Amazon Marketing Tip: Bloggers! Trade A Discount Code For An Email Address

Please Comment

 Attention Bloggers:  You can trade A Discount Code for an Email Address!

Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - PreviewCreating a Pop-Up to trade a discount code for an Email Address shouldn’t be that hard!

So I thought “I’d like to trade an email address for a discount coupon – how difficult can it be?”  (I know better than to tempt the Universe that way!) Surely lots of marketers are selling on Amazon and realize that “The Fortune is in the List.”   Well evidently this isn’t a common question and not many Amazon sellers are building a list. After all Amazon makes it VERY clear that collecting email addresses from your customers and selling them things off Amazon is strictly forbidden.

My objective is to collect the Email addresses before I send the customer to Amazon. My intent (at least right now) is to offer them specials on more items on Amazon. So in this case Amazon and I are in complete agreement.

As I set out to do this I had several criteria and the list grew as I worked through the process.

  1. I wanted to use a Pop-Up – they seem to convert much better than standard inline sign up forms.

    NOTE: Several recent studies have shown that clicking a link or button before being presented with a form to fill in an email address converts better than traditional sign up forms. It is called micro-commitment. Instead of deciding to fill in an email address AND click a button, the first decision is just “Click a Button.” That leads to the second decision to fill in an email address. Two small decisions with the second one qualifying for a “Well I’ve already started ….” thought – seems to be easier for people to do than one bigger decision.

  2. I wanted to display a discount code after the customer fills in their email address.
  3. I wanted to send the customer directly to my Listing Page on Amazon so the process has as few steps as possible. (I definitely did not want them to have to go to an email and find the discount code and the link.)
  4. I wanted the discount code to be placed in the clipboard for the customer so that they could paste it directly into the Discount Coupon field during the Amazon checkout.
  5. I wanted to have a link on my web page a customer could click on to activate the Pop-Up.
  6. I wanted the customer to be on a Single Opt-in List in AWeber.

After considerable searching I came up with a solution, even though it does not meet several of my criteria.

I consider criteria 1 (pop-up), 3 (send directly to Amazon) and 6 (single-opt-in list) to be critical and I found a solution for that.

Findings

Before I show you my solution, let me tell you a few things I found along the way.

First – there are a LOT of pop-ups being talked about and sold or given away that will display a discount code and send the person to a sales page. A few of them fill the Discount Code into the clipboard. Very few of them collect email addresses. They talk a lot about affiliate offers and driving the customer to the sales page. In this case the marketer obviously needs a constant source of new traffic since they have no list to market to. Usually that traffic is paid traffic. IMHO making sales without building an asset is a total waste.   A lot of top Internet Marketers agree with me. That is why you see “The Fortune is in the List!” over and over.

Second – Once I found a couple of pop-ups that did collect email addresses, I found that any code accessing AWeber’s API triggers a double confirmation, even if the list is a Single Opt-in List. In this case the customer is primarily interested in the Discount. Even though I may give them valuable information later in the emails, they don’t know that and for the most part do not currently care. The percentage of opt-in confirmations would be very low.

Third – I REALLY want the customer to go directly to Amazon.  Having to find and open the correct email to get to the “Buy Link” would probably cut sales drastically.  The usual system we use for eBooks would create a loss of sales here.

My Solution

I ended up using AWeber’s LightBox Pop-up form. I got the single optin and directing the customer directly to the Sales page. I did not get displaying the Discount code after the email address is filled in, placing the code into the customer’s clipboard or (in WordPress website) a link that would trigger the pop-up.

Let’s look at the process.

  1. You need to set up a Promotion Code in Amazon for your product. See How To Create Promotion Codes here.
  2. You need to create a new list and make sure it is a Single Opt-in List. (AWeber changed their screen recently. Now you must go to List OptionsàList Settings and toggle the Single Optin option after the list is created.) See How To Create Single Opt-in Lists here.Note: I recommend setting up a Master List for your niche and then a separate list of each product. You can tailor the initial emails in the Product list around the product the customer purchased. You use AWeber’s List OptionsàList Automation to sign the customer up to your Master List automatically when they sign up for a product list. (The first email in the Master List tells customers that there is another email that talks about the product they just bought and Welcome to my Newsletter.) After a set number of follow-up emails in the product specific list (5 to 9), you can stop emailing that list directly. Subsequent emails go to the Master List and are sent to all of your customers.
    The post on How To Create a Single Opt-in List also talks about this.
  3. You need to create a link to your Display Page (Listing) in Amazon. Make sure you include your seller number if you are not the only one selling this particular number (See How To Create Links to YOUR Display Page here).
  4. Create a Sign Up form. I used the Tiny Template. I’ll walk through that process with screenshots below. Here are the steps we will go through
    1. Get an image of your product and size it 300x by 300px.  Also get a button image like the one above.
    2. Upload the image your want to use into your blog using the Media Menu Option.
    3. Upload a fancy button to your blog using the Media Menu Option.
    4. Copy the URL for both images somewhere so you can paste them into AWeber later.
    5. Start the Create a New Sign Up Form process.
    6. Select the Tiny Form Template
    7. Choose Lightbox as the Type – set the number of seconds to wait before displaying the form to around 10.
    8. Make the form wider
    9. Remove all of the extra fields except the header, the email line and the submit button.
    10. Paste the URL of the image of your product as the “background” of the header field. Mark this as appearing in the Top-Center.
    11. Edit the Header field and press the Enter Button until you text starts below the Image.
    12. Enter text telling the customer the Discount Code and how to copy/paste it and where to use it on Amazon.
    13. Replace the dry Submit Button is an image. Here is a link to download mine. You can read how to easily Create Your Own Cool Button with different words here.
    14. On the second screen of the form creation, send the customer to a Customer URL on Success and if they are “Already Subscribed.” This URL is your Display Page on Amazon. If you are sending the customer to a product listing that several people are using you need to be sure to send them to YOUR listing.   Again you can see How To Create That URL here.   Note: AWeber doesn’t like the “Keywords” portion of the URL shown in that post. Just use the &m=<your seller number> portion.
    15. Insert the Javascript into your Page.
    16. Test it.
  5. Place a link in your Blog to the same page. This will refresh the page and trigger the Lightbox again.

Here are the Screen Shots I promised above:

Step 1: Get an image of your product and resize it.  You can use http:Pixlr.com or something like Photoshop Elements.   Also get a copy of a nice button.

Step 2:  Upload an Image of Your products  I used about 300px X 300px.   A large image just won’t show.  It won’t give you and error message, it just won’t show.   You can also use sites like Photobucket to upload your images.  You just need a link to them on the web.  I tend to use the Blog where I am going to display them since that is one less “point of failure.”  (If Photobucket.com happens to be down, you form will show, but the pictures won’t.  If my blog is down then it doesn’t matter, nothing shows.)

Step 3:  Upload the Button Image

Upload Images to the Web
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Upload Images to the Web

#1 – The Media menu option is on the side of your Blog Dashboard area.  Choose to Add New Files.

#2 – Select the two files or drag them into the space provided.

#3 – This is the product image

#4 – This is the Button image.

Step 4:  Find and copy/paste the URLs for these images while you are in the Media Menu.

Click on Each Image and Copy the URL into a Notepad File
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Get the URLS

Step 5: Start the Create a New Sign Up Form process

Create a New Sign Up Form
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Create Form

#1 – In the text I gave a link that described creating a Single Opt-in List.  I’m assuming you have that and we are now selecting that list in the “Current List:” drop-down menu.

#2 – Click on Sign Up Form

#3 – Click on the Green Create a Sign Up Form Button

Step 6:  Select Templates and then the Tiny Template

 Show Templates
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Show Templates

On the day I created these, I had to switch browsers.  The browser I was using didn’t want to show the template.

Pick Tiny Timeplate
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address -  Pick Tiny Template

Note that I chose Popular Templates and went to the last template on the right to find “Tiny Template.”

Step 7, 8 and 9:  Choose the Lightbox Type and modify the settings

Lightbox Settings
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Set LightBox Settings

#1 – under the “Form Type” set the “Type:” to Lightbox.

#2 – Drag the tab to make the form wider.

#3 – Click on the Advanced Tab

#4 – Change the display time to something like 10 seconds.   I don’t like the form to pop-up before the view has had a chance to see and read the page.  Don’t wait too long, but don’t go to quickly either.  This is a judgement call.

#5 – Cursor over the fields at the bottom until the red X’s appear and delete them all.  Also delete the Name field (agin studies show that you get a better response rate with just the email field.

The Empty Form
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - The Empty Form

Step 10:  Click on the Edit Header button (you can see it in the image above.).  Click on the Advanced tab (over on the right) and paste the URL for your product image into the “Background Image” field.  Click on the “Top Center” option for where it should display.

Header Field Settings
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Header Field Settings

#1 – Click on Edit Header

#2 – Click on the Advanced Tab

#3 – Paste the product Image into the “Background Image” field

#4 – Change the location to “Top Center”

You may have to click on Save and Save the Form to get the Image to show.  If it doesn’t show even when you have left the form editor and restarted to edit the form, your URL may be wrong of the image may be too big.

Step 11:  Edit the Header Field and enter text

What You Do NOT Want
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - What You Don't Want

When you start your text will be on top of your image.  You don’t want that.  Go back to the top of your text and press the Enter Button.  Drive the text down until it is below the image.

Step 12:  Enter text telling the customer the Discount Code and how to copy/paste it and where to use it on Amazon.  Here is the text I used.

Special On the Night Before Christmas Dog Collar

Your Best Four Legged Friend deserves to look his or her finest for the Holidays and this is just the ticket.

You will find two sizes Small 7″ to 11″ and Medium 8″ to 20″.

Take 10% off the final price by entering this code during the last step of Amazon’s Cart Checkout:  XMAS10PC  (You can highlight the code and Copy it by pressing Ctrl-C or Cmd-C now and then Paste it during checkout with Ctrl-V or Cmd-V.  Be sure to press the Apply button during the Checkout).

Buy Now While Supplies Last – Christmas is Coming!!

 

Step 13: Edit the Submit Button Options

Shows the Text and Start Work on the Submit ButtonTrade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Submit Button Options

#1 – Not there are two Number 1 arrows on the screen.  There are two places you can start working on the submit button.  One is the little box (not shown) beside the button and the other is the drop down menu at the top.

#2 – Click on the Advanced Tab

#3 – Paste the URL for the Button Image into the field

#4 – Click on the “Center” button

#5 – Drag the form wider until the Button doesn’t extend off the edge.

#6 – Click on SAVE the Button

#7 – Click on the Save the Form button (not shown at the bottom of the screen.

PREVIEW At the top of the form editor there are are row of button.  The one on the left pops up a Preview Window.

PreviewTand a Discount Code for an Email Address - Preview

Step 14:  Move to second page.  On the second screen of the form creation, send the customer to a Customer URL on Success and if they are “Already Subscribed.” This URL is your Display Page on Amazon. If you are sending the customer to a product listing that several people are using you need to be sure to send them to YOUR listing.   Again you can see How To Create That URL here.   Note: AWeber doesn’t like the “Keywords” portion of the URL shown in that post. Just use the &m=<your seller number> portion.

Basic Settings Screen (After the Form Designer Screen)
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Basic Settings

#1 – Name the form so your know what it is later.  When you have 100 plus forms this becomes critical.

#2 – DO NOT use the Facebook sign up.

#3 – Change to Custom Page

#4 – Copy the URL to your Display Page here.  There was a link to a post on this earlier.  Remember that AWeber does not like the keywords talked about in the post.  Just use the ASIN for the product and the /?m=<your seller ID #>  This is critical if more than one person is selling the product and you do not have the Buy Box.  The customer will try the discount and it won’t work.  You need to send them to YOUR display page so you get the sale and so the Discount Code does work!

#6 – Put the Same URL in the Already subscribed field

#7- Click the Green “Save Your Form” button  (also the Blue “Go to Step 3” button)

Step 15: Insert the Javascript into your Page.

When the Publish Button is Highlighted, click on the “I Will Install My Form” button (Yup – that is a button).  The copy the javascript

Copy the Javascript
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Copy the Javascript

#1 – During the Third Step this image is highlighted

#2 – Click on the big button

#3 – Highlight and copy the Javascript

Step 16: Test it.

We Are Ready to Put the Code Into A Blog Post or Page

1.  Edit the page and turn  off Visual Mode (it will say “Text” or “Source” on the right top of the editor area, right beside the words “Visual.”

Insert Code and a couple of Links
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - What We Insert

#1 – I inserted the Javescript near the bottom of the page.  It doesn’t matter where it goes.

#2 – I insert a link to the current page along with instruction (in this case) to click the Menu Option.  Either way the screnn refreshes and 10 seconds later the form pops up

#3 – I also gave the viewer the option to buy the product without the discount and without getting onto my list.

What the View Sees
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - What the User Sees

At 10 Seconds The Pop-Up We  Saw during Preview Appears
Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address - Preview

 Okay – Lots of steps, but once you have it down once, it is fairly easy to duplicate again and again for different offers.

Happy Selling! and building your list with method of “How to Trade a Discount Code for an Email Address”

Display Page Again  to Reactivate the Pop-Up Offer

 Until Next time, you have a Great Day!  Oh Hale Yes!

↓ ↓ If this post gave you some ideas – Go ahead & comment below.  ↓ ↓

Hale Pringle

Hale Pringle – Hale Yes!

 

Skype hale.pringle

Email:  Hale@HalePringle.com

 

             Connect with me of Google+, Facebook or Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. If you are working to move your business online and it all seems overwhelming, I can        help! My team and I are currently working with best “Earn Money Quickly From Home”   Program I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen them ALL!) I strongly urge you to take a look  at   http://HalePringle.com/ds. You can also take a look around http://HalePringle.com,  especially the Resources Menu option. You will see that I specialize in list building, am a Certified Trainer with Ann Sieg and am an award winning blogger. I’ve also written three books on AWeber (AWeber: Quick Start) and over 20 others. You can email me or give me a Skype call. I’ll give you the benefit of my years of experience and many thousands of dollars in training and searching the rabbit hole called Internet Marketing and especially selling physical products online.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
About Hale Pringle

Dr. Hale is an Internet Entrepreneur and Network
Marketing expert. His greatest pleasure is
helping people and he does just that, drawing
upon the immense resources that he has gathered
over the years in his unquenchable thirst for
knowledge.

Dr. Hale lives in beautiful, sunny Florida with
his wife, two dogs and a cat. His four children
are grown and are scattered around the state.

An eternal optimist you will hear him say
regularly: “Is this a Great Day?” The answer is
always, “Hale Yes!”

If you need help with your online marketing or a
network marketing opportunity Dr. Hale is the go
to man. “Hale Yes!”