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Idea for a new free ecourse...

by ksmusselman
8 replies
I'd like some feedback on this idea I have to get more customers to my general transcription website.

I currently have an ebook that I have "on sale" for $7.00. I think I've sold, let me count.. oh yeah, FIVE in the last year. This ebook started out around 1999 as a print copy of "How to Start Your Own Word Processing Business" that I wrote and which over the years has morphed into a few other versions, the latest of which is still selling periodically on my old site as Quick Start Virtual Assistant Guide

A couple of years ago I pulled some stuff out of the book and reworked it as a Quick Start Guide to General Transcription.

Then I bought a competitor's ebook last year, all 17 pages of it, to see what I was up against and my 30+ page ebook is better if I may say so myself.

So, my idea, since I'm mostly interested in getting new IM clients to transcribe for, and since I have my site monetized with AdSense and Amazon affiliate links for transcription equipment, is to recycle my ebook into a free email video course for helping others start their own transcription services, so I can start building an email list.

I could promote it as You CAN Make Money @ Home as a General Transcriptionist is now a Free Video Course! blah blah blah

So I was thinking that each chapter would be its own video and I would just give the course away.

The pages that my videos would be on will have affiliate links to the corresponding things that will be talked about in the video; foot pedals, headphones, software, equipment, etc. Everything would be right at their fingertips.

I have a couple of resources to promote this that are directly targeted at people, mostly WAHMs, who want to learn this.

Does this sound like something that would work well in the theme of over delivering? I mean, the ebook itself isn't really selling anyway and I may make more money overall by simply giving the information away in the form of a free video ecourse.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!
#ecourse #free #idea
  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    So, my idea, since I'm mostly interested in getting new IM clients to transcribe for,
    I am confused.

    You want more clients so you are going to give away your trade secrets?

    Also, you could do a ton more SEO on that site (the old one).

    I see 38 backlinks - and that is it.

    Have you tested why your book isn't selling?

    And do you have any intel if your competitors book is selling well?
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

      I am confused.

      You want more clients so you are going to give away your trade secrets?
      Heavens No! LOL The secret is, there is NO secret to getting started in general transcription. Most of the information can be found just by doing a bunch of searching and hitting a couple of the most popular forums in the industry.

      The customers/clients I want are IMs that need transcription DONE. The ecourse is for others who want to DO transcription.

      Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

      Also, you could do a ton more SEO on that site (the old one). I see 38 backlinks - and that is it.
      I don't own the general-transcription-business.com site anymore. I sold that about two years ago. Why the new owners still have all my information on there, I have no clue. :confused: But since they weren't doing anything with it and it's been more than two years, I figured I'd launch my new site and and try it again.:rolleyes:

      Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

      Have you tested why your book isn't selling?
      No. I'm guessing it's because there's just not enough traffic yet, possibly. But I have it in my signature file on one of the most prominent forums in the industry, where all the transcriptionists and GT wannabes hang out and I've only made one sale there.

      Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

      And do you have any intel if your competitors book is selling well?
      The only thing I can say is that the gravity on Clickbank is only 0.75. According to Yahoo site explorer, her squeeze page is nice but has no inbound links. But she recently raised the price of the book to $27.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        The secret is, there is NO secret to getting started in general transcription. Most of the information can be found just by doing a bunch of searching and hitting a couple of the most popular forums in the industry.
        That is your perception.

        And your target market I would say should be those who don't know the ins and outs of starting this kind of business.

        If I just lost my job yesterday, I don't have time to go surfing around forums and finding free information. I need to kick start working again asap.

        I don't know what forums you are talking about. I don't know who is established in the industry and who I should trust.

        I just clicked on the site where you sell your personal service - and that is a fantastic reference of why I would buy from you on your sales page.

        I would gladly pay for that information, and then buy equipment on the cheap.
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        • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
          Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

          That is your perception.
          That's true. And now that I think about it, the last time I frequented one of my regular forums I remember seeing a lot of people still asking some good questions about the industry.

          Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

          And your target market I would say should be those who don't know the ins and outs of starting this kind of business.

          If I just lost my job yesterday, I don't have time to go surfing around forums and finding free information. I need to kick start working again asap.

          I don't know what forums you are talking about. I don't know who is established in the industry and who I should trust.

          I just clicked on the site where you sell your personal service - and that is a fantastic reference of why I would buy from you on your sales page.

          I would gladly pay for that information, and then buy equipment on the cheap.
          Why thank you!

          So maybe I should set something up as a paid email video course then? It would be a lot better than what my competitors have out there because I haven't seen one person yet offering a course via video. There is SO much that can be learned using screen shots and screen capture, a lot more than can be "taught" in just a pdf file with still shots.

          Now you've really got me thinking! :rolleyes: If people are willing to pay $27 for a 17-page ebook, regardless of the bonuses, which I can put together with PLR just like "she" did, I can do better than that.

          So what kind of an opt-in would I use to get people to click through to my sales page? This is where I get really completely lost, finding an incentive in this particular industry that would get people to opt-in or buy the ecourse.

          Should my current sales page be reworked so that I'm offering a "Free Report" and then have an introductory video about the ecourse?

          Besides doing actual transcription but without having to expand to where I'm managing a team of newbies myself, because I did that already and hated every minute of it, I'd love to set something up that would be virtually hands-off and passive but would still bring in some revenue.
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  • Profile picture of the author Craig Fenton
    Hi Ksmusselman:

    Hope all is well tonight.

    You have a few options and maybe you could consider these:
    Give the course away in both video and written form (some folks are visual and others need to hear/see things). You can put links for products that make you money as long as they are natural and not over-kill.

    You could also mention that after viewing the video and reading the email or book if it seems that it would be better to pay for the transcription service your company offers excellent rates/stands behind the work/delivers on time!

    Hope this helps and be well,
    Craig
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by Craig Fenton View Post

      Hi Ksmusselman:

      Hope all is well tonight.

      You have a few options and maybe you could consider these:
      Give the course away in both video and written form (some folks are visual and others need to hear/see things). You can put links for products that make you money as long as they are natural and not over-kill.

      You could also mention that after viewing the video and reading the email or book if it seems that it would be better to pay for the transcription service your company offers excellent rates/stands behind the work/delivers on time!

      Hope this helps and be well,
      Craig
      That's almost the idea, Craig. The video course would specifically be for other, mainly want-to WAHMs to have a one-stop-shop resource for learning the ins and outs of doing general transcription, while the core of my site will focus on providing transcription services to IM who don't want to do transcription themselves.

      I would then monetize the video and pdf files with affiliate links to the equipment and software that new transcriptionists need to get started.
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  • Profile picture of the author HenryDicks
    Nice idea, but not daring enough imho.


    Now, I don't know the market and it's generally frowned upon to give advice based on uneducated guesses - so be sure to check lead costs for the niche your trying to get into, e.g., "work from home" or "make money w/ PC", and adjust or discard your business model accordingly.

    That said, think about offers that can build actual equity for you, not just a couple of affiliate sales. Could you train and screen potential transcribers and market them to other IMers? Could you offer other services related to the topic, like translation or video creation?

    This would increase LCVs both short and long term: Start out by launching your free stuff and creating backend products to sell to your main niche; don't disregard higher priced stuff prematurely, you can't really expect to sell $7 books alone and remain profitable these days. Once you've got a basic process running, measure how many people are actually following through and whether they're finding work.
    If not - and this is the interesting part - you could create a portal for them to find jobs and advertise your portal on WF and similar sites. Expand at will, keep an eye on your ad costs, LCVs and CRM status and you'll have a pretty solid business.

    There are a couple way to tweak the idea, but that's how I'd approach it.
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by HenryDicks View Post

      Nice idea, but not daring enough imho.

      That said, think about offers that can build actual equity for you, not just a couple of affiliate sales. Could you train and screen potential transcribers and market them to other IMers?
      Ew, no. That's too much like management. LOL GT is something that is self-taught, unlike medical or legal transcription where you'd have to actually go to school for it.

      One way I "could" monetize is by adding a paid directory of other transcriptionists but NCH provides a free directory for any transcriptionist who use their Express Scribe or any one of a number of their free software programs.

      If my site was getting tons of traffic, then I might reconsider that option.

      Originally Posted by HenryDicks View Post

      Could you offer other services related to the topic, like translation or video creation?
      As a "middle man" like in the Fash Cash Crisis videos but I don't know how to do those things myself. English only, no translation and I'm not good enough at video yet myself to contract out those services.

      Originally Posted by HenryDicks View Post

      ... you can't really expect to sell $7 books alone and remain profitable these days.
      Oh, how well I know that! I have two other ebooks out there "on sale" for $7 and I've only sold one each of those in the last year.

      Originally Posted by HenryDicks View Post

      Once you've got a basic process running, measure how many people are actually following through and whether they're finding work.
      If not - and this is the interesting part - you could create a portal for them to find jobs and advertise your portal on WF and similar sites. Expand at will, keep an eye on your ad costs, LCVs and CRM status and you'll have a pretty solid business.
      Maybe I should hire you as the manager. ROFLMAO That's more than I want to do with this business at this stage and actually I'd be miserable trying to put it all of that together.

      Originally Posted by HenryDicks View Post

      There are a couple way to tweak the idea, but that's how I'd approach it.
      I'm just wondering if the idea is okay as a standalone deal, just as another stream of income but not a full fledged "let's compete with Verbal Ink or Capital Typing" type businesses. Maybe if I was still in my 20s or 30s it's something I might want to venture into and then sell, but not when I'm just a few years away from retirement and all I want to do is relax and travel, not get bogged down with so much, you know?
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