I was never a very "great" marketer. I remember in the sixth grade we had a Social Studies project where we could sell whatever we made. I made some chocolate chip cookies, threw them in cheap sandwich bags. My base cost may've been low, but it was no good when no one bought any. Not when there were delicious homemade lollipops for sale as well.

So I got creative! I added one old baseball card to each baggie. Sure, I neglected to remember that the average 6th grader really doesn't have much interest in vintage baseball cards.

I forgot to think about "value". Not in terms of what I consider valuable, but what does the buyer consider valuable.

Ever watch infomercials? They barrage you with things you really have no interest in. Then there's that great line.

"How much would YOU pay? Well, don't answer yet..."

That's Marketing 101. Give 'em an offer then sweeten. Yet, even they typically offer absolutely worthless bonuses. They might as well give away baseball cards.

But I seem to be getting better at it. At Opus Fantasy Arts Festival last weekend, a vendor was there looking at our CDs. Vendors were feeling the economic blow. Sales weren't good.

The vendor wasn't sure she could afford our $15 CD. Unwittingly, I gave her the closer. "Well for vendors, it's only $10."

She bought THREE CDs!

Wow! Where did that come from? I wasn't even *trying* to sell her a thing, and she bought THREE?!

So it got me thinking. Maybe I need more such closers.

Check out Bob Baker's "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" as an example.

Not only is the book packed with music promotion tips that'll greatly benefit your music business, but he offers SEVEN, count em' SEVEN Free Special Reports, including: "Killer Press Kits: The 29 Most Important Elements in Creating Sizzling Music Publicity Materials", "Advertising Your Music: How to Make It Pay (and Avoid the Most Common Mistakes)" and lots more.

Go read the list yourself.

So what can YOU offer that'll add value to your deal? How about a homemade bonus CD with some live tracks, or even just MP3s, burned on it? Not good enough? Let's add a sticker or even a T-Shirt to REALLY sweeten the deal!

Oh! Here's one. How about, if they buy a CD and join your mailing list, you'll email them to give them Exclusive access to a webpage that offers free MP3s. That'll also help you gain new subscribers!

As you can see, I'm still working on ideas. But maybe you can help?

What do you offer to your fans to "sweeten" the deal and sell more CDs?