I just read a report. You know the downloadable ebooks you see with the long flashy titles? The title sets you up to expect some insight that will be important to your future success. Wow! Can you imagine my excitement as the pdf downloaded... I had to print this straight away.

As I read through the report I was hoping to learn the secret that the title suggested would be revealed, but I was utterly underwhelmed. The solution in this case was obvious, and something I would have come up with if I had given it enough thought. I was grateful for the author for bringing the points to my attention, but I wasn't overly impressed by what I had learned. I could see how other people could possibly have benefited, but I felt what I had read so far was a bit of a waste of money.

I almost asked for my money back, except for one thing... this marketeer had applied the No. 1 principle for successful online marketing. This marketeer had over-delivered.

I finished the main report, but then continued to read the rest of the bonus chapters given at the end. I found them very informative. There was also a bonus appendix with a useful checklist. This turned an otherwise disappointing product into a satisfactory purchase, simply because the marketeer behind the product had over delivered, and gone that extra step.

Here's some ideas on how to over-deliver so that you can have some insurance against unhappy customers:

* Under-Promise: Keep a bit of your product a secret, only to be discovered when customers receive the product. Using hidden benefits can also be a great to build buzz, as you will find customers talk - and if they are out there talking about extra benefits beyond what is pushed in your sales copy, their message is even stronger.
* Relevant Extras: Give people hidden extra benefits, but make sure they're relevant to the main product. Otherwise they're not really helping your cause, and can lead to confusion.
* Beat the Deadline: If you say you're going to do something within 5 days, but then you actually do it within 48 hours - your client is going to be very happy!

I think this is the most important principle to apply to your marketing efforts. Over-delivering on your promises is like having insurance against unhappy customers, and it can turn a poor product into a satisfactory one, and a good product into a brilliant one!