Fail Fast.. and RECORD it!

JohnK · 02-18-2009, 06:33 PM

Hello Warriors,

Today I had another failure. With every one of my failures there are several lessons that are obvious and some are hidden. This one was an affiliate offer that would not convert. There were several successes as well:

PPC CTR's of 2-7% consistently on my ads (copywriting WIN)
32%-37% opt-in rate on my squeeze pages (another WIN)
Conversions to the Clickbank sales page (ZERO)
Conversions to MY re-written and copy optimized sales page (ZERO)

In fact, the overwhelming response was from my list is that they are just looking for free information. They are definitely in research mode and nowhere close to buying mode. The first clue was the best converting keywords (at over 10% CTR) were "save money" and "tips" type of keywords for the niche.

But here's the golden lesson that is priceless. I opened up my screen recording software (Screenflow - I'm a MAC person) and recorded the entire thing. I showed all of my progress, I talked to every lesson I learned and every mistake I realized I made. I showed all of my stats, versions of my pages and sales copy, the whole thing. The best part is this video is a priceless addition to my personal training library. Not only can I chart my progress but I can also refer back to my successes and failures for review.

A failure is only a failure if you don't learn from it. I've succeeded in testing every way to convert that niche and learned a lot from it. For anyone in my situation (and I know I'm not alone here), record your successes and your failures on video. If you have a webcam on your computer or laptop, record yourself as well as the screen. It keeps you accountable to yourself and completely honest.

02-18-2009, 06:33 PM	#1
JohnK Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 60 Thanks: 6 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Social Networking	Fail Fast.. and RECORD it! Hello Warriors, Today I had another failure. With every one of my failures there are several lessons that are obvious and some are hidden. This one was an affiliate offer that would not convert. There were several successes as well: PPC CTR's of 2-7% consistently on my ads (copywriting WIN) 32%-37% opt-in rate on my squeeze pages (another WIN) Conversions to the Clickbank sales page (ZERO) Conversions to MY re-written and copy optimized sales page (ZERO) In fact, the overwhelming response was from my list is that they are just looking for free information. They are definitely in research mode and nowhere close to buying mode. The first clue was the best converting keywords (at over 10% CTR) were "save money" and "tips" type of keywords for the niche. But here's the golden lesson that is priceless. I opened up my screen recording software (Screenflow - I'm a MAC person) and recorded the entire thing. I showed all of my progress, I talked to every lesson I learned and every mistake I realized I made. I showed all of my stats, versions of my pages and sales copy, the whole thing. The best part is this video is a priceless addition to my personal training library. Not only can I chart my progress but I can also refer back to my successes and failures for review. A failure is only a failure if you don't learn from it. I've succeeded in testing every way to convert that niche and learned a lot from it. For anyone in my situation (and I know I'm not alone here), record your successes and your failures on video. If you have a webcam on your computer or laptop, record yourself as well as the screen. It keeps you accountable to yourself and completely honest.