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I've designed an innovative rhythm guitar course which solves a problem, but it doesn't sell as I expected

stefanoesposito

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Hi everyone,

I never write but I often read the Forum, The Millionaire Fastlane has literally changed my life and my approach to business.

Finally I write here of my entrepreneurial project in the field of music education, which I have been dealing with for years.

In practice, I created an innovative guitar course which I called "Air Strumming".

It's an interactive e-book with links to private videos and audios.
Air Strumming solves the rhythm problem for those who start studying guitar. Its innovation lies in the Strummigram: a completely new rhythm diagram that I designed to allow those who follow the course to "visualize the tempo" and the rhythm of the picking, including the "ghost picking" that you have to give "in the air" (that's why "Air Strumming ") while you play, in order to keep the tempo and the groove.

The Strummigram allows you to play always with the right timing and accents because it divides the downbeat and the upbeat into colored rectangles (see the image below).

33235

Now, I write here because maybe you all can help me with your suggestions about how and where to promote it.

I have a guitar-niche-focused audience on my Instagram page (@gibson.lespaul.fanpage), so the product has been known by many people but they're not buying it as I expected.

I think Air Strumming could be defined as a CENTS product:

C (control) = It's my course sold on my website.
E (entry) = The barrier is not so low, after all, it's not easy to write a guitar course.
N (need) = The problem could lie here: this course is on the rhythm niche, not the solo niche, so people could think they don't need it because it's not a "Become a Guitar Monster" course :)
T (time) = It's on an e-commerce so it can sell 24/7.
S (scale) = It's online and worldwide.

Any suggestions?

If you want to see the e-book's landing page you can click HERE.

Thanks in advance for your replies
 
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Last edited:

Digamma

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I have three simple points.
  • You have a specific solution to a specific problem, and that's good. But who is the market? Who has this specific problem? You don't seem to have identified who they are. Identify the specific segment you're selling to.
  • Your sales messaging is confused. You're not really communicating the idea. You need to tell me why I have really been struggling with rhythm, and what's unique about your solution. You need to give me a "ah-ah!" moment. I have to think "ahh, that's why my strumming sucks!". Don't tell me it's an awesome method, show me what I've been missing, how it changes everything, and why your thing is how I solve the problem.
  • Who is this sales page for? Do they know you already or not? Are they failing because of rhythm problems, or is it just a weak spot they haven't really thought about in years? You have to know exactly where the mind of your customer is at when they read. You don't, because if you did it would be obvious from the copy.
Figure out the above, then rewrite your copy from scratch. Or have a pro do it for you.

No point in going through the copy itself as the fundamental elements outlined above aren't there yet. Da una rapa non si cava sangue.

Clarify your message first.
 

stefanoesposito

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I have three simple points.
  • You have a specific solution to a specific problem, and that's good. But who is the market? Who has this specific problem? You don't seem to have identified who they are. Identify the specific segment you're selling to.
  • Your sales messaging is confused. You're not really communicating the idea. You need to tell me why I have really been struggling with rhythm, and what's unique about your solution. You need to give me a "ah-ah!" moment. I have to think "ahh, that's why my strumming sucks!". Don't tell me it's an awesome method, show me what I've been missing, how it changes everything, and why your thing is how I solve the problem.
  • Who is this sales page for? Do they know you already or not? Are they failing because of rhythm problems, or is it just a weak spot they haven't really thought about in years? You have to know exactly where the mind of your customer is at when they read. You don't, because if you did it would be obvious from the copy.
Figure out the above, then rewrite your copy from scratch. Or have a pro do it for you.

No point in going through the copy itself as the fundamental elements outlined above aren't there yet. Da una rapa non si cava sangue.

Clarify your message first.

Dear Digamma,

You wrote an invaluable comment, thank you so much!

I'll work on all the points you suggest me!
 

ZCP

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i struggle with rhythm guitar. i have disposable income to buy your product. i am your target market.

feedback:
your message makes no sense. your page took forever to load. your 'above the fold' page has nothing to do with guitar. page looks like it's from the 90's. no video. was their even sound? and from what i can figure out, you took a bunch of songs and added yellow / blue up / down boxes? how do i play Metallica??
 
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The-J

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Hi:

You've found a real need here, and it looks like your solution might actually be a good one.

But as others have mentioned here, you've failed to address several things.

  1. Who are you selling to? Who are they? What are they like? What kind of music do they enjoy? What is their current guitar skill level? Do they perform in front of people often, and if they do, why?
  2. What motivates them to improve their rhythm guitar skills?
  3. Why would I use this product to improve my rhythm guitar skills?
  4. How long will it take me to improve, and what effort is required on my part?
  5. What will I sound like after I buy this product?
  6. Why would I buy this over literally any other rhythm guitar tutorial? Is it because of who invented it? Is it because of who used it? Is it because it promises great results? Is it because it's low effort?
  7. Is this something I can learn for free, and if not, why not? What's so special and secret about it?
  8. Who can vouch that this stuff works?
 

Fid

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As a self-taught guitar player, I'm your target market too.

My feedback:
- the sales page is confusing, it's lengthy like one of those $1997 sketchy sales programs and you sell a $19 ebook
- I don't really understand what it's all about
- the blue-yellow diagram makes it MORE confusing to me

The product seems okay, the need is definitely there. It should sell well when presented to a proper audience in a proper way.

I don't want yellow and blue diagrams with dots. I want better guitar skills.

Make the sales page waaay shorter and simpler. Focus on the problem, show you have a solution, list a handful of benefits, demonstrate it in action (a short video?) - that's where I'd start.

Good luck!
 

stefanoesposito

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i struggle with rhythm guitar. i have disposable income to buy your product. i am your target market.

feedback:
your message makes no sense. your page took forever to load. your 'above the fold' page has nothing to do with guitar. page looks like it's from the 90's. no video. was their even sound? and from what i can figure out, you took a bunch of songs and added yellow / blue up / down boxes? how do i play Metallica??

Thanks for replying ZCP,

My manual is mainly for strumming, so it's not related to palm muting techniques like Metallica, etc.
Anyway it can be really useful for funk, pop, rock.

I have to improve the loading time of the pages, I don't know why it takes so long, and its look :)

I'm going to produce also a video.

I didn't understand what you said about "above the fold".

Thank you all for your feedbacks!
I'm here to learn _/\_
 
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stefanoesposito

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Hi:

You've found a real need here, and it looks like your solution might actually be a good one.

But as others have mentioned here, you've failed to address several things.

  1. Who are you selling to? Who are they? What are they like? What kind of music do they enjoy? What is their current guitar skill level? Do they perform in front of people often, and if they do, why?
  2. What motivates them to improve their rhythm guitar skills?
  3. Why would I use this product to improve my rhythm guitar skills?
  4. How long will it take me to improve, and what effort is required on my part?
  5. What will I sound like after I buy this product?
  6. Why would I buy this over literally any other rhythm guitar tutorial? Is it because of who invented it? Is it because of who used it? Is it because it promises great results? Is it because it's low effort?
  7. Is this something I can learn for free, and if not, why not? What's so special and secret about it?
  8. Who can vouch that this stuff works?
Hi:

You've found a real need here, and it looks like your solution might actually be a good one.

But as others have mentioned here, you've failed to address several things.

  1. Who are you selling to? Who are they? What are they like? What kind of music do they enjoy? What is their current guitar skill level? Do they perform in front of people often, and if they do, why?
  2. What motivates them to improve their rhythm guitar skills?
  3. Why would I use this product to improve my rhythm guitar skills?
  4. How long will it take me to improve, and what effort is required on my part?
  5. What will I sound like after I buy this product?
  6. Why would I buy this over literally any other rhythm guitar tutorial? Is it because of who invented it? Is it because of who used it? Is it because it promises great results? Is it because it's low effort?
  7. Is this something I can learn for free, and if not, why not? What's so special and secret about it?
  8. Who can vouch that this stuff works?

I'm selling mostly to beginners: advanced guitarists already perform the air strokes.
My e-book is focused on the strumming motion you have to perform "in the air" when you don't have to strum on the strings.

The right hand has to keep on strumming even when it's not required, otherwise your strumming technique is not fluid and beginners don't know that, they don't do that.

So, if a beginner studies my e-book and does the gradual exercises, he can improve faster in that direction, and he can become a better player sooner.

P.S.: thank you all, you're helping me getting more focused on my target
 

stefanoesposito

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As a self-taught guitar player, I'm your target market too.

My feedback:
- the sales page is confusing, it's lengthy like one of those $1997 sketchy sales programs and you sell a $19 ebook
- I don't really understand what it's all about
- the blue-yellow diagram makes it MORE confusing to me

The product seems okay, the need is definitely there. It should sell well when presented to a proper audience in a proper way.

I don't want yellow and blue diagrams with dots. I want better guitar skills.

Make the sales page waaay shorter and simpler. Focus on the problem, show you have a solution, list a handful of benefits, demonstrate it in action (a short video?) - that's where I'd start.

Good luck!

"- I don't really understand what it's all about"
"- the blue-yellow diagram makes it MORE confusing to me"

You're right, I'll explain better in the sales page, I'll work towards simplicity

"I don't want yellow and blue diagrams with dots. I want better guitar skills."
The diagram helps you in that sense: once you understand the method, you don't need it anymore, it's a bit like Zen :)
It's just an "ah-ah" that you have to realize, and then you can go on your way.
Nevertheless many newbies take years to get it!

I'll realize a video to explain better the idea, this is a video of an exercise, every exercise has a counterpart video for a major clarity:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8fxuwOBa_E
 

Longinus

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This made me chuckle:

33240
I mean, it's pretty obvious this isn't as limited and introductory as you want us to believe. It doesn't work that way.

I'd hire a pro copywriter if I were you.
 
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picanha-guy

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how do i play Metallica??
It’s all down strokes ;)

@stefanoesposito my guitar teacher learned me this air strumming long time ago, maybe you could target guitar teachers with new students who struggle with this? And maybe make flyers and place them at music schools and guitar stores?
 
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stefanoesposito

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It’s all down strokes ;)

@stefanoesposito my guitar teacher learned me this air strumming long time ago, maybe you could target guitar teachers with new students who struggle with this? And maybe make flyers and place them at music schools and guitar stores?

It's a good idea, thank you!

In these days I'll also fix the copywriting, the website speed and the graphics
 

StrikingViper69

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Neat! I've been using a similar system to teach the basics of rhythm when beginners struggle to understand how to read rhythmic notation.

Your system looks like a way to explain how to read (or understand) rhythm, rather than a method for strumming.

Your landing page has the headline "strumming", but the second word is "picking" - instant confusion.

The promise about being in time even if playing drunk on the beach... seems a bit unbelievable.

Also... what's the benefit of the book? From looking at the landing page, I feel like I understand the system enough to apply it on my own.

What happens with semiqauvers or triplets.... ?
 

stefanoesposito

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Neat! I've been using a similar system to teach the basics of rhythm when beginners struggle to understand how to read rhythmic notation.

Your system looks like a way to explain how to read (or understand) rhythm, rather than a method for strumming.

Your landing page has the headline "strumming", but the second word is "picking" - instant confusion.

The promise about being in time even if playing drunk on the beach... seems a bit unbelievable.

Also... what's the benefit of the book? From looking at the landing page, I feel like I understand the system enough to apply it on my own.

What happens with semiqauvers or triplets.... ?

About the "drunk on the beach" sentence: it's a bad advice from a friend of mine... I'll change everything.

About the semiquavers: 2nd part of the manual --> Air Strumming Doubled: every beat is divided by 4 instead of 2.

In these days I'll change the landing page
 
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stefanoesposito

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Hey guys,

Thanks again for your feedbacks, I'm working to make the website faster, meanwhile I've changed the copy and the header according to your advices.

You can visit the landing page HERE.
Feel free to give me further suggestions. :)
 

StrikingViper69

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Hey guys,

Thanks again for your feedbacks, I'm working to make the website faster, meanwhile I've changed the copy and the header according to your advices.

You can visit the landing page HERE.
Feel free to give me further suggestions. :)

You need a native English speaker to go through that whole page for you
 

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My advice would be to outsource everything there is to do with this site including design, copywriting, the whole sales funnel.. this is bad. Like, not-a-damn chance-in-hell-to-even-get-1-sale bad.


33297


Start from there..
 
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Hi everyone,

I never write but I often read the Forum, The Millionaire Fastlane has literally changed my life and my approach to business.

Finally I write here of my entrepreneurial project in the field of music education, which I have been dealing with for years.

In practice, I created an innovative guitar course which I called "Air Strumming".

It's an interactive e-book with links to private videos and audios.
Air Strumming solves the rhythm problem for those who start studying guitar. Its innovation lies in the Strummigram: a completely new rhythm diagram that I designed to allow those who follow the course to "visualize the tempo" and the rhythm of the picking, including the "ghost picking" that you have to give "in the air" (that's why "Air Strumming ") while you play, in order to keep the tempo and the groove.

The Strummigram allows you to play always with the right timing and accents because it divides the downbeat and the upbeat into colored rectangles (see the image below).

View attachment 33235

Now, I write here because maybe you all can help me with your suggestions about how and where to promote it.

I have a guitar-niche-focused audience on my Instagram page (@gibson.lespaul.fanpage), so the product has been known by many people but they're not buying it as I expected.

I think Air Strumming could be defined as a CENTS product:

C (control) = It's my course sold on my website.
E (entry) = The barrier is not so low, after all, it's not easy to write a guitar course.
N (need) = The problem could lie here: this course is on the rhythm niche, not the solo niche, so people could think they don't need it because it's not a "Become a Guitar Monster" course :)
T (time) = It's on an e-commerce so it can sell 24/7.
S (scale) = It's online and worldwide.

Any suggestions?

If you want to see the e-book's landing page you can click HERE.

Thanks in advance for your replies

Are you on Youtube??

If not, why not? Try adding some free sample lessons to draw in an audience and up sell to a full course.
 

stefanoesposito

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Here

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can you create a method to teach little kids how to play? specifically with the loog guitar (it has only 3 strings)
 

stefanoesposito

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stefanoesposito

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Your target audience maybe not even aware they have the problem. Therefore, try to describe it in words they can understand. Without lingo.

Thank you, you're right, I'll start also a YouTube channel
 
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Jack Hammer

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I think you need to get your potential customers excited about rhythm guitar rather than assume that they already get it. As you mentioned, rhythm is not as sexy as lead guitar, so you may need to persuade people that it's just as important and it takes practice. Perhaps you could highlight famous guitarists who are really good at both.

I actually think you're at an advantage for need because there's not a whole lot of rhythm guitar materials out there, yet it's still important.
 

stefanoesposito

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I think you need to get your potential customers excited about rhythm guitar rather than assume that they already get it. As you mentioned, rhythm is not as sexy as lead guitar, so you may need to persuade people that it's just as important and it takes practice. Perhaps you could highlight famous guitarists who are really good at both.

I actually think you're at an advantage for need because there's not a whole lot of rhythm guitar materials out there, yet it's still important.

Thank you Jack, it's a good idea: I don't have to assume they already get it.

I'm aware of the advantage I have, but a rhythm manual is harder to sell.
Next weeks will be devoted to the creation of a YouTube channel.
 

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