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Monetization Help

by lburrell
9 replies
As many of you know, I started and have run Your Personal GMAT Coach for the past 9 months or so. I wanted to test this thing out first before I really got serious with this (investing money, leaving my job , etc).

So far, we have done about $10,000 in revenue and have a pretty high profit margin. This has been done with:

- A very beginner wp site (I did it myself)
- No SEO
- Maybe 2 backlinks
- 1 article
- A press release I wrote (I think that brought most of the sales )
- No free giveaway for interested people to join my list
- No 1800 number (just my local one)
- Lots of CL ads
- Word of mouth
- Hardass work

I feel I'm on the cusp of something big. I have spent 5 years developing my materials and methods....but Kaplan will come in a steal it so it's not what I am focused on with my advertising.

What Kaplan (and other big boys) cannot beat me at is my guarantee (75 point increase on the GMAT), my unlimited support after the workshop, and my customer service.

Currently I have having brand spanking new awesome site being built by Internet Marketing Firm | Full Media (owner goes to church with me) with all the stuff I mentioned above that I didn't have before. (aWeber, live chat, badass looks, etc)

I am in the middle of producing an at-home dvd course for the GMAT that will sell for $599 so that is my next product. I will be able to reach out to all the people we can't physically come tutor because of scheduling, location, costs, etc.

Anyways, can the awesome warriors here think of any ways to better monetize the site/company?? What would YOU be interested in if you were a potential customer?

THANKS!!

PS - If you have ANY other thoughts on how I can make this thing a crazy success story, PLEASE share your ideas
#monetization
  • Profile picture of the author Virtual Banker
    I am not sure what your new site would look like
    but you could just swipe this business model
    https://www.louisletsdance.com/index.php

    contact a CPA network like hydra or neverblue to get affiliates.
    give em a $4.95 free sample and then send the rest and bill the whole amount 7 days later.
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    • Profile picture of the author lburrell
      Originally Posted by Virtual Banker View Post

      I am not sure what your new site would look like
      but you could just swipe this business model
      https://www.louisletsdance.com/index.php

      contact a CPA network like hydra or neverblue to get affiliates.
      give em a $4.95 free sample and then send the rest and bill the whole amount 7 days later.
      My new site will be similiar to www (dot) knewtonprep (dot) com

      They are in the same line of business I am in, they just offer a different type product. They just received $2.5 million of angel funding and that is the site they used, so why not use that as a base??

      The site you mentioned looks good for it's purpose, but the GMAT market is very discerning and wouldn't react well to that type of page.

      Also, I don't quite understand the neverblue type thing as I have never worked with them. Would the affiliates get people to sign up for a trial and then I would automatically bill them after 7 days?

      I already bought some affiliate software in hopes of attracting affiliates for the online video sales once I finish them up. Give them $250 per $599 video sale? Would that be worthwhile for them?

      Anyways, thanks for the replies!! I just sent you a PM Debbie and I'm anxiously waiting your reply as that is exactly the information I need
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  • Profile picture of the author Debbie Songster
    online education is big.
    I'd put the material in a paid "membership" site that can deliver tests, quizzes, grades and a certificate at the end. As well as delivering all your materials online regardless of the medium.
    Then I would market offline direct to businesses and/or through trade magazines or other publications your market subscribes to.

    You need an educational content delivery platform.
    PM and I'll tell you what I use
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    Getting back in the grove after taking a year off following a family tragedy.

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  • Profile picture of the author lburrell
    Just want to say Debbie is THE BOMB and really knows her stuff....

    That's all. Have a great day
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    WSO - The FACEBOOK Traffic AMBUSH - LASER-TARGETED traffic, $$$$, & RABID Fans in less than 5 minutes - for FREE

    WSO - 98% of IM'ers are NOT using this "SECRET" Technique - My 20 page Secret Press Release Strategies report reveals all!!
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    • Profile picture of the author jmidas
      Hi, first of all - congrats on a great idea and the beginning of what looks to be a successful business.

      I see one thing that I would do right away - get an optin form on your site above the fold and collect names/emails. Once you have this, you can deliver emails that include a mix of quality, useful content (tips, etc..), offer an ecourse for free (4-5 weeks worth of emails, one or two at most per week). Then, you can mix in some other offers that you are selling - your own products or affiliate stuff. You can even take that $599 product you are working on, break it apart, throw it on a different format (ie, instead of dvd, make 5 or 6 ebooks or audios, etc..) and have several $59-99 products.

      Also, incorporate some CPA offers on your page. As VB said, check out some of the CPA networks that to see if there are A) related offers or B) complimentary offers (since it is a young crowd you are marketing to, there are a ton of offers geared toward that market - music, dating, etc.) You can use CPA offers to make a few bucks just for each lead you provide.

      I would not do adsense on your site.

      One last thing: I know you are excited about your new site from your friend at church. I took a quick look at their site and portfolio and it seems - no offense to them - that they are very big on flashy image and very short on actual marketing knowledge. A slick, whiz bang, all flashed up site is nice to look at for a minute but they are generally not the best to actually sell things. (plus, you will pay 10X more for them). Remember the purpose of your site is to make you money. All that flash is pretty lousy for SEO and - I am not 100% sure here after a 30 second look, but - they don't seem to incorporate a single direct response element into their sites. I don't see a single headline, optin offer, call to action, etc.. Just an FYI - make sure your goals are honored by the person doing your site. Dont get too caught up in "pretty".

      PS - I disagree with your comment about your gmat market not reacting to that type of site (the one that was recommended earlier). Your crowd is a crowd of buyers and they are *all* the same. That site did a pretty decent job of selling - you dont have to be that over the top - but this is an example of a direct reponse site that,I am guessing, works very well at its purpose - making the owner money. If I needed to make ten bucks today and I had to choose either that site or the knewton site you referenced, I'd go with the dancer all day long. This is a classic Dan Kennedy rant - he loves to point out the flaws in the "but, my market is different" arguments. And, he is 100% right on this point. I'm just saying...

      Anyway, this post is long enough. I think you have a great idea and can make a small mint with it. Best of luck.
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      • Profile picture of the author lburrell
        Originally Posted by jmidas View Post

        Hi, first of all - congrats on a great idea and the beginning of what looks to be a successful business.

        I disagree with your comment about your gmat market not reacting to that type of site (the one that was recommended earlier). Your crowd is a crowd of buyers and they are *all* the same. That site did a pretty decent job of selling - you dont have to be that over the top - but this is an example of a direct reponse site that,I am guessing, works very well at its purpose - making the owner money. If I needed to make ten bucks today and I had to choose either that site or the knewton site you referenced, I'd go with the dancer all day long. This is a classic Dan Kennedy rant - he loves to point out the flaws in the "but, my market is different" arguments. And, he is 100% right on this point. I'm just saying...

        Anyway, this post is long enough. I think you have a great idea and can make a small mint with it. Best of luck.
        Jmidas thanks for the response again. I might shop around here on the WF for the site build.

        As I read you post a few more times, I really had to sit back and think about the site design and what would work best for the services and product I offer. I do agree with your statement "If I needed to make ten bucks today and I had to choose either that site or the knewton site you referenced, I'd go with the dancer all day long."

        The dancing page will get sales, for sure. It has all the right ingredients for the product. Call to action, testimonials, flashy design, etc. BUT it doesn't scream "credible" to me. Somewhat snake oil salesman type thing. I don't know how many "dancing" products there are like that one, but I imagine not too many. And how many people really "research" into this type of product before they buy it to see if it is good or not?? It's an impluse buy for sure.

        I see GMAT prep a little differently. People really research the tutoring options available to them. If I do a half-ass job in my services, the students will surely post to a popular GMAT prep forum and that word will spread very quickly.

        Credibily, results, a great guarantee, and personalized service are key in this business and I want my site to reflect that.

        That's why i don't think a site like that would work imo

        Your thoughts? I'd love to hear all angles to make the best choices of course
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  • Profile picture of the author lburrell
    Thanks so much for the insight jmidas!! I really appreciate it.

    No offense taken on fullmedia. Business is business mate. As a startup, there cannot be many hiccups in this thing or OOPS no more cash. I need all the help I can get.

    They quoted $3900 for a site similar to knewton's, with all the IM elements I have learned to use from this forum (direct response, autoresponder, videos, etc)

    Do warriors feel that is a fair price?
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    WSO - The FACEBOOK Traffic AMBUSH - LASER-TARGETED traffic, $$$$, & RABID Fans in less than 5 minutes - for FREE

    WSO - 98% of IM'ers are NOT using this "SECRET" Technique - My 20 page Secret Press Release Strategies report reveals all!!
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  • Profile picture of the author lburrell
    Hmm I'll take that as a yes haha
    Signature
    WSO - The FACEBOOK Traffic AMBUSH - LASER-TARGETED traffic, $$$$, & RABID Fans in less than 5 minutes - for FREE

    WSO - 98% of IM'ers are NOT using this "SECRET" Technique - My 20 page Secret Press Release Strategies report reveals all!!
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    • Profile picture of the author jmidas
      Hi, since no one else jumped in on that, I'll just add my two cents. That price *could* be ok if it really delivers all those things AND you are happy with it and it works smoothly without causing you more work. But, from a straight pricing question, I think you could have done a little better on the price - probably right here on the WF. That site is not very complicated or large. It is a nice clean design (which is easy to do).
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