💸 8 strategies to improve conversions (by reducing buyer risk)

Do not index

Canonical URL

Hide CTA

Related to Authors (1) (Content)

So I was just wondering the other day.

Paying money to a random stranger on the internet for a product you have no idea about is probably one of the most psychologically difficult task you will ever do.

As entrepreneurs on the other side of this transaction, our goal is to make it as simple and risk free for our customers as possible.

This hard to do when we’re just starting out and have an unproven product.

I looked around a bit, did some research and came down to 8 strategies that the best businesses use to reduce the risk for their customers.

These are simple things which may not have any cost to you, but can be a big relief for your customers.

I’ll talk about each one of them briefly here.

This post will take 5 minutes to read, but if you only have 30 seconds, here’s what you can expect -

Precap:

💸 8 risk reversal strategies -

Money Back Guarantee
Leading with Losses
Free Trial
No Credit Card
Testimonials
FAQs
Live Chat
Public Presence

💪Homework

📢 Newsletter Shoutout

Super Links - Links you don’t want to miss

🎁 Get Rewarded

🤗 How can I help?

Now let’s get into it -

8 Ways to de-risk a purchase

1. Money Back Guarantee

This is the best and the most obvious one but many people still don’t do it.

Offering a 100% money back guarantee is the best way to let a potential customer know that you’re confident in your ability to provide value to them.

This is even more important if you have an unproven product and little brand awareness.

You do run the risk of a few bad actors abusing the guarantee, but you can enforce guardrails to prevent abuse. Some special conditions under which only genuine users can use the money back policy.

I’ve offered a 100% money back guarantee for Indie Masterminds since the very beginning.

Very early on I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to provide value to the members, so a money back guarantee gave me the confidence to ask them for money for an unproven product.

The benefits of having a money back guarantee far outweigh the costs of potential abuse.

Make sure you have it.

2. Leading with Losses

We discussed this strategy in last week’s post in detail - How to price when starting out.

Essentially the idea is to keep the prices low in the early days to get customers in the door, iterate, improve and then eventually charge more for the product.

Offering a “no-brainer” price means you reduce one barrier from the customer’s mind.

Even now if you don’t get customers then it means that nobody actually wants what you’re building 🤷

This strategy helps get early adopters to try out and support your product in the beginning.

3. Free Trial

This works for a SaaS product where you charge a recurring fee from the customer.

You give them a 7, 14, 28 day free trial to try out the product. If they like it, they become paying customers. If not, then they’ve got nothing to lose.

If you’re a creator and want to promote a book or a course, then giving away the first chapter or module for free is also a great way to de-risk the purchase decision for the customer.

It will help them make up their mind if the product is for them or not.

James Clear does this on his website very well, where he gives away the first chapter of Atomic Habits for free in exchange of an email address. (Check out the home page)

4. No Credit Card Required

This continues from the last point, especially for SaaS businesses.

Most people are circumspect of sharing their credit card with unknown strangers on the internet. If you can remove this barrier and let them try out the product by only sharing their email address, then it becomes an easy decision for them.

Of course, this will attract a few people who will just be there for the trial and will never actually become paying customers.

Entering a credit card info also signals intent from the customer’s side.

That’s why this is a very nuanced decision, you should take a call depending on your situation, product and the competition.

There are many ways to signal social proof.

Testimonials from customers on your landing page are the best.

But apart from that, you can also share

How many people use your product

or the user persona of the people who use your product.

Or if any influential people use your product.

Riverside is a podcasting tool that has used this strategy incredibly well.

They have people like Michelle Obama, Tim Ferris, Gary V and Mark Zuckerberg on their landing page.

Either because they are users, or they are guests on someone’s podcast who is their user.

Massive social proof either ways. (Check it out on their home page)

6. FAQs

This is a good exercise to follow for every landing page.

Make a list of the biggest concerns your ideal customer will have, frame them as questions and then answer them in the FAQs section.

Most concerns are about the money you’re charging or the guarantee of the value you’re providing.

The goal again is to address all the fears and make it as easy as possible for the customer to make an informed choice.

7. Live Chat Support

This is an extension of the FAQs section.

Sometimes you cannot imagine what doubts your customers might be having, give them an easy way to contact you from the website itself and ask any questions in an instant.

There are free tools you can use for this.

“Crisp” is the one I use, and have had many a long conversations with customers right before they were about to buy.

Again, talking to a real person on chat before they’re about to buy, just makes the buying decision that much more easy for them.

This is a big one.

But if you have a personal brand and a reputation then it becomes very easy to trust you and give money to you.

Customers know that if you cheat them, you run the risk of ruining your reputation in public. And you’re not going to take that risk just to make a quick buck from them.

That’s why building an audience is so powerful.

It takes time and effort, but it’s worth it in the long run.

💪 Home Work

As I said in the beginning, these are small things that you may not be even thinking about, or they won’t cost you anything. But they can help your customers make the buying decision immensely easier.

So do this today -

Do an audit of your landing page/marketing message overall.

Figure out which risk reversal strategies you’re missing.

Start including them

Your conversion rates should definitely improve.

Supported By Zaap 🙏

Zaap is the ultimate all-in-on creator tool.

It’s the most advanced link-in-bio tool I’ve ever seen, it automatically shows your latest YouTube videos, TikToks and Tweets on a single page.

You can collect email addresses from your page - and send unlimited newsletters.

Crazy!

And you can even sell products, straight from your link-in-bio. This is a comparison I’m very excited about 🤩

Some of the demos on the home page are mind-blowing 😲

*Zaap is very kindly supporting the SuperFrameworks newsletter this week, do try it out.

Every week Alex Llull shares how the best creators use content to grow their audience and businesses.

And how you can do the same by stealing their tactics and strategies.

Alex is someone I look up to and learn from every day.

I eagerly read the steal club every week 😀

Signup here if you haven’t already → Join The Steal Club

Also, if you struggle to come up ideas to post content online, then his free content grid is the best place to start. Download it here.

🔗 Super Links

Useful links you don't want to miss -

📘 Deep Work: Key Ideas, Notes and Summary.

If you’re a creator, there should be some “non-negotiable” artifacts that you publish regularly. Learn from Jay Clouse

This is my favorite Twitter tool. And for a limited time, you can get a lifetime deal on it. Pay once, use it forever.

📽️ If you fight against time every day, watch this.

If you want to read more book this year, but don’t have a lot of time, do try out Blinkist. I’m re-reading the Psychology of Money on it these days.

*Links in bold are classified ads, to book your own ad here, hit reply or send me a DM on Twitter.

🎁 Get Rewarded

So excited to announce the SuperFrameworks rewards program.

Now you can share this newsletter with a friend and win exciting prizes.

Here’s what you need to do -

Get your unique link

Share it with your friends

The more people that signup through your unique link, the more prizes you can win.

Find out the details here - Join the SuperFrameworks rewards program.

🤗How can I help?

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you -

🗞️ Sponsor the SuperFrameworks newsletter. Get your work in front of 2300+ ambitious creators, makers, solopreneurs and founders. If you’re interested, hit reply or DM me on Twitter.

🧠 Solopreneurship is hard, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. You can get honest feedback, support and accountability from a trusted mastermind group. Let’s work together