A Penny For Your Thoughts?

by kemdev
8 replies
I recently threw up a sales page promoting a low-ticket
item to one of my small IM lists. You know, just to push
some buyers further into my sales funnel.

The page converted at nearly 2.8%. Here's the thing,
though... I know it has the potential to do a lot better.

I know what I'm good at and what I'm not good at. Sadly,
copywriting doesn't exactly fall into the first category.
I'd like to change that, however.

http://imformula.com/InstantCashflow/

So here's me giving all of the pros out there a chance
to rip my copy to shreds. While the conversion wasn't
terrible by any means, I know I'm leaving a lot of money
on the table. Especially with the low price.

Failure is, by far, the best teacher. So I'm hoping I can
learn a lot from you guys. If you have a few spare
minutes in your day and wouldn't mind helping a brotha'
out... I'd be eternally grateful.

Hell, there might even be cookies.
#penny #thoughts
  • Profile picture of the author Ross Bowring
    Jesse, you need a cool name for your method.

    Mass Control = cool name

    Butterfly marketing = cool name

    IMmethod is about as vanilla as it gets.

    A bit like in your other letter you had up... where you had eight different methods, IMHO what you need is an overarching idea/name/hook that ties them all together. Then this quick cash product can be pushed as a module of the bigger method. A bit like how Frank Kern pushes his 24hr cash machine (I think it's 24?) as a subset kernel of Mass Control.


    -- Ross
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Enthusiastic
    Originally Posted by Jesse Kemmerer View Post

    I recently threw up a sales page
    Man, that sounds painful. Need some antacid?

    Hell, there might even be cookies.
    After what happened with the sales page that might not be wise.

    The headline says that you offer a way to make $200 each day in just a few minutes. But the benefit is hidden behind some verbal clutter. "If you're not... this is for you." Negative and positive in the same sentence could be confusing. How am I supposed to know how long it takes you to make coffee? Not really interested in buying something that will make me curse my own stupidity. So that whole above the fold stuff could stand a rewrite.

    It took me a while to figure out that the picture is you buried on a beach. At first I thought it was a light gray background with a same tone light gray shirt. Not an immediately obvious picture.

    You refer to an hour a day of work, which seems like a really slow way to make coffee, then you jump back to the time it takes to pour a cup of coffee. Pouring the same cup of coffee for an hour would be a Las Vegas quality magic trick! So I think the timing reference needs a rewrite as well.

    I don't see any guarantee.

    I'd take the affiliates link off the main sales page.

    I agree with Ross that a catchy name would help sell your system. If you wasted time on bogus systems, then you figured out this approach, it might also help to tell some of your experience. Right now, all I can tell is that some guy says he has a system that's NOT these popular things. Beyond that, I really have no idea what I might get if I buy this.

    You might be onto something here but it could really use a significant rewrite.

    Chris
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    • Profile picture of the author RickDuris
      Jesse, copy-wise this is a really good effort.

      The challenge is, unless you selling Rip Van Winkle or someone brand new to IM, this copy will come off as "who care's, so what, big deal."

      Assuming everything you write is true, your copy is begging for a hook, some personality and a story as well as an irresistible offer.

      Otherwise it's so "me, too".

      I don't know you well enough to offer a possible story line, but you need one really bad.

      - Rick Duris
      Signature
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      • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Johnson
        Few things:

        1. Proof: Your letter doesn't go too overboard on claims, but you still need to back the claims you've made with proof. Adding proof of income alone would, I suspect, bump your conversions significantly. If you can, I would suggest putting the product cover graphic lower in the copy and putting a video in its place in which you login to your accounts, giving an immediate, believable payoff on the $200/day income claim. Barring that, a screenshot or two at minimum.

        2. Specifics: $200/day is good... The *exact* amount you average per day, down to the penny, is better. And as Rick Duris suggested above, adding a good story-based "hook" to your headline (if you have a good one) would help. Same goes for the time it takes to put the method into practice: As Mr. Enthusiastic noted, "the time it takes to make a cup of coffee" begs the question: how long does it take? Instant coffee? Cappuccino? Then later on you mention the time it takes to *pour* a cup of coffee. It's just a bit vague. Letting the visitor know upfront that your method is fast and easy is good, but it would be even better if you timed yourself doing it and used that exact time (to the minute). Your headline could then start out,
        "In just x minutes..."
        One of your bullets says 10 minutes, so if that's how long it takes, I'd go with that.

        3. Bullets: Your bullets need some work. One in particular that you need to fix (just as an example) is the one near the top that includes the phrase "low-hanging fruit that no one else wants." Something no one else wants isn't very tantalizing, and I suspect that's not really what you were aiming for here -- consider changing this to read:
        •The super-stealth "Flying Under The Radar" Method that lets you grab the lucrative low-hanging fruit other marketers miss
        Overall, you need to hit more specifics and distinct, targeted buyer benefits in your bullets and avoid overly general language like "How to work less, earn more, and be twice as happy doing what you love." A bullet or headline like that needs a lot of credibility to back it up, and it's far too broad for this ad -- you're selling one simple, specific method the visitor can use to make a quick $200/day, not a lifestyle/self-help program. Mixing your messages like that will only get the reader off-track and looking for justification for the huge, unsubstantiated claim you just made.

        4. Offer: Your offer is vague -- since you're selling one simple method, it's understandable if you don't want to give too much away upfront, but you need to give away enough hints to whet the prospect's appetite. Your goal should be to make the information in the ad "useful but incomplete." Putting the product in a context based on a story about who you are and why the visitor should trust you as the "go to" person for this information would also help. I agree with Ross Bowring about the title, as well -- even something as simple as "The 10 Minute Method" would be an improvement.

        5. Guarantee: Give one. Particularly if you're playing it close to the vest with the nature of the method you're offering. And since PayPal doesn't give you any strict limit on the length of your guarantee, make it a long one -- 90 days minimum. Then over-deliver with unadvertised bonuses on the back-end. Even if this gets you a few refund requests, the people who request a refund would probably have filed a PayPal dispute to get one anyway, and by offering the guarantee you'll snag on-the-fence customers you might have missed otherwise.
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        • Profile picture of the author Hugh Thyer
          Hey Jesse,

          Keep trying the cup of tea thing as a hook. You need something. Get rid of the picture of the product on the first page. Its a waste of valuable real estate. Put a smaller picture of someone making a cup of tea instead if you want to go down this path. This way you promote the fact that it really does only take 6 minutes every day, and this re-enforces it.

          Hugh
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          Ever wondered how copywriters work with their clients? I've answered that very question in detail-> www.salescomefirst.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Says
    My main problem with the sale page was the Arrows pointing towards Add to Cart.

    I myself don't like the whole 'add to cart' picture. It's just the fact that its soooo huge and kinda blurts out click me, way too much. If I was to land on a page like that i'd end up just leaving.

    Also the ebook looks cool, but I think a picture of you (seeing that your young) at the top would be much more noticeable, somewhat like how michael brown did with Niche Blitzkrieg.

    It's a program I signed up for basically because the sales page was superb.

    However I do like the sales page overall, are you actually making 200$+ a day btw?
    Signature

    My name is Justin Lewis. My digital marketing company has been in business for over 10 years with multiple six-figure years. We do provide a premium web design service.

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  • Profile picture of the author kemdev
    Thanks for everyone's input.

    Sounds like I have some serious work to put
    into this thing. I'm going to be spending some
    time with it tomorrow... and I'll definitely be
    referring back to this thread a time or two in
    the process.

    Thanks again for all your input, guys. I really,
    really appreciate it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Sam Mlambo
    Hey Jesse,

    You got some good stuff. I'd suggest adding a sales hook to your letter, so you hit the emotional triggers in a more powerful way.

    - Sam
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