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Help Me Get My Information Product Marketing Plan Started!

by buckeyes09
11 replies
I got my first ebook yesterday and I now need to market it. I have spent some time researching and thinking about how to market it. My goal for the day is to have the marketing underway.

I have been told to get a website up and to sell it on Clickbank. I have absolutely no qualms about that. After all, one of the reasons I am going to make my own products is for other people to promote them for me instead of me promoting products. I'm not sure if I want to start with Clickbank, but I definitely want the ability for affiliates to promote my product. I've also had someone offer me a service to sell the book for me, but I would kind of like to do it myself to set up a series of related books. Nevertheless, I might still take that person up.

What I would like to do is to set up (via outsourcing) a website with the ability for people to ostensibly purchase the product. I obviously want the copy to be good enough that people want to purchase it.

So, basically, set up a website, get a service, such as E-Junkie (or something else -- this isn't IM related) to sell it and get affiliates, and then get affiliates to market it. Perhaps, then, I would be interested in Clickbank (maybe it's just perception, but it seems like they're becoming a little more annoying recently).

So now that I have a strategy, I need a plan to execute (I like devising strategies more than execution, which is probably why I haven't had much success). This is what I'm thinking: get a sales letter and outsource the web design (from another Warrior: I've noticed several offering minisite design, although it would be nice for development as well). I'm not looking to spend a fortune yet, but would have a website up. I can then work on getting affiliates for the product. How does that sound and what else can I add to it?

I'm ready to pull the trigger for a sales letter, but I just want to hear some feedback that this is a "good" route to take. Thank in advance for any guide, suggestions, etc.
#information #marketing #plan #product #started
  • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Ehinger
    Add some actual marketing to your plan. There has to be traffic and you will have a better chance of convincing affiliates to promote your product if you can show a conversion rate from the site.

    Also, I would suggest getting 2-3 different sales letters for the main page. Maybe outsource a couple of them to get a different feel and look. These can be rotated in and out to test and see which converts best.

    Benjamin Ehinger
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  • Profile picture of the author buckeyes09
    Yeah, I'm definitely going to do some marketing, but right now I'm thinking about the sales letter(s) and design, as that it more immediate; the marketing will probably wait until I actually have a site up and running.

    Regarding marketing, how well would a PPC campaign work for an information product? Although it may just be conjecture, I thought I read Adwords doesn't like these small sites (which is kind of silly). Forum and social media marketing with VAs?
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    Christian

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  • Profile picture of the author Toby Couchman
    A simple marketing plan could be to re-purpose snippets of content from your product (ebook).

    What this means is taking pieces of catchy content and fashioning them into articles, slideshows and videos.

    You can then take these extra pieces of content and share them via media sharing sites. For instance your article can be posted to article directories. Your slideshow can be posted to slideshare. Your video can be posted to youtube and vimeo.

    The effect this has is to widen your possible touch points with your potential customers and this will bring traffic to your site.

    I know this was a very brief overview but using this strategy can be quite powerful when executed correctly. The best thing is you're not relying so much on the big G for your main source of income.

    Hope that helps
    TC
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  • Profile picture of the author buckeyes09
    I gotcha. Yeah, that sounds like something to market after my site is all up and I'm looking to broaden my marketing efforts.
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    Christian

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  • Profile picture of the author gushy0202
    Prepare teasers form the best part of your content. Share it free and link back to your download or squeeze or sales page... Only content can bring you traffic or sell you or get you leads... IMO

    Thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike McAleer
    there are tons of ways to market.

    seo, facebook, twitter, forums, offline, etc.

    choose one that best fits the target market.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jamie Kochan
    One thing I would do before you start having a website created or start on any sales copy is to make sure that you are happy with the end product you have created, and more importantly your potential customers are going to be happy with the product. What I will do when creating a product is once I have completed it I will give it away to 50-100 people from different sources that would have an interest in the product and have them do a full review of the product in return for giving them a free copy

    This has helped me get feedback from people who would potentially buy my product one it was released, and make any necessary changes I would need to make based on all of their feedback. From there I would create a website and a video sales page to have potential jv partners and eventually affiliates promote the product. It takes longer to get your product to market so to speak, but at the end of the day it is well worth it. Best of luck & success!
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  • Profile picture of the author chris_surfrider
    Conversion is the key.

    This doesn't entirely hinge on copy. It actually has more to do with the fundamental USP of your product and topic matter, which then needs to be communicated properly (enter the copywriting elements).

    You can have the world's best copy but if you're selling the wrong thing, you're running uphill.

    Become your own affiliate. If it sells well, you'll attract the big guys quite easily.

    Once you have conversion, then up avg visitor value with upsells and followups.

    Good luck man.

    -Chris
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    • Profile picture of the author buckeyes09
      Thanks for the insight, guys.
      Originally Posted by chris_surfrider View Post

      Conversion is the key.

      This doesn't entirely hinge on copy. It actually has more to do with the fundamental USP of your product and topic matter, which then needs to be communicated properly (enter the copywriting elements).

      You can have the world's best copy but if you're selling the wrong thing, you're running uphill.

      Become your own affiliate. If it sells well, you'll attract the big guys quite easily.

      Once you have conversion, then up avg visitor value with upsells and followups.

      Good luck man.

      -Chris
      Yeah, no doubt.
      Originally Posted by Jamie Kochan View Post

      One thing I would do before you start having a website created or start on any sales copy is to make sure that you are happy with the end product you have created, and more importantly your potential customers are going to be happy with the product. What I will do when creating a product is once I have completed it I will give it away to 50-100 people from different sources that would have an interest in the product and have them do a full review of the product in return for giving them a free copy

      This has helped me get feedback from people who would potentially buy my product one it was released, and make any necessary changes I would need to make based on all of their feedback. From there I would create a website and a video sales page to have potential jv partners and eventually affiliates promote the product. It takes longer to get your product to market so to speak, but at the end of the day it is well worth it. Best of luck & success!
      I didn't do that. I'm not really rushing out to put it on the market, but am anxious to see the results. I have a few people to whom I can give it, but don't know of a huge amount of people.
      Originally Posted by Mike McAleer View Post

      there are tons of ways to market.

      seo, facebook, twitter, forums, offline, etc.

      choose one that best fits the target market.
      That's what I'm going to do next. Although I want to be good for G, I want to become well-rounded.
      Originally Posted by ncmedia View Post

      Initial steps are good.

      A few you cannot skip:

      Do NOT recruit to your product until you prove conversions, and split test at least a few different price points, closers, sales copy, etc. so you are positioned right in the market and you can prove there is a demand for this. If there is, maximize it - do not rely on affiliates to test it for you (as only noobs who can't filter unproven products will touch it, then you fizzle away in 99% land).

      Trust me when I say, if you have a great converting product, with good payouts and low refunds, you won't have to do much recruiting (but of course you still will because you want to maximize it). Affiliates will find you like flies on * because it has retention, is sticky, and you proved conversions/value yourself that you were smart enough to document so you can show affiliates. You were YOUR OWN affiliate making sales on at least 3-5 platforms (youtube, ppc, blogs, squids, articles, etc.) to prove that it moves and you know the best ways to do it so you can facilitate affiliates.

      Once you're up - go through paypal first (or ejunkie/anywhere but clickbank) as you're doing. Get your marketing hat on and actually move some units, document it all with screenies, conversion rates, maybe a camtasia vid etc.

      Also - most importantly - if after you build your product, you spend time and money developing it, and find that neither you, then nor the first batch of affiliates or tweaks can make any traction happen = DROP IT. Do not become emotionally attached to your campaigns as this whole game is jam at the wall until something sticks to scale on. Don't be stuck scraping 2 year old jam together to throw a little more - throw new jam. Do lot's of market research up front and don't take it lightly, often times products are dead in the water before they even start due to poor market research and or not enough of a gap/need to fill. NOT everything everyone thinks of is going to sell (see marketplace).
      Great post! This is the stuff that I wouldn't read in any WSO or the like that I've read. Everything you have said definitely makes sense and I will definitely apply that once my products are cooking.
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      Christian

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  • Profile picture of the author angela99
    Ideally, you'd write your sales page first, before you write your ebook.

    (Essentially because you need to decide on a market, then give them what they need. The sales page helps you to decide what to cover in the ebook...)

    OP said: "I got my first ebook yesterday" -- so I'm assuming you didn't write it?

    Not to worry.

    You'll still need to start with your market. Who are they? What benefits do they get from your ebook?

    Visit several forums for your target market and read them.

    Find forums by entering "niche forums" into Google.

    Make notes. All forums have hot buttons, where the same questions are asked and debated over and over again.

    Once you have an idea of what your target market wants, write the sales page.

    Put the sales page up on a freebie site somewhere -- weebly, even Blogger.com.

    Add an e-Junkie button.

    Promote your ebook on the forums you visited previously.

    Forget affiliates for now. Affiliates want to promote what SELLS. Until you know whether your ebook sells, worrying about minisite design etc is pointless.

    Get your BUY NOW button onto a sales page, and promote using your sig file on forums. You'll soon see whether your new project is a winner.

    Once you're making sales, you can worry about your own site, site design and affiliates.

    Good luck with it. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author buckeyes09
    Yeah, I did it a little backward from what you've suggested. I've read about the strategy I'm using (well, the creation of the book, not so much the marketing).

    This is the first go-around. I'm not expecting perfection, but a learning experience with at least my money back.

    No, I did not write the book, and will probably not do much in terms of actually doing anything. I plan on outsourcing darn near everything as I really, really want to scale up (I like this IM thing, but do not care to do all of the nitty-gritty stuff -- especially writing about things of which I really don't know much).
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    Christian

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