83.42% Conversions

[lakshaybehl]

OK! Lets start with the background.

I am into Physics and mathematics and I teach a lot of top grade students Physics and Maths here in India. In fact I started teaching my seniors of eleventh and twelfth standards when I was in tenth standard myself. After getting into the most prestigious Engineering institute of the country with a double digit rank amongst over 480,000 candidates (That is four hundred and eighty thousand candidates), I was selected by a top coaching institute to coach an exclusive batch of students. I was sixteen years old, and I was being asked to formally teach a group of sixteen-seventeen year olds.

They offered good money... $200 per three hour class, I had time and I desperately NEEDED money at that point of time, so I said Yes. I started taing a LOT of classes. 7 per week. Three on the two weekdays and one on thursday when I had a half day at institute. In a matter of 4 months or so, I became the fav teacher of all students who called me "Bhaiya" or "Elder brother" which is a symbol of honour and respect.

Now I have a very strong foothold in that industry, am a widely known professional and highly sought after trainer, but now I take only the students that are willing to put in as much time as is required to become a success story. People are willing to pay as much as $1000 a class (three-four hours) to a batch of 40 students.

I wanted to focus my energy only on the students that really worked VERY hard so I only teach one batch right now, but also wanted to provide help to the students that are not selected in that batch. The only constraint being my time... I could not even take another batch... let alone the thought of helping thousands of students.

So I decided ===> AND THIS IS BIG.

I decided to create a membership site at $2 a month where we would put all the recordings of all my classes (Not more than 1 three hour long class a week) Plus some additional motivational videos (Which I create with my friends a lot of times for fun and recreation.)

We did just that and got some flyers printed. By some I mean nearly 200,000 which cost me nearly $2500 (Thats the std. rate over here). And then had some people to distribut them to students outside their school premises.

Results...

when the No. of unique visitors to that site tolled 10,000 on day 2 of launch, the no., of members was exactly 8342 which means 83.42 conversions. Do the math!

Inference...

1. Establish yourself as an expert in any niche as much as possible

2. Run memberships for more residual income

3. Offline advertising is really cheap

4. Find niches that are HUGE offline but non existent online and that you are passionate in.

5. Define your target audience and target them directly.

there are a few reasons as to why I kept this at just $2 a month...

1. Many deserving students in India are poor. Essentially all they are paying is their bandwidth usage expenses.

2. I will not have to do any extra work for the new members

3. I am getting a LOT of publicity and my personal voaching rates are going to go through the stratosphere. (Waiting for the news media to contact me... yehehe)

4. $2 = Rs 90 which is nearly equivalent to $9 in the US as far as Purchasing Power Parity is concerned.

5. I can increase it later if I start losing money on it to 3,4,5 dollars or more

6. Most people do not have Internet connections at homes so they will go top cafes and they will need to spend money over there as well or get a new Internet cnnection for atleast 5 dollars a month.

7. Peace of mind is miraculous. I am having more success I my other businesses.

And now the big one...

The site is not yet even indexed in the search engines.

Hows that for internet Marketing?

Moral of the story is.... being a good student pays a lot when you take up a six figure job later on... but being a great teacher makes you forget your payment worries as everything goes fine. I am NOT doing this for money, but I could have done that as well.

I know it will be pirated the next day it comes out so people can simply buy th pirated CD's from the black markets and there is no way to fight piracy until I make it ridiculuosly cheap. I can not make money on it anyways in any media based industry here in india thanks to Piracy but that is not true for almost any niche in your countries. So go ahead and Just do it. but for His sake do something. take action and rewards will follow.

UPDATE... Day THREE...

Not a lot of activity today... I guess the flyers just6 have some immediate impact and then wooish...

today's stats...

Visitors (unique)... 2488
New Members... 1602
Conversion... 64.39%

Over All Conversions right now... 75.71% right now

No Search engine rankings. And I guess I am not going to get any serach engine rankings anytime soon. Simply because all we have is a simple video presentation as I have said.

But then my target audience is not tech-savvy.

[lakshaybehl]

I forgot the most important point. It is not impossible to get 80%+ conversions.

And another big benefit is that I have solid proof for my copywriting abilites... that my copy converts.

Just to mention the copy was nothing but a Camtasia Powerpoint Video duration under 5 Minutes. I did that in 30 minutes. i guess the success is not even 10% attributed to copy though.

[ibringjoy]

Wow, Lakshay, what a phenomenal success story! Congratulations!

Thank you for sharing, and relating it to how we can use similar techniques in our marketing, too, for our own success.

Kathryn

[lakshaybehl]

Originally Posted by ibringjoy

Wow, Lakshay, what a phenomenal success story! Congratulations!

Thank you for sharing, and relating it to how we can use similar techniques in our marketing, too, for our own success.

Kathryn

I'm glad you liked it and could pick up a thing or two...

-Lakshay

[opportunitiesaplenty]

Another aspect of pricing it so cheap is that it drives down the incentive to pirate. Many people would pirate a $29 Blu-Ray disc (if they could hack it) but at $2.00, it's almost easier just to buy it. You also get a relationship with the teacher for only $2 a month, which could prove even more valuable in the long term.

[ibringjoy]

Another thing I like about this story is how he provided a perfect solution for a lot of people who were hungry for exactly what he was providing, and then priced it so that his exact market could take advantage of it.

He also found a golden niche where there was no competition online, but enough demand to be able to make a fortune from it.

Perfect!

I only wish I could think of something like that. But then, don't we all?

Kathryn

[Daniel Molano]

So basically you transformed offline demand into online offer/conversion, very interesting.

[kumar]

Originally Posted by lakshaybehl

After getting into the most prestigious Engineering institute of the country with a double digit rank amongst over 480,000 candidates (That is four hundred and eighty thousand candidates)

Lakshay,

I am sure you are talking about the IITs. For those who don't know, IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) are arguably among the topmost undergraduate technology schools in the world. If you happen to be in the Silicon Valley region of Bay Area, you'll see a lot of top VCs and tech honchos chatting about their days in IIT.

Proud of you, bhai!

[lakshaybehl]

Originally Posted by opportunitiesaplenty

Another aspect of pricing it so cheap is that it drives down the incentive to pirate. Many people would pirate a $29 Blu-Ray disc (if they could hack it) but at $2.00, it's almost easier just to buy it. You also get a relationship with the teacher for only $2 a month, which could prove even more valuable in the long term.

Exactly... Pirated discs on almost any topic... movies and songs are selling like hot cakes OPENLY at a lot of places here, and I wanted people to get the opriginal stuff from me.

Originally Posted by ibringjoy

Another thing I like about this story is how he provided a perfect solution for a lot of people who were hungry for exactly what he was providing, and then priced it so that his exact market could take advantage of it.

He also found a golden niche where there was no competition online, but enough demand to be able to make a fortune from it.

Perfect!

I only wish I could think of something like that. But then, don't we all?

Kathryn

Kathryn, A newspaper study recently said that this is nearly a 1.4 billion dollar business offline... given the sheer number of students who are willing to spend.

As I have said, I am not making any money in it right now but I am pretty sure some big dog would be willing to buy my brand after we complete successfully this year.

Originally Posted by Daniel Molano

So basically you transformed offline demand into online offer/conversion, very interesting.

That is one of the many things an Internet Marketer is supposed to do. I mean we just don't have to sell online... With the right influene we can bring new people online and leverage the existing demand.

-Lakshay

P.S. I am not sure how I will reach the billion dollar mark with this, but millions are close. Not in profits, but in revenue.

[lakshaybehl]

Originally Posted by kumar

Lakshay,

I am sure you are talking about the IITs. For those who don't know, IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) are arguably among the topmost undergraduate technology schools in the world. If you happen to be in the Silicon Valley region of Bay Area, you'll see a lot of top VCs and tech honchos chatting about their days in IIT.

Proud of you, bhai!

You guessed it right Kumar... I am from IIT Delhi. I like physics, but engineering is another thing. (Although I am better than the average even here )

-Best
Lakshay

[Jose Delgado]

If they were willing to pay $1000 why charge $2 per month online?!

Are you making a good profit when all the merchant fees and expenses are subtracted?

Good Job anyways.

[Chris_Willow]

I agree with Jose- you could have been charging more, but that's not the point.
Good to hear such numbers can be achieved

Chris

[lakshaybehl]

Originally Posted by Jose Delgado

If they were willing to pay $1000 why charge $2 per month online?!

Originally Posted by Chris_Willow

I agree with Jose- you could have been charging more, but that's not the point.
Good to hear such numbers can be achieved

Chris

The point I have in mind is NOT to make money directly... I am satisfied with what i make and I can attract whenever there is a need.

The idea is to help the poorer sections of the society of my country so that even poor students can get the same class of coaching as the rich who can fork out $50 a class in a group of 25 and so on.

-Behl ... Lakshay Behl

p.S. I haven't watched Casino Royale or an Bond movie lately...

[lakshaybehl]

Originally Posted by Jose Delgado

If they were willing to pay $1000 why charge $2 per month online?!

Are you making a good profit when all the merchant fees and expenses are subtracted?

Good Job anyways.

I will probably lose a little right now but as I have said I do not care. He is there top take care of me and He takes very good care of me.

So financially I can charge a lot more, but the point is that the PPP here in india is 4.5 times less than US or UK... So think of it as 9 dollars a month for yourself

Secondly NOT a lot of these people are tech savvy and they are not used to watching videos in a members area ona computer anbd taking notes at the same time into their notebooks. But as I say, if I think there is a need for increase in the fee, I can do that.

Also, I think the news, TV and radio media will contact me very soon becuse whenever an IIT'ian does something new, they already hog the limelight.

So basically a lot of advertising which will be a launchpad for my new book (Physical book) that I am planning to write again or the same audience.

Hope that answers your question.

[garyv]

Wow.... That is one of the most inspiring stories I have ever read on here. I'm going to bookmark this one so I can come back to it for inspiration.

I love the way you're able to figure out a creative way to give back to your community in need. Don't worry too much about price points. If you make it easily accessible, you will be much rewarded for your generosity. Many successful people will tell you that their success level is directly related to the amount of their generosity.

Thank you for that story, and keep us informed!

[John Hillage]

Great story and very inspirational - thanks for sharing.

[ExRat]

Hi Lakshaybehl,

So clever yet so young!

And -

The idea is to help the poorer sections of the society of my country so that even poor students can get the same class of coaching as the rich who can fork out $50 a class in a group of 25 and so on.

What a guy! Nice work fella...

[Sami]

Lakshay

From one fellow physicist to another: well done young man. Your work for your community is truly brilliant. Keep it up.

Substantial money is not too far behind either.

You can document your method and certainy sell as it as in ebook/audio/video over on the West on Clickbank etc.

Your stratgey simply works. Look, anyone over here would be happy to learn "How to set up a membership site, in 2 days and get 9,000 members at $5/month!" - there, I wrote you the title already. The rest is now dead easy

Also, when you have time, you should write a couple of press releases and submit to free PR distribution sites. It will get picked up by all the major mdeia institutions.

That'll surly get you a huge amount of Western media attention especially that you have your true "philanthropy" story on your side. Few online marketers can touch that. And at your age ... I can't imagine not having the media buzzing!

Did you know there is a list of who's appearing on Oprah (the Oprah Winfrey show in the US ... which gets over a billion visitors world wide)?

Did you kow you can nominate yourself as a guest! You have so much more going for you than soooo many of the people who appear on the show.

Here's another idea...

Becuase of the shear numbers and the very specific demographics you're achieving you can test things that many people would not be able to do statistically. I think getting hefty sponsorship is easily within your reach. You simply need to identify which commercial organisations have an interest in your demographics.

Microsoft have for many years (since the 1990s) taken literally chartered plane loads of brilliant Indians over to the US to work there. Could they (& similar organisations) not be interested in the brilliant young minds you're reaching! A win-win-win for all 3 parties, perhaps. You may well get some early support/funding from the right organisation.

I have one more idea for you but I'll PM you for that one.

Anyway ... your site deserves to succeed on a massive scale for so many reasons but most of all for the people you are reaching.

Best wishes for your continued success
Sami

[rondo]

Which payment processor are you using for Indian customers?

Andrew

[AndrewCavanagh]

This is a great example of mixing the strengths of offline and online media.

It's very cheap to deliver information online (your membership site).

It's very effective to build credibility and to promote offline.

Combining the two in this case made you some really nice money and hopefully an ongoing income for a long time.

There are an infinite ways of combining online and offline marketing and this field is almost untouched.

The people who master it will be making real fortunes in the years to come.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

[Raja Sekharan]

Lakshay,

I'd like to take a look at your website. May be I will learn a few things from your site.
Could you please post the URL.

Raja Sekharan

[2bwealthy]

great story, thanks for helping out our fellow bhais and bens out

another Desi

[Jamie Lewis]

I would love to take a look at this offer let alone maybe get involved in it, sounds incredible.

[Lance K]

Nice work.

I can't stop thinking of all the backend possibilities.

[Mad Dawg]

Fantastic job man. Really awesome story. It definitely opened my mind a bit to membership sites!

[James Schramko]

Great stuff. If you have the right crowd and you offer great value big things can happen.

Congratulations!

[David Raybould]

Lakshay that's awesome.

Congratulations, and I think it's very cool of you to not be using this primarily as a money maker. That shows a lot of integrity on your part, and it's very admirable...

Congrats on that conversion rate too, pretty impressive...just goes to show what you can achieve when you have a ton of credibility and social proof and you obtain the most targeted traffic possible!

David

[lisa mesa]

Lakshay,

That´s a great success - well done!

[MichaelHiles]

Originally Posted by AndrewCavanagh

...
There are an infinite ways of combining online and offline marketing and this field is almost untouched.

The people who master it will be making real fortunes in the years to come.

...

Quoted for truth.

I get the impression from so many internet marketing folks that the way to riches rolling in is solely through the click of a button.

Business doesn't really work that way on a sustained basis.

People still buy from people.