Joe, just bought your book. Looking forward to starting this afternoon. Thanks!
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum:
Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
SPONSORED: GiganticWebsites.com: We Build Sites with THOUSANDS of Unique and Genuinely Useful Articles
30% to 50% Fastlane-exclusive discounts on WordPress-powered websites with everything included: WordPress setup, design, keyword research, article creation and article publishing. Click HERE to claim.Join over 90,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.
Free registration at the forum removes this block.Joe, just bought your book. Looking forward to starting this afternoon. Thanks!
Joe, just bought your book. Looking forward to starting this afternoon. Thanks!
Woohoo! One in a row!
Great to have a ringside seat as someone gets their first taste of "passive income".
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/
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!
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!
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.
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?
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
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.
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!
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.
Join Fastlane Insiders.