Giving away too much for free?

2 years ago

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I've heard that a problem that a lot of online marketers face is giving away too much for free...

a problem? LOL NO.. its not a problem... UNLESS you are NOT providing enough. Watch any amount of Gary Vaynerchuck - read his book JAB JAB JAB Right Hook...and you understand by default that the giving creates the phycological obligation to buy.

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I have the feeling that I may be one of those people that has that problem.

Your on the right side of the spectrum here...your just missing the piece that leverages the JAB JAB JAB aka GIVE GIVE GIVE

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I really do give away ALL of the information on my YouTube channel. That's why people like me so much, and that's also why people constantly tell me that I should have 1M+ subscribers (which I don't even have close to).

Do you ASK n your videos? hey if you like the information hit that thumbs up and if you want to get notified when new content is uploaded - it helps me out to Subscribe - ITS FREE

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

People sometimes also ask me what the point of paying for a membership to my site is. They think that is just a place where I have all of my YouTube videos but it costs money to access...

An opportunity to present the value of joining your community....

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

My site does have all of my YouTube videos on it, but that is only a portion of the total contents. My site has so much more regarding structure, organization and a clearly defined roadmap to follow. Also, for every YouTube video that I have, there is an ad-free "website version" that includes a written lesson and often extra videos that are exclusive to the website.

I also send out a weekly email every Friday with a free video and written lesson.

And then the VALUE presents itself

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I have a very strong feeling that many people don't see the value in buying when I'm giving so much away for free.

This has been an ongoing topic with your threads - VALUE. I could pretty much drop a $100.00 bill down that says you dont present what you just laid out above within your sales copy - THATS the value... You can access the YouTube videos for free... By joining, those videos are presented as a lesson by lesson progressive lesson plan that includes a written lesson as well.

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

The dilemma is that if I don't give away such high-quality free content, I will not be able to compete with all of the other high-quality free content that is out there. There's SO MUCH free stuff out there, and I feel like I need to still be competing just to get noticed in the first place.

Your perceived "Dilemma" is your saving grace... its what separates you from everyone else

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I don't feel like my website itself gives away too much free stuff. Its very clear that the "free membership" is extremely limited in comparison to the "full membership", so I don't think that aspect is a problem.

Time and again the ultimate answer to all of your questions has come down to how you present your VALUE... You are presenting $69 worth of value, so any time you increase the price the sales flop... its not a people are cheap thing... its the people are not seeing the value thing. The VALUE is there, you just laid it out.

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Bkelly301

2 years ago

Originally Posted by savidge4

Time and again the ultimate answer to all of your questions has come down to how you present your VALUE... You are presenting $69 worth of value, so any time you increase the price the sales flop... its not a people are cheap thing... its the people are not seeing the value thing. The VALUE is there, you just laid it out.

I appreciate the response...

I don't agree that I am presenting $69 worth of value in my sales copy though.

My sales copy has been continuously improved upon over the last 7 years. I'm not saying it's perfect...I'm also not saying that I know the direct cause of why sales have dropped after migrating my website to a new platform...

I honestly don't know what THE reasoning is that sales have dropped after I have recently made this change.

However...everything that I have stated here in the OP, I have clearly outlined in every possible place you could imagine....The home page, the walkthrough videos, the email sequence, the little mini "ads" in all of my YouTube videos....

I have been presenting the value in excruciating detail for years now....

I honestly do not know how I could possibly make it more clear of exactly what the product is...

There is a problem, yes. What that problem is, I don't exactly know.

I do not believe that it is the lack of me explaining the product properly though.

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Frank Donovan

2 years ago

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I have been presenting the value in excruciating detail for years now....

It seems to me you can go on indefinitely analysing all the individual aspects of your business - the volume and quality of content, the free product, the pricing, the special deals, the advertising, the customer feedback - but until you get over this tendency to talk about value in the subjective, you'll just be spinning your wheels

Forget about what your customers advise. Forget about how much content your competitors churn out. Most of all, forget about what you perceive as value.

Buyers decide value. And the only way they show that is by handing over their money.

I don't know what your sales copy says, but if it harps on about value, you're positioning your product as just another commodity in the race to create (and give away) more and more content.

What do buyers really want from you? I suggest it isn't hours and hours of video footage and reams upon reams of course notes. Certainly they want to learn to play or get better at playing guitar - but the actual benefit to them is how being better at playing feels. What being a great guitar player says about them. How it impacts on their lives.

You don't want to demonstrate that you've got more video footage than your rivals. You want to show that your course is the surest and straightest way to getting that feeling. That just signing up for it bestows an instant cachet. "Hey, now I'm a member of xxxx! I've arrived!"

Get your prospective customers feeling like that, and you won't need to obsess about price or how much free product to give away.

And please - enough talk about value.

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Bkelly301

2 years ago

Originally Posted by Frank Donovan

It seems to me you can go on indefinitely analysing all the individual aspects of your business - the volume and quality of content, the free product, the pricing, the special deals, the advertising, the customer feedback - but until you get over this tendency to talk about value in the subjective, you'll just be spinning your wheels

Forget about what your customers advise. Forget about how much content your competitors churn out. Most of all, forget about what you perceive as value.

Buyers decide value. And the only way they show that is by handing over their money.

I don't know what your sales copy says, but if it harps on about value, you're positioning your product as just another commodity in the race to create (and give away) more and more content.

What do buyers really want from you? I suggest it isn't hours and hours of video footage and reams upon reams of course notes. Certainly they want to learn to play or get better at playing guitar - but the actual benefit to them is how being better at playing feels. What being a great guitar player says about them. How it impacts on their lives.

You don't want to demonstrate that you've got more video footage than your rivals. You want to show that your course is the surest and straightest way to getting that feeling. That just signing up for it bestows an instant cachet. "Hey, now I'm a member of xxxx! I've arrived!"

Get your prospective customers feeling like that, and you won't need to obsess about price or how much free product to give away.

And please - enough talk about value.

I appreciate the response, and yes I get that. It's about the "benefit"...I have learned that, and I have been trying to figure out how to effectively communicate that BENEFIT.

As per suggestions from many other marketers in the past, I have compiled many video testimonials, many written Facebook testimonials. I have a ton of people leaving comments about how helpful my site is. I have a free sample lesson right on my homepage that is my most popular video, which has helped millions of people. I have samples of my "method" on the front page...Its all about how HELPFUL my product is....

Still, I can't seem to figure out where I'm going wrong at. [edit by mod - PM sent]

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savidge4

2 years ago

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

I don't agree that I am presenting $69 worth of value in my sales copy though.

You dont have to agree... but go back and sell your course for $69 and what happens? Sales go back to "Normal"... and then jump it to $89 and what happens? they fall correct? and price yourself correctly at $149 to $159 and sales fall off the deep end. You might not AGREE - but there it is - the data you have provided to us for years and recently

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

My sales copy has been continuously improved upon over the last 7 years. I'm not saying it's perfect...I'm also not saying that I know the direct cause of why sales have dropped after migrating my website to a new platform...

You changed the price to $159 at the same time correct? its NOT the platform.. its the VALUE - it has ALWAYS been the VALUE. Go back and read your threads from the past.. without looking... I believe time after time after time VALUE is brought into the conversation

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

However...everything that I have stated here in the OP, I have clearly outlined in every possible place you could imagine....The home page, the walkthrough videos, the email sequence, the little mini "ads" in all of my YouTube videos....

I have been presenting the value in excruciating detail for years now....

I honestly do not know how I could possibly make it more clear of exactly what the product is...

There is a problem, yes. What that problem is, I don't exactly know.

I do not believe that it is the lack of me explaining the product properly though.

So your sales page is something to the effect of

What are you getting for $159?

Add Free Videos
Written lessons for each and every video lesson
A path of learning - Lessons placed in order one after the other to build your playing ability
Exclusive Subscription only Content
A weekly newsletter with a video and written lesson

Yes, a good portion of the content is right there on Youtube for you to watch and learn from. But because I am continually adding content the lessons are not so much in order. You want to learn about X on the inside there is a step by step playlist for that... you want to learn about Y, inside there is a step by step play list for that. In total there are X amount of path specific playlists.

Again No ads, Specific learning paths, additional excusive content a new lesson delivered to your inbox every week, and printable lessons so you can practice when you are not online. Like no other program presented on youtube... this is a ever growing course with 7 yrs of history. Just the weekly E-mail is 52 lessons per year you will not see unless you subscribe today

The value is there... You are offering what no else is..all the other course that I know of is a set package... this this and this... The course doesnt grow over time.. you are not learning more and more and more... they are probably not delivering a lesson per week to your inbox..and they are charging what? Scotts Bass lessons is $149 a YEAR Guitar Gate is $15.00 a month Justin is Alacarte at $10 to $15 a LESSON group

Your priced RIGHT... you have hands down more visible content than the others... BECAUSE you have more content than the others.. GuitarGate has 13 lesson paths TOTAL.

click here: ( https://membership.scottsbasslessons.com/mm-offer/ ) scroll down to the bottom right above the FAQ section "Claim your Free Trial Now" and the photo of him and the bullet list to the right... replicate THAT - overall, that is a pretty decent sales page BTW

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Bkelly301

2 years ago

Originally Posted by savidge4

.

click here: ( https://membership.scottsbasslessons.com/mm-offer/ ) scroll down to the bottom right above the FAQ section "Claim your Free Trial Now" and the photo of him and the bullet list to the right... replicate THAT - overall, that is a pretty decent sales page BTW

Nice thanks for the reference. I'll go through this bit by bit and see if I can pick out some of the key details as to what makes this effective.

BTW, I have also considered the possibility that my product may be priced too LOW as well. $149/yr sounds about right!

Thanks

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Jonathan 2.0

Banned 2 years ago

It all comes down to Testing/Feedback Bkelly301. As Jay Abraham said: "In Marketing, everything is a test."

2C

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"Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity."―Joseph Sugarman

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Randall Magwood

2 years ago

I know of some people who give away a ton of valuable information on Youtube for free that has been of great help to me. I am thankful to them for that. In return it may seem like they're giving everything away for free, but they also make money from Youtube from Adsense revenue.

And they are also good enough marketers to know how to still generate sales from their main site... or even have the skill to go into another niche and start another business that supplements their main site.

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max5ty

2 years ago

I've done marketing campaigns for some of the biggest companies in the world and this is what I see with you...

you're all over the place.

I have no clue what you're doing...

but I'd suggest you stop the yearly thing and go monthly.

I'd also suggest you go to a free trial and go from there...

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Bkelly301

2 years ago

Originally Posted by max5ty

I've done marketing campaigns for some of the biggest companies in the world and this is what I see with you...

you're all over the place.

I have no clue what you're doing...

but I'd suggest you stop the yearly thing and go monthly.

I'd also suggest you go to a free trial and go from there...

Thanks for the reply.

I've been in business for 7 years now. For a few years straight I was killing it selling "lifetime memberships" to my site for $69. I was clearing $10K most months using no paid traffic whatsoever.

I always felt that was too low of a price though.

I got hit with an unexpected hurdle where I was forced to move to a new platform, which I did. In doing so, the quality of my product has massively increased.

I'm now just trying to determine the best price point. The old price of $69/life is too low despite the fact that it has been working in the past.

I've sold a bunch at the new lifetime price of $159, and people seem to respond very well to "sales" of 20% off or so...which means that people are definitely willing to pay more than $69 (if the offer is presented properly).

It's just that right now the sales at regular price of $159 are much less frequent. I'm trying to figure out how to get to the point where I'm making a consistent 2 to 6 sales per day again.

I've experimented with monthly pricing before, and not many people joined when I did that. Also, it would take a significant amount of time sticking with the monthly pricing to get back to a point where I was making a reliable full-time income (estimating about 2 years). However, if I was able to stick with it long enough to do that, then I would be in a much more stable position...it's definitely still an option though.

I'm not all over the place. I am trying to figure out the solution to a problem that I am facing right now so I am looking at all of the variables that are at play here.

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max5ty

2 years ago

Originally Posted by Bkelly301

Thanks for the reply.

I've been in business for 7 years now. For a few years straight I was killing it selling "lifetime memberships" to my site for $69. I was clearing $10K most months using no paid traffic whatsoever.

I always felt that was too low of a price though.

I got hit with an unexpected hurdle where I was forced to move to a new platform, which I did. In doing so, the quality of my product has massively increased.

I'm now just trying to determine the best price point. The old price of $69/life is too low despite the fact that it has been working in the past.

I've sold a bunch at the new lifetime price of $159, and people seem to respond very well to "sales" of 20% off or so...which means that people are definitely willing to pay more than $69 (if the offer is presented properly).

It's just that right now the sales at regular price of $159 are much less frequent. I'm trying to figure out how to get to the point where I'm making a consistent 2 to 6 sales per day again.

I've experimented with monthly pricing before, and not many people joined when I did that. Also, it would take a significant amount of time sticking with the monthly pricing to get back to a point where I was making a reliable full-time income (estimating about 2 years). However, if I was able to stick with it long enough to do that, then I would be in a much more stable position...it's definitely still an option though.

I'm not all over the place. I am trying to figure out the solution to a problem that I am facing right now so I am looking at all of the variables that are at play here.

After reading my post again this morning, I realized it may sound harsh...and that was not at all what I intended when I said you're all over the place.

I try to remind myself that the way I talk doesn't always come out right in a quick comment.

Was trying to say that I think a monthly plan would work well and then have a lifetime plan. More money can be made on a monthly plan.

The free trial thing was about your comment for a landing page.

When you advertise, they go to a page that says start your free trial...or something to that effect.

Anyways, I apologize if I sounded like I was being rude. It wasn't my intention

Thanks
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Bkelly301

2 years ago

Originally Posted by max5ty

After reading my post again this morning, I realized it may sound harsh...and that was not at all what I intended when I said you're all over the place.

I try to remind myself that the way I talk doesn't always come out right in a quick comment.

Was trying to say that I think a monthly plan would work well and then have a lifetime plan. More money can be made on a monthly plan.

Hey no worries at all!

I have been thinking about this a lot actually ever since reading your reply last night...

Offering a monthly or lifetime option definitely makes sense. I also never really liked "annual" either for a few reasons:

1.) This assumes that people will keep paying year after year, which is probably not going to happen. From my experience, the majority of people buy an online course, use it for a limited amount of time...then never touch it again. This means that many people won't renew after the year is up.

2.) People often forget about annual memberships, and on the platform that I am currently using for my website, it is a major pain in the ass to set up a "reminder sequence"...I can definitely see this leading to a lot of refund requests (despite the fact that I *think* I have set up my reminder sequence properly)

3.) I think that offering monthly gives people a great opportunity to "try before they buy"...not really breaking the bank if they just want to try it for a month or 2.

I like this a lot. Thank you!

Thanks

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Cleber Teixeira

2 years ago

Ia dificult search a good thing for free

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DABK

2 years ago

I think Frank and Savidge covered it pretty well. I will add:

Being a member gives them now just what but the sequence.

Better said, what you think the sequence should be.

I know nothing about playing musical instruments. In school, you can't do Algebra 2 if you have not taken Algebra 1 and passed.

I am betting there's something similar to what you do. Maybe in music, you can skip some of the things or learn them later. But learning them in a particular sequence is best.

Being a member of your site gives them the steps in the order in which you, the expert, think they should be learned.

You have the big picture, lots of your students / prospects do not. They can teach themselves everything, but they'd save a lot of time if they did it in the way you say they should.

You could, in addition to the above, offer to answer in great detail their questions, if they're members. You probably already do, you're just not letting them know ahead of time.

I was for a while member of a Dan Kennedy group. The benefits: I met other people like me (students). They brought guests that talked about a particular marketing point... putting it in context.

The putting it in context was showing it how it worked in the right order, according to them. A lot of things made more sense as a result. Some, I had figured out.

So, maybe it's like Savidge said, you're not giving away too much for free, you're just not getting all you can get back from doing it.

Thanks

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Shaktiktilar

2 years ago

I can agree with you. Giving away too much can cause serious issues which might be solved only by repurposing of your online business unfortunately. You will have to find new TA, new customers and think about new ways to generate sales.
I prefer the balance in paid and free content. If you have a youtube channel, then you must restrict the content in order to stimulate the viewers either to donate on the development of your channel or to support your channel via paid subscriptions. The most part of the youtubers sell the advertisement and actually it's the right policy. You receive money from the views and subscribers + you receive money from advertiser = profit.

If someone can ask you why everything is for free you can honestly respond that you sell the advertisement.

Thanks

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