If you have published a monetized skill, your next step is to optimize your upsell strategy to help accelerate your sales. An effective upsell should present customers with the option to engage even deeper with your skill, at the right time and in the right context, compelling them to make a purchase.

Cracking the code on upsell strategy is critical for the success of your monetized skill. And, because each skill will have a unique upsell strategy, it’s important that you test your skill to find what works best. For this reason, we added enhanced reporting on upsell metrics in the Alexa Developer Console to help you better track performance of your monetized skill. To access these new tools, log in to your developer account and click on “Analytics” by your premium skill. In the left hand toolbar, click on “In-Skill Purchases.” Learn more about how to use these metrics here.

What is an Upsell? And Why is It Important?

An upsell is when you surface an in-skill product to your customer. The first upsell is important because this is your opportunity to introduce that your skill offers premium content. Your goal with any upsell is to capture your customer’s attention and encourage them to learn more about the product. To do this, you’ll want to be thoughtful about the upsell placement, frequency, and messaging to achieve optimal conversion.

If the customer says “yes” to your upsell, they are led to the offer. The offer, which contains important transactional details such as price, ends with Alexa asking the customer “…would you like to buy it?” Amazon handles the voice interaction model and all the mechanics of the offer and the transaction.

By presenting his premium content to the customer at just the right time, Steven Arkonovich of Philosophical Creations, creator of Big Sky, reports that 50% of people who are offered his in-skill product convert to make the purchase.

“The strength of voice is that it is a very personal experience,” says Arkonovich. “Just as personalizing the experience to each user sets your skill apart from the rest, tailoring your upsell message and its timing to what your customer is looking for at that very moment is key to higher conversion rates.”

Read more about Steven’s journey to optimize his monetized skill here.

To get you started, we’ve compiled a few upsell best practices based on our observations and tips from developers who are making money with in-skill purchasing. There are three key components of an upsell: placement, frequency, and messaging.

1. Placement: Upsell Early

Upselling early allows you to proactively showcase your skill’s premium content to customers, rather than expecting them to discover it on their own. Use data available to you in the developer console, such as average skill utterances and number of dialogs, to inform where you place the upsell in your premium skill.

Sampat Biswas, developer of World of Words Game skill, says, “Initially, my upsell was placed in level three of my game. However, I saw from average utterances and dialogs per customer data that customers were most engaged around level two. After moving my upsell placement to level two, I’ve seen more offers being delivered and an improvement in my conversion rate.”

Similarly, Sanasar Hovsepian, developer of the Smarty Pants Trivia skill, discovered that notifying customers about his skill’s premium content early on helped to drive higher sales.

“Thinking about where I placed upsells within my skill has helped me increase the amount of in-skill purchases. As an example, the simple act of mentioning to users that there are premium options to purchase later on in my skill has helped drive my sales by an extra 21%.”

2. Frequency: Upsell Often

Unlike mobile, where at any time customers can see a menu of in-app products, voice-first skills require your skill to remind customers that premium content is available for purchase. Through our work with developers, we learned that one way to address this challenge is to increase your upsell frequency.

While you might be concerned about negative customer experiences caused by frequent upsells, we’ve found that customers respond positively when products are presented to them frequently, as long as the placement and context are appropriate. Also, it helps to diversify your premium offerings. By offering different types of premium content, upselling often allows customers to choose which product is right for them.

3. Messaging: Upsell In-Context

A customer should know what they are being asked to purchase and why they’ll be delighted by the purchase. Contextualize the type of product you’re offering and the wording you use to offer it. This will ensure that customers remain engaged with your skill, making their decision to purchase your product a seamless and natural experience within the context of your skill.  

New Reporting and Upsell Metrics for Your Monetized Skills

We recently added two new upsell metrics to the developer console to help you optimize your upsell strategy: Upsell to Offer Conversion, which measures what percentage of customers who heard your upsell agreed to hear the offer, and Upsell to Purchase Conversion, which measures what percentage of customers who heard your upsell agreed to make a purchase. You can use these metrics to gauge the effectiveness of your upsell strategy and make enhancements. Learn more about how to use these metrics here.

More Resources – How to Promote Your Monetized Skill

To help customers discover delightful voice experiences, Amazon promotes high-quality monetized skills in the US Alexa Skills Store via Amazon marketing channels. To be eligible for this promotional placement, ensure your monetized skill meets our eligibility requirements. This valuable exposure could help to accelerate your revenue earned. Follow the guidelines in this checklist to ensure your monetized Alexa skill is eligible for Amazon promotion.

In addition to Amazon-owned marketing channels, we encourage you to promote your skills within your own networks. Follow these tips to make your skill more discoverable both in the Alexa Skills Store and through your existing network.

Questions? Attend our Office Hours on Twitch (no sign up required) or chime in on our developer forums.