Okay, your first question may well be: What the heck is an involvement device? Fair question. Let’s take a look at not only what an involvement device is, but also how it can be used with online quizzes to provide a terrific boost to your online conversion efforts.

What is an “involvement device”?
Simply put, an involvement device is any type of marketing device that elicits an action on the part of the reader, such as by pasting a stamp onto an online form (ever done a Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes entry before?), answering questions, participating in a poll, taking a quiz, pulling a tab, or completing a scratch off. There are others, but basically what these devices do is bring great response to offers by getting greater involvement from the readers. It works amazingly well. I’m sure you yourself have participated in these types of campaigns many times; maybe without realizing the potential this type of marketing technique can offer. Now let’s take a look at a specific type of involvement device, that one utilizing an online quiz.

Why a quiz or survey can be a great online involvement device.
Most consumers desire to have a say in the marketing process right from the start, and a carefully worded quiz or survey can not only achieve this goal, but many others as well. This kind of activity involves the reader to a great extent, depending on just how much information you’re going to acquire. This type of marketing tactic plays out so very much better in an online scenario that an offline one simply because unlike an offline model, there’s no questionnaire to fill out manually, no envelope to fill, no walk to the post box. It can be done in a flash with a few mere keystrokes, and you will be the benefactor of not only a new name added to your existing prospect list, but also valuable marketing information, of course again depending on the type and breadth of the questions you asked of your prospects.

It can allow you to pre-qualify, to do market research, to test various terms for interest, price, popularity, and so on. The possibilities are virtually endless, and can be a veritable goldmine for your marketing efforts. The ease and speed at which this can be accomplished can speed your efforts, and get your customers that much closer to the goal/purchase they are seeking as well. This can also be a great boon to your online opt-in conversions, as we’ll examine next.

How quizzes and surveys can skyrocket your opt-in conversion rates!
By crafting a smart quiz or survey geared to specifically what your prospects are interested in, you can manufacture a greater response and boost your online opt-in rates considerably. You’ve more than likely seen offers that ask you to answer a few short questions that will lead you to some sort of reward you’re seeking. Typically, the sequence goes something like this: a searcher may be looking for advice on how to plant roses, and comes upon your web page or email that offers to help them with this, providing they complete this short quiz so you may help them better. Three (or how many you choose) short questions later, they are asked to submit this quiz with an email address (and possibly more info) in exchange for your expert help, which will then need to be forthcoming. The reason your opt-in rates get a boost is because once the prospect fills out the form they have committed to the process, and want the information or feedback you’re promising, which makes it highly unlikely that they would bail out at this point. They feel a part of what’s going on here, and if you’ve made this as relevant and specific as possible, you have gained a measure of trust, which also goes a long way toward boosting your opt-in rates.