mkelly108

Hey everyone,

I wrote a book on corrective exercise called Remobilize: Fix Your Aching Body in 6 Weeks. I work as a corrective exercise specialist for a chiropractor. The goal of the book is to help people either be able to get through their day without aching so much, or alternatively, to help people who are active be more active without dealing with injury. So if you're a golfer but your shoulder hurts, it should help you with that. Or if you're an office worker but your neck is stiff at the end of the day, it will help you with that as well. So far the book is well received and has helped my career as a corrective exercise specialist.

When I direct Facebook ads to the amazon print on demand, my conversion rate is 3-4%. (Remobilize: Fix Your Aching Body in 6 Weeks:... )

We've tried selling a digital ebook directly through landing page (download as a PDF and read on tablet or computer through ibooks or adobe). When we do this, the conversion is terrible: .0125%

I revamped my landing page on my own using unbounce. (This is a variant of the one I'm running right now http://unbouncepages.com/getremobilizedvariant/)

What I'm wondering is two things:

1. Did amazon and kindle kind of kill the PDF ebook? I'm talking about selling PDFs directly through your website using paypal and ejunkie. Do people just prefer only buying ebooks on kindle now?

2. Does my landing page suck? I know a hell of a lot about corrective exercise, but marketing and sales and what not are new to me. I'd love to know what can be done to this landing page. What time of conversion rate should I strive for?

I really don't want to have to go through amazon print on demand for my sales, or kindle. Kindle controls the price and won't let me sell for more than $9.99, with the file size of my book I would make about $6 a sale through. Plus no affiliates and I don't get the emails of the buyers so it's harder to build a list. I intend releasing more ebooks and videos.

Thanks,
Mike

BizQ

You can sell a book for more than $9.99 on Kindle, you'll just have to accept a lower commission rate.

Also, you can build a list by promoting your sign up page at the end of the book, and giving people a reason to want to go to that page.

I would imagine that Amazon might convert better because people trust Amazon, many already have their CC information saved, and it's very easy to click and buy.

That doesn't mean that it's impossible to sell on your own site. Kindle people and people who buy special reports are different audiences.

mkelly108

Hey BizQ

If I go above $9.99 I get a 30% royalty. I would have to sell for $19.99 to get close to what I would make at $9.99 at 70% royalty. (Unless I'm mistaken.)

You pretty much hit it on the head. I'm assuming special reports are the pdf ebooks sold through personal sites.

I'm afraid that my audience is a kindle audience. Has anyone dealt with this before? Is this a growing trend in ebooks that people are now only buying kindle books?

Kay King

When I visit your Amazon link the "also viewed" list the Amazon site displays incoludes 3 books on similar topic at half the price. Only one is available on Kindle (for $7.99). The others are in the $18-22 range.

Have you tested other price points? The info above leads me to wonder if this is a "Kindle related" issue or a "$40 for a paperback" issue.

mkelly108

Kay King,

Createspace, which is amazon's self publishing service that I'm using to produce the paperbacks, won't let me drop the price below $40. I believe those other books with lower price points are from mainstream publishers and that's why their price is lower. Also, the print on demand version, that I'm selling on amazon, is doing okay with sales. It's the PDF download that I'm trying to sell through my landing page that is having trouble.

I want to be selling the PDF through my site and landing page because I'll keep almost 100% of the sale and have complete control over the price and affiliates. My concern is that the PDF isn't selling well and I'm trying to gauge whether it's my landing page or my target customer just doesn't want to buy an ebook from anyone other than kindle.

Thanks,
Mike

PS- How do I thank people?

dburk

Hi Mike,

I have a few suggestions for you on your landing page.

First let me say that you sales copy suffers from vagueness. Vague, or non-specific, copy is a proven conversion killer. It's a common mistake that we often see on landing pages created by unseasoned marketers. Sure, folks can get a general idea of what your book is about, but that is the problem, it is just a bit too general.

Buyers will want to know how many pages the book has, table of contents or at least a partial list of things that are discussed in the book. The more specific you are about what topics are covered and which specific issues the book deals with the more comfortable they will be in making a purchase.

To be fair, there are some specifics in your copy, but it starts off very general at first, and I bet many visitors are hitting the back button long before they get that far into your sales copy. Try removing all the statements that are somewhat vague in nature, as some people will quit reading after just a couple of such statements.

Having videos can be helpful, but they can also be conversion killers. Be sure to test each video for it's effect on conversions. I like your first video that is included in the hero unit, however it will take folks quite a while to view all of the videos on your landing page, I'm sure there is a limit of how many videos you can include on a landing page before it harms, rather than helps conversions. Try removing all content, except the bare minimum, and test it against versions that gradually add each element back into the mix. make sure that each added element helps conversions, else exclude it.

A key concept for effective marketing campaigns is market segmentation. Since you can have as many landing pages as you like on your website, why not implement a market segmentation strategy to, not only improve conversion rates, but also to identify the hottest segments and focus your landing page copy and resources on those market segments.

Your Amazon page has some positive reviews, why not include some of those reviews on your landing pages? By the way, I am not convinced your amazon reviews are all from objective reviewers, as there are no negatives. Real reviewers will at least occasionally comment on writing style or something that they did not like, along with what they did like. Whenever I see a dozen reviews without a single critique I find that less than credible.

By the way, I found your sales copy on Amazon to be much better than what you have done on your own website, Why not use the same techniques that you have used on your Amazon page? Use that copy as a baseline and test all of your new versions against that sales copy.

Another thing I have found from previous testing is that calling your product a "book", rather than an "ebook", can often lift conversion rates. I am not suggesting that you mislead folks into thinking they will get a printed book, just call it a book that can be "instantly downloaded". Naturally, this is something you want to test and verify, as not all niches will respond the same way.

There are many more small details that I could point out, but start with those big things first.

* Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
* Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

mkelly108

Hey Dburk,

This advice is great! I'm going to put together a pretty simple landing page that has the same copy as the amazon page, most of the testimonials, and a "look inside" feature similar to amazon and keep it at that. I'll see how it does and then go ahead and start working off that. Always better to simplify.

Marketing segmentation with different pages was something that I was planning, but right now I just want to get one page that is working almost as well as the amazon page before tackling that.

One more thing I was wondering if you could help with (or anyone for that matter). But I'm having trouble finding examples of landing pages that sell ebooks. Most results I get are for landing pages that offer a free ebook in exchange for an email sign up. I'm looking for examples that actually sell. (double your dating and eat stop eat are the only two I can find).

Do you have a few recommendations that I could check out to study?

Thanks again. Your response was a huge help and very informative.
Mike

dunkinbbb

Hey mkelly108

Here is my two cents

You are trying to swim upstream (pun intended) instead of going with the flow on the biggest buyers site in the world.

Don't fight Amazon - use them.

Google "tripwire" as its used in marketing.

Reduce the price of your book - and make it available for even less on Kindle - (turning it into a "tripwire") and get the idea of making serious money with your book alone out of your thinking.

Instead - use your presumably great content - to introduce yourself to tens of thousands of people who you would never attract to your website - no matter how much money you spent.

Build a relationship with them in the book - and then tell them how they can get more of you -
an online video course, coaching/consulting, etc.

The hardest part of online selling is qualified traffic - Amazon will give you that all day long.

The next part is gaining their trust enough for them to take out their credit cards - Amazon has that handled for you already.

And then - upsellling them with your backend - that's where the real money is made online - after they know , like and trust you - since you delivered incredible value in a $2.99 Kindle book.

Offer them an incentive to connect with you in exchange for their email address - perhaps a bonus chapter (I'd test various options).

My two cents.

Best,

Bill

dburk

Hi Mike,

That is why I suggested you re-position your product as a "book" rather than an "ebook". There have been so many cheesy ebooks promoted as freebies that people often see little value in a products that are called "ebooks". By positioning your product as a traditional book, or training course you will convey slightly more value to your audience.

Most authors seem to offer readers the option of purchasing through their choice of retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Perhaps you should test a landing page that gives your audience a choice? Let your users tell you what they prefer and go with what works best.

Here are some examples, each with very different strategies:
Brain Audit - Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don't)
Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Jay Baer | New York Times Best Selling Business Book
Discovery of Flight 19 - Flight 19 Book
Stress-Busting Products to Help You Escape The Pace | Escape The Pace

* Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
* Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com