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Sales Drop in December...Anyone else?

by DocVogel
31 replies
Hi all, I was enjoying a 250% ROI from 9/1/11 to 11/24/11 selling a Clickbank weight loss e-guide ($67 retail price) using a number of small media buys. The product uses a video sales page and competes with the Diet Solution Progam and Fat Burning Furnance. Got my first ever check last month...$460, woo hoo!! I got two more checks after that, and was ready to triple my ad budget.

However, all of sudden after thanksgiving my sales just took a nosedive and now I'm in the red from my ad buys since that time. The hop count has stayed the same but the conversions are atrocious. Has anyone else experienced the same thing..specifically those who are also in the health/diet related market?

Thanks for any feedback!
#decemberanyone #drop #sales
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    I sell a big range of CB products (not "diets") and every year my December sales are down on November, but each January (so far) has been a really good month and more than made up for the difference (even without "diets"!). My own limited experience suggests that there's something "seasonal" there, albeit not dramatically so.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Titan
    This happens to me as well. My sales don't take a nose dive like the OP states but there is a very noticeable change. Some niches are hit harder than others.

    It is due to the holidays. People spending money elsewhere
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  • Profile picture of the author BrainCopy
    That's very interesting. Do you collect any opt-ins at all?
    What I would do is create a BONUS for the CB product
    that your are selling and market your material as the
    add-on for the CB product.

    That way, you add more value to the product and give the
    perception that they are getting a discount, but without the
    price difference.

    Learned that from Andre and works wonders, even though it's
    mainly used for product launches. I would do this for the "down"
    months.

    Hope I gave you something that might sparks some ideas

    PLUS it won't cost you anything but a few hours putting together the
    perfect companion for your CB product.

    Best Regards,
    Anthony La Tour
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  • Profile picture of the author caseycase
    I bet you will see a boost come January! I think it really depends on what you are selling, and in your niche, it makes sense that it would go down during the holidays, and I would expect a jump in January as everyone tries to get healthy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Val Wilson
    I have noticed the same thing as others here - in the run up to Christmas, my CB sales do slow down a little - but as Eddie says, it does depend on the niche.

    Because you had such a big drop, I suspect that it is just part of the normal business of selling Clickbank products, rather than related to the season. In my experience, Clickbank sales rise and fall on a daily basis for no obvious reason. When you are working in a lot of niches, or have a lot of sales, it is not so noticable, but when you are just in 1 niche, with (relatively) low sales, it is. If you are selling 1 or 2 ebooks per day and go a couple of days without any sales, it looks worse than it is - assuming your traffic is steady, over the next few days you will probably sell double.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    I haven't really tried selling Clickbank products so all I can really do is guess here. I would think though that it has a lot to do with income being needed to ridiculously overspend on Christmas gifts. As others have said, you can probably expect a boost in January. I think it would especially hold true in your dieting niche due to all of the "I'm going to lose weight" New Year's resolutions.
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    • Profile picture of the author DocVogel
      Thanks for all of the feedback! I was getting a bit worried, especially since my best converting ad buy (which grossed $600 for me by just direct linking to the sales page), has gone down to ZERO since the holidays. And again, the hop count is as good or even better :confused:

      I'll report back at the end of January and see if sales have spiked up.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheblogger75
    Surprisingly, my sales are way up so far this month. But, I can certainly understand how it could be a tough month depending on what niche you are promoting.
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    • Profile picture of the author tampaprogrammer
      I would suspect your niche would be the hardest hit.

      With all the eating we do during the holidays, very few will say "I want to start dieting BEFORE all the holiday treats".

      They will defer and say "ok, AFTER the holidays I am definitely going on a diet. Not good to try and start one now"
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      • Profile picture of the author Azarna
        Thinking about the bricks and morter shops.

        At Christmas time they are full of chocolates, sweets and other christmassy food. Lots of yummy things to tempt us.

        In January they are full of exercise gear and diet books. New Year Resolution and all that.

        I don't believe people want to think about dieting with all the Christmassy temptations. Once it is over they will be hopping on the scales, panicing and no doubt your sales will go up again :-)
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        • Profile picture of the author lucille123
          My daily sales are down, however I had a very successful Thanksgiving promo and will be running Christmas and New Year's promos as well. I've done this for the past 2 years and it worked great. I would definitely suggest doing something like this if you have your own products and list.

          If you're an affiliate, maybe you can get the vendor to agree to a promo for your list. I'm also an affiliate and did this with a vendor. Worked great for both of us.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    I have seen a normal december. Small drop off but nothing too much.

    People panicing about xmas and need the money.

    But January is one of my best months...people with new resolutions and stuff. But 2011 overall has been killer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthewgen
    so with that in mind whats niche has people found to work in dec? and besides the deit niche whats seems to work in jan. my sales are also down this month and looking for answers and i agree with people spending money elsewhere.
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  • Profile picture of the author itsallwhite
    December is always difficult for weight loss, there is sometimes a bit of a life just after thanksgiving (people eat too much) but january will usually be one of the busiest months of the year.

    The other thing to check is if the CB vendor has changed their sales page at all which has resulted in reduced conversions?
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  • Profile picture of the author RySpencer
    I think that January will make up for this as everyone will be jumping on the weight loss bandwagon again.

    This time of year people are a little more conscious about their online/virtual spending since they are out in stores buying christmas gifts and the budgets are tight.
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    I should imagine the weight loss niche will suffer at this time of year as everybody spending money else where. This is why it is always good to diversify your income.

    Saying that though, I should imagine Amazon Affiliates will be killin' it as Amazon products make ideal presents for good old Crimbo.

    James Scholes
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    • Profile picture of the author DocVogel
      I wish I could sell Amazon products again, but since California is broke and needs the sales tax income (and ultimately chased Amazon out of the state), I'm definitely out of luck for the time being from participating in their program
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  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    I not selling health and diet products but my sales to face same like you .
    I believe is the reason of holidays, Christmas and New Year is just around conner.
    So you need to came out promotion to hunt as much sales as you can before Christmas and New Year.
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    • Profile picture of the author troybh
      UH Doc. Newsflash for the uninformed. amazon has reinstated affiliates all you need to do is resign up.
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      • Profile picture of the author DocVogel
        Oh Sh** I didn't realize they're reinstating former affiliates. I just reactivated my account. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author MatthewNeer
    Originally Posted by DocVogel View Post

    Hi all, I was enjoying a 250% ROI from 9/1/11 to 11/24/11 selling a Clickbank weight loss e-guide ($67 retail price) using a number of small media buys. The product uses a video sales page and competes with the Diet Solution Progam and Fat Burning Furnance. Got my first ever check last month...$460, woo hoo!! I got two more checks after that, and was ready to triple my ad budget.

    However, all of sudden after thanksgiving my sales just took a nosedive and now I'm in the red from my ad buys since that time. The hop count has stayed the same but the conversions are atrocious. Has anyone else experienced the same thing..specifically those who are also in the health/diet related market?

    Thanks for any feedback!
    Just wait for January man, you will see a MASSIVE spike in sales. During the Holidays, people are al about grubbing down with the family and puttin on the pounds.

    But then some Jan 1st, its a HUGE RUSH of people on track to "get fit" this year. I would say pause all your ads, then load up a MASSIVE budget and launch that sucker on Jan 1st.

    Maybe even have your ads something something like "Get Fit In 2012"

    Something along those lines will get TONS of clicks and you will see higher conversions than normal.

    Have fun =)
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  • Profile picture of the author feliciayapsl
    I guess people are spending their money now on buying Christmas gifts (physical products). I've had a major increase in conversions for amazon. Why not target physical products during the holiday season?
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
    I sell my own stuff and my sales are up huge this month.
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    • Profile picture of the author adribabe
      Numbers are down in the powersports industry, but that's to be expected as many riders are parked for the winter. Peak is actually November, when people sit behind their computers wishing they were still behind their handlebars instead. 'Tis the season...
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      • Profile picture of the author James Hussey
        I find my niches' CTR/Close Ratio follows the graphs that Google puts out in their Insights for Search (part of the GAKT - use the magnifying glass icon to see it, or just Google "Google Insights for Search")...

        So if I'm targeting blue widgets as a KW, my sales pretty much follow their graphs: down in Oct, up in Nov, about the same in Dec, etc...
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        • Profile picture of the author adribabe
          Originally Posted by JamestheJust on Elance View Post

          I find my niches' CTR/Close Ratio follows the graphs that Google puts out in their Insights for Search (part of the GAKT - use the magnifying glass icon to see it, or just Google "Google Insights for Search")...

          So if I'm targeting blue widgets as a KW, my sales pretty much follow their graphs: down in Oct, up in Nov, about the same in Dec, etc...
          Sorry to draw off topic for a moment - What's GAKT? :confused: Guessing Google Adwords Keyword Targeting or something but have never heard of this :\
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  • Profile picture of the author Law guy
    Do a little google research on the e-guide you were selling. Perhaps it got slammed with negative reviews and that is responsible for the poor conversion?
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  • Profile picture of the author Tadresources
    I find that through the seasonal changes mine will drop by 25% but on the other hand services will be up by quite a lot with businesses wanting changes made before christmas.

    I also experience a slight drop in the summer so I aim my holidays for then.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    I don't personally sell in that niche but a close friend of mine is a big seller in it.

    Over time, he has found it best to stop promotions in Dec and resume in January when he hits it hard. ...so it may be a seasonal thing. Sometimes it's easier to go with the flow, than fight it.
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelcook2003
    My experience with ClickBank products is only in the self-help niche. For some reason sales are always up this time of the year and in January. I guess a lot of people trying to make amends in the last minute
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    It's typical to experience a slowdown during the Christmas season for many niches. People are spending a lot of money on Christmas. Weight loss should be a good niche in January ... New Year's Resolutions.
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