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Building a Second Income Before the Second Kid

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Joe Cassandra

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Joe, just bought your book. Looking forward to starting this afternoon. Thanks!

You're helping fill a dream I've always had of passive income.

I write copy and do well...but it's not fastlane. You gave me the first taste of the fastlane, so you've made my week. Thanks :)
 

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Joe Cassandra

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Woohoo! One in a row!


Great to have a ringside seat as someone gets their first taste of "passive income".

Up to 6 at the moment :D...

Just to be clear to all readers...this book is $7 and is simply an upsell after someone requests the free report. This IS NOT the course I'm creating, fyi.

The course won't be launched until I reach a certain amount of subscribers.

Joe, thanks for sharing your progress.

This recent post might have some gold nuggets to help on your journey:

https://copyhackers.com/2017/09/course-launch-tech-stack/

Thanks a bunch! Definitely agree on their recs about doing 'just enough' for your software. Don't look for perfect. If I did that, I'd still be at the beginning.

I'm also using ConvertKit as they recommended. Enjoy it so far especially the automated sequences. Allows me to focus on other stuff and let it run in the background.

Most email providers have this, but CK is so simple to use after you've played around with it for an hour, it makes sense. Plus, super easy to implement into OptimizePress, as I've done.

-----------
UPDATE:

Had a couple people interested in my "job opp" for writing influencer posts. Will see how they turn out. This piece is important as they won't be writing "blog posts" in a traditional sense.

They will be lead magnets to get influencers affiliated with my site. As I mentioned above, I've connected with a handful of influencers in the past, so they've chatted with me. About 20-30 of them. If I could get a few of them to share a post, it could bring in a few dozen subscribers, which would work awesome.

Also, got FB ads running right now. Will let them sit for 3-4 days before making any changes, so will update once those are out.

I already screwed them up.

I put the "conversion pixel" on the landing page, not on the page after they opt-in. So, I'm having trouble gauging how many optins I get from FB and from those probably here on the Forum opting-in.

I've been advised not to touch anything in the first few days or it messes up the ads. So I'll have to change it afterwards.

Budget for those is about $250/day.
 

Joe Cassandra

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Okay, update time...!

Been running FB ads for 4 days. That's pretty much been the extent of what I've worked on.

I didn't set up the pixel correctly, so I can't provide a screenshot (fixed it so can provide it next time).

I spent around $1,000 in ads. Subscriber count at 269. upload_2017-9-17_8-49-51.png

For the $7 book upsell, I've sold 18 [one guy had to pay through Paypal]. So, net sales of $126.70
upload_2017-9-17_8-51-5.png

Thus, net cost of ads = $874.
Cost per new subscriber = $3.25

I'll take that! I expected around $5 per new lead, so this is on the right path for me.

Already got great feedback on the $7 book, so that's a sure sign.
Unfortunately, it's not converting at near the percent I'd like. Right now, it's around 7%.

I'd ideally like to see 10 - 15% for an upsell. 8% is the standard conversion, but I'd like to see higher.

One thing I did was if they missed the $7 upsell, I pitch the book later for $12 (because it was a one-time offer) and gotten a few sales from that. I'll take it!

Upped the ad budget. The idea is to launch the course around Sept 30th and be at around 1,000 subscribers when I do. Work to do!
 

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Okay, update time...!

Been running FB ads for 4 days. That's pretty much been the extent of what I've worked on.

I didn't set up the pixel correctly, so I can't provide a screenshot (fixed it so can provide it next time).

I spent around $1,000 in ads. Subscriber count at 269. View attachment 16379

For the $7 book upsell, I've sold 18 [one guy had to pay through Paypal]. So, net sales of $126.70
View attachment 16380

Thus, net cost of ads = $874.
Cost per new subscriber = $3.25

I'll take that! I expected around $5 per new lead, so this is on the right path for me.

Already got great feedback on the $7 book, so that's a sure sign.
Unfortunately, it's not converting at near the percent I'd like. Right now, it's around 7%.

I'd ideally like to see 10 - 15% for an upsell. 8% is the standard conversion, but I'd like to see higher.

One thing I did was if they missed the $7 upsell, I pitch the book later for $12 (because it was a one-time offer) and gotten a few sales from that. I'll take it!

Upped the ad budget. The idea is to launch the course around Sept 30th and be at around 1,000 subscribers when I do. Work to do!

Just a thought I had, as I don't recall everything about your Upsell page. Not sure how valuable it will be.

Is it a standard option on your site to pay through Paypal? I paid for your book with my card, but when you mentioned that one person paid through Paypal I realized that I don't think I had that option. Since I know and trust you, I didn't mind giving you my info. But, if I had just stumbled upon your site, I may have been more hesistant, especially if there wasn't a Paypal choice. I might start thinking, "Shit, why can't I use Paypal. Is this person trying to steal my card?"

Not exactly the most logical thought process, but many of us are especially hesitant when it comes to payment details online.

-

Also, your book was a damn good purchase. Definitely worth the money! If you need a review or anything, just let me know! :)
 
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Joe Cassandra

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Just a thought I had, as I don't recall everything about your Upsell page. Not sure how valuable it will be.

Is it a standard option on your site to pay through Paypal? I paid for your book with my card, but when you mentioned that one person paid through Paypal I realized that I don't think I had that option. Since I know and trust you, I didn't mind giving you my info. But, if I had just stumbled upon your site, I may have been more hesistant, especially if there wasn't a Paypal choice. I might start thinking, "Shit, why can't I use Paypal. Is this person trying to steal my card?"

Not exactly the most logical thought process, but many of us are especially hesitant when it comes to payment details online.

-

Also, your book was a damn good purchase. Definitely worth the money! If you need a review or anything, just let me know! :)

This is interesting. I felt Stripe was secure enough but I see what you mean.

I'm going to add a PayPal link tonight and test the conversions. Thanks for bringing that up!

------

You're awesome for buying the book. If you want to leave a review here or send me a PM, I'd be in your debt :)
 

Joe Cassandra

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Update time!

So, for now I've been ramping up FB ads and it's been going great to bring leads into the funnel. For now, I've put my "content strategy' on the backburner right now (the opp. mentioned on Sep 12th)

I've put it aside for now because I'm looking to launch this course next week, so need all my focus there rather than organic building.

Here's my list right now:
upload_2017-9-21_9-17-58.png

Since September 12th, I've spent $2,942 on FB ads. However, some of that is mitigated by my $7 book sales. Thanks to @Invictus advice, I added a Paypal button. Now, it seems everyone is only paying through Paypal!!

Yesterday, I doubled my normal sales of the book! And today, I woke up to 7 new sales after only 55 opt-ins...that's a freakin' 12.7% conversion on a cold funnel which is above average...

Problem is: I'm having trouble implementing Paypal into my site. For awhile yesterday, I had to manually send the books to people as the site kept breaking when they ordered! I found a work around for the moment, but for the course launch, I might not be able to pull that off!

-----------------
Here's the metrics so far:

This is where it gets exciting:

upload_2017-9-21_9-22-3.png

Notice how the CPC dropped a ton. I can only correlate adding Paypal as the reason for the spike in sales yesterday (hat tip again to Invictus)...then look at the cost per lead on the right....

Look how fast it's dropping!!!Cost per lead is calculated by: [ADSPEND - SALES (from book)] / LEADS].

How did that happen?

Optimizing like mad my FB ads. I'll probably share a whole post on my FB ads method another time. [To be honest...1 ad is stomping every other ad I wrote by 100X...I'll share it in the future]

-----------------------------
NEXT UP: ...Worries...

So, I was reading a post by Ramit Sethi yesterday. He talked about spending $2 MILLION on Fb ads (here: it's actually a sales letter but in the middle he talks about it) and it resulted in tens of thousands in subscribers but only 2 sales. I don't know how much he's stretching the truth to make his point so I'm not sure.

So, obviously I'm worried all these subscribers will result in 0 sales. As you can see, I'm getting entry level buyers, which should increase the chances of backend sales. Who knows....we will know in 2 weeks!
---------
On the work-side...it's simply pumping out more ads and then finishing writing the sales emails. Then, cart open!

Stay tuned!
 

rogue synthetic

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Great to see it working out for you, Joe.

NEXT UP: ...Worries...

So, I was reading a post by Ramit Sethi yesterday. He talked about spending $2 MILLION on Fb ads (here: it's actually a sales letter but in the middle he talks about it) and it resulted in tens of thousands in subscribers but only 2 sales. I don't know how much he's stretching the truth to make his point so I'm not sure.

So, obviously I'm worried all these subscribers will result in 0 sales. As you can see, I'm getting entry level buyers, which should increase the chances of backend sales. Who knows....we will know in 2 weeks!

It's interesting that he didn't mention here what these ads were for. The other night on the webinar for this program, he told this same story, but it was in the context of running contests and giveaways to attract new subscribers. He did make a few comments about how PPC doesn't scale very well, so maybe he's sour on all of it.

It will be interesting to see what kind of conversions you get, either way.
 
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Joe Cassandra

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Great to see it working out for you, Joe.



It's interesting that he didn't mention here what these ads were for. The other night on the webinar for this program, he told this same story, but it was in the context of running contests and giveaways to attract new subscribers. He did make a few comments about how PPC doesn't scale very well, so maybe he's sour on all of it.

It will be interesting to see what kind of conversions you get, either way.

Yeah, I don't know. I'm a copywriter, so everything in a sales presentations usually isn't the whole story (admittedly...).

I'm betting he spent $2M over his "years" of testing FB ads [from Ramit: "We spent years testing and optimizing our Facebook ads."] But, if most of the time they were getting 1% CTR and 3% opt-in...it really comes down to "Who the $&%* was running his campaigns?" not that FB ads don't work.

I'm fairly a FB ads newbie...I took one training on it...and I'm getting up to 51% opt-ins to my LP. Then a 5-9% conversion on the tripwire. If my conversion on a tripwire is better than your optin to get something free...you need to sue whoever you hired.

-----------
Who knows? So far, I've gotten great feedback on the free book and $7 book. Only negative talk has been on the FB ads ("this is a scam" or my personal favorite..."wow, you added a hyphen between 'well-paying', yeah, we're expected to believe you're a writer? Scam") , I am a writer and still make grammar mistakes and spelling mistakes...*gasp*

So I'm excited to see if this is a home run or a bunt :)
 

JustKris

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Great progress! You've definitely inspired me to dive into the FB funnel. $1.17 per lead is great. Even a 1% conversion would still put you at, what, 800% ROI? Awesome, man.

Are you using anything like Ad Espresso to optimize your ads?
 

Joe Cassandra

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Great progress! You've definitely inspired me to dive into the FB funnel. $1.17 per lead is great. Even a 1% conversion would still put you at, what, 800% ROI? Awesome, man.

Are you using anything like Ad Espresso to optimize your ads?

Thanks! I use Qwaya to hit more ad sets in a faster timeframe. Because each ad set takes 3-4 ads, multiplied by 25 ad sets and you got a lot of grudge work.

Qwaya offers a 14-day free trial. So, I just jumped in there when i was about to start, rip off the ads, and see how the first launch goes without paying them a dime. If the course sells great, Qwaya's worth the investment, if not (meaning the leads generated from FB are mush) then no sweat.
 
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Joe Cassandra

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CRUNCH TIME ---> LAUNCH OF THE COURSE THIS WEEK

Alright, today marks the first day of the launch of the course...
What does that mean?

Well, the plan is to lead into the course sales page with a 3-part video series packed with value. I mean, these are 2-3 hours of content given away for free...no fluff. All as a way to build credibility, excitement and trust.

Here's the link to the opt-in page if anyone wanted to watch the launch from the inside.
------------------
How am I looking leading into this...

SUBSCRIBER COUNT (up to right now): 2,329

$7 BOOKS SOLD: 208 [conversion rate at a hair under 9%. my goal was 10% so on-par]

GROSS SPENT ON FB ADS: $5,786.
TOTAL SALES FROM BOOK: $1,491 [a few purchased the $12 second chance offer]
NET SPENT ON FB ADS: $4,295

My goal was to spend $5k or less, so right on par with that.

However....

----------
Leading into the 3-part video launch, I'll be launching fresh new ads for the next 2-3 days to send folks right to 3-part video (no book/upsell). That'll come out to about another $1,500 in ad spend. So, I'll be a bit over in my goal. But, I wanted to test if sending people from cold-traffic ---> 3-part series ---> sales page converts better or worst than those who read my free book/buy the upsell, etc.

I don't expect them to do better, but I want to see how far off in conversions it will be.

WHAT'S LEFT TO DO?

Really, it's watching the FB ads and tweaking the delivery of emails so everyone who gets the video series is also getting all the emails until we close. I'll be responding to emails from folks, banning people who write "scammer" and correct my grammar on my FB ads, then crossing my fingers for the actual sales page launch on Thursday night (eastern time).

I have a major goal of at least 50 sales (about $50k in gross). Talking to other course creators, they say to expect your first course launch to do around $5,000.

Am I overreaching?...haha...we will see. I expect one of us to be right :)
 

JustKris

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CRUNCH TIME ---> LAUNCH OF THE COURSE THIS WEEK

Alright, today marks the first day of the launch of the course...
What does that mean?

Well, the plan is to lead into the course sales page with a 3-part video series packed with value. I mean, these are 2-3 hours of content given away for free...no fluff. All as a way to build credibility, excitement and trust.

Here's the link to the opt-in page if anyone wanted to watch the launch from the inside.
------------------
How am I looking leading into this...

SUBSCRIBER COUNT (up to right now): 2,329

$7 BOOKS SOLD: 208 [conversion rate at a hair under 9%. my goal was 10% so on-par]

GROSS SPENT ON FB ADS: $5,786.
TOTAL SALES FROM BOOK: $1,491 [a few purchased the $12 second chance offer]
NET SPENT ON FB ADS: $4,295

My goal was to spend $5k or less, so right on par with that.

However....

----------
Leading into the 3-part video launch, I'll be launching fresh new ads for the next 2-3 days to send folks right to 3-part video (no book/upsell). That'll come out to about another $1,500 in ad spend. So, I'll be a bit over in my goal. But, I wanted to test if sending people from cold-traffic ---> 3-part series ---> sales page converts better or worst than those who read my free book/buy the upsell, etc.

I don't expect them to do better, but I want to see how far off in conversions it will be.

WHAT'S LEFT TO DO?

Really, it's watching the FB ads and tweaking the delivery of emails so everyone who gets the video series is also getting all the emails until we close. I'll be responding to emails from folks, banning people who write "scammer" and correct my grammar on my FB ads, then crossing my fingers for the actual sales page launch on Thursday night (eastern time).

I have a major goal of at least 50 sales (about $50k in gross). Talking to other course creators, they say to expect your first course launch to do around $5,000.

Am I overreaching?...haha...we will see. I expect one of us to be right :)

The video launch and email drip look great, man. Also, snagged a copy of the $7 ebook---solid stuff!

50 sales with 2300 subscribers isn't crazy at all. Just a hair over 2% conversion, which is pretty standard.

You're inspiring me to step my game up. Good luck with the launch!
 

Joe Cassandra

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LAUNCH UPDATE ---> BIG FAILURE:

Just packed up launching my course last night. The course was $997 for lifetime access with a 5-day window it opened.

By the end of it, I didn't even get within a mile of my 50 sales goal. I had mega-high hopes with all the emails I was getting, and the interest my free info was garnering.

RECAP:

On Tuesday (last week), I released a 3-part video series going from: picking a niche --> mistakes to avoid ---> 5 steps to close your first client in 30 days.

I had high hopes for the video series thinking it would be a slam dunk. Like I mentioned above, I ran FB ads during the 3-part video series. Essentially, someone would see ads for the video series rather than the free book (as I was doing before).

The FB ads for the video were much more expensive. The cost-per-lead higher. However, the landing page conversion was on par with the free book. I targeted similar audiences, so it must come down to the copy of the ad:

upload_2017-10-4_8-58-26.png
(The green portion is the 3-part video series ad. Notice the large spikes in costs with less leads). I didn't expect to sell more books as the opt-in didn't go to an upsell page.

In the end, I essentially started the launch with about 2,450 subscribers. Some from the free book and now being pushed to the 3-part video...others solely to the 3-part video series (they never received a free book)

Again, I thought this free video series would bring home the bacon because I packed mega-value (for free) in it. Unfortunately, not too many people took part:

(snapshot from this morning...5 days after the last video launched)
upload_2017-10-4_8-49-19.png
As you can see, not too many folks even watched the videos. Granted, they weren't 5 minute videos. Each video was a 20-60 minute value piece, so I can understand people not having time to watch them.
I'm betting most of the "349" were from those who watched from the FB ads, not from my actual list who got the free book.

I'm not sure why that is... Could those who opt-in for a free book be "non-video" people?

As you can imagine, this was a foreshadowing of what was to come. If no one is getting value, why would they give me value ($$$).

---------------
On Friday, I kicked open the doors to ELITE. I had visions of the 50 sales I was going to hit (as that was my goal above).

I now chuckle to myself for all the wide visions I had...

At the end of Day 1, I thought I had failed. We were out eating pizza and my phone buzzed. Customer #1! (it was nice to see, because the sale was to a forum member here).

Then, later that night *ding* another one! Okay now we're rollin'...

That was it for Day 1.

Day 2 (a Saturday) saw another sale come in! Woop. Still 47 off my goal, but it was great to see at least I was selling something, right?

Day 3 (Sunday)....0
Day 4 (Monday)...0

Just to give you an idea, here was my email sequence:
- Day 1 of ELITE - (1) email -- open email
- Day 2 of ELITE - (1) email -- open email
- Day 3 of ELITE - (1) email -- scarcity email
- Day 4 of ELITE - (2) emails --- (1) bonus video they can watch (2) price justification for the course
- Day 5 of ELITE - (3) emails --- (1) scarcity email (2) price justification (3) Game over

As you can imagine, I'm shedding subscribers left and right here...unsubscribes everytime an email goes out (sometimes up to 25 people unsubscribing at once).

In the end, I'm left with about 2,300 subscribers after this launch.

------------
During this launch, I'm getting emails from folks with encouraging words:

"You put out great information, but I just can't afford this"
"I lost my job and making $8 per hour...can you help me for free?"
"I'm unsubscribing...this isn't relevant to me"
(wtf?)

Here's my favorite one:
upload_2017-10-4_9-18-58.png

:)
Those are hilarious. Oh, and the person who wrote me this email was one that asked "Hey, can you give this to me for free. At some point, I can repay you...I'm struggling with my bills now."

------------
Okay...yesterday saw the biggest sales bump.
But, don't get your expectations high.

The morning of Day 5 went with 0 sales. Then, I logged into my email yesterday and saw another sale! Fast forwarding, in the end, I saw 3 more sales come in.

For a grand total of...7. Way off from my 50 goal. Somewhat discouraging. At the same time, I'm very grateful for the 7 who took the plunge with me.

With the course, I'm offering a 60-day guarantee...thus, I expect at least 1-2 of those as that's fairly common with higher ticket courses.

I had one lady reach out this morning saying she missed the deadline and she wants in. I could've had sale 8, but my word throughout the launch is "this is it". If I start slacking on my word there, where would it stop?

In the end, after ad spend and merchant fees, I'll make about $1,000 :). A lot of work for a $1,000! But, now I have some assets to leverage, plus an email list that may buy in the future.

--------
WHAT DID I LEARN & OPEN QUESTIONS:

1.) I started my course (and this thread) basically August 1st. About 2 months later, I had a business launched and profitable. Yes, it's an info-product which many frown upon here. However, I picked up many skills about email marketing and FB ads.

2.) It seems I can get cold traffic folks to buy a cheap $7 book, but for higher ticket items, it's going to be a longer sales cycle. I reached out to a popular online marketer asking him, and this is what he said:

upload_2017-10-4_9-32-4.png

What's your experience with cold traffic?

3) I was too cocky in terms of what I believe I could do in a short period of time. I figured with all the people asking about writing that it'd be a walk in the park to make sales of a high ticket course. WRONG! Patience is key.

4) I really enjoy the process of a product and seeing "passive" income roll in vs. my current business of writing. It's a fun contrast to each other.

5) There's nothing like getting people to invest in a product from someone they barely know. They trust me enough to pay $1k to learn from me despite never meeting, etc.

--------
I'll probably take a break from this thread for a bit as I have many client projects and new ELITE members to tend to (not to mention a pregnant wife!).

Thanks!
 
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JustKris

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Dude, that's not a failure at all. And honestly, the email/video combination looked great. I do this stuff all day at an Inc 5000 company and I was really impressed. It reminded me of a Jeff Walker-type launch. You've got the formula, now all you need to do is optimize each part of the system.

It could be adjusting your targeting, so that you're going after more qualified customers. Testing pricing, payment plans, or even just the structure of the sales page. Down the line, you can automate the launch with Deadline Funnel, etc.

Just like you moved your CPL from 7 bucks to 1, now all you have to do is reduce your cost per acquisition and start scaling.

Good job!
 

johnp

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So, I was reading a post by Ramit Sethi yesterday. He talked about spending $2 MILLION on Fb ads (here: it's actually a sales letter but in the middle he talks about it) and it resulted in tens of thousands in subscribers but only 2 sales. I don't know how much he's stretching the truth to make his point so I'm not sure.

haha I saw this too and it freaked me out a little at first, esp because I'm spending a little over 400k per year on ads right now.

To be honest, all of that could be 100% true. I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of people don't really do the math. He said some things that are aligned with what I have heard over the years and also experienced myself.

However, keep in mind that not all audiences are worth the same (being a copywriter you definitely know that already). I'm not exactly sure who Ramit was targeting, but I do know that he has some products in niches where people may not always be so quick to pull out their wallet. I think that's a huge factor. Basically, all of those number really matter like what you're selling to begin with, Average order size, LTV, Target CPA, Value of email list.

PLUS... when it comes to email there is so much more to it then just sending to a big opt-in list. Maybe his email practices suck.

So, I wouldn't be worried. Just keep doing what you're doing and go by your own numbers.
 

Joe Cassandra

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Dude, that's not a failure at all. And honestly, the email/video combination looked great. I do this stuff all day at an Inc 5000 company and I was really impressed. It reminded me of a Jeff Walker-type launch. You've got the formula, now all you need to do is optimize each part of the system.

It could be adjusting your targeting, so that you're going after more qualified customers. Testing pricing, payment plans, or even just the structure of the sales page. Down the line, you can automate the launch with Deadline Funnel, etc.

Just like you moved your CPL from 7 bucks to 1, now all you have to do is reduce your cost per acquisition and start scaling.

Good job!

Yeah, I did a survey of my list, got about 100 responses. Most answers were "cost." Part of it being they don't feel comfortable enough with me yet. The other being maybe they don't see it valuable enough to spend money that makes them uncomfortable.

Weighing some different options including making a smaller, cheaper course for these folks.

Another person recommending trying a monthly subscription model. Meaning, they pay to keep access to the course. Then drip the content to the subscribers so they don't jump after 1 month.

Sounds like a good idea, just need to figure out a way to make sure those 7 that trusted enough to jump in with me feel they're getting MORE value. They're my kiddies right now :)

Already got one email from a subscriber

upload_2017-10-5_20-38-33.png


haha I saw this too and it freaked me out a little at first, esp because I'm spending a little over 400k per year on ads right now.

To be honest, all of that could be 100% true. I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of people don't really do the math. He said some things that are aligned with what I have heard over the years and also experienced myself.

However, keep in mind that not all audiences are worth the same (being a copywriter you definitely know that already). I'm not exactly sure who Ramit was targeting, but I do know that he has some products in niches where people may not always be so quick to pull out their wallet. I think that's a huge factor. Basically, all of those number really matter like what you're selling to begin with, Average order size, LTV, Target CPA, Value of email list.

PLUS... when it comes to email there is so much more to it then just sending to a big opt-in list. Maybe his email practices suck.

So, I wouldn't be worried. Just keep doing what you're doing and go by your own numbers.

Yeah, I'm not sure what they were doing. They got some 40k subscribers and only 2 paying customers. They must be embellishing somewhere...or running worthless like campaigns or something.

I had a blast running the ads. Just need to figure out the funnel and how fast a customer converts. Then, it's going crazy running ads.

Technically, after making 1k, I'm profitable and should just go nuts. But, I need to hone in my offer first before going nuts.
 
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Argue

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Love it! :clap::
 

Joe Cassandra

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IS THIS CRAZY?

So, I saw an ad the other day for a guy I've followed in the IM space awhile. He specializes in list-building. His pitch was to help you get 10,000 subscribers in the next 60-90 days.

As I plan to re-launch this course in January, I felt serendipity in play...I see the dollar signs already from this massive list...

I signed up for a 45 minute strategy session. The guy I talked to was fantastic. We shared a common faith (Catholic) and even both knew some guy I used to work with at my old accounting firm (small world).

The price for 60 days of coaching was just under $4,000.

In the past, I've always be weary of "business coaches." Aren't those just fancy words for 'motivator' or 'accountability partners'. Our 45 minutes turned into 90 minutes as I wrestled with the guy over the phone.

What I found out about myself was: "I'm not worried about wasting $4,000. I'm worried I'll waste my time chasing stupid stuff." After all, i did generate leads at the end of my campaigns for around $1.50 each. I could keep building on that.

Not to mention, I keep getting trickles of people finding my site and buying my book (somehow sold three $7 books today...don't know where these peeps found the site).

However, in the end, I whipped out my business card and went for it.

Here's my thinking:
1) If this works, I could have a monster list leading into January
2) If this works, I'll save myself long hours pondering "what do I do now" to grow my list and get quality peeps
3) The worst that could happen is: I'm out $4k, and I now know business coaches are a waste.

Many scoff at business coaches, but I know Tony Robbins works with many high-end execs. One I saw pays him $1M per year! They must get something out of it.

The greatest shifts in my business life have been after I invested in myself. My first "big" course was in 2016 and I spent $2,500. Largest personal dev course ever.

That summer was cold in terms of leads. But, in August, a whole new path opened up and I haven't looked back. This year, I've invested over $10,000 on myself (tax deductible baby), and I feel it's paying off already.

I start with the coach next week :)
 

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