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Looking for ideas on Business Book Summaries site

by kevkos30
13 replies
I created this site selling 100 Business Book summaries for $9.97.

100 Must Reads Business Books

On very little traffic we are selling one or two a day now. But I think this has a lot more potential. I'm building a twitter account and just added a FB page. However, I'm not sure how to get people passing the site around (seems like 10 bucks for 100 summaries is a steal). I have an affiliate program with Clickbank and once you sign up you get the details, but not many have done that yet.

Any marketing ideas are welcome!

Cheers,
Kevin
#book #business #ideas #site #summaries
  • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
    We are also considering raising the price to 19.97.
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  • Profile picture of the author drmani
    Originally Posted by kevkos30 View Post

    However, I'm not sure how to get people passing the site around (seems like 10 bucks for 100 summaries is a steal). I have an affiliate program with Clickbank and once you sign up you get the details, but not many have done that yet.

    Any marketing ideas are welcome!

    Cheers,
    Kevin
    Kevin, this is an idea I've been toying with for years - but never got around to
    implementing. Nice job

    I'd think this is an idea which might go viral and spread 'peer to peer'. You can
    encourage it in a few ways:

    1. Create one (or a few) sample reviews as PDFs, and distribute them widely
    for free - with a link back to the sales page. Putting them on document sharing
    sites, Web 2.0 social networks and more can get you wide exposure

    2. Make these PDFs rebrandible by affiliates, so they are incentivized to share
    them with their audience

    3. Have an opt-in form (for list building) with 5 to 10 reviews dripped over a
    period of time - interspersed with promotions for the paid service, highlighting
    the value of why they should sign up

    Combined with a social media presence on Twitter, FB and others, you may
    quickly get traction that will let you scale.

    A back-end idea may be a monthly service which offers ongoing reviews of 5
    to 10 books - provided you'll be able to summarize that many on a regular
    basis.

    Good luck, and I hope this helps a little.

    All success
    Dr.Mani
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
      Originally Posted by drmani View Post

      Kevin, this is an idea I've been toying with for years - but never got around to
      implementing. Nice job

      I'd think this is an idea which might go viral and spread 'peer to peer'. You can
      encourage it in a few ways:

      1. Create one (or a few) sample reviews as PDFs, and distribute them widely
      for free - with a link back to the sales page. Putting them on document sharing
      sites, Web 2.0 social networks and more can get you wide exposure

      2. Make these PDFs rebrandible by affiliates, so they are incentivized to share
      them with their audience

      3. Have an opt-in form (for list building) with 5 to 10 reviews dripped over a
      period of time - interspersed with promotions for the paid service, highlighting
      the value of why they should sign up

      Combined with a social media presence on Twitter, FB and others, you may
      quickly get traction that will let you scale.

      A back-end idea may be a monthly service which offers ongoing reviews of 5
      to 10 books - provided you'll be able to summarize that many on a regular
      basis.

      Good luck, and I hope this helps a little.

      All success
      Dr.Mani
      Dr. Mani, these are some great ideas, thanks! I will probably implement a couple of them.

      Cheers,
      Kevin
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    100 books seems like too much information. Yes it sounds like a bargain but as others have said.. you have not even used your name or a signature in here so how can you build any credibility> People will buy from those who they trust more than those who just offer what seems to be a "good deal."
    Signature

    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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    • Profile picture of the author RBC2
      I would suggest that you first get the rights to publish the summaries from the book publishers so that your product is legal. Then you may be able to get more customers. People are suspicious of something that is too cheap in price - the question arises as to how you can do this so cheap?
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      • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
        Already done! We won't keep the price this low forever, and we're trying to build a list to sell other products.
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        • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
          Originally Posted by kevkos30 View Post

          Already done! We won't keep the price this low forever, and we're trying to build a list to sell other products.
          Meant to quote this:
          I agree with the above. Your product is A) far to cheap to warrant any interest besides "ohh another book" and B) you DEFINITELY need to get the rights to publish the summaries, as making $200 is not much in comparison to the legal fees that will rob your piggybank blind.
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    • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
      Originally Posted by laurencewins View Post

      100 books seems like too much information. Yes it sounds like a bargain but as others have said.. you have not even used your name or a signature in here so how can you build any credibility> People will buy from those who they trust more than those who just offer what seems to be a "good deal."
      Dude, I just started the site, I have many other sites and not putting a signature is not a knock against me!
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    For me the question is: how long those summaries are? One page for each book? = 100 pages to read in total? 5 and half per book? = 550 pages in total?

    Who wrote the summaries? Should I trust the person's ability to really get the most important stuff out of a 379 page book?

    Or is it just a compilation of 100 TOC + a quote from each?

    Those were my thoughts reading the salespage and if those questions are not answered in the sales copy... I wouldn't buy it even for $2.
    Signature

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    • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      For me the question is: how long those summaries are? One page for each book? = 100 pages to read in total? 5 and half per book? = 550 pages in total?

      Who wrote the summaries? Should I trust the person's ability to really get the most important stuff out of a 379 page book?

      Or is it just a compilation of 100 TOC + a quote from each?

      Those were my thoughts reading the salespage and if those questions are not answered in the sales copy... I wouldn't buy it even for $2.
      Thanks for your feedback. They are 8-10 pages each. No one will likely read every summary. There's a video on the site now that shows everything in detail, so it should be more clear now.
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  • Profile picture of the author CollegeEducated
    I agree with the above. Your product is A) far to cheap to warrant any interest besides "ohh another book" and B) you DEFINITELY need to get the rights to publish the summaries, as making $200 is not much in comparison to the legal fees that will rob your piggybank blind.
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