Wow, it's been a long time since the last time I posted here. I guess I've just been getting on with developing my business. Well, over the last two weeks I am now officially self-employed. Exciting, and fairly scary too.
I run an online science course provider aimed at younger learners. My sales were just about enough to justify quitting my job. (Plus I have a child with special needs and live in the United Kingdom so will get 12 months support if my income drops below a certain threshold so there is a safety net if everything goes wrong. But I don't anticipate it will)
My product is a fairly low value item, but very high margins. Over the last 6 months I've averaged 2.4 sales a day (some of those are a subscription basis some are not) So I'm earning, just enough.
However, I have set myself a very clear target, to get my average sales up to 6 a day over the next 6 months and then 10+ a day on the following 6 months. Very achievable targets. If I manage 10 sales a day I'll be earning just under 6 figures. So getting to that point is key for now. Once I have achieved it I can look at further growth to really kick on and make that million.
So far my marketing strategy has involved
Placing sample videos on Youtube to drive traffic to the site. (I get about 11,000 views a month right now)
The usual social media garbage, mainly Facebook, but starting with others too. (None of which is paid yet)
Running competitions and advertising them through competition aggregators. (Losing entrants get an email with a discount code)
Outreach to bloggers etc. (Very time consuming with limited results)
General SEO
Email lists, including messaging current customers about referring friends, the referrer gets an account upgrade, the referree gets a discount.
My plans for the future in terms of marketing include
Paid Facebook and Google advertising - However I am wary about this, despite my products currently having a high margin, their low initial value means the cost of advertising may be prohibitive.
Trying to get on platforms such as Groupon etc (although the impression I get is that I am too small for that right now)
So, my question is, if you were in my position, what would your steps be to help grow such a business? Where would you focus your efforts first?
Also any suggestions about how I can improve my site to increase sales would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
I run an online science course provider aimed at younger learners. My sales were just about enough to justify quitting my job. (Plus I have a child with special needs and live in the United Kingdom so will get 12 months support if my income drops below a certain threshold so there is a safety net if everything goes wrong. But I don't anticipate it will)
My product is a fairly low value item, but very high margins. Over the last 6 months I've averaged 2.4 sales a day (some of those are a subscription basis some are not) So I'm earning, just enough.
However, I have set myself a very clear target, to get my average sales up to 6 a day over the next 6 months and then 10+ a day on the following 6 months. Very achievable targets. If I manage 10 sales a day I'll be earning just under 6 figures. So getting to that point is key for now. Once I have achieved it I can look at further growth to really kick on and make that million.
So far my marketing strategy has involved
Placing sample videos on Youtube to drive traffic to the site. (I get about 11,000 views a month right now)
The usual social media garbage, mainly Facebook, but starting with others too. (None of which is paid yet)
Running competitions and advertising them through competition aggregators. (Losing entrants get an email with a discount code)
Outreach to bloggers etc. (Very time consuming with limited results)
General SEO
Email lists, including messaging current customers about referring friends, the referrer gets an account upgrade, the referree gets a discount.
My plans for the future in terms of marketing include
Paid Facebook and Google advertising - However I am wary about this, despite my products currently having a high margin, their low initial value means the cost of advertising may be prohibitive.
Trying to get on platforms such as Groupon etc (although the impression I get is that I am too small for that right now)
So, my question is, if you were in my position, what would your steps be to help grow such a business? Where would you focus your efforts first?
Also any suggestions about how I can improve my site to increase sales would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
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