asking your list would they pay?

by julesw

Posted: 13 years ago 14 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I have a list on one of my niche blogs, I email them about once a month with some free content.

I am thinking of attaching a product - like a mini-membership site or a one time video product.

I want to be sure I have buyers

If I survey and find their interests in the topics I am sure i would get positives back, yes they want the information - but that doesn't mean they would pay for it

Could I be open and say I am planning this would you be interested and would you be prepared to pay for it? and even go further- it's going to cost $x and would you be prepared to pay for it?

I know this goes against all the big launch ideology where they don't tell you the price until right at the end but this isn't a big launch and those guys know they have buyers from past record,

but could I do it the way outlined above?

j

#list #pay

ProfWriter 13 years ago

What if you just included an offer without spelling it out? What do you have to gain by asking them if they are interested? Won't you find that out if you start making sales?
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julesw 13 years ago

to be clear, I haven't made the product yet, I will make it if i think I have buyers
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ProfWriter 13 years ago

Oh okay. Well, even if you ask them that's no guarantee, but I suppose it couldn't hurt.
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julesw 13 years ago

thanks

guess it could hurt as I've never sold them anything like a product, only linked to low cost physical products..

the usual way is to drive them into a frenzy with launch videos etc
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Neil Morgan 13 years ago

I want to be sure I have buyers

Don't we all

The results from this sort of survey are almost meaningless because your subscriber doesn't have to put her money where her mouth is when replying.

The bottom line is, if you offer real value that's worth the amount you're asking, you'll get buyers.

The fact you feel the need to ask if people are prepared to pay makes me think that you're already doubting that there's value in what you're planning to offer.

If you don't believe in it, who else will?

Cheers,

Neil
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JasonParker 13 years ago

Unfortunately "buyers are liars" as they say.

So the only data that's going to answer that question is the actual sales conversion data.

What they say and what they buy are 2 totally different things.
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Neil Morgan 13 years ago

Just what I was thinking Jason - and the number who actually buy will be a whole lot less than the number who said they would.
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- Dan C. Rinnert 13 years ago
  
  I may be willing to pay $70, but I might only want to pay $7.
  
  So, if you ask me what I'm willing to pay, I may tell you $7 because I know if you know that I'm willing to pay $70, you'll charge $70.
  
  Now, if you tell me you're going to charge $70, I might say that I'm willing to buy it at $70, but then not do so because I really only want to pay $7 and you're charging 10 times that.
  
  The only way to know for certain is to have a product, price it at $x and see if they buy.
  
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- JasonParker 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Neil Morgan
  
  Just what I was thinking Jason - and the number who actually buy will be a whole lot less than the number who said they would.
  
  Definitely.
  
  This is a funny subject.
  
  It doesn't really make any sense, but it's just the way it is.
  
  Plus they say they prefer short copy over long copy, except the sales conversion data almost always says longform copy wins.
  
  Thanks
  
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  myob 13 years ago
  
  If you are not sure your product would have a market with your subscribers, what you might do is offer them a closely related existing product as an affiliate. You would be surprised how so very common this tactic really is.
  
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julesw 13 years ago

thanks good info..

j
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Ti 13 years ago

It might very well depend on your list, what niche it is to, and try and determine how they are doing in this economy and how likely they are to purchase any product you promote to them.

What type of niche is it?
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grannywriteswell 13 years ago

It never hurts to ask although Dan's comments about price are worth considering - I would never respond to a survey asking for a price indication with a high price because like all other buyers, I want to get all I can for a lower price.

You would be better to find out the core things that your niche is looking for, and create a product that is directly related to solving those issues, or providing that information. Then the price you put on the finished product will be less relevant when compared against perceived value.

Best of luck with this
Ellen
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charlesburke 13 years ago

Back in 2004 I fell for the advice that membership sites are sure money and to always ask your list about their interest before deciding on a product. At that time I had close to 10K subscribers and I wanted to add a membership area to my site.

I asked, they answered - yes, more than 50 assured me they'd join up immediately. So I went to work filling that site with scads of original content. Then 2 people signed up. The subscription fee was around $20 a month, so it wasn't a heavy spend.

Since then I've been a bit cynical about most IM advice. Especially advice that tells me a) it's gonna be sure, easy money, or b) your readers will tell you what they want. In the first case, it's almost certainly NOT going to be sure, easy money, and second, your readers often aren't sure what they want until they actually see it. So first, be prepared for real work, and second, sending offers to your readers will probably get you more accurate data than asking their opinion. In other words, test real behavior, not hypothetical behavior.

In my case, a better approach would have been to quietly check what people were already spending their money on. As another poster suggested, it's probably good to test them with a similar affiliate offer before committing any of your own time or money to a new product.

Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
Charles
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