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nickScott1980.

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Hey everybody, after listening to the two classic books several times on Audible I wanted more. So far from what I see, I'm really liking the forum.

Just curious - Did this book make you reflect on your past as much as mine ? I felt like MJ was a old lost friend from when my dreams were abundant and rich. I'm 37 and far from done dreaming. Maybe its because I grew up in the Detroit Suburbs, probably not much different than Chicago.

Anyway - I'm a 37 year old father of four in the IT business. Heavily involved in on-premise to cloud migrations via Amazon and MS.

My entire corporate career I was striving for six figures, I hit it, and realized, not much changed. Im still a slave to my corporate overlord, still fight traffic, and am still posed to retire, in my 60's hopefully. Not all complaints, as far as corps go they're pretty good. I get a flex schedule and work from home when needed.

I started my entrepreneurial path on July 4th of this year. I was talking to a cousin who is self employed about a few ideas I had. One of them he really liked. I decided to pursue it. I worked every single day as much as I possibly could without seriously jeopardizing my current job and immediate family relationships.

I learned so much in this short time span. After about 2 months of non stop work, I released the digital product.

I'll preface the product explanation with a story about myself. I used to smoke cigarettes for years. I tried every possible way to quit. I had some luck with the manufactured nicotine lozenges but didnt like all the chemicals. I started making my own nicotine lozenges for myself without the thought of every trying to parlay the new found product.

In summary I quit smoking, I make lozenges for under 2 cents a piece and still take them from time to time today.

I released a 2.5 hour instructional video on vimeo, charging a whopping $9.99. Being new to google ads and marketing in general, I got very little traction to the website. I got kind of bummed and took a break, trying to recoup what was left of the summer.

Im ready to hit it again, I feel like there are alot of people out there this product can help. I am looking for honest feedback. If anyone is interested the website is Home - NicotineDreamz

I created several different google ad "campaigns" targeting different demographics all without luck.

I honestly had feelings from time to time that Big Tobacco/Pharma have a stranglehold on my keywords. Just so little traction.

Thats all folks, I intend to read just about every post on this forum in the coming months. Thank you.

@MJ DeMarco
 
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George Appiah

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Thanks for the great introduction, Nick, and welcome to the Fastlane community forums.

I started making my own nicotine lozenges for myself without the thought of every trying to parlay the new found product.

In summary I quit smoking, I make lozenges for under 2 cents a piece and still take them from time to time today.

That's such a unique product! And with a personal story or "hero's journey" like that, this product could really do well if packaged and marketed properly.

Being new to google ads and marketing in general, I got very little traction to the website. I got kind of bummed and took a break, trying to recoup what was left of the summer.

Im ready to hit it again, I feel like there are alot of people out there this product can help.

At the end of the day, you want sales... right?

But before you get there, you ought to clearly map out the journey you'd like to take people through... from seeing your ads to ka-ching! ... and analyze the KPIs for each step, so you can identify where people are falling off the cliff and optimize it. The current buzzword for this is "sales funnel."

So before you "hit it again", do yourself a favour and analyze your data to see where the problem lies.
  • What was your landing page? Was it your homepage? The Vimeo video rental page (with a million other distractions)? Your free e-book page?
  • What was your overall sales funnel like? Were you asking for the sale right away, or were you promoting your free ebook or something else (to build your list first)?
  • Did you get any clicks from your AdWords campaign? How much did you spend, and what was your CPC?
  • If you were building your list first, what was your opt-in conversion rate?
  • Did you get any sales at all? If so, what was your overall cost to get a single $9.99 sale (which you'll, no doubt, have to share with Vimeo!)?
Online ads, whether Google or Facebook, is a game of numbers and continuous optimization. So you want to track the performance at every stage so you'll know exactly where and what you need to optimize to increase sales.

I am looking for honest feedback. If anyone is interested the website is Home - NicotineDreamz

Here's some feedback for you:
  • You seem to be targetting smokers who already want to quite smocking, and who know nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking, but can't afford the cost of commercial nicotine lozenges. Why do I say this? Because your homepage asks for the sale above the fold, but you don't even try to make the case why nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking (OK, maybe this is common knowledge... but I don't live in the US and I've never smoked before... so what do I know!)
  • To me, your biggest asset is your personal hero's journey that you shared in this introduction: struggling with smoking, seeing the benefits of nicotine lozenges but not ready to put up with all the chemicals, learning to make your own lozenges after numerous unsuccessful trials, and finally quitting smoking by using your own home-made lozenges. That's a powerful story. But this is completely missing from your homepage, course sales page, and free ebook offer page.
  • Your Checkout Page is a Vimeo video rental page with a million other distractions. And what's with this "rental" thing? Is this some Netflix entertainment or life-changing product?
  • Even for someone who lives in a poor country (Ghana, West Africa), your price stinks for me. $9.99 looks like the price of a movie or music album. Ah, it's even a rental fee. This must not be worth much... definitely not a life-changing product.

I created several different google ad "campaigns" targeting different demographics all without luck.

Did you analyze your ad data to learn anything from the different demographics? Were you iterating systematically, or were you just randomly picking different demographics to see if something will stick?

If you haven't dug in yet, study Andy Black's AdWords Post!

I'll leave it at that for the more experienced people here to also chime in.
 
Last edited:

lowtek

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Welcome to the forum. Great work kicking your bad habit, and great work executing so quickly. You're already on the Fastlane, even if you're not at your destination yet.

I was gonna leave some insightful comments, but @George Appiah beat me to it.
 

nickScott1980.

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Thanks for the great introduction, Nick, and welcome to the Fastlane community forums.

George - First of all, I cant thank you enough for the time, and thoughts provided. I intend to assess your comments with an open mind, act, and follow up on this forum. I will be as transparent as possible about this entire process hopefully gaining some affiliates/friends in the process.
 
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nickScott1980.

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Thanks for the great introduction, Nick, and welcome to the Fastlane community forums.



That's such a unique product! And with a personal story or "hero's journey" like that, this product could really do well if packaged and marketed properly.



At the end of the day, you want sales... right?

Sales are the goal

But before you get there, you ought to clearly map out the journey you'd like to take people through... from seeing your ads to ka-ching! ... and analyze the KPIs for each step, so you can identify where people are falling off the cliff and optimize it. The current buzzword for this is "sales funnel."

So before you "hit it again", do yourself a favour and analyze your data to see where the problem lies.

I will do that, I have google analytics setup, its just a matter of connecting the dots
  • What was your landing page? Was it your homepage? The Vimeo video rental page (with a million other distractions)? Your free e-book page? Im thinking the Vimeo link messed with people.
  • What was your overall sales funnel like? Were you asking for the sale right away, or were you promoting your free ebook or something else (to build your list first)? My adds went to two places, my website home page, and the vimeo page.
  • Did you get any clicks from your AdWords campaign? How much did you spend, and what was your CPC? 144 Clicks, 31k Impressions .50 CPC. Total cost $72
  • If you were building your list first, what was your opt-in conversion rate? I didnt market anything to my "landing page" (Stop Smoking Forever Guaranteed - NicotineDreamz) No data here
  • Did you get any sales at all? If so, what was your overall cost to get a single $9.99 sale (which you'll, no doubt, have to share with Vimeo!)? Zero sales, price was initially $49.99
Online ads, whether Google or Facebook, is a game of numbers and continuous optimization. So you want to track the performance at every stage so you'll know exactly where and what you need to optimize to increase sales.



Here's some feedback for you:
  • You seem to be targetting smokers who already want to quite smocking, and who know nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking, but can't afford the cost of commercial nicotine lozenges. Why do I say this? Because your homepage asks for the sale above the fold, but you don't even try to make the case why nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking (OK, maybe this is common knowledge... but I don't live in the US and I've never smoked before... so what do I know!)
  • To me, your biggest asset is your personal hero's journey that you shared in this introduction: struggling with smoking, seeing the benefits of nicotine lozenges but not ready to put up with all the chemicals, learning to make your own lozenges after numerous unsuccessful trials, and finally quitting smoking by using your own home-made lozenges. That's a powerful story. But this is completely missing from your homepage, course sales page, and free ebook offer page.
  • Your Checkout Page is a Vimeo video rental page with a million other distractions. And what's with this "rental" thing? Is this some Netflix entertainment or life-changing product? Good point
  • Even for someone who lives in a poor country (Ghana, West Africa), your price stinks for me. $9.99 looks like the price of a movie or music album. Ah, it's even a rental fee. This must not be worth much... definitely not a life-changing product.



Did you analyze your ad data to learn anything from the different demographics? Were you iterating systematically, or were you just randomly picking different demographics to see if something will stick?

If you haven't dug in yet, study Andy Black's AdWords Post! - Ill be reading that tonight!

George, thanks again for the feedback. I will chew on this for a while an up my Adwords game. If you or anyone else needs some basic free advice/consulting in regards to IT Infrastructure/Cloud let me know. Its what I do all day for my overlord :) God bless, take care.
 

nickScott1980.

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Thanks for the great introduction, Nick, and welcome to the Fastlane community forums.



That's such a unique product! And with a personal story or "hero's journey" like that, this product could really do well if packaged and marketed properly.



At the end of the day, you want sales... right?

But before you get there, you ought to clearly map out the journey you'd like to take people through... from seeing your ads to ka-ching! ... and analyze the KPIs for each step, so you can identify where people are falling off the cliff and optimize it. The current buzzword for this is "sales funnel."

So before you "hit it again", do yourself a favour and analyze your data to see where the problem lies.
  • What was your landing page? Was it your homepage? The Vimeo video rental page (with a million other distractions)? Your free e-book page?
  • What was your overall sales funnel like? Were you asking for the sale right away, or were you promoting your free ebook or something else (to build your list first)?
  • Did you get any clicks from your AdWords campaign? How much did you spend, and what was your CPC?
  • If you were building your list first, what was your opt-in conversion rate?
  • Did you get any sales at all? If so, what was your overall cost to get a single $9.99 sale (which you'll, no doubt, have to share with Vimeo!)?
Online ads, whether Google or Facebook, is a game of numbers and continuous optimization. So you want to track the performance at every stage so you'll know exactly where and what you need to optimize to increase sales.



Here's some feedback for you:
  • You seem to be targetting smokers who already want to quite smocking, and who know nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking, but can't afford the cost of commercial nicotine lozenges. Why do I say this? Because your homepage asks for the sale above the fold, but you don't even try to make the case why nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking (OK, maybe this is common knowledge... but I don't live in the US and I've never smoked before... so what do I know!)
  • To me, your biggest asset is your personal hero's journey that you shared in this introduction: struggling with smoking, seeing the benefits of nicotine lozenges but not ready to put up with all the chemicals, learning to make your own lozenges after numerous unsuccessful trials, and finally quitting smoking by using your own home-made lozenges. That's a powerful story. But this is completely missing from your homepage, course sales page, and free ebook offer page.
  • Your Checkout Page is a Vimeo video rental page with a million other distractions. And what's with this "rental" thing? Is this some Netflix entertainment or life-changing product?
  • Even for someone who lives in a poor country (Ghana, West Africa), your price stinks for me. $9.99 looks like the price of a movie or music album. Ah, it's even a rental fee. This must not be worth much... definitely not a life-changing product.



Did you analyze your ad data to learn anything from the different demographics? Were you iterating systematically, or were you just randomly picking different demographics to see if something will stick?

If you haven't dug in yet, study Andy Black's AdWords Post!

I'll leave it at that for the more experienced people here to also chime in.

Personal story added Home - NicotineDreamz Up Next - Assessing Ebook.
 
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ZF Lee

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Nicotine lozenges!

I better go buy some for my dad!

F*ck....that is a damn good product.

  • You seem to be targetting smokers who already want to quite smocking, and who know nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking, but can't afford the cost of commercial nicotine lozenges. Why do I say this? Because your homepage asks for the sale above the fold, but you don't even try to make the case why nicotine lozenges is a great way to quit smoking (OK, maybe this is common knowledge... but I don't live in the US and I've never smoked before... so what do I know!)
  • To me, your biggest asset is your personal hero's journey that you shared in this introduction: struggling with smoking, seeing the benefits of nicotine lozenges but not ready to put up with all the chemicals, learning to make your own lozenges after numerous unsuccessful trials, and finally quitting smoking by using your own home-made lozenges. That's a powerful story. But this is completely missing from your homepage, course sales page, and free ebook offer page.
  • Your Checkout Page is a Vimeo video rental page with a million other distractions. And what's with this "rental" thing? Is this some Netflix entertainment or life-changing product?
  • Even for someone who lives in a poor country (Ghana, West Africa), your price stinks for me. $9.99 looks like the price of a movie or music album. Ah, it's even a rental fee. This must not be worth much... definitely not a life-changing product.
Also, you could add a comparison story/chart of the lozenges vs existing alternatives like smoking patches and e-cigars. That way, the pros that the alternatives don't have stand out as frustration points that folks are pressed to settle.

EDIT: @Andy Black, @AllenCrawley, can the title of this thread be changed to something surrounding 'smoking lozenges'? I somehow find good potential here. The title's a little lacking.
 

nickScott1980.

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Nicotine lozenges!

I better go buy some for my dad!

f*ck....that is a damn good product.


Also, you could add a comparison story/chart of the lozenges vs existing alternatives like smoking patches and e-cigars. That way, the pros that the alternatives don't have stand out as frustration points that folks are pressed to settle.

Thanks! It was the only way I was able to quit!
 

Jeff Noel

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Welcome to the forums Nick.

I've literally watched the first minute of your trailer and the first thing that came to my mind is "This should be for sale everywhere". You could sell a huge package of lozenges for $1.50 and still profit from them. The marketing would be quite easy: No chemicals ! Relief from addiction, quit smoking !

That's an awesome product, I hope you'll get some traction soon !
 
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nickScott1980.

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Welcome to the forums Nick.

I've literally watched the first minute of your trailer and the first thing that came to my mind is "This should be for sale everywhere". You could sell a huge package of lozenges for $1.50 and still profit from them. The marketing would be quite easy: No chemicals ! Relief from addiction, quit smoking !

That's an awesome product, I hope you'll get some traction soon !

Thanks Jeff! I've been hammering the Website design and Google Ads since I joined the forum. Whether I make it or not, this is a hell of a lot of fun!
 

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