your potential client first. And by that, I mean that you need to find ways to let them get to know and trust you before investing in your product or service. For example, publishing quality content that showcases your expertise. Or by creating a free downloadable resource on your website to capture their information and nurture them by email.
The thing is, it can sometimes take months or even years for a potential customer to convert (if at all).
So what can you do to speed up the conversion process?
Introduce your potential customers to your product or service through a tripwire offer.
What Is a Tripwire Offer?
A tripwire offer is a small, enticing offer that can turn your target audience from browsers into buyers. You may have heard it referred to as a “front end offer.”
The hallmark of a strong tripwire is that it’s low-cost, typically ranging between $5-$50. With a low price point, customers will be more inclined to try out your product or service.
The aim is to surpass their expectations with this tripwire offer so that they’re more likely to invest in your premium offer.
The Benefits of a Tripwire Offer
A tripwire offer provides you with an easy and effective way to turn a prospect into a buyer.
Here are just some of the benefits to adding a tripwire to your marketing plan:
It will boost your sales
Imagine if you have two offer items: a premium offer at $1,250 and a tripwire offer at $17. Maybe you’re getting no bites for the high ticket item, but 25% of the 1,000 visitors who opted into your email list are willing to invest $17 for your tripwire offer. That’s $4,250 of sales right there.
But that’s not all. According to research done by DigitalMarketer.com, someone who purchases a tripwire is 10x more likely to buy your core offer.
It will help you build trust
This is your foot in the door – your chance to give so much value that they want more because they're now a customer who completely trust that your core offer is going to help them just as the tripwire offer did.
Examples of Tripwire Offers
There are several types of tripwires that you can offer, and you don’t necessarily have to create something from scratch. Take a look at your current products and services. Determine what some of your best-sellers are and offer them, or a portion, at a deeply discounted price.
Just be sure you’re offering something that will provide added value to your customer. For web designers, you could offer a brief SEO or website audit or:
- An introductory video mini-course or masterclass
- eBooks or guides
- Useful templates
Here's How it Works
I'm going to be fully transparent here – at Agency Mavericks, we offer an effective tripwire product which I’m going to break down here to help you understand the necessary steps involved in this process.
1. Offer a Lead Magnet
Your lead magnet is different to your tripwire offer in that it is free and is of less value than the tripwire. It still needs to be valuable and something that showcases your knowledge and professionalism such as a free tutorial or eBook.
Your lead magnet is your first shot at introducing your target audience to your brand so ask yourself:
What value can you offer potential customers to convince them to download the lead magnet and give you their email address?
One of our lead magnets is the proposal template. We have a landing page set up for this and we also include the download on blog posts and popups throughout the site. Here's what to include:
A brief description of the product:
Note that we have kept it simple and made the button large and colourful to stand out.
Gather some testimonials that you can add to the page:
Or anything else that may build trust:
List the Benefits:
Again, keep this as clear and concise as possible.
For more in-depth tips for creating a high-converting landing page, check out my earlier post here.
2. Create The Tripwire Offer Page
Once they’ve downloaded the lead magnet, this will then take them to a thank you page where you can give them an irresistible offer – your tripwire.
On this page, you’ll outline the benefits of the tripwire. You might even like to make it available for a limited time to create a sense of urgency. Your pitch should be so good they feel they’re missing out if they don’t jump at it right away.
Once someone downloads our proposal template, they are then taken to this page where we’ve used a video to explain the value they would be getting from purchasing our Website Benefits Playbook.
We use video often in our marketing as statistics have shown it to be more effective than written content. But you can certainly still create an effective landing page without using video.
We’ve once again added testimonials to build trust and we clearly show that the value of this product is much more than we are offering it for:
3. Create a Tripwire Thank-You Page
The thank-you page serves as your confirmation of their purchase and how they gain access to it. You can use this opportunity to introduce your main offer and start the process of upselling.
4. Place Prospects Into an Email Campaign
As I mentioned, tripwires are a gateway to building a long-term relationship with customers. That long-term relationship is further nurtured through email marketing.
One final point to consider: The goal isn’t just to sell more tripwires. It’s to nurture those who purchase the tripwire and show them why it’s worth it for them to invest in your high-value offer.
The 3 Elements of the Perfect Tripwire Offer
1. The offer should be related to your lead magnet
The lead magnet that brought your potential buyer to you, whether it was a downloadable guide, template, or free masterclass, clearly hit the right target on what that customer needs. Ensure that your tripwire is related to that initial offer, as it will provide a continued path to your main goal of conversions.
For example, our tripwire product is related to the proposal template download – the Website Benefits Playbook gives you 80 features re-written as benefits to copy and paste into your proposal to help you win more clients.
2. The offer is at an affordable or entry-level price
Tripwires aren’t free. But they should be at a price point that is hard to refuse. First, consider your brand. Do you have a high ticket course that costs $1,999? Consider a related tripwire offer that is from that course at a deeply discounted rate – say 90% off – and offer it for $199. Does your live masterclass cost $200? A great tripwire would be $20. The key here is to ensure a deep discount.
3. Make it available only for a limited amount of time
Tripwires should pop up the moment someone signs up through a lead magnet or opt-in page. Add a countdown clock to your offer page to note the urgency of the offer. Tripwires should only be offered for a short period of time.
Get Ready to Create Your Irresistible Tripwire
Ready to see if tripwire marketing can help your agency? Unsure how to create a strategy that will work for your business? Set up a Clarity Call with our team, and let’s figure out how this effective strategy can work for you.
