Ascend 101

Lessons about building a one-person business, writing, and self-improvement

When I first started creating offers I always omitted bonuses.

I wasn’t aware of them as a marketing tool—let alone know how, when, where, and why to even add them.

But after more than 365 days in the business (yes I’ve officially passed my first year of business anniversary), I now realize just how much value they can add to an offer and how much they can improve your promotion, launch, or whatever it is you’re doing.

This goes for both your own products as well as affiliate promotions.

That said, let me get one thing clear before we start:

No amount of bonuses can make up for a terrible product. If people don’t care about your product, nobody will even bother checking out your bonuses—much less consider purchasing it.

But a few carefully crafted (or curated) bonuses can increase the value of your total offer a hundredfold.

Hell, some people (me included) will buy certain offers or products just to get their hands on one of the bonuses.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some inspiration for the types of bonuses you can add to your product (or someone else’s).

Be aware that this is far from an exhaustive list.

There are an infinite amount of bonuses you could add, especially considering this shouldn’t be limited to just your stuff. You could easily partner up with other people and come up with bonuses you could create, curate, or organize together.

But I know how difficult it can be to come up with ideas if there’s too many options to choose from, so that’s why I’ll limit this section to just 5 examples.

Example 1) Different formats (audio vs written)

This one is fairly straightforward and doesn’t require a lot of work.

If you’ve made a written course, then add an audio version of it where you record yourself either going through the course and explaining certain topics or adding additional information and personal insights/examples.

If you’ve made an audio or video course, then simply transcribe it (which takes no time at all and can be fully automated) for those people who much rather consume the contents of your course by reading than by listening (I’m one of them).

Nothing much more to add here.

If you can give multiple formats of your product or make it accessible through different media, then it’s almost always a good idea to add this as a bonus (or an upsell — I know both Ben Settle and Russel Brunson often add these types of upsells with great success).

Example 2) Checklists or roadmaps

Adding a checklist could be a great idea to make your product a lot more accessible and easier to finish/apply/implement.

It’s like a guiding light showing people what to do, in what order, while making sure they’re not missing or forgetting anything else.

I’m calling this a checklist.

But you could very well create a step-by-step roadmap for people to follow and it’ll have the same effect.

Depends on what problem your product is solving.

Example 3) Swipe files

While swipe files (a fancy word for a document full of examples) don’t always attract the best customers, they can be a great and valuable bonus addition to learn from if done right.

They’re also incredibly easy to create.

If you’re building a product to solve a certain problem, you should have plenty of experience in that market/dealing with that problem. This means you’ll also have more than enough of prior work/results/whatever it is you’ve been doing to show to people as examples of how a good quality deliverable looks like.

Whether it’s prior emails, workout plans, landing pages, crochet designs, cupcake recipes, or entirely something else.

A document like this could add an enormous amount of bonus value to your offer.

Example 4) LIVE Workshops

This could very well be one of the most fun (and profitable) examples on here—especially during a launch.

You could organize a live workshop/presentation/discussion/… about a topic related to your product as a bonus for everyone who buys your product before a certain deadline. This is immensely valuable because live workshops like these are always a goldmine of information—especially if you reserve time for a Q&A at the end of it.

More.

Even after the launch is over, and the workshop has taken place, you can still use the workshop recording as an upsell for everyone who buys your product.

In this case I’d argue it’s best not to make it a free bonus as it might upset previous customers who feel cheated because their “buy before the deadline bonus” is now available to everyone.

Example 5) Tools

And last but not least. Tools.

Whether it’s a calorie calculator, a tool to help build new funnels, a chart of beautiful color combinations for people’s brand designs, or an Excel spreadsheet people can use to track their expenses.

All of them are wonderful additions to your already valuable product (as long as they complement one another of course).

They’re also not super difficult to create.

Even better, you might already have them without even knowing it. Think about all the stuff you do on a daily basis (in regard to the problem your product is solving) are there some tools or solutions you’ve created to make your life easier?

If yes, that’s a tool right there.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready. Here’s how I can help you:

Hop on a Clarity Call with me: Remove all of your uncertainty. Get clear on what you have to do, when you have to do it, and how. Let’s get you on the right track to achieving the freedom you deserve.
Work 1-on-1 with me: We’ll get you up and running, ready to earn $1,000–$5,000 per month in the next 60–90 days
Check out my products: Ranging from every resource I ever read to my entire framework to land clients consistently and effortlessly. It’s all waiting for you to claim it.