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A simple way to add extra value to your market (and maybe sell more stuff?)

by Michael Meaney
8 replies
Just bouncing an idea that maybe some of you savvy guys will see the potential of.

Most of us own websites right? Right. Visitors come along, read our stuff and then (probably) hit the back button and carry on down the SERPs consuming more info. If we're lucky they will hang around for a bit, read more of our awesome content, maybe even opt-in to our list etc

So I've been thinking about ways that can help visitors see the benefits of our products/services a little better and engage with the sales process.. this is completely untested right now and I'd welcome comparing notes in the near future if anyone is brave/stupid enough to test it with me. I could be way off here.. just bouncing an idea.

Check this.. imagine that you run a weight loss site, and in your sidebar you have a weight loss calculator so your visitors can get a clearer picture of what your product could do for them in a certain time frame.

Or imagine you're in the solar niche... you have an electricity calculator showing how much money they could save each year by switching to solar.

That's just using calculator scripts, and as far as scripts go, are fairly boring.

There's thousands of scripts that are open source and easy to install, so with a bit of imagination and customization there could be a world of untapped potential out there, and a ton of traffic from other sites linking to you.

Here's a couple of sites to get you started.

Hot Scripts - The net's largest PHP, CGI, Perl, JavaScript and ASP script collection and resource web portal.

Scripts Directory of PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, Java, Javascript, Perl and more! - Scripts
#add #extra #market #sell #simple #stuff
  • Profile picture of the author deertrail
    Good idea! I think Ryan Deiss built his first list using a simple weight loss calculator.

    -Bryan
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
      Originally Posted by deertrail View Post

      Good idea! I think Ryan Deiss built his first list using a simple weight loss calculator.

      -Bryan
      Thanks man, never knew that about Ryan Deiss.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by deertrail View Post

      Good idea! I think Ryan Deiss built his first list using a simple weight loss calculator.

      -Bryan
      They're called involvement pages and yes, Ryan Deiss used this same technique with a metabolism calculator. The idea is to get people involved in the page without requesting any personal information from them upfront.

      It's not until they have entered their information into the calculator that they then find they need to enter their email address to get their results. By this time they are already so involved in the process that many people just go ahead and submit their email - and you'll get a lot less spammy email addresses because people know you are going to email them their results.

      You could then send them an email saying something like... "Your score is this... we have found people with that score get the fastest results from this particular program...". This way they think the product you are recommending them is much more targeted to their particular situation.

      They can work well when integrated properly. Your idea is a little different because you just want to integrate it into the sidebar of your site. You could also use it as a popup if people go to leave your site.

      "Hey, don't leave just yet. At least find out what your metabolism score is... blah blah blah.."

      As with everything, suck it and see...
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Clever idea, thanks for sharing.

    Another example of getting inside the mind of your customer/prospect. Visualize what it's like visiting your site and what services/features you would find to be helpful.

    RB
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  • Profile picture of the author Janice Sperry
    For several weeks I have been thinking about a calculator for one of my websites. I had not been thinking about keeping people on the site longer but that makes perfect sense and should work well. I had primarily been thinking about it being another way to make visiting my site a valuable experience so they would also return. I was also thinking about putting the calculator on a protected page they could access it after opting in. I can see pros and cons to that though.

    Thanks for the sources. I guess it is time I try to follow through on this.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      The MLM folks have been using this type of calculator for ages to put across the sticks and balls stuff.

      "Just enter the number of people you think will join under you, and how many you think each of them can get..."

      Hit the button, and it does the compounding for you, showing you the whole 'you get two who get two who get two' picture using your own numbers.

      This idea could also work well for the online/offline crowd. A potential client puts in their own numbers for how many transactions they currently do and how much each transaction is worth. The calculator spits out how much certain incremental improvements are worth. More believable because it uses their own numbers, and much more effective than 'get you to the top of Google"...
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
        Originally Posted by ryanbiddulph View Post

        Clever idea, thanks for sharing.

        Another example of getting inside the mind of your customer/prospect. Visualize what it's like visiting your site and what services/features you would find to be helpful.

        RB
        No probs man, yeah I agree it's gonna help them create that image and build desire at the same time.


        Originally Posted by Janice Sperry View Post

        I was also thinking about putting the calculator on a protected page they could access it after opting in. I can see pros and cons to that though.

        Thanks for the sources. I guess it is time I try to follow through on this.
        That's an interesting take.. putting it behind an opt-in.. I kinda like that idea.. pretty powerful.

        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        The MLM folks have been using this type of calculator for ages to put across the sticks and balls stuff.
        MLM understandably gets a really bad rap but I guess those guys do know what works.

        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        It's not until they have entered their information into the calculator that they then find they need to enter their email address to get their results. By this time they are already so involved in the process that many people just go ahead and submit their email.
        Now that's just awesome.
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