Today I went to a locally owned restaurant. It was my first time there. I looked at their menu and decided to buy a bowl of black bean soup. I love soup. When I got my order, they gave me soup and chips. Nice.

As I ate my soup and unexpected chips, I was reminded of the power of bonuses in online business.

I’ll be coming back to that restaurant to see if they offer other bonuses for their other foods. And it will be hard to forget that restaurant because they did something unexpected and valuable.

Bonuses are a great way to increase sales and help people remember you.

I used to build Squidoo lenses for internet marketers. For anyone that bought a lens, I would give them a short keyword research ebook for free. This helped me get more sales. Also, the bonus built my reputation as an expert in keyword research.

You don’t need your own product to use bonuses. One of the best affiliate marketers for Wealthy Affiliate (a great internet marketing membership site) uses bonuses to increase his affiliate sales. He gives away 2 short ebooks to anyone who joins Wealthy Affiliate under his name.

Bonuses work because you’re adding value to the sale. And people love free stuff.

So, if you’re selling stuff, add a bonus. Your customers will remember you and you’ll increase your sales.

Have you ever offered a bonus with your products? If you have, what did you give away?