ProBlogger: Conversion Case Study: How I Made $7115 From 85 Unique Visitors

Conversion Case Study: How I Made $7115 From 85 Unique Visitors

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 09:51 AM PDT

This is a guest contribution from Marcus Maclean, of The Million-Dollar Case Study.

Image from DryIcons

Over the years, I’ve created and sold several "how-to" information products online, but none have been as successful as The Million Dollar Case Study. Within days of launching the site, I made $7115 from the first 85 unique visitors.

Since then the site has continued to grow steadily, and I’m still amazed at the conversion statistics. Currently, the squeeze page converts at 67% and the video sales letter at 8.2%.

If you’re struggling to convert browsers into buyers, here’s the exact strategy I’m using. It works in any niche, but it’s particularly effective in competitive, popular niches.

First Off, Your Product And Market Are Everything

Without a doubt, the number-one factor in my success so far is the product and market. The reality is, people in the "make money online" niche are ready and willing to spend money on products they like. Case studies are generally popular in most markets, but especially so in the internet marketing sphere.

If you have lots of traffic but very few conversions, I would take a good long look at your niche and product or service. Ask yourself honestly, "Are there enough interested buyers around?"

If you’re not sure, I highly recommend paying a visit to the ClickBank marketplace to find out. Simply find the category you’re involved in and see if there’s lots of products with a decent gravity (more than 20-30). If there are, you’re in a good niche; if not, that’s your basic problem.

Ignore The Crowd

The single most important factor in improving your conversion rate is your sales letter. If it works, you have a license to print money. If not, again, you’re fighting a losing battle.

The good news is, it’s very easy to get a sales letter or video to convert, but the key is to go against the grain. Most internet marketers copy each other and that simply doesn’t work anymore.

This is the simple process I use that works very well:

First off, I interrupt the same old, same old. Most people expect to hear a long boring sales pitch or a hyped up motivational success story. So I do the exact opposite. I get straight to the point and reveal exactly what my product does, and more importantly, who it can help and who it can’t.

I’m honest about my intentions. I have no idea why most marketers "hide" the sale until later in the sales funnel, when all you have to do is let people know that you’re in business to make money. Everyone knows that anyway, and it makes it a lot easier to ask for the sale.

Authority, customer advocacy and hope are my most powerful weapons. I’m not afraid to assert myself as a leader, let people know that I have their best interests at heart (because I actually do) and inspire them to take action.

My product is unique, different and interesting. If you’re just another "me too", it’s very difficult to stand out in today’s marketplace. That’s why I created a case study; instead of teaching people how to make money online, like most people do, I’m just showing what works.

Finally, I use an ultimatum. This strategy is controversial, but it works. I force people to make a decision by giving them a deadline to buy. If they remain indecisive or on the fence when the time limit expires, I simply take them off my list.

The Real Money Is Made On The Back End

Membership sales have steadily grown since launching The Million Dollar Case Study, and it’s nice to have a regular, passive income, but the real profits come from coaching fees.

The truth is, your front end offer very rarely makes much money, especially if you’re paying for traffic. So the key is to offer a high ticket product or service on the back end to make up the difference.

As long as you’re providing genuine value to your customers, and you’re being open, upfront and honest about your expertise and how you can help them, it’s a fantastic way to earn a living.

One Other Thing – I’m Passionate About My Niche

I’m a firm believer in selling products and services you care about, that you’d personally buy yourself. If you’re not successful online, that’s something you should definitely think about.

In the past I’ve sold products in the weight loss and search engine optimization niches. They sold well, but it was always difficult to motivate myself during the tough times.

Once I started doing what I loved, and selling products and services I believed in, it made my job a lot easier. And besides, your customers can pick up on your enthusiasm, so I believe this is one of the most important factors in determining your conversion rate.

And That’s It

As you can see, it’s not hard. If target the right market and sell what people buy, that’s 90% of the battle. Of course, split testing different elements on your page is important (headline, sub headline, benefits, testimonials, the call to action button and so on), but at the end of the day, if no one wants your products or services, you’re fighting a losing battle.

Marcus Maclean is the founder & CEO of The Million Dollar Case Study, a live video case study detailing exactly how he’s building a brand new million dollar membership website from scratch. To watch the case study unfold, click here.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Conversion Case Study: How I Made $7115 From 85 Unique Visitors

Writing Clinic #2: Raspal Seni’s post - DailyBlogTips

Writing Clinic #2: Raspal Seni’s post

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:21 AM PDT

Thanks for sticking with us on Writing Clinic! Daniel and I have made a few changes to how we're running the clinic – if you want to submit an entry, please take a look at the guidelines and instructions here.

This week's post is by Raspal Seni, who has contributed a couple of great guest pieces to DailyBlogTips in the past.

Thanks, Raspal, for submitting this!

It's already published on his blog as 6 Common Blog Header Mistakes You Should Avoid.

raspal-common-header-mistakes

I won't reprint the post here as it's quite long, but I suggest you give it a read before taking a look at my comments. Where I comment on specific sentences, I'll quote them.

What's Working Well

As you'd expect from a DBT guest poster, Raspal's doing a lot of things right. I'll go through the three things that stand out most to me:

#1: Clear Title and Topic

Raspal has chosen one specific topic for this post: mistakes made with blog headers. (The header is the long banner running along the top of the blog, giving the blog's title, and possibly tagline.)

The title makes a clear promise, includes a number, and has the powerful word "mistakes" — no-one wants to make mistakes, so they're likely to click on this title to find out if they're doing things right!

#2: Great Structure

The post is structured as a list, with six numbered sections, each with a subheading. This makes it really easy to follow and read (and hopefully it was straightforward for Raspal to write, too).

I was particularly impressed that Raspal's kept each section to roughly the same length (2 – 3 paragraphs) and that he starts each subheading with a verb. These small things can make a big difference in how your post comes across.

#3: Call to Action

One of the key mistakes I see bloggers making is leaving off the call to action at the end of their posts. Raspal has a great one here: "Let me know if you have seen any other header mistakes, which I missed, in the comments below."

Why is this so important? Readers sometimes need a specific invite and encouragement to leave comments. Raspal's given a clear suggestion for what they can add.

So with all that in mind, this is a very strong post as is. But almost every post has room for improvement – so here are some suggested changes for Raspal.

What Raspal Might Change

1. Link to a Source for Statistics

In the first subsection of his post, Raspal writes:

"You surely know that a picture speaks a thousand words. It's also said that images/visuals impact you 60,000 times faster that mere text. So, make sure to use your blog header to your advantage."

"A picture speaks a thousand words" is so widely known that there's no need to link to a source, but the statistic that "images/visuals impact you 60,000 times faster than mere text" is new to me. I'd have liked a link to where Raspal found this.

Another good place for a reference to a source is when Raspal writes, "Most people suggest a header height of 200 pixels". It might be good to link to an example here, perhaps "Most people (such as EXPERT NAME from BLOG) suggest a header height of 200 pixels."

Also, a quick typo heads-up, Raspal: you've got "that" where you want "than".

2. Cut the Post Length Slightly

Like many blogger, Raspal sometimes uses more words than he needed. That's absolutely fine in a first draft, but it's a good idea to do an extra edit before posting to trim out unnecessary words.

Here are a few changes I'd make.

Original:

"If you're not using a header, login to your WordPress dashboard (or any other dashboard, if using another blog platform) and add a nice looking header image."

New:

"If you're not using a header, login to your blog's dashboard and add a nice looking header image."

Original:

"Having a good header is important. It's the first thing a visitor notices when they visit your blog. You have less than a few seconds to impress them or drive them away. So, use a good header and take advantage."

New:

Cut this bit altogether. It makes the same points as the introduction.

Original:

"If your blog header's height is more than 300 pixels, edit it using any image editor, and resize it to be in 200 – 300 pixels. Even MS Paint can resize it if you have Windows 7 or later. Otherwise, use an image editing program. I advise using SNAGGIT."

New:

"If your blog header's height is more than 300 pixels, edit it using any image editor (I recommend SNAGGIT), and resize it to be in 200 – 300 pixels."

(Note: I'd add a link to SNAGGIT here.)

3. Use More than One Word for Anchor Text

This is a really picky point, but I try to avoid using single words for the anchor text for links. In the fourth subsection of his post, Raspal writes:

"You can refer this color combination chart or this before choosing your title/tagline color."

(Typo heads-up again: the word "to" is missing between "refer" and "this".)

On a desktop or laptop, it's no problem to click those links. On a tablet or mobile, though, it can be quite fiddly to hit a single word link without zooming in (at least for me – maybe I have fat fingers!) It's also often a good idea to give slightly more information in the anchor link, e.g. "this color combination chart on About.com".

And that's it! As you can see, all my suggestions for Raspal are really quite picky ones. I thought this was a great post overall, and I think with just a little bit of tweaking, it could be an excellent one.

Do you have a suggestion for Raspal? Or did you spot something that he did really well that I missed? Leave a comment below.

If you'd like to take part in Writing Clinic, click here to find out how.

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