Platinaj

Hi

UPDATE: I split tested and adding a countdown timer more than tripled my conversions. Now I'm trying to find out if this was a fluke. Can someone please tell me what results they got from using a countdown timer? And which one they used? Prefer free The last one I used was buggy!

I have a couple of sales pages and a squeeze page which are converting pretty low at the moment.

I'm tossing up whether or not to buy Timerlay to improve my numbers, but it's pretty pricey, so I'd like to hear some feedback from people who have already used it. I want to know if it's worth the cost.

If anyone out there has used Timerlay or similar, please chime in and let me know what effect it had on your conversions and what you were using it for (eg. squeeze page, sales page, etc..).

badassmarketer

Personally I would either rewrite the sales letter, or invest in paying someone experience to write your Sales Letter or re-write it.

When I like a product, I buy it whether it has a timerlay or not.

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Platinaj

Hi Badass! While I appreciate that timer countdowns might not work on you, research in my initial split testing showed good results. I did this with a free but buggy, ugly and difficult to use timer - but it worked well! I want an easy to use non-buggy one and am wanting to see what other peoples increase in coversions have been incase mine was a fluke and also to see if the price can be justified.

Are you offering to rewrite my salesletter?

copywriterco

Using Timerlay is an added factor in improving your numbers and I agree with badassmarketer. But you may also want to consider creating compelling content for your sales / squeeze pages!

Get Your Free Copywriting Guide at Copy-Writer.co

The Beginner's Friend

The most important thing here is that you have done some testing, so that you have something concrete to go on.

My initial questioning about this testing is from the figures produced, do the maths stack up to justify the investment in the software. i.e. did the increase in conversion result in an increase in income, and if so how does this compare to the cost of the timer?

In addition, as mentioned above, I would also do some split testing on things like the copy/graphics/headlines/colours etc to see if these low cost changes have more of an effect on your returns.

Once I had done all of this, I would then be able to consider whether or not the software is worth the investment.

Totally FREE, No Opt In, No Hoops - CLICK BELOW

emptee

Hey Platinaj,

Check out the link in my signature - there's a free Wordpress plugin I'm giving away that does exactly what you want. It also has iframe support so you can use it for sites you don't own as well (great for squeezing more out of affiliate offers )

Michael

seobro

$249.00 is just too much money. Also, this is a subscription, not a software program. Sadly, you have to pay this amount every year. Expect to see a tiny increase in conversion. 10% or a little more. Frankly, I think it is too expensive. I would rather create my own in PHP code which I can then use on all my web pages. Concentrate on giving customers good value and not creating artificial scarcity as most people are aware that electronic digital items are not scarce. Basically, your customers will see this as a scam. I am use to seeing = THERE IS ONLY ONE LEFT - ONLY ONE and after I buy the physical item the web site still says only one. Well, it should say zero. Still, people use tricks to sell on the internet, but long term this strategy is a loser, and telling people the truth is a proven winner.

http://www.seobro.com

vitaliy50

There's another approach to increasing your leads/conversions. It's lesser known as it blurs the line of traditional helpdesk support (think one-on-one) and the recent trends of crowdsourcing. (mixing support software and a place where site visitors can help other site visitors).

Point site visitors to your community to participate in conversations. If they have questions, they will ask them. If they have gripes about your business, you can address them there, too. When you have an active (or semi active) community going, Google will start picking it up.

And, since Google picks up phrases that look like questions, your community topics will show up, increasing the likelyhood of that user to head to your community and ultimately your store. The best thing? This is exactly the type of user you want to see convert, and it involves no money spent on SEO techniques.

savidge4

The reality is this.. if the page is not converting well.. adding a "timer" is not going to help much.

Before you start schmucking with gimmicks you really should have a page that is converting in the 3% range ( if you are selling a product ) and that would be at a MINIMUM.

If you are not at least there... there are other things you should be testing first. Headlines? does the bait and the page match in context? is your traffic targeted correctly? Is your CTA in the right place? Is the text on the CTA converting at its best. is your copy with a dang? is it to long? is it to short?

Once you have the basics in place THEN.. you can say "hey...I wonder if adding scarcity and exclusivity will increase my conversions?"

chillheart

Then get better copy.

Gimmicky "buy it now" tricks aren't going to help.

Platinaj

Hi Copwriterco, thanks for your reply (I haven't figured out where the thanks button is yet!). My testing with the addition of a countdown timer resulted in such a dramatic increase in conversions, that's why I think having a reliable one is a no brainer. I have played around with my content and headlines and optimised those to the best of my ability. I'm not sure what conversion rates I should be getting?

Platinaj

Hi, The Beginner's Friend. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to me. Once I find the 'thanks' button I'll be sure to hit it.

I think I have canvassed the low cost factors you have said in my testing so far. It took me ages to optimise the copy headlines colours layout, so many different combinations! I got a really dramatic increase, the most dramamtic when I added the countdown timer which got me wondering if it was just a fluke? What numbers should I expect?

Platinaj

Hi Michael, I'm terribly sorry and this is a bit embarrassing but I don't know what you are talking about. That sounds great and I’d like to give it a go but I can’t see anything to click? I’m clearly no expert on here but where is the signature?

Platinaj

Hi Seobro,

I totally agree with you. $249 for Timerlay is too much – especially for someone like me who is just starting out, plus I generally don’t like to pay for things if just as good alternatives are available less or free. I have no way of writing PHP to use on all my web pages. Have you written and tested out your own timer? It’s just that you say a 10% increase is all that can be expected, but I got WAY MORE. I’ve played around with all the other elements and the timer made the biggest difference. I’m now on a mission to keep testing. It annoys me too when people say there is limited stock and then there turns out no be unlimited stock. But testing on my audience, I can’t ignore the results – the numbers were just too good.

Platinaj

Hi Vitaliy,
Thanks so much for posting back to me. First, I'd like to say that I'll check out that link and see what it's all about. Is that your site? Second, thanks for the hot tip, I had not thought to incorporate an active community idea. I will think about how I can do that across my projects.

Platinaj

Hi Savidge!
Thanks a lot for the effort you have put into replying to me. So, I got told my conversion rate should be around 10%, which is why I've spent so much time tweeking and testing my copy, layout, headlines, colours... I had it up to just over 4% and was feeling pretty down as I was still a long was away from the 10% I was told I needed. When I added the free countdown timer it worked great for my conversion rate but was crap as a reliable tool. My rate more than tripled which is why I'm wanting to find a more reliable one to use in my next round of testing. I need to know whether I can expect good results with timers but the reliable ones seem so darned pricey! Have you done any testing you can tell me about?

PS I feel MUCH better now you have said 3%! Thanks again.

Platinaj

Hi Chillheart, what sort of rates should I be expecting? I was told 10% so I had been beating myself up over a measley 4%-5%. Once I added the timer things improved so dramatically I wondered if it was a fluke. But someone in this thread said I should be shooting for 3% at least - so now I don't feel so bad! What would be your recommendation?

ezplr

I personally suggest doing a lot of A/B testing to optimize your squeeze pages properly and see what your visitors respond well to. I suggest A/B testing - headlines, logos, sign up buttons, sign up text. These usually have the biggest impacts on your sales conversions or opt-in rates.

ecoverartist

Hi Platinaj,

If you're interested, I do very thorough conversion optimization-focused reviews. This will give you a detailed look at exactly what to fix, why, and how to go about it.

Sherice Jacob - Conversion Expert & Copywriter
Learn Copywriting from a Pro. Build your Portfolio. Start Reaching Clients

savidge4

OK so you are at 4%.. so you don't have a "Conversion" issue... you are wanting to maximize LOL semantics I know but most here have .005% and wonder how to fix it. Yes 10% is very much a number to shoot for.

There really are a TON of places to get these I am going to share a link for you.. and then give you another idea as well. ( it might help to know exactly what platform your site is running on to give you some more EXACT resources that will fit your needs.

First I would look here: 50+ jQuery Countdown Timer Scripts & Tutorials -Design Bump there is like over 50 of them right there.

The other idea. if you are looking for something a bit more unique look at Bootstrap Construction pages / Coming Soon landers. Almost all of them have nice counters in them that you could easily extract the code from and make them work. And most of these pages might cost you what $12 or something like that.

I just am a big fan of self hosting as much as I can... cloud hosting anything just sucks in my opinion. Its just that next little layer of complexity that can go wrong and you are not in control of.

Platinaj

Thanks Ezplr, I have already done that, and yes I found it very insightful!

Platinaj

Hi Ecoverartist,
Thta might be a good idea. What do you call that kind of roll and importantly, how uch would that cost?

emptee

That's odd - ahh well, here's the link:

http://pimpmypay.com/double-your-conversion-rates/


Cheers,
Michael

Platinaj

Hi Savidge!

Definitely maximise! I don't want to waste any of my precious traffic.

Now, I've just had a bit of a look at that page, there is almost too many options. I'm going to go through and rule out anythng that needs too much technical knowhow first - since I don't have that. Do you have any recommendation of the countdown timers on the list? I'm really nervous about doing any code extraction.

Thanks so much for your great advice! I really appreciate it!

veheme

Hello,

I have been reading your posts and I am still having a difficult time understanding what Timerlay or countdown timer is. Can you all please help a curious fellow understand more about this tool?

I would really appreciate your assistance.

emptee

Hi veheme,

Scarcity Timers are simple timers that are placed on sales pages, squeeze pages, etc.. in order to increase conversions. The idea is that potential buyers have a limited time to purchase, sign up, etc.. before the deal expires.

Now.. the scarcity may be real or false - it doesn't really matter, the effect demonstrably increases conversions.

TimerLay (and the free wordpress plugin I linked to) both allow for timers to be added to the bottom of any webpage that doesn't explicitly block being embedded as an iframe. This allows affiliate marketers to, for example, add scarcity to increase conversions on someone else's offer by adding what the original sales page did not have - Scarcity.

The easiest way to see what they are, would be to check out the link I posted - that should clear things up!

Michael

veheme

I see. So basically, it is similar to those "LIMITED TIME OFFERS" found on home shopping networks. Now that you put it that way... the idea of scarcity could really be a potential tool for increasing conversion rates.

TakenAction

You should be at 10% CR? What is your product price point?

Your best bet is to concentrate on writing better copy rather than smaller stuff like a countdown timer.

I would start by split testing your headline and call to action rather than a countdown timer.

The best thing you can do is put yourself out there.

veheme

Scarcity timers may indeed increase with conversion rates but as again read this thread I agree with most posts. A good and compelling content would be a better way to improve conversion rates but that doesn't mean scarcity timers are useless. I guess, it has to be how you use it. Well... this is just my own conclusion.

badassmarketer

I see, I don't know if I just skimmed over your thread or something. But you're right. If it already worked then a nice one might work better. If you got less conversion without the timer, then use one that works. (captain obvious here.)

Have you done enough research to try and find a cheaper version of a timer? For me $250 seems a little steep as well. Have you used the search bar in the wordpress plugins section? (assuming you are using wordpress). I always seem to find all the plugins I need for free there.

Sometimes some are more difficult to use, but I always spend a little bit of time trying different free ones out until I find one that does what I want it to do.

Side note: the reason you can't see others signature is because you have to enable it in your Control Panel. There is a button on top of the forum that says User CP. Look for enabling the signature there if you would like to get to the free plugin that they suggested here.

And yes I am offering you to go to the Warrior For Hire and and find a sales letter writer. hehe

Good luck with your ventures.

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RahulNag

Hi Platinaj

I am trying out this $7 Countdown Timer you can buy from the Warrior Forum:
http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...-websites.html