If a product doesn't sell...

16 years ago

Hey Johnny,

My thoughts are that in order for a product to sell you need two powerful things:
1) good copy
2) a great offer

That, of course, doesn't include strong referrals that really don't need any copy at all.

Beyond that, the product either holds up to the buyers expectations or it doesn't.

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travlinguy

16 years ago

I think something that often gets left out of the equation is traffic. You can have the best offer in the world and if there is little or no traffic to the site there are no sales.

I'd go so far as to say you could have a rotten offer with poor copy and still get some sales if you are driving traffic.

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trafficwave

16 years ago

Two words: Pet Rock

One more word: Slinky

Why did these items sell? There are a variety of theories but in my mind, it comes down to perceived value (whether real or not).

The pet rock was a novelty that was very well marketed to look like it would be fun.
Digital versions include the little pocket sized digital pet "thingies" we see from time to time. Did anyone see the ad with Kari (sp?) Underwood playing with her digital pet on the tour bus?!? Really? A digital pet? {sigh}

The slinky ... I mean really. The commercials demonstrated the fun you could have and there was a really catchy jingle that went with it.

In fact, I'm willing to bet that a lot of folks have that little jingle going through their head RIGHT NOW after seeing the word "slinky" and recalling the visual of that silly little spring "walking" down the stairs.

C'mon, everybody ... sing it with me:

"Slinky, Slinky, it's fun it's a wonderful toy .... "

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Brian Rooney, CEO
TrafficWave.net Email Marketing AutoResponders
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zapseo

16 years ago

Originally Posted by trafficwave

Two words: Pet Rock

One more word: Slinky

Why did these items sell? There are a variety of theories but in my mind, it comes down to perceived value (whether real or not).

The pet rock was a novelty that was very well marketed to look like it would be fun.
Digital versions include the little pocket sized digital pet "thingies" we see from time to time. Did anyone see the ad with Kari (sp?) Underwood playing with her digital pet on the tour bus?!? Really? A digital pet? {sigh}

The slinky ... I mean really. The commercials demonstrated the fun you could have and there was a really catchy jingle that went with it.

In fact, I'm willing to bet that a lot of folks have that little jingle going through their head RIGHT NOW after seeing the word "slinky" and recalling the visual of that silly little spring "walking" down the stairs.

C'mon, everybody ... sing it with me:

"Slinky, Slinky, it's fun it's a wonderful toy .... "

don't remember the ad.

But slinkies are among my favorite toys. Somewhere around here I think I have a multi-colored one that I got from either eBay or Google.

Live JoyFully!

Judy Kettenhofen, Profit Strategist/Copywriter
NextDay Copy

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BrianMcLeod

16 years ago

"What walks down stairs
Alone or in pairs
And makes a slinkety sound?

A spring, a spring,
A marvelous thing...

Everyone knows it's Slinky...

It's Slinky, it's Slinky...
For fun it's a wonderful toy...

It's Slinky, it's Slinky...
It's fun for a girl and a boy....

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Brian McLeod

Direct Response Copywriting

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Jamie Iaconis

16 years ago

Originally Posted by LoudMac

"What walks down stairs
Alone or in pairs
And makes a slinkety sound?

A spring, a spring,
A marvelous thing...

Everyone knows it's Slinky...

It's Slinky, it's Slinky...
For fun it's a wonderful toy...

It's Slinky, it's Slinky...
It's fun for a girl and a boy....

Holy, brings back memories...

But what a crappy toy, really!

They did a good job marketing it though
and the jingle is OK... I guess.

Jamie

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yank714 16 years ago

Targeted traffic is pretty critical, which is why most people suggest to run an Adwords campaign before you dump money into SEO or other marketing methods.

I don't think you can sell a undesirable product with a great pitch page.

I think you can sell a desirable product with a crappy pitch page. This would boil down to how targeted your traffic is, and how strong the need is.

A product that is in high demand that doesn't sell is most likely the copywriter's fault (or lack of targeted traffic). Convincing copy can sell a product that doesn't even exist, so you can't blame the product before the pitch if the product fails altogether.
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- AndrewCavanagh 16 years ago
  
  Bad copy can kill sales but most real dud products are simply because there is
  no one who really wants to buy it.
  
  The product has not been designed to sell with a hungry market in mind.
  
  The biggest key to stellar conversions is the desperation of the people you're
  selling to to fill the want that your product appeals to.
  
  And that comes down to who is arriving on your sales page and where they're coming from.
  
  Having said all that there is some pretty awful copy online and really, really bad copy can manage to kill the sales of a product that could sell quite well.
  
  Kindest regards,
  Andrew Cavanagh
  
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  Old School Copy Like This Is BACK & Converting Like Crazy!
  
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Kyle Tully

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

If a product doesn't sell, how do you know if it's a bad product (that is, poor quality, a price that's too high, or a lack of demand) or the copy?

Research. Are there other people making money selling the same thing? Then it's your copy. If no one else is selling it then there's a good chance it's lack of demand.

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

Can great copy sell a product that isn't in demand?

No

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

Can a great product fail because the copy isn't good enough to sell in today's competitive environment?

Yes. There are many great products that failed to sell because of poor marketing.

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

If you write a letter or ad for a product and it doesn't sell, who's to blame -- you (the copywriter) or the seller (manufacturer or retailer) of the product?

Depends.

Offer + list + copy + timing etc all come into play.

As a very general guide, if there's no market it's the sellers fault. (But a good copywriter wouldn't have taken the job in the first place.) If it's a hot market with a hot offer going to a hot list and it bombs... then unless there is a timing factor it's probably the copy.

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Bruce Wedding

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

If a product doesn't sell, how do you know if it's a bad product (that is, poor quality, a price that's too high, or a lack of demand) or the copy?

You have to take a good look at everything, remain objective and decide. Of course, you should never have created a bad product or a product that has no demand.

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

Can great copy sell a product that isn't in demand?

Not very well.

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

Can a great product fail because the copy isn't good enough to sell in today's competitive environment?

Sure but I'd rather have this situation than the one you mention above.

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

If you write a letter or ad for a product and it doesn't sell, who's to blame -- you (the copywriter) or the seller (manufacturer or retailer) of the product?

Well, according to my latest client, I'm entirely to blame

Copy alone is not persuasion. Persuasion is conclusively proving, your promise to easily solve an urgent problem for an irresistible price.

If you don't have any of the elements I named, your product will sell less. If you are missing 2 of them, you're in deep stuff. I you are missing 3, forget about it.

If that's not enough for you, remember what Halbert said about the hamburger stand.

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ndcole78 16 years ago

Bruce is correct on all of his points. The product should be good enough to sell itself---All the copy does is help push those considering it to pull out their wallet and buy it.

NEVER EVER waste your time on stuff that's not in demand. If it's not in demand or if people don't really want it, then how will you make any money? Besides, making money is the entire reason why you're doing it, right?

Trying to create a market that's just not there and expecting to make a sale, 99.9% of the time will hurt your feelings---And keep you from prospering too!
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BrianMcLeod 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

Well, according to my latest client, I'm entirely to blame

LOL, Bruce.

That's the price we pay for being so contemptibly prescient...

We're even in the know as we observe our client being wrong about US being wrong...

LOL...

Such a burden... : )

Best,

Brian
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Brian McLeod

Direct Response Copywriting
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Yogagirl

16 years ago

I think his name was Brian Clark (he's a copywriter) and watched this great audio presentation about how to research and sell info. products. He gave some great tips on how to research different niches and what is selling out there.

I agree with Nicholas. It's supply and demand. Why would you supply the product if it's not in demand? If the market isn't there, all the fabulous copy in the world isn't going to sell the product.

If the product is amazing, it really is going to sell itself. I gave the same advice to book authors I used to promote. If their book isn't in demand and it's not a subject people could care less about, all the publicity on my end isn't going to sell that book. A lot of authors didn't like to hear that from me, but that's the reality.

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lauraswane 16 years ago

If you have a product that is better than its predecessors or completely new and inovative but you're still not selling, maybe it's the way you're presenting things. Take a look at other peoples products that are doing well and see what they did to make it happen.
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CopyMonster

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

If a product doesn't sell, how do you know if it's a bad product (that is, poor quality, a price that's too high, or a lack of demand) or the copy?

Can great copy sell a product that isn't in demand?

Why not? Possible but not as easy. You have to find the right angle/hook. And it's not about creating demand - it's about channeling existing demand/desires to the product.

Can a great product fail because the copy isn't good enough to sell in today's competitive environment?

Of course

If you write a letter or ad for a product and it doesn't sell, who's to blame -- you (the copywriter) or the seller (manufacturer or retailer) of the product?

Your thoughts?

Johnny

Take your pick - either, both, neither.

1. You have competitive products selling by bucket load - likely fault of copy/marketing
2. Product doesn't deliver any benefit - then it's producer/supplier's fault
Can be 1 or 2 or 1+2 which makes both parties responsible.

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Scary good...

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If a product doesn't sell...

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