Low-priced eBook vs. high-priced course?

28 replies
Good day everybody.

I have just completed a 50 page music marketing course in PDF format.

Now I have seen two ways people are selling such information products:

1) kindle-ready eBooks on Amazon for less than $10.00
2) "courses" sold through special sales pages for up to $97.00 (eventually with the help of affiliates)

Can anybody recommend one way or the other?

Let's say I'd like to make an initial $1,000.00. Will it be "easier" to sell 100 units at $10.00 - or 10 units at $100.00?

I'll be happy about any kind of input.

Thank you very much.

- Julian
#ebook #highpriced #lowpriced
  • Well what do you think your product is worth? Do you see it having enough value to justify $100.00 per unit? If so then YES you should sell it for that amount. It would obviously take fewer sales.....
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    • Profile picture of the author julianangel
      I think that's the answer I wanted to hear :-) Thank you!
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      • Profile picture of the author Chris_Custer
        First of all, a lot of this depends on who you're marketing this too, whether you have any relationship with them currently or not, and how you're marketing it.

        It's going to be tough selling a 50-page ebook for $97 to to cold leads. Ten years ago, sure. Today it's a lot harder.

        My opinion, sell your ebook for $10 or less, get BUYERS on your list (much more important), and upsell them on the backend to a $97 product. Something like a video version of your ebook where you take 'em by the hand, show how it's done.
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        • Profile picture of the author Melvin Gonzalez
          Originally Posted by Chris_Custer View Post

          First of all, a lot of this depends on who you're marketing this too, whether you have any relationship with them currently or not, and how you're marketing it.

          It's going to be tough selling a 50-page ebook for $97 to to cold leads. Ten years ago, sure. Today it's a lot harder.

          My opinion, sell your ebook for $10 or less, get BUYERS on your list (much more important), and upsell them on the backend to a $97 product. Something like a video version of your ebook where you take 'em by the hand, show how it's done.
          This is a great advice, I love the video upsell idea.

          You should definitively sell it at a low price to build a buyer list which is more valuable in the long run because of the volume of buyers you could sell later.
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  • Profile picture of the author essmeier
    If you market a good and unique book in Kindle format via Amazon, your potential sales could number in the thousands. People have literally become millionaires selling Kindle books at $2.99 a pop.

    It's not easy, but Amazon's marketplace offers a much larger potential audience than you'll find through selling any other way.

    Charlie
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    • Profile picture of the author Wish13
      Originally Posted by essmeier View Post

      If you market a good and unique book in Kindle format via Amazon, your potential sales could number in the thousands. People have literally become millionaires selling Kindle books at $2.99 a pop.

      It's not easy, but Amazon's marketplace offers a much larger potential audience than you'll find through selling any other way.

      Charlie
      Hey Charlie,

      Do you happen to know of any examples of a super successful $2.99 product that made millions?
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  • Profile picture of the author fantasymadereal
    If you go on Amazon, or maybe other ways of distribution that has millions of uploads, how to get noticed?

    If you market yourself, you do it daily, by mail or youtube, boards, you can predict success, I see lots of them charge 39,99 or similar to get a decent cash. But the volume is not there...

    Maybe you try manual first and if people bite, upload to Amazon(do not know, do they take away your rights as a distributor for other ways of selling if you go through them?)

    I heard they also do page count now, to get people even less money back, so you get value for how many pages people actually read...
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  • Profile picture of the author sweetcrabhoney18
    Use the affordable book as a list building solution and the expensive product as an upsell. There is no limit to what you can do ... as long as you are determined to see it through.

    Best of luck.
    Signature

    keep moving forward

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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    the idea of a low priced product is really just to sell the upsell, any good marketer knows the back-end is the key to a successful business.
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    • Profile picture of the author fantasymadereal
      Originally Posted by nicholasb View Post

      the idea of a low priced product is really just to sell the upsell, any good marketer knows the back-end is the key to a successful business.
      So you would put it on Amazon just to get noticed and have links to your page where they can buy the rest?

      Does Amazon allow forward marketing in ebooks?
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  • Profile picture of the author tomholen
    Yeah, agree with the people above. IF you feel your product is worth $100, and you're able to convince your target market that it is....then no problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Why not go the Kindle route but use the books to build up your list?

    Your list then upsells list members to a video tutorial course based on your books

    The videos upsell viewers to more expensive 1 on 1 tutoring.
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  • Profile picture of the author biztike
    Originally Posted by julianangel View Post

    Good day everybody.

    I have just completed a 50 page music marketing course in PDF format.

    Now I have seen two ways people are selling such information products:

    1) kindle-ready eBooks on Amazon for less than $10.00
    2) "courses" sold through special sales pages for up to $97.00 (eventually with the help of affiliates)

    Can anybody recommend one way or the other?

    Let's say I'd like to make an initial $1,000.00. Will it be "easier" to sell 100 units at $10.00 - or 10 units at $100.00?

    I'll be happy about any kind of input.

    Thank you very much.

    - Julian
    Julian, I would do both.
    I am currently making courses abut how warriors make their money. Some of them will be free some of them will cost a shitload of money. What I can tell you from my 14 years experience is the following.

    Make a choice. Is it something you sell or is it something recurring like a membership?
    If it is something you want to sell do both.
    Just create a funnel.
    So start with $10 and if people are interested, ask for the complete course or whatever you want to sell $100. If you have knowledge you can sell it even for $10.000 if it gives back the money 10x.
    Signature

    Join my FREE course to make $100 a day within the first month. PM me if you want to be in the group. Yes, 100% free.

    Get rich with no money

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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by julianangel View Post

    Good day everybody.

    I have just completed a 50 page music marketing course in PDF format.

    Now I have seen two ways people are selling such information products:

    1) kindle-ready eBooks on Amazon for less than $10.00
    2) "courses" sold through special sales pages for up to $97.00 (eventually with the help of affiliates)

    Can anybody recommend one way or the other?

    Let's say I'd like to make an initial $1,000.00. Will it be "easier" to sell 100 units at $10.00 - or 10 units at $100.00?

    I'll be happy about any kind of input.

    Thank you very much.

    - Julian
    IMO the higher priced item would be easier to reach $1000
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    I've been experimenting with 'pay-what-you-want' pricing and so far I'm a fan. I'm going to test it out with my next ebook as well.
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    • Originally Posted by Steve L View Post

      I've been experimenting with 'pay-what-you-want' pricing and so far I'm a fan. I'm going to test it out with my next ebook as well.
      Everything has a price. It's up to you to decide what a product is worth!
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      • Profile picture of the author julianangel
        Thank you all very much for your advice...
        ...which begets a few further questions.

        As far as I know Amazon will not provide names and/or addresses of those who buy the kindle version, correct? So this route would not be usueful for building a list...

        I understand the idea of upselling. How would you try to upsell? Via a footnote in the cheap book ("Get the full course at....")?

        The eBook I have written actually contains the full course. So should the cheap book just be about one subject taken from the full course?

        And as far as the video course is concerned, would you deliver exactly the same contents and just explain them more thoroughly, or would an attendee expect yet more advice in the video course (which would mean I'd have to cut back on the written version...)?

        By the way, I have built a (yet small) list of very dedicated subscribers through my blog (about 650 ppl) and have a network of partners who can help promote the eBook. So there already exists a small audience...

        Thank you very much again for your help.

        Julian
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        • Profile picture of the author Steve B
          Originally Posted by julianangel View Post

          As far as I know Amazon will not provide names and/or addresses of those who buy the kindle version, correct? So this route would not be usueful for building a list...

          Why not? You must think like a marketer.

          Why can't you offer a freebie in your book (for all the readers of your book) that is accessed by a squeeze page sign-up at a dedicated domain?

          Also have you considered putting your course on Udemy?

          Steve
          Signature

          Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
          SteveBrowneDirect

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          • Profile picture of the author fantasymadereal
            Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

            Why not? You must think like a marketer.

            Why can't you offer a freebie in your book (for all the readers of your book) that is accessed by a squeeze page sign-up at a dedicated domain?

            Also have you considered putting your course on Udemy?

            Steve
            Must say im little sceptical on lynda, udemy or other tutorials, everybody is into making them, its becoming like a new Brian Tracy or Tony Robbins field..

            If these guys held a legitimate way to make lots of money they would not be selling these videos...

            One thing is to teach you to program, another to make money in real quantity.

            I see some guys on board also wanting to get into this, looks like selling hope sells bigtime...
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Originally Posted by julianangel View Post

    Let's say I'd like to make an initial $1,000.00. Will it be "easier" to sell 100 units at $10.00 - or 10 units at $100.00?
    In theory it's *easier* to sell 10 units at $100. But if you've never made a sale ever before in your life... then it's probably going to be hard or frustrating just to start getting leads. I know you're hungry and eager to make that $1,000.... but it takes baby steps. Check to see if you can sell it first at $10. Plus... the marketing niche is tough. You may have a long road ahead of you. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tomas Lodén
    I would almost always go with the high priced product... Gaaah wish i knew about this when i started out 12 years ago... I woulda a made a gazillion selling high priced products instead of the $7 ebooks i did back then. Just my 2c. Good luck..
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    6-fig affiliate marketer since 2003
    Free coaching to your first $100 dollars. DM me now..
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  • It's easier to sell 10 units.

    However, if you model top business and marketers online, you will find they have both..

    Tripwire products ($5 - $49) and higher priced products which they upsell, you might want to look into that and create a separate tripwire product
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  • Profile picture of the author Thirty3Down
    Hey julianangel,

    My question is do you have an email list to market to? If you have a place to market the product to and believe it is worth $100 a unit I would go for it. If you have not created an email list yet building one will definitely help you with selling this and future products. I came across a website recently that has helped me build up my list (it is not my site btw). I hope it helps you too!


    How to Build a First-Class Email List in 30 Days -- from Scratch

    Originally Posted by julianangel View Post

    Good day everybody.

    I have just completed a 50 page music marketing course in PDF format.

    Now I have seen two ways people are selling such information products:

    1) kindle-ready eBooks on Amazon for less than $10.00
    2) "courses" sold through special sales pages for up to $97.00 (eventually with the help of affiliates)

    Can anybody recommend one way or the other?

    Let's say I'd like to make an initial $1,000.00. Will it be "easier" to sell 100 units at $10.00 - or 10 units at $100.00?

    I'll be happy about any kind of input.

    Thank you very much.

    - Julian
    Signature


    Want to see How I'm running a Multimillion dollar online business from a backpack? Follow my journey here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sgt Kraut
    Why not do both? Put the ebook on Amazon and point readers to your website for more information. There they can get step-by-step instructions, videos, cheat sheets, private Facebook group access, your personal support etc. for another fee.
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  • Profile picture of the author brekmokmung
    offer product review here and join JV affiliates for fast result
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  • Profile picture of the author Curtis2011
    Why don't you sell both?

    First, start out by selling a low priced ebook. Maybe for $20 to $30.

    Then, if you actually make decent sales, you can think about spending more time to create a bigger course on the same topic.
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  • Profile picture of the author T S Chan
    Sell a cheaper version for $10.

    Upsell a higher product at the backend $97 - $297 (ie: one-to-on coaching, home study course...)

    Hope it helps :-)
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