techne-eikon.com

Like so many other people, I subscribe to way too many newsletters, making for a very cluttered and noisy inbox. One of these newsletters comes from Michael Bungay Stanier from Box of Crayons. I like Michael’s newsletter because it is usually packed with good information, and I don’t get a new one every second day. Unfortunately, in the latest newsletter, I have to say that Michael made a mistake, and it’s not a trivial one. You see, Michael created a free e-book, and as things stand now I will never read it.

Here’s the problem: the online marketplace is getting very crowded. In the last month or so, there have been so many new courses and ebooks offered that it’s making my head spin. In addition to this, many of the marketers have discovered the power of video, and are releasing stuff for us to watch at a furious rate. The problem? The clock is ticking. I (and I suspect, many of you) just don’t have the time to go through all of these materials. And along comes Michael, tossing his ebook onto the pile.

His latest newsletter was filled with a list of useful products for me to peruse, the last one in the list being his free ebook. “Cool”, I think, and proceed to click the link. It takes me to an Order Confirmation Form from paypal. The first line on the form is as follows: “All Prices in US Dollars”. Erm… What happened to free? The next line tells me that free offers do not need Credit Card details, so that answers that question, but according to the rule of first impressions, my enthusiasm has taken a big hit. My “no” program is now running.

Proceeding down the page, I see that in this case free does not mean easy. The vast majority of ebooks can be downloaded for the price of your name and email address. Simple, fast, and easy. Not so with this one. The paypal order page wants my Full Name, my email (these are ok), AND my day phone and my full address. If I was paying for the product, this would be acceptable, but for a free ebook? Too much work, and you’re asking for details that are, quite frankly, not necessary to the transaction.

Here’s the point I want to make: if you are marketing anything, and I mean anything at all, you must make the process of getting your product into your customers hands as easy and painless as possible. That the product is free makes absolutely no difference at all. People are naturally wary of any offer, and if you make it difficult, or ask for something in return that you have absolutely no right to, you will drive prospects and customers away at a furious rate.

As I stated before, I don’t have much time available to me. To have to stop what I’m doing, fill out a form with details that I don’t want to give out, and proceed through three or more clicks just to get yet another ebook is excessive, and that’s why I won’t be reading Michael’s book. Based on the quality of his newsletter, I’m sure that it’s a very useful book, and honestly, based on his writings I am almost tempted to go through it anyway. If I didn’t have to fill in my phone and address, I probably would have gone through it anyway. But I do, so I won’t.

To sum it up, Michael’s mistake boils down to one thing: using a system designed to process cash for goods transactions for a free product. The top line, “All prices in US dollars”, activated my “no” program. It was all downhill from there, and ultimately killed the sale. The phone and address requirements were just the bits of evidence that the program needed to substantiate its paranoid scepticism. My advice? Re-release the ebook, using a simple name and email form, and save the paypal page for his paid offerings.

For the rest of us, let’s take a lesson from this, and always remember to make the transaction process as smooth and easy as possible. To do otherwise is to drive customers away, and that’s probably not the result we are looking for, is it?

/*EDIT*/ Unfortunately, I misspelled Michael’s name in the title. It is supposed to be written a before e, not the other way around. Sorry ’bout that…