I'd Like Some Help on Pricing My Course

35 replies
Hello everyone,

Thanks again for all of your help and advice so far .

I have a question about pricing a course that I'm creating. It's going to cover weight loss, plant-based nutrition and fitness. My USP is that I'm 75, but am in excellent shape, and have a 3-minute professional video available showing me doing MMA conditioning with a 30# weightvest on, as well as other things.

There will be a lot of material, almost everything backed by clinical studies, and lots of links to resources. It will be available on a gated section of my website, guarded by a user/pass. In addition to the text version, there'll also be an audio version available in a streaming format. To give you an idea of the amount of content, if I put it into an e-book, it would be around 400 pages.

I have seen weightloss-only courses with a cost of $49 a month, and some priced up to $500 to buy the course. I just checked an online fitness course that was $179 a month, with a note that "prices (for courses like this) typically go from about $249 to $500 per month"! I don't have any ideas of having huge prices, and I would rather price it lower and sell a lot of courses, then too high and sell a few. I will provide a 30-day money-back guarantee.

I plan to promote this course through influencer marketing, and so hopefully people who come to the site will to a large degree be pre-sold.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!
#pricing
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
    When I started, I could NOT sell anything to anyone. So - in addition to working on the sales page - I started reducing my prices until my product started selling. After that, constantly tweaked my prices up and down and regularly ran special offers until I found the sweet spot for my offering.
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  • Profile picture of the author msulcs
    If you really have good stuff, then do some marketing videos. Show them snippets of you working out. If you look good and people will believe you that you're the real deal, then you can easily sell them for $250-$500 a course.
    If you plan on creating a membership site, then $79 would be my price with an option to buy a lifetime membership for $500. But, you need to add content on a regular basis.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Why $79? What is wrong with $77 or 328.62, for instance?

      Would it not depend on positioning and target audience?

      I mean, the OP could go after scrawnny or flabby 18-year old men who want to look better so as to get laid who, however, would not be able to pay 79 a month.

      They could go after 58-year old CEO's whose cholesterol is too high, are at risk of diabetes, who want to be in great shape to live long abd have energy to keep up with the grand kids who would not blink at rhe idea of paying $437 a month to get what brings them what they want?

      OP, why would you sell at low prices and sell many units than sell at high prices and sell fewer?

      If it is because you want to help a larger number of people, more power to you?

      If that is not the reason, consider this, 2 courses at 500 a piece a month, gets you 1000. 10 courses at 100 each gets you 1000. 20 courses at 50 each gets you 1000.

      The difference is in the resources you will spend to make and service each sale; the more sales, the more resources get spent.

      Consider just returns. At 1% returns, it will take more than 4 years with the 500/sale option above to have to handle 1; 10 months with the 100/sale option; 2 months with the 10/sale one.

      I know, the above assumes the same rate of returns. I have the feeling, though, in real life, you will find a higher rate at the lowest end than in the higher.

      Originally Posted by msulcs View Post

      If you really have good stuff, then do some marketing videos. Show them snippets of you working out. If you look good and people will believe you that you're the real deal, then you can easily sell them for $250-$500 a course.
      If you plan on creating a membership site, then $79 would be my price with an option to buy a lifetime membership for $500. But, you need to add content on a regular basis.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Hi Msuics, Thanks for your feedback. I have a video done for a starter, and I'll send you a link. If you have 3 minutes to watch it, I'd love your feedback. Regarding the course, I just want to sell it straight up. I know everyone thinks their stuff is the best, but the info I have is epic, and in such depth. I could tell you more, but I'm sure you have better things to do with your time. ) Thanks again!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Originally Posted by KnowOneKnows View Post

    Hello everyone,

    Thanks again for all of your help and advice so far .

    I have a question about pricing a course that I'm creating. It's going to cover weight loss, plant-based nutrition and fitness. My USP is that I'm 75, but am in excellent shape, and have a 3-minute professional video available showing me doing MMA conditioning with a 30# weightvest on, as well as other things.

    There will be a lot of material, almost everything backed by clinical studies, and lots of links to resources. It will be available on a gated section of my website, guarded by a user/pass. In addition to the text version, there'll also be an audio version available in a streaming format. To give you an idea of the amount of content, if I put it into an e-book, it would be around 400 pages.

    I have seen weightloss-only courses with a cost of $49 a month, and some priced up to $500 to buy the course. I just checked an online fitness course that was $179 a month, with a note that "prices (for courses like this) typically go from about $249 to $500 per month"! I don't have any ideas of having huge prices, and I would rather price it lower and sell a lot of courses, then too high and sell a few. I will provide a 30-day money-back guarantee.

    I plan to promote this course through influencer marketing, and so hopefully people who come to the site will to a large degree be pre-sold.

    Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!
    So DABK is right on the money about the "who's your target market?" question.

    WHO has the disposable income and the need or desire for what you offer?

    In my experience with health and fitness coaches like you, it is middle-aged men approaching the end of a decade (38-9, 48-9, 58-9)...they do not want to go into the next decade looking and feeling the way they feel leaving the current one. Note how this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. You are not your customer.

    In your pricing you should account for the cost of generating the sale. You do not want to go below break-even.

    With good targeting, from FB for example, you should be able to collect leads of age-appropriate prospects.

    Assuming you can capture those leads, and warm them up, one out of every so many will buy. This will require development and testing of lead capture, warm up sequence, and conversion tools by you. So you have great targeting and manage to get one-third of the leads you pay for from FB to sign up to your email list...and after warming them up and showing them the sales page, and one out of every five (that's 20%) converts into a sale...

    ...that's 15 Leads = 5 Qualified Leads = 1 Sale

    ...and if your cost per lead from FB is $10 (I have no idea what your CPL will actually be, but I do know that cost is rising every day), that's $10 X 15 = $150 to get that one sale. So you can subtract that from your revenue per sale.

    The trend has been for marketers to SAY "three months" as the average retention of a subscription customer to a membership site. This is made up: there are no standard statistics. However, you will have to find out what your average retention rate is...because that definitely affects how much money you should invest in getting a customer.

    Math frightens most people, and this is not even complicated. But it's the difference between understanding your business model and knowing when to turn on the firehose of traffic--or be guessing, and end up in oblivion.

    You say you want to use influencer marketing. How, exactly? What's in it for the influencer--the typical 50% affiliate pay? (If so, then * that's * your cost of generating the sale, plus the oft-ignored cost of your time marketing the heck out of your program to these people...appearing on webinars or Lives with them to their audiences...developing swipe materials for them to use to sell your program.)

    Start thinking about how to structure your pricing.

    I've been doing marketing strategy calls with product creators for well over half a decade, and the most common problem I've seen is this: the creator has no specific traffic source figured out.

    And without that, you've got very little. The product, whatever the product is, is simply just not as valuable as people--especially the person who creates it--believes. The distribution channel is far more important.

    IF you can connect with influencers who have a good overlap of target market with you (google "Venn diagram"), ie. they're already talking to late-decade middle-aged men about fitness/health/MMA or other related topics, THEN you may be able to leverage that existing relationship and trust into sales of your program.

    I do believe you're on the right track when it comes to the subscription model. But it will force you to continually add new content. You can do this by bringing on guest experts, so you do not have to develop everything yourself.

    I'd also be thinking about a high ticket upsell, for the minority of subscribers who want more personalized attention/more content/in-person help etc. That's where the real money gets made.

    There is a lot more work in store here than you may be thinking. Conceptualizing of the product alone is the tip of the iceberg.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Hi Jason,

      First of all, many thanks for taking your time to share your hard-earned knowledge. It's very appreciated.

      I have read everything you wrote twice, and looked up the Venn diagram.

      I'd like to tell a bit more about what I have been thinking regarding marketing. In order to understand it fully, you should watch my 3-minute video, which I'll send you a link to, as I don't know if I'll be violating some forum rule to post it here.

      What I have been planning is that I'll get some person(s) who believe in plant-based nutrition, fitness, etc. to do an interview with me. I've been following a plant-based diet for more than 10 years, and plant-based it very-hot right now. So I believe that an interview with someone my age who is in my condition would be something a number of people would want to to, either for their podcast, YouTube channel or even TV.

      I don't want to get all effusive here, but my course is epic. It has an enormous amount of material, and almost all backed with scientific studies. For weightloss, I not only cover losing weight without going hungry, but also topics like avoiding the plateau, how to determine your ideal weight, avoiding metabolic disruption, etc. I spent 4 years in chiropractic college, and although I dropped out at the end, that plus my Mensa membership give me a good basis from which to create this course. Besides weightloss, I cover plant-based nutrition and fitness.

      I don't expect you to read it all, but at the end of this message, I'll show you the table of contents for the course so far to give you an idea of the depth and breadth of its material. On top of that, I still have about another 20,000 words to write.

      Thanks again, and I appreciate any response you may have, and if that's none, I'm OK with that too. You do have a life. )

      KnowOne

      Preface

      Introduction
      Healthy Weight
      Great Nutrition
      Easy Weightloss
      A Healthy Life Course
      Affiliate Links
      Why You Should Make the Effort to Follow This Course
      Start Where You're at and Move Forward at a Comfortable Pace

      Motivation, Commitment and a Plan
      Motivation
      Commitment
      A Plan

      Healthy Weight
      Why Lose Weight?
      Reasons Why People Gain Weight
      Why Your Weightloss Plateaus
      Reasons You Gain Weight Back After You Lose It
      Exercise vs. Calorie Restriction for Weightloss
      How to Avoid Losing Muscle While You're Losing Fat
      Lose More Than Twice the Weight Eating the Same Calories
      Calorie Counting
      Calorie Restriction and a Caution
      Good news: The Most-dangerous Fat is the Easiest to Lose
      Eating Fat; The Type of Fat You Eat Determines Where It Goes
      "But Being Heavy Is In My Genes!"
      "And I Have This Slow Metabolism"
      "Plus I Hardly Eat Anything and Exercise a Lot"
      Calorie Bombs
      How to Track Your Calories
      Facts, Tips & Tricks
      12 Guidelines for Successful Weightloss
      Setup Your Support System
      The Ninja Dieter
      Accountability
      The Disappearing Snack
      The Magic Noodle
      Healthy Weight on a Plant-Based Diet; Want Scientific Proof?
      A Tale of Two Ladies - A True Story
      What Weight Goal Should You Have?
      The 4 Types of Hunger, Including Emotional Hunger
      Caloric Density - The Key to Eating More and Weighing Less
      Substituting Healthy Food for Junk Food
      Make Some Low-Cal Substitutions
      Eating Out
      Success Begins at the Store
      Out of Sight, Out of Mind
      Why You Should Use a Body-Composition Scale
      My Weightloss Tips

      Optimal Nutrition
      Reasons to Follow a Plant-based Diet
      Some Valuable Videos to Watch
      How To Get Started With a WFPB diet
      Create a Meal Plan for the Week
      Work with a System
      Prep Your Meal Basics
      Gold Dust; My Secret Ingredient
      Where Do You Get Your Protein?
      Where Do You Get Your Calories?
      Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen
      "But, Eating a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet is Expensive"
      "And It Takes so Much Work"
      What About Keto and Low-Carb Diets?
      Spuds Aren't Duds
      Eat What Fills You, Not What Kills You
      A Few Sample Whole-Food Plant-Based Meals I Eat
      My Super Pudding
      Get Adventurous
      Cheats and Treats
      Pluses and Minuses to Eating Fake Meats and Fake Dairy
      Treats And Cheats I Eat
      What to Change To & How To Change
      How To Get Started
      Supplements I Use and Suggest
      If a Plant-based Diet Is so Good, Why Do I Have To Supplement It?
      How To Check Your Nutrition; Are You Getting Everything You Need?

      Great Fitness
      Why Exercise
      Muscle; Not Just for Looks
      Easy Fitness
      Don't Push Yourself Too Hard
      On the Other Hand, Push Hard Enough
      Don't HIIT Your Weightloss Goal This Way
      Do It the Easy Way
      Stretching
      Be Mindful While Stretching
      Should You Experience Pain While Stretching?
      Breathing While Stretching
      Make This a Time of Relaxing and Allowing, Not a Workout
      Stretching Warning
      Strength Training
      Isometric Exercise
      Bodyweight Training
      Resistance-Band Training
      Weightlifting
      Go For Quality, Not Quantity
      Take It Easy
      Keep a Training Log
      Cardio
      Cardio - Good for Your Whole Body But Don't Overdo It
      How to Check Your Heart Rate
      How Much Cardio Do You Really Need?
      The Best Way to Get Your Cardio
      A New Game

      Resources
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris-
    The main factor is the sales process.

    Few ebooks sell for more than $67, but the same information (if good enough quality and with real proof of results and testimonials), if presented as a course of video modules can sell for $1,000, $2,000 or more if sold by webinar.

    So if your course is presented on video, is really high quality, and has a LOT of proven results and real testimonials, then I recommend a webinar as being the way to go, if you do the webinar really well.

    You can get people to the webinar by using paid traffic (FB ads is a common method, with some people getting an ROI of 8X), or getting owners of suitable mailing-lists or tribes to promote it for affiliate commission, or promoting it yourself on social-media (for example, by building a FB Group for people who need that info).

    I hope this helps,

    Chris
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Hey Chris,

      Thanks so much for taking the time to share your marketing wisdom. It's really helpful.

      I could present my course on video, but what it would really be is more than 12 hours of a talking head. I agree with your concept and I'm not dismissing it, but I'd like your feedback. This is why I decided to do an audio version of my course as well as the web version. The web version does have some graphics, and I may add more, but it's main value over an audio or video is that I have tons of hyperlinks to the sources from which I got my info. In this way, people are able to dig deeper into topics in which they have stronger interest.

      To my course/webinar, I appreciate your suggestions and may utilize them. What I truly believe because there is a purity of intent behind my creation of this course, that I will get people of note to do stories and interviews about me and my course, and that will drive traffic that is to some degree pre-sold. I was just on YouTube a few minutes ago, and saw a link to a YouTube with the title "73-year-old fitness phenom inspiring others around the world". It has been up for 4 months and has had 627,000 views!

      So, thanks again for taking the time to send me your wise advice and feedback. I'm open to any response you have to this message.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Well...you're not gonna like this, KnowOne...

    Here's the problem: the course, the Table of Contents, the video, how smart you are... it's all about you.

    But you are not your customer.

    The product never matters as much as the distribution channel: who are the people who can see it? That's the question. A mediocre product hooked up with a great distribution channel will outperform a spectacular product connected to a lousy distribution channel, every time.

    I've lost count of the number of people I've talked to over the years who had a great product...or a great product idea... and when I asked them where the traffic was going to come from, they had no idea.

    That was the end of my involvement because I knew it was a pipe dream. They never did anything with the product.

    Imagine a wonderful, flaky morning biscuit.

    That biscuit is fantastic.

    If you could get one, you'd eat it. The thing is fresh, warm and filling.

    Problem is, you can only get it by driving an hour to the restaurant where it's made daily.

    And they can only make say 300 a day, because that's about all they can sell.

    That's a poor distribution channel.

    Now imagine that biscuit gets into the frozen section at Walmart.

    Suddenly not just 100s or 1000s but MILLIONS of people get the chance to see it and buy it and take it home...people who would have otherwise never known it existed. And THERE is real impact, and real money.

    This story actually happened, on an episode of The Profit a couple years back.

    THAT'S a distribution channel.

    You returned in your response to "how great my product is". The problem is that no one will ever see it. Certainly not enough to bring you significant sales. Not with the lack of a good distribution channel.

    Start thinking about it now. Before you finish the product. Did you know it's possible to sell the product before you build it? This allows you flexibility in the content you create: with buyer user interaction, you can make a better product than you would have on your own. I did this with one of my own sales training products sold here on the Warrior Forum many years back. The users gave me feedback by using what I'd given them so far, and I was able to customize the following week's content to adapt to the problems they were actually having as they went along. This made the program even more impactful and better fitting for buyers who came along later.


    You believe you can get publicity through interviews. I do, too. But you have to have a plan for this: it's the way IN to your distribution channel if you choose that route. You're going to need a lot more than one interview in your quiver. While CNN may or may not be in reach right now, there are many podcasters looking for guests...and they're easy to search for, make a list of, make a pitch email for, and contact them asking to be on their show.

    Once you are a guest, you should have a lead capture process...somewhere specific for listeners to go if they're interested, where you can identify where they came from so you know who / what kind of show is helping you the most. And you know those people are pre-sold on you because they listened to 30 or 40 minutes of you talking. This is a step I have been weak on in my own business, and have only recently started taking action about.


    I respond to people who are trying, and who come back, so if you continue to put effort in I'll continue to reply...assuming you want me to anymore heh heh.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Well...you're not gonna like this, KnowOne...

      Oh, but I do like it. I put up my query in the forum in the hope that I would get advice. And I have received some, and advice of value, but none with the depth of your response. You would do me no service to butter me up and tell me how great my plan is if you didn't feel that to be true. So thanks for your candor.

      Here's the problem: the course, the Table of Contents, the video, how smart you are... it's all about you.

      Jason, I'm going to respond to your comments as frankly as possible, and I hope you won't view my responses as ways just to counter every suggestion or opinion you have. And if you hang in there with me, I'd love to have your response to my response. At the same time, I will endeavor to keep this from being excessively long.
      Without going into details, the video and everything is about establishing my credibility. Otherwise, why would people trust me and my advice? Yes, I'm in great shape for an old geezer, but that's not enough.

      But you are not your customer.

      WIIFM. (I started doing sales in 1954. My membership website I built in 1996 brought in $500k over a three-year period. And, yes, I AM asking for your advice.)

      The product never matters as much as the distribution channel: who are the people who can see it? That's the question. A mediocre product hooked up with a great distribution channel will outperform a spectacular product connected to a lousy distribution channel, every time.

      Agreed.

      I've lost count of the number of people I've talked to over the years who had a great product...or a great product idea... and when I asked them where the traffic was going to come from, they had no idea. That was the end of my involvement because I knew it was a pipe dream. They never did anything with the product.

      I will start this by saying, yes, I do live in California, so expect some "woo-woo". LOL! At the same time, I have had enough inexplicable events in my life to believe that everything unfolds perfectly for me, which by the way, includes me connecting with you. I have created this course with purity of intention.

      Yes, I love to make money. Lots of money. But my guiding principle is doing well by doing good. And although there is a lot of effort involved in writing this course it's an expression not only of how I live my life, but how I would like others to live their lives.

      So I do believe that events will happen that will give me epic exposure. I was just on YouTube a few minutes ago, and saw a link to a YouTube with the title "73-year-old fitness phenom inspiring others around the world". It has been up for 4 months and has had 627,000 views!

      Thanks for the great "biscuit" metaphor. Good point.

      You returned in your response to "how great my product is". The problem is that no one will ever see it. Certainly not enough to bring you significant sales. Not with the lack of a good distribution channel. Start thinking about it now. Before you finish the product.


      I'm a bit confused here, as to me, a "distribution channel" means how am I going to get my product out to people. I've already got that figured out, which is by having the course in a gated user/pass section of my website. I will also be using a plug-in called WP Courseware which is specifically designed for online courses. The main benefit that it offers is that it allows participants in the course to keep track of what they've already read/heard.

      Did you know it's possible to sell the product before you build it?


      I've seen many cases where IM guys have pre-sold courses, but they already had creds.

      This allows you flexibility in the content you create: with buyer user interaction, you can make a better product than you would have on your own. I did this with one of my own sales training products sold here on the Warrior Forum many years back. The users gave me feedback by using what I'd given them so far, and I was able to customize the following week's content to adapt to the problems they were actually having as they went along. This made the program even more impactful and better fitting for buyers who came along later.

      This is a great point, Jason. Perhaps what I could do once my course is "done", is to offer access to 50 or 100 people for free in exchange for their candid feedback. There may be some tricky way to make this more efficacious, such as having them pay $49 for it, and then offering them a refund when they send their feedback, suggestions and testimonials. I wouldn't mind doing this, but I would have to figure something out with my payment processor, as they would raise an eyebrow if I had so many refunds. I am very open to any feedback you have.

      You believe you can get publicity through interviews. I do, too.

      What?! Do my eyes deceive me? Do I actually have one thing right? ;o) LOL!

      But you have to have a plan for this: it's the way IN to your distribution channel if you choose that route. You're going to need a lot more than one interview in your quiver.

      OK. This is good, Jason. And I guess, this is where a sort of dropped the ball. You see, I figured I'd get the interview, I'd have a 3rd-party endorsement plus whatever wisdom I came out with during the interview, and some people would go to my website and buy right away. And the ones who didn't, oh well. It was like when people heard the podcast they would be the most pumped up that they would ever be, and if they didn't buy then I was probably wasting my time trying to sell them, when there are so many other people I could get through other interviews.
      BTW, I definitely plan on spinning off other materials. I've actually already got a 400-page e-book that is more for personal growth, in which I could name the Happy Life Course or something like that. I figure as I get feedback from people on what they want, then I could either add it into my course for no fee, or create some spinoff courses/websites.

      While CNN may or may not be in reach right now, there are many podcasters looking for guests...and they're easy to search for, make a list of, make a pitch email for, and contact them asking to be on their show.


      This type of thing is already on my list, partly in response to a question I posted earlier in the forum, and the reply I got. My plan is to contact VA's (probably in the Philippines) and have them do the work for me, although I will provide them with the material.

      I haven't been working on this yet because I'm not sure when my course will be done. Realistically, I figure it's probably 2 months away, allowing me time to finish the course, put it up on my site, and record the audio's. The reason I haven't sent anything out yet is that I'm concerned the interviewers might get all excited about my content, and want to schedule me on their show before I'm ready. I know that I could capture leads, but, once again, right during or after people see/hear the interview, is when they'll be the hottest to buy. At the risk of being grossly redundant, on this topic as well as all others here, I'm only explaining my strategy, and am very eager to see your response and advice.

      Once you are a guest, you should have a lead capture process...somewhere specific for listeners to go if they're interested, where you can identify where they came from so you know who / what kind of show is helping you the most.


      Again, I've been figuring that it's "Buy or Fly", but maybe I haven't been thinking this through correctly. I can certainly create a separate sales page for each source, and offer some free material like "The 7 biggest mistakes dieters make".

      And you know those people are pre-sold on you because they listened to 30 or 40 minutes of you talking.

      Although I'll agree that they are a much-warmer lead than a cold lead, to me they are miles away from somebody who has just heard my interview and is pumped up. I don't think you disagree with me, but my concern is that the ROI will not be worth it, with people sending me questions, answering them etc. I guess the counter to that would be the pricing on my course. If I'm selling it for $249 then it might be worth it. Or, I could have a trained VA to answer most of the questions.

      I respond to people who are trying, and who come back,

      So Jason, what's your WIIFM in this, if I may be so bold? Super-nice guy who loves to help people? A way to drum up clients? Either one of these are fine with me. 

      so if you continue to put effort in I'll continue to reply...assuming you want me to anymore heh heh.

      LOL! If I was stupid enough to take offense to any criticism/suggestions you may have, and therefore did not respond to you, then I would deserve to fail. LOL!

      BTW (as if this isn't long enough already), here are some of the points I'll have on my sales page.

      Are you losing fat on your diet or losing precious muscle? I'll show you how you can scientifically find out how much fat you're losing and how much muscle.
      Can being overweight cause cancer? See the clinical studies.
      Are plant-based "meats" a healthy choice?
      Does skipping breakfast help you to lose weight"

      Do you need to supplement your food on a plant-based diet? If so, what supplements do you need to take? Don't just guess and be sorry.

      What antioxidant is 150 times more-powerful than blueberries and costs 4₵ a day?

      Are you throwing your money away on chia seeds and flax seeds?

      Does vinegar help you lose weight? See the clinical studies and learn the truth.
      What dietary change can markedly improve the ability of women's bloodstreams to suppress breast cancer growth in 11 days, and then kill off breast cancer cells?

      Is exercise the way to lose weight? Learn the facts, and stop torturing yourself.

      Will a FitBit or another activity monitor help you to lose weight?

      Does eating at night cause weight gain?

      Does eating more in the morning help with weight loss? See the studies to find out.

      Discover a doctor-recommended way to transition to a plant-based diet without focusing on giving up meat and dairy.

      Do you love to put sugar on everything? Discover the sugar that has zero calories, no bitter after-taste and doesn't affect your blood sugar.

      Would you like to eat all you want and still lose weight? Learn about the study that shows how you can.

      Do you hate the thought of pounding the pavement to get your exercise? Find out how to get your optimum cardio with the least-possible effort.

      Learn about and how to offset the condition which can cause you to lose as much as 5% of your muscle mass every 10 years after age 30?

      Learn my "secret" breathing method to not only make your stretching gentle and yet effective, but also turn it into a meditation.

      Learn about the $22 "portable gym" that will give you a full-body workout with resistance up to 150 pounds, and yet weigh 2 pounds & fit into your bag or suitcase.

      Learn about my homemade super "pudding" which gives you a third of your protein and half of your fiber for the day, plus tons of nutrients.

      Learn about the tasty, filling and healthy snack with disappearing calories.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by KnowOneKnows View Post

        Well...you're not gonna like this, KnowOne...

        Oh, but I do like it. I put up my query in the forum in the hope that I would get advice. And I have received some, and advice of value, but none with the depth of your response. You would do me no service to butter me up and tell me how great my plan is if you didn't feel that to be true. So thanks for your candor.
        The "You are not your customer" thing typically needs to be repeated over and over, sometimes for years, before one day it sinks in and Ding! you have this realization. I'll keep saying it. You are not your customer. Get out of your own head with this thing.

        Exposure... sure, a YT vid may help. But hope is not a strategy. I get that kind of super help from Above too, but it's because I put myself out there and show up in the right places, so that there's the chance of the cool event happening that kicks things over the top.

        Re: this... "I'm a bit confused here, as to me, a "distribution channel" means how am I going to get my product out to people. I've already got that figured out, which is by having the course in a gated user/pass section of my website" ... No. That's DELIVERY or fulfillment of the order. That's not the distribution channel.

        Start thinking about "where are the eyeballs going to come from to my sales page?"

        Yes, YT videos, interviews, the divine hand of God... all valid. But do not depend on hope or a single magic thing being the savior. Have a plan to do several promotional activities. Make videos with a purpose. Book yourself on relevant podcasts. Develop systems.

        You come back to credibility frequently. This is common so don't feel bad about it. However, this is all in your mind. You HAVE the credibility. You know enough, you * are * enough, already. Now. You do not need to "sell" anyone on your street cred on this stuff. Just BE and you'll exude what you need to. Work on getting over this credibility thing... it's a perception in your own mind.

        People absolutely will buy ahead of time, provided the price is right in their value system and the plan for delivery is clear. Get paid to produce the content. Do it live...have the buyers as your audience and present to them on Zoom. Record that and there's your content. And it's better, with more interaction, more life, too.

        You do not need to give anything away for free.

        When it comes to traffic, it's not a one shot thing. You need to figure out how to generate a consistent flow of eyeballs, over and over again. One video and one testimonial/third party endorsement is not likely to do it. You're probably not going to get Oprah or Arnold. Even then, you'd have to show that endorsement over and over and over again to new people every day.

        Re: VAs... that's a whole skill set in of itself. They are very nice, but have questions, stop, do not necessarily follow directions well ... I tried to have some look up shows for a client to be a guest on, and despite me recording an explanatory video of what I wanted AND writing a procedure document, several still could not do it. They did not have the "founder" mindset necessary for proper discernment. Will VAs work for you? Maybe. What's true for me is not for certain true for you.

        From what you've written I believe you have a number of concerns and limiting beliefs about selling this course. From my perspective you can shrug them all off. You're looking at this from your own perspective, which is quite natural, but that perspective comes with 100% of the knowledge... "Remember in the Fourth Grade when you fell down in front of the entire school and everyone laughed?"

        People, prospective customers, have 2% of the knowledge about you.

        They bring 100% knowledge of themselves, which is the fulcrum of what's really important here: what leads to the sale. Their beliefs about themselves, NOT YOU. (You are not your customer. Thump thump that's me beating the drum.)

        So after having listened to you, reflected some "true" things they already believe about themselves, and going to your sales page, they're in a much more advanced stage of Ready To Buy than you currently think. There's where you handle their concerns--in the copy. No need for live Q&A. Make them an offer, and test. Get some real feedback...and some real data to look at, not unproven beliefs in your head.

        You're farther along than most people get. Keep at it.
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        • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
          Thanks once again for spending your time to provide your wisdom and encouragement. It's truly appreciated.

          To make sure that I get what you believe is a pivotal point, could you give me more direction on this "you are not your customer"?

          Wise words on putting myself out there in order for the Tao (if I have to name it) or flow of energy to bring me the cool event (s). I've experienced this many other times in my life, so thanks for the reminder.

          OK, I get that what I was talking about was a "delivery channel" if you will, but I'm still befuddled as to what's the "distribution channel". Is that like the "promotion channel"?

          Regarding getting eyeballs to come to my sales page, I had already planned to send out promotional material to relevant personalities including podcasters, YouTube gurus, and other folks. You mention "make videos with a purpose". Do you have any suggestions what these might look like? I feel that the one I made is pretty good, although perhaps a bit long and maybe too self-promoting. And once I created them, how would I drive traffic to them?

          Thanks for the advice on my credibility. I infer from your statements that as I either answer questions on podcasts or people see my videos, for example, I will generate credibility.

          The gears in my head are turning as I read your statement to "...have the buyers as your audience...". I'm close enough to finishing my course, and need to research material before I put it in, so I don't think I can compromise there. That having been said, once I have it done in a couple of months or less, I could do a webinar and then answer questions. Then I could use that webinar as promotional material. What you think?

          Thanks for "You do not need to give anything away for free." )

          When it comes to traffic, I had hoped (there's that word again) that once I had either an interview with some major personality, or several interviews with different influencers, that things would sort of spread by themselves. But your statement about creating a structure to generate consistent traffic makes good sense. In that light, I'm going to create a document/flowchart of how I plan to do that.

          Regarding VA's, in general I have had good luck with them, and have been hiring them off of Upwork for several years. I do have a protocol I go through before I hire them that I would be willing to share with you if you're interested.

          Thank you for addressing my concerns and limiting beliefs.

          Once again, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Even though I've been doing sales and marketing for decades, it's really hard to get 100 percent objective.

          I also appreciate your encouragement. Although I have confidence in myself and what I'm producing, with no kudos during the months of work that I've done, things get a bit dry.

          OK, that's it. Thanks once again and I look forward to any response you feel inspired to send. I do want to emphasize that I am integrating your advice into my marketing and sales plan, and it's not just mental masturbation.
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          • Profile picture of the author DABK
            Nooneknows, do you know David Deangelo, aka Eban Pagan?
            He has a site, www.doubleyourdating.com (not an affiliate) so not your niche, but worth your time studying it.
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        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          Ive been watching this thread. I like to watch Jason play things out when the receiving end is smart enough to engage him. Makes for a damn good read. Jason said the below that caught my interest:

          Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

          You come back to credibility frequently. This is common so don't feel bad about it. However, this is all in your mind. You HAVE the credibility. You know enough, you * are * enough, already. Now. You do not need to "sell" anyone on your street cred on this stuff. Just BE and you'll exude what you need to. Work on getting over this credibility thing... it's a perception in your own mind.
          I am a personal believer that "Credibility" is for everywhere BUT a sales page. Credibility is built in the stages prior to getting people to a sales lander. Credibility in my book falls under "Qualifying" IE as much as we as sales people qualify a prospect, the opposite is true. The Prospect is qualifying the source as well.

          Credibility in say a podcast is built in the "Let me tell you a bit of my back story" or the like. Credibility on say a forum, is the 1000's of post ( something I have recently started calling "my resume" ) Credibility on a video, may be a bit of back story, but are you really going to do this for every video? so it becomes the amount of Authority that you develop in the moments of the video.

          I believe you are in this for the long haul. I would hope you have already developed a "Resume" of content. so to Jason's point, you are already enough.

          short version: In my world it is credibility that puts them on the sales page - and not what sells them.

          So then there is this:

          Originally Posted by KnowOneKnows View Post

          Sorry for my late reply; I just saw this.

          Regarding pricing, I have seen weightloss courses with a cost of $49 a month, and some priced up to $500 to buy the course. I just checked an online fitness course that was $179 a month, with a note that "prices (for courses like this) typically go from about $249 to $500 per month".

          I have been thinking of starting at $97, and make the first 50 people at $47. In this case I'd mainly get feedback on what people liked and didn't like so I could make changes before I "officially" released it, plus add in testimonials.

          After I make any needed changes, then, to be honest, I'm still at a loss for pricing because there's no course that I know of that covers plant-based nutrition, fitness and weight loss. Any suggestions?
          Now I am going to be the one that you wont like.... but this thread has been on this forum for 1 month now. How much money has this product made in the last month? How much could you have made if you just put a price on it a month ago and started selling it?.

          Pricing strategy.... Put a price on it... lets pick $79.00 and it sells. you then split test $69.00 and $89.00 and then maybe to confirm you test $59.00 and $99.00 At this point you now have an idea of where to move towards. Keep in mind if you make 10 sales a day at $79.00 its the same as 5 a day at $159.00.

          I sense from what you have written is you are struggling with self worth.. which is very common. I do it myself. I put in all this work... but $500 is way to much. Ill sell it for $49.00 instead I feel better about that. Little do we realize we have to sell 1 at $500 to equal 10 at $49.00. In the end, which client base is going to want more from you? Which client base will hire you to speak? Which client base VALUES your effort?

          I have found BIG can only get BIGGER... and discount.. will always be discount.
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          Success is an ACT not an idea
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          • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
            Thanks so much for taking the time to read this thread and to reply! )

            Regarding how much I may have lost in not pricing my course, I literally just finished it last week. I am now finishing the long-form sales page, and having the content put into an online course. There will be a text version and an audio version also.

            Regarding the pricing, what I am struggling with is that I really believe in following a plant-based (vegan) diet and helping people out, so I don't want to overprice it, and yet I want to be compensated for my decades of knowledge and research. At this point, I am considering $97, as it's decent cash for me and somewhat affordable. I believe I could get $295, considering the 115,000 words in the course, more than 400 links/references, etc., plus it's in a course format, which I believe increases the perceived value.

            Once I have sold maybe 100 and used the feedback to make needed changes, plus get testimonials, I may bump it up.

            Thanks again for your feedback! )
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            • Profile picture of the author savidge4
              Originally Posted by KnowOneKnows View Post

              Regarding the pricing, what I am struggling with is that I really believe in following a plant-based (vegan) diet and helping people out, so I don't want to overprice it, and yet I want to be compensated for my decades of knowledge and research. At this point, I am considering $97, as it's decent cash for me and somewhat affordable.

              I am going to throw a pair of quick analogies at you. A Doctor spends how much time and how many dollars on an education, and it takes how many years to get Compensated? A Lawyer spends how much time and how many dollars on an education, and it takes how many years to get Compensated?
              Going and selling 100 of these and for $97 and making $9700 before taxes? That's not compensation... that's probably a drop in the bucket for the time and money spent to develop your funnel to sell the thing. You need to be considering Compensation in YEARS.

              Originally Posted by KnowOneKnows View Post

              I believe I could get $295, considering the 115,000 words in the course, more than 400 links/references, etc., plus it's in a course format, which I believe increases the perceived value.

              Once I have sold maybe 100 and used the feedback to make needed changes, plus get testimonials, I may bump it up.
              "Course Format" increases perceived value how? You want increased Value? you offer a 2 times a week Facebook live ( each for 1 hours - so a whole whopping 2 hours a week ) for everyone that buys. The Format has nothing to do with Value... but a platform to ask direct questions from the Author of the course on a weekly basis? See what I am saying?

              I am going to say this... IF you can develop traffic.. I would go all in at $295. I would be finding a local ( if possible ) food photographer and be working on a cook book as in yesterday. You need to change your focus from "getting paid".. to what's going to pay next. That book needs to be ready and out in 6 months max... You need to start a wave, and then have a consistent flow of content to ride the wave... because we all know the wave only lasts so long.

              I could be wrong.. but from what you have shared here the vision ( in a business sense ) is very short sided. You need to quickly expand the vision and be seeing 6 months from now.. A year from now... 5 years from now.
              Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author depotgang
    Simple.... Whats the difference between a $7 product and a $997 products

    Usually the only real difference is the marketing.

    The better your marketing the more it converts, the more people promote for you the higher the price can be ...on and on.

    Marketing determines the price.
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  • Profile picture of the author thescrrr
    Why don't you just test different pricings than stick with the one that generates a higher ROI?
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  • Profile picture of the author thejessecarr
    Here's the deal, no one can tell you how much YOU should price your course. It's all based on the value that you provide. You definitely want to sell less and for more than sell a ton for cheap because you want people to actually take action with the course.

    If you sell it for cheap you will just get lazy people that wont do it and will say that it didnt work, which is bad for your course. If it is a bit pricey people then feel obligated to follow it.

    Now price would depend on the quality and value. Quality being how well you teach and how well the videos/content is put together. Value would be based on the results you have gotten for yourself and for other people. As people will buy based on the results you brought others.

    So here is what I would say if it is a monthly fee you are looking for (implying that you continue to release content every month) then I would say $49/m would be reasonable. If you are looking to just sell it for a fixed price I would say around $197 would be a good start.

    Start low and based on feedback and customer testimonials raise it up, as in the beginning if you dont have many others to back up your course no one will pay big money for it. Once you have people getting results and awesome testimonials you could really price it at whatever price point you feel like. I would say keep it under $500 for the fixed price, as anything above that would be a bit too much in my opinion and way to difficult to sell.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Thanks for your reply and advice. It's appreciated. )

      Also, thanks for the encouragement on the pricing. I'm trying to make the info available to many people, while at the same time validating the effort I've put into the course as well as my being deserving of financial abundance. Great advice on not selling it too cheaply, however.

      Quality-wise, if we look at the width and depth of the information contained therein, I believe it's as good as any and better than most. As far as value goes, at this point I haven't had anybody check out and utilize my course, so I can't provide any testimonials of that nature.

      You have suggested I consider starting making my sales at $197. What do you think about making maybe the first 100 a special price of $97 for people who agree to give me feedback including suggestions, criticisms and testimonials?

      Thanks also for the great advice to start low and raise it up as I get more success. I kind of like the $197 price as it's pretty substantial, but still not crazy. One way to provide benefit to more people, and still make it relatively affordable, would be to still stay at the $197 price, but offer upgrade options. One thing that I am very adamant about is that I'm not gonna let this course own me. If I had the choice between working a 60 hour week doing consulting etc., while making $50,000 a month or working at 20 hour week to make $20,000 a month I'd sure take the lower income. My time and freedom is my most valuable asset.

      So thanks once again, and I am very open to any additional feedback you have should you be motivated to provide it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Medon
    Too high or too low prices have their pros and cons. But look at your input. how long has it taken you to prepare the course? what is your goal? is it to help people or maximize profit? By answering these questions, you will be able to identify a fair price to both your readers and your self.
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  • Profile picture of the author bradctebeest
    I don't know what these other people are saying they are just talking to much.

    Don't start by selling a course you need to warm these people up with something free that gets them ready and excited for when you start a email marketing to them.

    I always start with something free to gather my desired audience and then begin selling them. Don't drop your prices just make sure the value can back up the price and that's all you need to worry about.

    best,
    Brad C. TeBeest
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by bradctebeest View Post

      I don't know what these other people are saying they are just talking to much.

      Don't start by selling a course you need to warm these people up with something free that gets them ready and excited for when you start a email marketing to them.

      I always start with something free to gather my desired audience and then begin selling them. Don't drop your prices just make sure the value can back up the price and that's all you need to worry about.

      best,
      Brad C. TeBeest
      OK...

      This is a screenshot of revenues through ONE payment processor, Warrior Plus (which was from back in the day...since your account is from 2020 you've probably not heard of it):




      ie. we used more than one payment processor after JVZoo and Warrior Payments came out, plus standard straight shot payments directly through Paypal. Meaning this is a fraction of revenue for that couple of years.

      After a couple of years most people moved over to another processor (sorry, Mike...I always liked Warrior Plus' UX better).

      That's an AVERAGE customer value of fifty-five bucks.

      I sold--not just offered, actually SOLD--products up to $1495 here on this low budget, poor mindset forum. Compare that with your typical "ooh $27 is so high" thinking here.

      And as a sales trainer I had few affiliates since my offer wasn't a magic bullet Click-A-Tron. The total isn't huge by any means, but this was my revenue...I didn't give it all away to affiliates. Nor did I need a zillion sales to do it.

      I normally don't respond to this kind of statement but newbies have zero discernment, and can't tell signal from noise. "Who do you listen to" is critical. I stick around to occasionally respond to someone who I think asks a good question. There aren't many.
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    • Profile picture of the author Medon
      Originally Posted by bradctebeest View Post

      I don't know what these other people are saying they are just talking to much.

      Don't start by selling a course you need to warm these people up with something free that gets them ready and excited for when you start a email marketing to them.

      I always start with something free to gather my desired audience and then begin selling them. Don't drop your prices just make sure the value can back up the price and that's all you need to worry about.

      best,
      Brad C. TeBeest
      And again Brad, the targeted market matters. Factors like their income and propensity to spend are critical.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    400 pages with so much more... how much do you feel it's worth? The price is one thing, but what is the market saying that you should price it at? What are some of your competitors who sell similar products as your's pricing theirs for? For that much information, i would start at the very least $200 - that's without testimonials.

    Probably be just as easy to sell it at $200 than at $20. At the end of the day, the marketing of the product will determine what price you should set it to.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Sorry for my late reply; I just saw this.

      Regarding pricing, I have seen weightloss courses with a cost of $49 a month, and some priced up to $500 to buy the course. I just checked an online fitness course that was $179 a month, with a note that "prices (for courses like this) typically go from about $249 to $500 per month".

      I have been thinking of starting at $97, and make the first 50 people at $47. In this case I'd mainly get feedback on what people liked and didn't like so I oculd make changes before I "officially" released it, plus add in testimonials.

      After I make any needed changes, then, to be honest, I'm still at a loss for pricing because there's no course that I know of that covers plant-based nutrition, fitness and weightloss. Any suggestions?

      Thanks again.
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  • Profile picture of the author DURABLEOILCOM
    I would sell the ebook on Amazon for $9.99-$12.99 if it is a quality book it will sell like hot cakes at that price point.
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  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    @ KnowOneKnows,

    It is obvious that you have put much work into this great
    product but, as a consumer, I would find it all a bit too
    cumbersome to use. Where would a person begin?

    Have you considered splitting this product up into several
    smaller packages and selling them through a couple of
    different platforms. Perhaps offering one item at Clickbank
    and another at JVZoo in order to get affiliates promoting
    the products for you. One package could be a one-time
    purchase and the others could have a recurring fee. That
    way you could test the pricing and make adjustments.

    And maybe give people something that they could start
    with right away like some low-cal breakfast recipes that
    could be used the very next morning to get them eating
    healthy right now.

    Those are just some thoughts I had about your product
    but I'm sure it will do fantastic regardless of the price.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      Hi Monetize,

      Thanks for your comment. I agree that it's overwhelming. That's why the info will be presented in a course format, with each topic as a "lesson", presented in text and audio format. The benefit of this is to break the info down into bite-size pieces, plus (most-importantly) there will be a way for the user to mark which lessons he has read or heard, so he won't get lost and know what to learn next.

      Thanks again for your feedback.
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  • Profile picture of the author AdventureBear
    HI i just read your whole thread as I have similar questions.

    I can really relate to your plight, especially the "My content is epic and supported by studies" angle.

    I feel/felt that way too. About 5 years ago, I was hired as an independent contractor to deliver a 3 day in person course that was sold for $1900 or something to the10-12 participants that came. I was really pumped that they paid that much to see me teach.

    But the company went bankrupt and never paid me. Thta was a huge blow to my ego.

    So I have 3 days worth of videos from my talks that the company did. I had to "steal" the by grabbing the network traffic video URLs before the company stopped paying hosting and the videos were lost forever.

    Anyway, long story short... now I have a podcast. At first I thought that you might be a good person to have on the podcast as I'm always looking for guests relating to exercise and in particular, endurance sports.

    But your common thread in this is me, me, me. Why would someone have you on their podcast if your mail goal is to sell your ebook or course? When I interview a guest, it's not an infomercial, it's a conversation. I'm sure you have tons of stuff to share and teach. But until you start to think about how you can SERVE the other person, I think you'll have a hard time finding connections that you want.

    Having said all that, I am really curious about how this plays out for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author KnowOneKnows
      HI AB, I just saw this; sorry for the late reply. Thanks for taking the time to read the thread.

      Sorry to hear about your experience. Luckily you still have the materials.

      In this forum, I talk about me because I am expressing why I am qualified to present this information.

      Regarding the podcast, why would anyone have a guest on their podcast? Because the guest is an expert on a topic that resonates with the podcast audience. So in the podcast, the host would probably intro me and explain why I am qualified, and then ask me questions about the best way to lose weight, plant-based nutrition, etc. Although there might be a few references to my course, depending on the host, I'd mainly be giving out information and with the host mentioning my course at the end, and providing the link.

      Thanks again, and good luck to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author hardworker2013
    You can look at similar courses on the market and check there price points.
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  • Profile picture of the author 55sadhikar
    Here is the deal, get the sales page right, without it you'd be a runner trying to run a marathon on crutches, not sure if you'd finish the race.
    Find jv' s who would promote your product on commissions [ that's traffic that cost nothing to you].

    You might also promote a product similar to yours [ that is proven to convert] and understand the price, marketing and sales tactics. You can ask the product owner that you'd promote his product and find out the traffic sources that's proven to work.
    And replicate the process on your own product. No failing with that...
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Monthly fee is a good start.

    You also want more stuff to sell on the backend like upsells and downsells.

    Also allow you customers to be able to become your affiliates too to earn an extra income.
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