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Should I go physical product or download?

by Dayne Dylan Banned
12 replies
Ok, so I'm venturing into a new niche with a few competitors with ebooks under $30.

What I will have in my product package will be...

*A "how to XYZ... in 21 steps" ebook. (26 pages)
*A "99 secrets to XYZ" ebook. (36 pages)
*A XYZ business plan (20 pages)

*The above documents are all single spaced, 11 pt text and ripe with researched content.

I also have about 6-9 public domain books in PDF I will add as well.

NOW to my question for you Warriors...

Should I go with a physical product on this or go strictly download only? I know if I go physical, I can ask a higher price and basically eliminate people ripping off my product or stealing it like a download. Also, I could sell it on Ebay and be the only one selling it. I can't do this with ebooks as it just gets watered down and stolen. The other downside to this is if I have those guides printed, they are not very many pages.

Now, if I go the download route, I obviously eliminate the cost of packaging but I won't be able to ask as high of a price. Also, this leaves the door open for people downloading and stealing, ripping me off, etc.

Thoughts or ideas? I know all my options, I'm just debating how to go with this.
#download #physical #product
  • Profile picture of the author kemdev
    Why not do both?

    What if you offered the product via download on the front end, and then upsell the physical product - with a few extra features - on the backend?
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Thompson
    I agree - I think both is the way to go. I currently sell my audio book in downloaded format only, but several customers have had problems because they either are computer illiterate, or their bandwidth is crappy and they end up sending me an email asking me to send them CDs. My product is new and I'm not overwhelmed with requests so I don't mind burning and mailing CDs for an additional cost ... but I am seriously considering adding a second "buy" button to my site, beside the download "buy" button ... and providing a physical option. I can outsource the whole thing anyway and it could create two effects:

    1) it would make me seem even more real since a physical product has a certain association ... people seeing it would know I was "real".

    2) It would create a comparison to my download product making the download look even cheaper, on a relative basis. So it might increase conversions.

    I'll very VERY likely be doing this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    So maybe I will do two price points...

    The download version at $47 and the physical version at $67 (plus free USA shipping)...or something close to that.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
      Dayne

      If you're worried about your book not having enough pages as a physical product then decrease the size from 8.5x11 to 6x9 or 7.5x7.5.

      You might want to test this in your market but in my experience a coiled binding is associated with higher end books.

      Also, with a digital product there will always be theft... its unavoidable BUT if you're product appeals to a global audience the increased customer base will probably make up for the loss of revenue from theft.
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  • Profile picture of the author dsilvestre
    Hi,

    I also agree with both. Start with a digital ebooks and products, build a list and then upsell them a physical (and much more expensive) product.

    There you go!

    All the Best,
    Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    Good ideas Kevin, I like the idea of doing the booklets in 6X9 except for the business plan. Thanks!

    So you think if I go all digital first, maybe then add an upsell option for the physical version AFTER they have purchased the downloadable version? For example, they buy the download version for $47 and on the "thank you" page, I could offer them a "one time" purchase option for a full printed version for only, say, $27. This would make the total purchase at around $74. Does that sound about right?
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    I have sold both digital downloads and physical software. Of the physical software I only had two returns, one because the box arrives smashed, and another because the person did not like it.

    Typically of digital downloads over 50% return rate is common. People claim that it does not work. To return a physical product they have to drive to the post office and put it in a box. People are L-A-Z-Y!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    I think maybe I should just go ALL physical product. This way I can charge more, it is perceived higher value, I can sell it on Ebay, less returns, little to no stealing, etc. Plus, it will make it stand out from the competition of the few ebooks on the subject.

    Maybe go with a cost of $67 with free shipping. My goal is to roughly get around $50/Sale. Then aim for at least 2 a day to begin, which would be around $3k a month for starters. Then once I have nailed it down so the copy works at that level, open it up to affiliates and contact related sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author MasonRamm
    I agree with most above...Do Both

    Personally I prefer digital downloads as I don't want to
    have to worry about posting items and packaging and
    I like the fact my customers get what they paid for
    instantly and I'm sure my customers like this fact as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adam Kenzington
    Hey Dayne,

    I'd offer a choice of digital or physical product on a website. Then as a OTO (One Time Offer) I'd have an upsell with a "complimentary" product (something that is related to what they already bought) that someone else has already created. Set up a JV with them, where you get 50%-75% of sale for a digital product, or a lesser amount for a physical product.

    If selling on Ebay, then I'd only offer the physical product. When you fulfill the order, you will include a page in the box with the book(s) that offers your back-end offer, with contact info, webpage, phone #, etc...

    And, in the mean time, I'd be working on my own back-end product to increase your OTO and profits.

    Anyway, that would be my master plan.

    Good luck,

    Adam
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  • Profile picture of the author rename
    do the download part.. make your pdf secured.. and compress it using rar and place a password on it to make it secure.. double password than sell it using paydotcom, dealdotcom or clickbank..
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  • Profile picture of the author Nathan Denton
    with the product type you have listed I would use a digital download. Quick and easy and much cheaper for you to deliver (i.e no cost to download compared with postage).
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    Online marketing, offline marketing and various other things.
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