For Those of You Thinking About Running A WSO

29 replies
About a month ago I ran my first WSO and I thought I'd share some random thoughts and observations from my experience. For advanced Warriors you probably won't read anything new but FEEL FREE to add to the post and share any thoughts you may have.

I have sold my own digital products before in a different niche but this was my first WSO experience and I would say it was very positive. I was very nervous posting it (I was literally sweating haha) because I didn't know what the reaction would be but it turned out to be a lot of fun.
  • I really had no sales expectations but sales were fairly good. Because it was only an $11 case study report on what is working for me right now I was not expecting to get rich but I did make some decent money and was able to use it to buy some higher end software. I bumped it twice.
  • I was surprised that after posting, within about 15 min's I got about 4-5 PM's from expereinced warriors (more than 1,000 posts) asking to help and giving it a free read because I didn't have any reviews. My first thought was you vultures but I soon realized that their reviews were invaluable and through their PM's gave great ideas. Many thanks to these warriors. Use their experience if you can.
  • Reviews are HUGE. The first time I bumped I had some good reviews and sales were much stronger.
  • Even though I did have one refund warriors were nothing but friendly and easy to deal with. Met many great people.
  • I used e-junkie and it worked well but I would consider wso pro next time.
  • WSO's are a great way to brand yourself on the forum. This is a big benifit.
  • Spend much time on your sales page and headings. I tested a few times and even a few different words made a HUGE difference not only to my views but sales.
  • Try to stay away from fluff in the report. Warriors want the meat of the matter right away.
  • I would probably add video and a PDF modules if you are providing a course.
  • WF support was great and very helpful when needed.
  • Write original content or have someone write original content.
That's about all I can think of right off the top of my head. If you're thinking about trying a WSO but maybe a little nervous about it my experience would be to just go for it. Seeing those sales notifications in your email is AWESOME. Never get's old.

Cheers,
Darel
#product creation #running #running a wso #thinking #wso
  • Profile picture of the author AFI
    I ran my first WSO in the WSO forum and it did very little. I ran the same WSO in the classified ads forum and not only did it stay up longer but it got more page views and more action.
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    • Profile picture of the author freemen14
      Originally Posted by AFI View Post

      I ran my first WSO in the WSO forum and it did very little. I ran the same WSO in the classified ads forum and not only did it stay up longer but it got more page views and more action.
      That's interesting. Thanks for sharing as I'll look into this.
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      • Profile picture of the author jtpada
        @freemen14

        Your post is great. Counter balances all the negative experiences people report about. I like to learn that WSOs go well for people
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        • Profile picture of the author freemen14
          Originally Posted by jtpada View Post

          @freemen14

          Your post is great. Counter balances all the negative experiences people report about. I like to learn that WSOs go well for people

          @jtpada. Thanks. Yes I know the WSO thing tends to get trashed at times but if you at least try to give your best effort and provide original content it can be a very valuable experience. Sales aside.

          The way I see it is if you can sell something to people on the WF, many of whom are serious about marketing and who have seen it all so to speak, you have a shot at selling in many non Im niche's.
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          • Profile picture of the author coffeyucf
            Thanks for sharing. I've never done a WSO though it sounds like something worth trying.
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            • Profile picture of the author freemen14
              Originally Posted by coffeyucf View Post

              Thanks for sharing. I've never done a WSO though it sounds like something worth trying.

              Correct. I forgot to mention but for those newbies looking to get into selling something/anything online it's worth the process. Yes it takes time to put together a WSO but YOU LEARN THE FUNDAMENTALS BEST THROUGH LIVE PRACTICE.

              One of the IM blogs I read every week talks about how NOT to worry about learning it all at once but learn as you go. Running a WSO really was helpful for me as I tried and learned a new payment provider (e-junkie).

              I also learned a lot about the POWER of sales copy. Boy do I wish I was gifted in this area b/c that is gold in IM. Aside from the great software I was able to buy with my sales I was able to gain much hands-on experience in the area of sales copy and this was well worth the $40 buck alone.
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              • Profile picture of the author Orator
                Originally Posted by freemen14 View Post

                Correct. I forgot to mention but for those newbies looking to get into selling something/anything online it's worth the process. Yes it takes time to put together a WSO but YOU LEARN THE FUNDAMENTALS BEST THROUGH LIVE PRACTICE.

                One of the IM blogs I read every week talks about how NOT to worry about learning it all at once but learn as you go. Running a WSO really was helpful for me as I tried and learned a new payment provider (e-junkie).

                I also learned a lot about the POWER of sales copy. Boy do I wish I was gifted in this area b/c that is gold in IM. Aside from the great software I was able to buy with my sales I was able to gain much hands-on experience in the area of sales copy and this was well worth the $40 buck alone.
                A man after my own heart. If you strip away all the fancy promises, and dollar signs that guru's wave around. SEO is a series of fundamental exercises, and if you learn those?

                The rest is cake.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by AFI View Post

      I ran my first WSO in the WSO forum and it did very little. I ran the same WSO in the classified ads forum and not only did it stay up longer but it got more page views and more action.
      That's probably because you were offering a service and not a digital product, right?
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      • Profile picture of the author freemen14
        Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

        That's probably because you were offering a service and not a digital product, right?
        @paulie888 thanks for looking into this.
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        • Profile picture of the author wordygirl
          Thank you for this thread! I come in here twice a day and for the last two weeks I have learned something new each time. I'm new to this biz and I just cannot thank you all enough for being so generous to us newbies. I can't wait until I have some experience to share.
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          • Profile picture of the author freemen14
            Originally Posted by wordygirl View Post

            Thank you for this thread! I come in here twice a day and for the last two weeks I have learned something new each time. I'm new to this biz and I just cannot thank you all enough for being so generous to us newbies. I can't wait until I have some experience to share.

            We've all been newbies. Just plug away and at some point you will get those "a-ha" moments I actually have been struggling with traffic and yesterday had one of those moments as it relates to social media.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mrmuscle90
    Thanks for sharing your experience
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  • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
    Darel

    What benefits would WSO Pro give you over using eJunkie?



    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
      Originally Posted by paul wolfe View Post

      Darel

      What benefits would WSO Pro give you over using eJunkie?



      Paul
      With WSO Pro you have an opportunity of having your WSO selected as the WSO of the day (if it does good) and then Mike Lentz (owner) would blast your WSO to a list of couple of thousand warriors and that is sure to get you a ton of sales.
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      • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
        Originally Posted by Mohammad Afaq View Post

        With WSO Pro you have an opportunity of having your WSO selected as the WSO of the day (if it does good) and then Mike Lentz (owner) would blast your WSO to a list of couple of thousand warriors and that is sure to get you a ton of sales.
        Hey Mohammad

        Thanks for that. Is that the only benefit? (Just asking in case I ever need to know....).



        Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author freemen14
      Originally Posted by paul wolfe View Post

      Darel

      What benefits would WSO Pro give you over using eJunkie?



      Paul

      Good question as I've been thinking about this myself. I'm not totally sure I can answer this but from what I can tell WSO pro provides easier to follow stats than e-junkie. I've been told their integration with the WF is very easy to use as well. Again. Someone who has used WSO pro please let us know. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Million
    Nice job, Darel. Next time you do a WSO throw in an upsell if you haven't already. Takes care of the re-bump fees and more.

    Also, as you've pointed out, the WSO section is a great place to learn the power of social proof in promoting and selling offers. There are WSOs that literally have a headline, paragraph, and all testimonials and kill it.
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  • Profile picture of the author xInd
    In the past, I've used WSO's as a way to test a product as it's about to go out the door. This works great, as like the OP said warriors are a lot nicer to deal with than a lot can be. If you do this though, make sure you are clear about your desire to test the market and the product. Always make sure to test your order process as soon as you post too, and the product delivery. If something goes wrong there you didn't plan on (like browser incompatibility etc) you will be headed for headaches.

    In future I am going to use my WSO's as full on promotions and market them accordingly. Since the price increase it makes less sense to spend the money on testing things when i can do that with my own members etc for free.

    Plan your WSO's, think them through. Get somebody to read over it before you post it. Try to include video and pictures wherever you can, the visual connection is powerful. Much easier to understand things when you can see it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Syamsul Alam
    I will run WSO right after I get few sales from forum marketing.

    Nice tips, I'm taking note of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author MaryReynolds
    Wow, great info here...

    I'm still pretty new here so this thread is GOLD!

    Question though, is the Warriors Special Offer section the
    same as the Warriors for Hire section...? (I saw someone
    else mention that and I'm wondering if they are two in
    the same...)

    Mary
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Wise
    Is there a tutorial on the forum about how to put the WSO "live" ie in terms of how to put together the sales copy, add the testimonials etc?
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    • Profile picture of the author Joanne D
      Great information! I have been working on my very first WSO for the past few days. I'm also very nervous about doing it but determined.

      Thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author BlogPiG.com
        Originally Posted by Joanne D View Post

        Great information! I have been working on my very first WSO for the past few days. I'm also very nervous about doing it but determined.

        Thanks.

        I was worried when we did our first one. Seeing it go live was extremely nerve-racking but I learnt that if you're honest and also available for questions, it's an enjoyable process.

        Our first ever WSO more than paid for itself.

        We'll be doing another one soon. Good luck with yours!
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    • Profile picture of the author BlogPiG.com
      Originally Posted by Steve Wise View Post

      Is there a tutorial on the forum about how to put the WSO "live" ie in terms of how to put together the sales copy, add the testimonials etc?
      I didn't find one so it took me some time to put together what was required. I viewed dozens of other WSOs (ones which sold the same type of product as us (software) and got a good response) and tried to emulate those.

      Ha ha, I bet there is a WSO which is a 'how to' on doing a great WSO. If there isn't, some enterprising and experienced WSO-er should get it out there asap. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author ConnorMcCreesh
    For a WSO you have to be persistant. Sometimes you may not make a profit over the $40 initial payment but you will (hopefully) be building up reviews and testimonials.
    It can often be a good idea to offer the product for $1 to start and specify that in the title, it will drive a hoard of people to your thread to get anything for $1.

    I find this often works even better then a Free offer because people often see free offers and having nothing useful to offer, where as if you offer a reduced price of $1 to get reviews, people will see it as a bargin.

    When you start to build reviews people will have more trust and you will be able to bump up the price and make more sales.


    As far as i know, mike lantz choses his WSO of the day's from conversions not money made? (Don't quote me on this), so offering the product for $1 for a while is a great way to do this. Though i would recommend that you have $100 spare before posting at that price because although you can often make 40 sales at this price, you may not so just be safe!

    Anyway that i just my little input, i hope some of it helps!

    Kind Regards,
    Connor
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt Abel
    I'm just finishing up my first product and I'll be offering it as a WSO in a couple of weeks, so this thread has been invaluable. Thanks!
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