The art of getting people to buy the products you're selling

What do you think of a plugin called "live sales feed plugin"? It is a plugin that uses a small pop up which opens on the bottom corner of the site saying "xxx just bouth the ebook 6 minutes ago...", "xxx bouuth the ebook 3 days ago" eccetera...

Personally it gives me confidence if i were a buyer because is telling me other people are actually buying.
Of course the information could be fake but what do you think?

Yes I agree barbling.

I feel Testimonials are true assets. I have even used a couple really great ones that I received on another product offer.

You just honestly state this is what people thought of my previous product/service.

Then as you get fresh testimonials you add those.

If the product is selling well, this could be a good tool. On the other hand, if things are slow, it could send a message that almost no one is buying, and people will follow that clue as well.

Back in the day, I saw a sales page that went on and on about how popular the product was and how people had to buy quickly before the copy limit was reached. Standard stuff...

Until you got to the bottom of the page.

There, in nice bold type, was a message "Page last visited (date about six months earlier)" followed by one of those traffic counter gizmos, stuck on "27".

This kind of proof can be excellent, if it sends the message you want to send. On the other hand, if the message isn't there, it may be a case of addition by subtraction (get rid of it).

No, you can't run out of them, but I have seen many product creators say they are limiting the number of copies being sold to 50 or some other limited amount, which is still using scarcity. They may not want their product devalued because people can get it so easily. So they also add a higher price tag to the scarce number of copies available.

As an example, the product creator has a complete PLR e-course on Facebook Marketing. Rather than charge $47 and sell as many as he can, the creator decides to limit the offer to selling only 50 copies for $497 to maintain the value at a higher price.

Steve

There's a number of product creators that use scarcity incorrectly, IMO. With digital goods it doesn't make sense to limit the number of sales (in most cases). Then they get greedy and go back on their word and reopen the offer.


Instead of limiting the number of sales, I think (in most cases) it's better to limit something else, like a bonus or an included feature. This lets the creator to keep selling, while at the same time offering scarcity.


From an affiliate perspective, I hate the launch marketing of many products. I'm sure that only offering a product for a limited time helps them create sales. But my own marketing methods aren't generally using a list. I use things like SEO, content marketing, videos, etc. and this take longer. By the time I get something going, the launch period is over.


And no, I don't use "launch jacking" with videos. I prefer using more generic keywords on Youtube that have a larger audience, give viewers actual info they can use, then promote a product that fits the video/viewers.

Unfortunately, a lot of the Scarcity tactics are just plain borderline scam and definitely unethical.

Some use it with ever Sales Page and NEVER abide by the conditions

But there are a few who really mean they are stopping the sale on Midnight and follow thru with that


Robert Andrew

Well, a different perspective.

I prefer

The ART of selling what people are already buying.

Eliminates the need for "psychological triggers" and the use of persuasion technique. They have already made a choice, so why not just supply their demand?

Then, their ONLY choice is, BUY or go away.

gjabiz

Good stuff Barb.

I went heavy on social proof recently. Being dingbatish, I rarely promoted that I appeared on Forbes and Richard Branson's blog. Even sillier, I didn't shout my 5 star eBook reviews or online celebrity endorsements. Lessons learned. Now folks see where I've been on visiting my blog and I shout my top reviews and endorsements a bunch.

People buy in as more people buy in. Especially if the buyers/endorsers are heavy hitters who inspire folks to trust them.

I changed my view on scarcity recently. Thought it was not abundant, but in truth, it depends how clear you feel using it. I feel clearer these days Especially with free giveaways in a short time frame, to boost downloads, to snag reviews and to inspire more folks.

Ryan

You get people to buy the products you sell by having excellent copy that highlights benefits.

Totally agree, 3 biggest conversion influencers for me in last year or so have been:

1. Use of video on sales page - I actually resisted on this for quite some time, but when I launched a Udemy course they forced a sales and intro video which made me do it and it worked very well for that course. I quickly did the same on some of my other sales pages and noticed an immediate improvement in all 3 of length of time on page, leads and sales

2. Social proof - a testimonial from a big name used to be all you needed, I find today that testimonials with "average" people who talk about getting results work better - seems obvious, but people rarely use these. For new products I have gone out of my way to collect these "user-based" testimonials by giving away versions of my product based on contest of who is more likely to use it rather than just asking for reviewers. I have also run webinars and then offered 3-5 copies to those who commit to using and providing feedback within 14-days, etc...This doesn't always work, but when it does it leads to testimonials that are far more results focused than I used to get in the past

3. Time-based bonuses - I have just started using 'takeaway' bonuses and have found they work extremely well. These are real takeaways for me because they usually involve some degree of personal coaching/consulting which definitely has limited scale.

awe the art you say! This is a art isn't it! Internet marketing that is. That's the big thing! Being able to separate yourself from your competition and generate a ROI!

It's easy! You wanna know the answer?

Drum Roll Please.....

It's optimizing your campaigns. All the time! It's like NASCAR though and you can get out of adjustment but that is where measuring the numbers all comes down and when you can learn to do that you can then print your money!

Honestly... the best way to get people buying the products i've sold is by offering a low price ($7) for a high quality product. Works in every niche i've been in.

I'm more of a "volume seller" than low volume seller. And actually, i like the way that i am.

Seeing sale after sale notifications on my phone is motivating, makes me feel successful, and makes me want to seize any niche i can get my hands on. And i sleep easier at night. For some reason my brain thinks this is a reliable model. So it's something that works for me. And as i said earlier... i like it.

If I had to give one statement of advice to someone who wants to sell more of anything, it would be this:

"Put yourself in your prospects' shoes and identify exactly what motivates their desire to buy, and effectively communicate why your product satisfies those desires."

Nice post, Barb.

Regards,
Daniel

Scarcity is hard to get right without coming across sleazy, especially in IM or where digital products are concerned.

Generally people look at scarcity as being offers that are

Only x amount available

Or

For a limited time only

If you really want to increase scarcity you should combine them

This offer will last for just another 6 hours or until all 100 are sold which ever comes first.

If you were confident you'd have a count down timer for the clock and a live stock update.

The problem with this is that you could end up giving negative social proof.

You have to be careful with social signals as you can easily slip into negative social proof.

Negative social proof is you highlighting that no one or very few others have done something ie tweeted/bought/subscribed. So people should be careful ask yourself does seeing that 12 people have retweeted your article since 2009 help or hinder you?

It seems like you are trying to draw inspiration from the paradox of choice and the jam jar experiment. It's something a lot of people try and reference.

The problem with the paradox of choice is that it has limited real world applications. Whilst it is accepted that having more than one item on offer can increase sales there is little proof that less is more.

The experiment has been reproduced several times without having the same conclusion.

Away from that we can see in the real world that more is more. Just look at how many types or oreos there are or how many products Colgate sells.

Online look at Amazon they have between 7 and 12 items in their carousel. There is some conversion architecture going on as Amazon will be pushing best sellers and items related to your buying history. Neither if these are linked to the paradox of choice though.

Now if you are selling an item that has multiple products I'm not saying you shouldn't limit choices. Just be careful what you present and know why you are doing it.

What you should do is present your best sellers but have a structure that allows a user to devle deeper.

If you are going to limit product choices to say three then you will get the most impact by also engaging in decoy pricing.

Edit

I also want to point out that these techniques aren't magic bullets adding a testimonial or 5 star rating won't suddenly make someone buy. They are little cuddles that reassure the buyer

Scarcity, bonuses, and the fear of missing out are some of the most POWERFUL ways to get someone to buy whatever it is you're selling. If you can use all 3 in your marketing your sales and conversions will be insane.

One of the main things that, for me at least, influences the "icky/sleazy" factor when using scarcity in selling digital products is the reason why.

Back in the late 1990s, Dr. Ken Evoy launched his classic Make Your Site Sell ebook. His main example was another venture of his which dealt with penny stocks. He limited that digital product to 500 copies. His reason? Too many people using the same system in a relatively confined marketplace would make the system less productive. I don't recall anyone calling Evoy a scammer or sleaze for limiting the number of packages sold.

Another example that comes to mind is Jeff Walker's PLF flagship course. Because it involves substantial investments of time, Walker limits enrollment and only runs the launch once per year. Perry Marshall's Bobsled Run program is similar.

On the other hand, not presenting any reason why allows people to fill the void with their own imaginations. And I can pretty much promise you that you won't like what they come up with...

Udemy is infamous for selling reduce price courses.
TODAY ONLY $5!
this excellent course $299 reg price.

They have a taxi ticker with the seconds ticking away.
Yeah, it is right above your course. Like, can you imagine.

I have to tell you that I do not think any one pays FULL price ever. Folks, we need to get serious.

These scum ball tactics destroy your rep. Also, they smash your credibility down to zero.. Reducing the chances people will buy again.

I prefer to chart an ethical path down the river. Maybe my chances are small, so be it, small as they are.

Honestly, the niche and people you are selling to is the most important factor to me. You can have all the "tricks" listed above only to find that you created a terrible offer that nobody really wants.

Warrior reviews works great if you use them on your sales page. Rest as usual: limited spots, price will increase in ... , usage of words simple, easy, super, etc.