23 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
23 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How would you promote THIS?

by dsiomtw
20 replies
Say you had a low-priced info product that could help the majority of sufferers get at least partial to complete relief from a common health problem that affects roughly 1 out of 10 adults at any given time. And this is something they REALLY want relief from.

The problem is that PPC is out of the question because bids are out of this world due to mostly doctors and other "professionals" bidding on the relevant keywords, promoting their own unnecessary, costly, and often dangerous "solutions" to this common problem.

About the only thing that comes to mind for scalable (maybe?) traffic is PPV ...?

The "problem" is that we're talking about a $39.95 type ebook here that provides the complete solution -with no real possible legitimate upsells - so there's little chance to make more than that off a customer and we just couldn't pay a whole lot for traffic.

The idea would be to sell it cheap (almost an impulse purchase really), and do huge volume. It really works so the offer could even be a "pay $1 today and $38.95 in 14 days if you don't cancel" type of offer, and the conversions should be really solid ...

How would YOU promote something like this?

I keep thinking that if we could only come up with a few upsells to increase the average sale amount it would solve the problem, but we honestly can't come up with anything that would provide true value. The primary product (ebook) would provide a complete "cure" in most cases, and nothing else is needed, and nothing else could be sold to them to "speed up the process", etc.
#promote
  • Profile picture of the author sprice
    Banner ads to targeted websites perhaps? If what you have really does work, and it really does solve a health problem, then you should have no problem converting it.

    Sounds like banner advertising, or possibly facebook advertising, etc... might be the way to go.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803409].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    How much are PPC clicks running? If this is a safe cure a lot of people need and you're charging $40 you've got considerable leeway.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803417].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dsiomtw
    PPC clicks (including facebook) are $1.50+ ... even with a great conversion rate it seems almost impossible to make any meaningful profit going this route.

    I guess in a more general sense the question is, how can you best promote something to the masses when the most you can expect to make per customer is say $40?

    I could *possibly* do something like $19.95 a month for 3 months and get $60 out of them, but that's a stretch, and I would hate to artificially extend the process out to 3 months when it doesn't take nearly that long to see the results.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803476].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author bretski
      JVs maybe... if it's the real deal, maybe look for people with good lists. Offer them a good cut of the pie or even 100% commission and build your list off of this. Just my thought...
      Signature
      ***Affordable Quality Content Written For You!***
      Experience Content Writer - PM Bretski!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803545].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author bretski
        ...or create a list by giving away a free report buying adswaps... since you don't have a list you'd have to buy mailings but it might be a thought.

        Create a free report and 3 or 4 follow up mailings and then schmooze 'em on the book... "getting ready to release it and since we're so chummy I wanted to offer it to you first since I love your stinkin guts"
        Signature
        ***Affordable Quality Content Written For You!***
        Experience Content Writer - PM Bretski!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803558].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author dsiomtw
        Originally Posted by bretski View Post

        JVs maybe... if it's the real deal, maybe look for people with good lists. Offer them a good cut of the pie or even 100% commission and build your list off of this. Just my thought...
        JVs and affiliates could work - BUT there's relatively little money in it (as described above) so I'm not sure there would be many meaningful takers.

        And no sense in giving 100% commissions just for the sake of building a list, because then what am I going to do with the list if I have nothing else to sell them?

        I mean, sure you can always try to sell them something else ... but look at it like say a quitting smoking product. Once they quit smoking, their problem is "solved" and they're unlikely to just randomly buy other unrelated stuff from you, right?

        ...or create a list by giving away a free report buying adswaps... since you don't have a list you'd have to buy mailings but it might be a thought.
        I don't even know how I'd do ad swaps for something like this. This isn't like biz opp or IM where everyone and their brother does solo ads and that type of thing.

        And it's not like weight loss or other huge health/fitness niches where there are 5,000 competitors that you can partner up with, etc.

        There are relatively few people with targeted enough audiences/lists to warrant me even trying to partner up with them on something like this. And I doubt their reach is very big, so there's just no scale in this. At least the way I see it.

        It's too bad that you can't come up with more information to add on to your offering such as a bonus or even a more sufficient upsell. Like Bretski, said you can create a 10 to 15 page report and sell the report for $10.00 and upsell the book for your asking price.
        Agreed. I'm brainstorming like crazy to see what I can come up with. I could possibly sell a 10-15 report for something like $7. A lead magnet as the "gurus" like to call it. Then I could upsell them on the $39.95 or whatever full package.

        Something like that might increase conversions, which would obviously help some...

        However, you could create a health newsletter with articles that promote your offer or talks about the problems associated with blank problem.
        This is the kind of thing where you either have the problem or you don't, and whether you do or don't, it's not really related to other health issues and I just don't see how I would benefit by trying to create a "newsletter" or other long-term content strategy.

        The only thing I can think of that would REALLY help is to have a true upsell - some kind of "personalized" solution, or something, that I could charge more for. Just can't figure out how to do something like this in a way that provides real value.

        People will certainly pay to solve this problem, but it's one of those things where the entire solution/cure can be detailed in a short 30 page ebook - and people will only pay so much for something like that, at least in my experience.

        On one hand, if I had a "magic formula" that I could write on a single sheet of paper that would allow you to make a bunch of money that piece of paper should be worth 100s to you right? At least. But in reality, most people will not pay 100s for 1 piece of paper...

        The only other thing I keep coming back to is dragging the solution out into a multi-step, multi-month long process in order to justify say 3 payments of X ... but in my mind I know this is just BS because like I said the entire solution can be presented in a 30 page ebook and they can see full results in 1-2 weeks.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803650].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author wrcato2
    It's too bad that you can't come up with more information to add on to your offering such as a bonus or even a more sufficient upsell. Like Bretski, said you can create a 10 to 15 page report and sell the report for $10.00 and upsell the book for your asking price.

    However, you could create a health newsletter with articles that promote your offer or talks about the problems associated with blank problem.

    If your eBook was written by a freelancer you can have them write a report that you can sell that will go along with the eBook and at least 5 extra articles for promotion or auto responder.
    Signature
    Bite Size Bets “How to Cash in Big Time Placing Small Bets - You're No-Cost Guide To Domain Investing."
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803585].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dewayneboyd
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803643].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author dsiomtw
      Originally Posted by dewayneboyd View Post

      Not another guy who thinks he knows more than doctors. Paging Kevin Trudeau.
      Thanks for your worthless comment. Obviously you know nothing about the realities of healthcare in the US.

      When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail ...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803660].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dtul
    Is this a new treatment or something for this issue? If its like a walk-through to solve the problem, what is to prevent it from just becoming a common knowledge solution once people start telling others about it. Seems people always share what works and what does not with their friends when the problem is health related.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8803996].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    $1.50 per click is "out of this world?" Hmmm. I'd say that if your product is sound (and truly in demand) and if your ads are compelling, at $40 per download, this is close to ideal.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804582].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author dsiomtw
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      $1.50 per click is "out of this world?" Hmmm. I'd say that if your product is sound (and truly in demand) and if your ads are compelling, at $40 per download, this is close to ideal.
      How so? At $1.50 a click and a $40 pricepoint I'd need a 4% conversion rate just to break even. I'd need a 6-8% conversion to make any money. And that's next to impossible from cold traffic in my experience. Am I missing something??
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804733].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kirajx
    Check the keywords for your niche. Contact owners of blogs/ forums .. etc for advertisement. Send to opt in page. Follow up with emails to convert. Track and scale what's working.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804669].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Brantley Whitley
      I think you could definitely test some paid traffic by using facebook ads. Why not create a content based site with some really great money posts, buy newfeed ads to send people over to that post(s), and have some sort of strong CTA in the post that sends them to an opt-in.

      They can either purchase immediately or they go into your follow-up sequence at that point. Of course, I would split test the ads with different text, images etc. Also, make sure you use something like perfect audience to retarget all the clicks that come over from facebook. It's super cheap and may help you convert a few more of those clicks.

      Just a thought that would pretty quickly give you some metrics on whether your salespage converts etc.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804689].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    This is from your original post: "...help the majority of sufferers get at least partial to complete relief from a common health problem that affects roughly 1 out of 10 adults at any given time. And this is something they REALLY want relief from."

    That tells me you have, or think you have something special. Then you say, "And that's next to impossible from cold traffic in my experience. Am I missing something??"

    Cold traffic? Are you serious? PPC is some of the warmest traffic you're going to find anywhere. And like someone else has already mentioned, you don't have to go for SE traffic right off. Try testing first with Facebook ads or maybe POF.

    Of course, you do know something no one else here trying to help you knows. That's the market and the product. If you're so sure it's not worth it, then don't do it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804750].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author dsiomtw
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      This is from your original post: "...help the majority of sufferers get at least partial to complete relief from a common health problem that affects roughly 1 out of 10 adults at any given time. And this is something they REALLY want relief from."

      That tells me you have, or think you have something special. Then you say, "And that's next to impossible from cold traffic in my experience. Am I missing something??"

      Cold traffic? Are you serious? PPC is some of the warmest traffic you're going to find anywhere. And like someone else has already mentioned, you don't have to go for SE traffic right off. Try testing first with Facebook ads or maybe POF.

      Of course, you do know something no one else here trying to help you knows. That's the market and the product. If you're so sure it's not worth it, then don't do it.
      By cold traffic I mean people I have no relationship with. That's generally what cold traffic means.

      I get what you're saying, but let's be real - how many offers do you know of that get a 6-8% conversion straight from PPC or facebook traffic?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804776].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ufshane
        Originally Posted by dsiomtw View Post

        By cold traffic I mean people I have no relationship with. That's generally what cold traffic means.

        I get what you're saying, but let's be real - how many offers do you know of that get a 6-8% conversion straight from PPC or facebook traffic?
        Have you considered focusing on smaller networks and possibly cpa campaigns, so that you pay a premium for conversion vs just the clicks...

        So lets look at our network for this, the prevailing click bid worldwide is 0.50 or 0.75 for US only. Now you do not need to bid that high if you do not want too, so lets say you opt for 0.25 per bid.

        Now our system will optimize a low cpc bid campaign if it has high conversions. So lets say you set your CPA value to $3.00 (less than 10% of your sale price). Now all of the clicks leading up to this will be credited towards the CPA cost so that you are not double billed and you come out with a sale that costs you $3.00 to gain.

        This is also a great way to test creatives and landing pages if the network has that option, ours actually lets you upload multiple creatives and set multiple landing pages for a/b testing and will optimize to the best converting combination.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8804848].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ben_Doyle
    Why not turn it into a KINDLE book?

    Use your mIn keywords when you list it and chances are Google will rank it as it's on Amazon.

    You've leveraged their authority and now you're getting traffic for free.

    If you're selling high volume you wouldn't really need to charge that much to make good money.

    Having said that, if this is solution to a DESPERATE problem as you say, then chances are people WILL pay.

    I think the main lesson here is to look at how much 'scope' yournext project has in terms of upsells/crossells etc. BEFORE you embark upon it.

    Justy thoughts...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8805002].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author dsiomtw
      Originally Posted by Ben_Doyle View Post

      Why not turn it into a KINDLE book?

      Use your mIn keywords when you list it and chances are Google will rank it as it's on Amazon.

      You've leveraged their authority and now you're getting traffic for free.

      If you're selling high volume you wouldn't really need to charge that much to make good money.

      Having said that, if this is solution to a DESPERATE problem as you say, then chances are people WILL pay.
      Thanks for the reminder about Kindle. It's something I've been meaning to look into. That could possibly work.

      People DO desperately want to solve this problem. They currently jump through all sorts of hoops and pay more money than I'll be charging to try to solve their problem (doctor visits, physical therapy, chiropractor, acupuncture, various other "treatments" etc.)

      The alternative solution I'd be promoting works at least as well as, if not better, than all of these other things for the majority of people. And my solution is cheaper, less hassle and less "work" and they can do it in the comfort of their home any time.

      I think the main lesson here is to look at how much 'scope' yournext project has in terms of upsells/crossells etc. BEFORE you embark upon it.
      That's the thing, I'm realizing it's most likely very limited.

      My thinking is that it would be a low margin/high volume kind of business. I mean, the market for this is around 30-40+ MILLION people just in the United States at any given time.

      The goal would be to sell 200,000+ units at $5+ profit each...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8805044].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    The discussion is pointless. First, it's impossible to offer suggestions without knowing the market or what the product is. It is possible to get six, eight percent, and even higher conversions with PPC but you've gotta have a great product, a great ad and an even greater sales page.

    You say the product is the complete cure and there are no upsells. There's always an upsell. Again, pointless to go further without knowing what you've got. Good luck.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8805032].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author koubain
    Try Solo Ads
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8870502].message }}

Trending Topics