[Progress] Sanctus Nutrition - Supplement Company (and first real entrepreneurial pursuit)

[Brewer07]

Really enjoy your process @Brewer07. Keep up the good work!

Here are some threads for you... Check these out. Have you read Ca$hvertising?

INSIDERS Threads:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ow-to-kick-a$$-with-facebook-marketing.48920/
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/progress-monetising-my-adwords-knowledge.52532/
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ific-beauty-products.58683/page-3#post-445772

Non INSIDERS Threads:
GOLD - Paid Advertising Crash Course
The Online Buying Lifecycle (video)


@MJ DeMarco @AllenCrawley @Vigilante @Andy Black

#notable or #gold ?

Hey @Raoul Duke , I wanted to follow up and let you know what actions I've taken based on this post / what I've learned.

1. Bought Cashvertising tonight and will start reading tonight.
2. I've read through the FB Marketing thread a few times. I've been running FB ad campaigns to test different markets, different copy, etc. We also have FB remarketing set up. I don't think our Pixel is calibrated correctly, because Facebook is claiming a certain # of purchases attributable to the campaigns that I can't verify through Shopify, but that's been the only frustrating part so far.
3. I spoke with Andy on the phone and have an Adwords campaign + remarketing set up. I've had some problems with properly implementing the tag but I think I fixed that tonight. Pretty sure I just forgot to re-add the tag to the site after switching themes in Shopify.
4. I'm launching a campaign in Adwords based on Andy's "apples falling out of the tree" remark re: setting up a campaign for people searching for your brand and products.
5. The thread by eliquid is gold for a beginner like me.

That's a long way of saying I'm spending some money to learn how paid advertising works and improve my copy. I really appreciate your help!

 

[rogue synthetic]

Great points @Argue

It's worth highlighting the point about figuring out who you're talking to and how they're getting to your page.

The example of G FUEL is helpful, not (just) because they have great copy. The phrases "great copy" and "converting" are meaningless except as far as they connect with the people you are talking to. Your words and images need to convey the kinds of meaning that your people identify with.

It really is about building a brand, but "branding" sounds like sterile corporate-talk. I think the better word is "identity". You aren't selling a supplement, you're selling an idea. An opportunity. A vision of the future. You're offering a cool and interesting way of life.

A lot of marketers sadly end up thinking in terms of raw traffic numbers. The project is to make the traffic convert using the right colors and layouts and so forth. But that's missing out on this whole space of identity that gets attention and motivates buys.

Your sales funnel isn't just a net to sweep in all-comers and then cast a spell on them that makes them buy.

You need to find your people and speak to their desires and aspirations.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

I have not kept up with this thread but, have you tried the following on FB?

The purpose of the below is to gather a highly interested audience at a cheap "cost per interest data point". Video views themselves are cheap on Facebook and if you have a long enough video 20-30 seconds+ you can gauge your interested viewers based on how long they watched, and you can then create an audience of people that are very similar for 0 extra cost.

Steps -
1. Create a video views campaign without a call to action (to stimulate solely views) and run it for $50-$100/day for a week - you'll get a bunch of video views and engagement [note: the point of this is gathering people that have intent in your product, video views campaigns are 10x cheaper than conversion campaigns]

2. Create a custom audience of people that have viewed 75% or more of your video from the campaign. Why? These people are interested, and Facebook will pull together all the people that were interested into a single bucket

3. Create a lookalike audience based on the custom audience of 75%+ views. Facebook will gather lots of other people in the world that are very similar to the ones that are interested in your video based on the algorithm. Start with 1% Lookalike in US, 1-2%, and 2-3%.

4. Create an offer based ad on the same video for 10-20% off (whatever you can be decently profitable at) and run it to the lookalikes at $50/day each audience. Put 3 dupes of the ad in each adset as the FB is weird.

See if that helps? Maybe you already knew this

 

[Xolorr]

@Brewer07,

When I think about Sanctus, this is what I have in mind.

I drank 2 Becks and came up with this mock up.

I agree with everyone else that you should use sans-serif. I suggest Poppins.

--> Link: Google Fonts

Pros:

• Modern
• Loads quick
• Looks amazing and clean
• FREE

Personally, I place product to the left. Copy aligned to the right. Button beneath copy. Converts well.

Fix your copy. Remove the check emoji. Use a sans-serif font. Do not align center. Replace logo. Add color to button. Remove girl working out. Home page needs to showcase the bottle.

Last, I do like @W. Sabria mock up. However, reminds me of this shirt.

Argue, this is why you're my favourite forum member.

I see you in random places, giving some DAMN good looking value. Nice job on the Mock-up bro ⚡️

 

[Denim Chicken]

You can see my introduction thread here for more on my background. This will focus solely on my company, Sanctus Nutrition.

Background - Why I started a nutritional supplement company

1. I got the idea from a startup incubator I was a member of in Fall 2016. My original idea (in the medical apparel industry) had merit but I wasn't 100% into it. When I couldn't find supplements that met my standards, I grabbed this idea from the incubator and went to work.
2. I'm a pharmacist and I F*cking love nutraceuticals. I could talk this stuff all day. I've been dropping money on it since I was 16. I can work on this stuff 18+ hours a day and not get sick of it.
3. I was unhappy with what was available on the market. I couldn't find the products I wanted to use myself. Being in the incubator helped me realize it doesn't take special credentials or permission to start a supplement company: it's something I could do. Like, right now. So I did.

The company: Sanctus Nutrition
I make nutritional supplements with zero artificial sweeteners, zero food dyes or colorings, no proprietary blends, and with ingredient dosing backed by science.

My first product is a pre-workout called Focal Force. I built the pre-workout I wanted to take, that I couldn't find elsewhere. I wanted a pre-workout with:

1. Zero artificial sweeteners or food dyes/colorings. Every product I've found that claims to contain "zero artificial sweeteners" still contains "natural flavors", which is total BS - those are anything but natural.
2. Proper dosing. For example, PurePump meets criterion #1 (no artificial flavorings, etc.) but their dosages are too low. Their product contains 2g L-Citrulline when the science backing its use requires a dose of at least 6g. It also lacks some other good ingredients I want before I lift.
3. A low enough dose of caffeine for safe use in the evening without wrecking my sleep. Most pre-workouts have a minimum of 200 mg of caffeine. I've seen some in the 400mg+ range which is a great way to wreck your adrenals. No thanks.
4. No creatine. I prefer to cycle it, and I prefer to take it post-workout (which, currently, data is starting to back more vs. pre-workout) when I do use it.

The Journey: Where I've Been
February 2017:

• I had a formulation in mind, bought the individual powders off Amazon, bought a micro-scale, reassured my fiancee I wasn't dealing (illegal) drugs, and got to work.
• I started off experimenting on myself. I began telling my friends what I was doing and made them samples. I combined our experiences and feedback to keep making tweaks to the formula.

March 2017:

• I got up at 4am every day to make the website before I went to the gym and worked at my day job. I put in 20+ hours to make a super shitty Wordpress website that I can't get to look halfway decent.
• After searching around for names, I settle on Sanctus Nutrition. "Sanctus" roughly translates from Latin to "pure", which reflects my mission of making pure supplements. I got the idea to look for Latin names from Tim Ferriss' podcast with John Crowley while on an airplane back from Italy. This was the trip that sold me on being an entrepreneur. I want to take trips like this whenever I want, and go wherever I want, without having to ask permission.

April 2017:

• Website still looks like shit and I'm tired of doing web design.
• I hire someone on Fiverr to design a mock-up label for $40 for my "Focal Point" product.
• I make an Instagram account and immediately get banned for following 300+ people in 2 minutes. Whoops. Lesson learned. A week later, IG re-instates my account. Crisis averted.

May 2017:

• I realize "Focal Point", as a nutritional supplement, is trademarked. I had searched TESS but somehow missed that. My $40 label is useless.
• I change the name to "Focal Force".
• Key lesson: I've been very open about this entire experience since day 1. I'm soliciting feedback on Facebook. I'm making posts on my personal Instagram about opening a bank account and starting a business. This leads to a friend, a very talented graphic designer, offering to do my designs pro bono. Not just the package label, but an entire brand identity package. HUGE WIN!
• I start taking pre-orders at a small scale. I convince a friend to buy and I earn my first $1 on my own, ever. Three more friends buy and I make my first $100.
• I give up on Wordpress, nuke the site, and jump to Shopify. The design looks 3000x better. I pat myself on the back for not getting caught up in the sunk cost that was trying to make the site happen on Wordpress.

June 2017:

• I run my first true "promotion". I discount the product 30% and flood Facebook with posts. I go completely vulnerable: I talk about why I started the company, why I'm making this product, what I want it to offer to people, the effect it has had in my own training. Shortly after, I get a Shopify notification: a sale. Ten minutes later, another sale. The promotion gives me my most successful week, and I've now made my first $500 without the product being in a single person's hands.
• I finalize the formulation, sign an agreement with my manufacturer, and production begins. Goal launch: July 28th. Likely launch: August 4th.
• My Instagram account just reached 500 followers. I'm getting good engagement on posts, but none of it is leading to sales. Nearly all of my sales are from friends, or friends of friends.

My wins so far:

1. Earning $500 in pre-sales. Yes, these are basically all from friends. In the past, I've attempted business ventures not even my friends would buy, so this is a big success for me.
2. There are two local, independently-owned pharmacies who have expressed interest in selling my product.
3. I have a local gym signed on to sell my product. One of their owners is working with me as an affiliate. I have another local Crossfit gym interested in trying the product once it arrives.

My Pain Points:

1. From day 1, the plan was to attack using affiliate marketing. Get IG influencers to sign on to promote my product, and pay them 15% of sales. There have been several problems with this approach:
   1. I am not the only one trying to use the Influencer Marketing approach. I knew this coming in. My goal was to fly under the radar by approaching accounts with followers in the 15K - 50K range. These influencers are either 1) already working with another supplement company, or 2) monetizing on their own and not interested in affiliate marketing. I'm having to work in the 1K - 10K range, with little success. Because..
   2. Very few people are willing to endorse and market a product they have not tried. This is obvious. Until my product is ready, I'm not sure how to make progress here.
2. Finding my customers. My product doesn't taste as good as other supplements. I don't offer "Blue Cotton Candy Raspberry" or whatever BS flavors. This doesn't matter to me, because I chug it in two seconds. I need to find others who feel the same way. I know they are out there, but I have to be more targeted in my marketing. My market is not everyone who takes pre-workout. I need consumers who care about their health more than taste.
3. Keeping momentum until production is finished. Focal Force won't be available until late July/early August. I've built some good momentum on pre-sales, but I can't just keep running promotions for 20 - 30% off. I need to develop more ways to keep people interested and talking about my brand.

My Next Action Steps:

1. I've built up a list of Influencers who are willing to sample it once it arrives, so there is potential. There's also potential they'll hate it, or have a "meh" reaction, so I can't be complacent here. I've reached out to 92 people so far, 23 agreed to give me their email address to receive details, and 15 have agreed to sample. 92 isn't enough. I need to reach out to 1000 people, at least. I'm using Ninja Outreach to find IG influencers in the health space. This needs to be a bigger priority. Ideally, I need 100 people ready to receive samples the day the product comes in.
   
2. Find my most efficient marketing channel. I've experimented with Reddit ads. They are great at driving traffic, but have resulted in exactly zero sales. My IG following is growing, but again, zero sales. I've ran a couple of Facebook re-targeting ads to try and capture initial visitors from IG/reddit. Zero conversions from this as well.
3. My conversion rates are 4%, but again, this is all from friends or friends of friends. No random people or strangers are buying. I need to establish trust as a brand. As a beginner, I do not know the best way to do this.

My Goals:

For the next 8 weeks:

1. Have my product stocked in 3 local businesses on launch week.
2. Make $1000 by the end of August.
3. Have 10 Influencers signed on as affiliates by the end of August.

For July - September (Q3):

1. Sales of $5000 total.
2. Gain 5 local businesses who agree to stock and sell my product.
3. Have 20 Influencers signed on as affiliates.

This is a long post. If you've made it this far, I really appreciate you taking the time to read it all. As a beginner entrepreneur, I am open to any and all feedback. It's why I'm here.

There are those who want performance supplements with no care to their health, they down 5g of powder x, y, z and are apathetic about their heart and kidney health as long as they look good. Then there are those who want to look good but also dont want to take a concoction of crap that isn't good for them. The bodybuilder group seems to fit into the former.

I feel like Facebook ads would be best for this type of marketing since you can target so narrowly.

Maybe try targeting pages of nutraceutical health companies over bodybuilding companies, such as Now Foods, Source Naturals, etc. I remember the days I used to buy Flame Out by biotest/t-nation because the color of the bottle and extreme testosterone marketing appealed to me. Now not so much.

If you're going for the pure/health/zero/medical type of marketing, maybe run ads that emphasize that. Pharmacist developed, PURE pre-workout.

 

[Brewer07]

There are those who want performance supplements with no care to their health, they down 5g of powder x, y, z and are apathetic about their heart and kidney health as long as they look good. Then there are those who want to look good but also dont want to take a concoction of crap that isn't good for them. The bodybuilder group seems to fit into the former.

I feel like Facebook ads would be best for this type of marketing since you can target so narrowly.

Maybe try targeting pages of nutraceutical health companies over bodybuilding companies, such as Now Foods, Source Naturals, etc. I remember the days I used to buy Flame Out by biotest/t-nation because the color of the bottle and extreme testosterone marketing appealed to me. Now not so much.

If you're going for the pure/health/zero/medical type of marketing, maybe run ads that emphasize that. Pharmacist developed, PURE pre-workout.

Awesome, I like it, thanks for the suggestion! I've used Kit on Shopify to run re-targeting ads but that's the extent of my FB marketing knowledge. Do you have any good resources I can read to become more familiar with it, or would you suggest just doing it and learning from mistakes as I go? I'm blocking out 3 hours Wednesday AM to focus solely on FB marketing. May not be enough time to get my first campaign going but should get me started at least.

Wow! Very thorough and informative progress post. It's pretty cool to see you were already waist deep in taking action before even reading TMF /Unscripted . I like the idea and I think you are providing value in this sector. The fact that you are a Pharm. adds credibility and authority. [EDIT: I had suggested using monkfruit to improve the taste, but I checked out your webpage and it looks like you're already doing that!]

Have you tried using AdWords? Its been a fairly quick learning curve for me while I've run a few campaigns on both the Google Search Network and Display Network to drive traffic to a niche site I built with good results. They run some very lucrative promotions as of late, where you can get substantial credits if you spend XX amount of dollars, that way you can play around a lot without spending a huge amount of money as you try to squeeze as high a CTR and CVR out as you can. Keep us updated on what happens after you launch, I'm quite interested.

I have not used AdWords. A marketing friend told me I need to get on there as well. I bought a class off Udemy on AdWords but never finished it, so I at least have some familiarity here. I have $100 in credit through Shopify so it's something I can afford to experiment with. I'm blocking out 3 hours Thursday AM to use Keyword Planner and get my first campaign going - thanks for the recommendation!

Nice progress. Maybe link some studies in your blogs to back up your claims.

Good idea. I have studies linked on my product page but they aren't really prominent or explained, just links. I'm running my first blog series now, which starts with beginner topics like "what is pre-workout?", "should I take pre-workout?", etc. and I'll conclude with an in-depth post on why mine is the best on the market. That will be a good post to go in-depth on the studies backing my ingredients/formulation.

Thanks all of you for the suggestions! I've got time set aside to work on everything mentioned thus far.

 

[Millenial_Kid5K1]

Have you looked at other distribution channels? Your product is of high interest to me, but as a lifter who doesn't mess much with social media, I'd never have found you if you're not on Amazon or Bodybuilding<dot>com.

Also, as a very health conscious lifter(your target audience I presume), a nutrition label would have allayed any fears I might have about buying your brand, because I'd see in a very concise format what I'm getting. I couldn't find one on your site.

 

[Argue]

I'm gonna watch this. This is what excellence looks like.

 

[Bigguns50]

@Brewer07 .... good work ! I read through your original post....not so much of the rest. My Wife and I talk about how we can't find good supplements that are pure...no dye #, sucralose, etc. I mean, some things they put in just don't make sense when you're trying to stay on top physically and health wise.

My market is not everyone who takes pre-workout. I need consumers who care about their health more than taste.

So I'm wondering if your market may be the 30 and over, or 40 and over. The ones who are educated with $$ and will pay for what they want.

Just a thought. Keep up the good work.

 

[jon.a]

$60 over a holiday? I'd run it again outside of the holiday and double check.

Facebook Ad results are in. Not pretty.

I ran three separate ads from July 2 - July 5 (ended this morning @ 9 am).

1. Ad Set 1: ages 25-30, both genders, interest in nutraceutical pages.
   1. Reach: 1,657 (79% women, 20% men)
   2. Link clicks: 15 (87% women, 13% men); 0.87% result rate.
   3. Sales: 0
2. Ad Set 2: ages 25-30, both genders, interest in bodybuilding.
   1. Reach: 3,718 (67% men, 33% women)
   2. Link clicks: 18 (68% men, 32% women); 0.44% result rate.
   3. Sales: 0
3. Ad Set 3: ages 25-30, both genders, interest in Crossfit.
   1. Reach: 2,087 (66% men, 33% women)
   2. Link clicks: 20 (65% men, 35% women); 0.87% result rate.
   3. Sales: 0

The copy & CTA for all three was the same. 3 different pictures were used across all the ads.

1. Picture 1 result rate: 0.67% (4,489 reach, 32 link clicks). Performed best with the Crossfit Ad Set (1.20% result rate).
2. Picture 2 result rate: 0.64% (2,515 reach, 17 link clicks). Performed best with the Nutraceutical Ad Set (1.94% result rate).
3. Picture 3 result rate: 0.52% (751 reach, 4 link clicks) - turns out this was NOT used for Ad Set 2 (bodybuilding).

Here are the 3 pictures used:
Picture 1: [GALLERY=media, 42]Facebook Ad Test #1 - Picture 1 by Brewer07 posted Jul 5, 2017 at 12:05 PM[/GALLERY]
Picture 2: [GALLERY=media, 43]Facebook Ad Test #1 - Picture 2 by Brewer07 posted Jul 5, 2017 at 12:05 PM[/GALLERY]
Picture 3: [GALLERY=media, 44]Facebook Ad Test #1 - Picture 3 by Brewer07 posted Jul 5, 2017 at 12:05 PM[/GALLERY]

This was in conjunction with running a 20% off sale with no coupon code required - prices were marked down. Zero sales.

Lessons learned:

1. If Facebook marketing was as easy as throwing together a campaign, spending $60, and making a lot of money, everyone would do it. I'm keeping that in mind because I get down on myself very easily and I'm pretty bummed I made $0 during this campaign + across the 4th of July holiday sale.
2. Men responded slightly better to the shirtless vs. shirt pictures compared to women, in terms of result rate.
3. Response rate was lowest amongst those with interest in bodybuilding and related areas. This isn't really surprising.

Next steps:
I am open to advice! Also, if there are additional metrics that would help you advise me, let me know and I'll post them.
I'll be exploring Google Adwords today and aiming to have my first campaign up and running.

 

[MarekvBeek]

First of all, props for your massive execution!

• Unusual taste. Unusual results.
• Choke it down. Rev it up.
  
• We tried to hide the taste. You won’t hide the results.
  
• Forgettable taste. Unforgettable results.
  
• With a taste like this, you know it works.
  
• Suck up the taste. Bask in the gains.
  
• Trade taste for real supplements.
  
• Trade taste for supplements that work.
  
• Weird taste? That’s how you know it works.
• Doesn’t taste great. But you’ll look amazing.
  
• Trade in flavor for supplements that ACTUALLY work. (edited)
• Workouts so good, you’ll survive the taste.
• What the hell is that taste? The glory of quad-busting squats.
  
• Why does it taste like that? Because it works.
  
• “Why does it taste weird?” “Shut up and lift.” (I envision this as two people, with the response coming from a much more ripped individual)
• Want insane strength? Give up the blue razzberry pre-workout and try the real stuff.
• Real men don’t need blue cotton candy pre-workout. Real men use Focal Force.

I like these. Prefer the 2 sentences over 1 or 3.

The bolded I think suits best for your product. Because you target the benefit (insane strenght), say that you don't sell crap (blue razzberry) and actually sell a good product (real stuff).

It says to me: "I've got to know more, what is this real stuff?"

And then you can tell about the clean/pure stuff on your website.

 

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[MarekvBeek]

That's some great execution out there! Keep on rollin' Have you agreed on a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) with the local pharmacies to avoid price battling on your product?

 

[Iammelissamoore]

Absolute Kudos on your progress, this is phenomenal and of course, I wish you continued support and success as you grow with it.

I know you mentioned that your target audience is 25 - 30 yrs old and you ran the FB ads along these lines, I saw you mentioned you are also looking at going a bit above the 30 yr bracket, did you have any chance to do a test ad for beyond that bracket so you can compare your responses better? (Not trying to jump the gun or anything, was just wondering.)

Oh and another huge factor, I know in your FB ads, you stressed the fact that your product is created by a pharmacist, which actually changes the game here, you weren't an individual seeking a better product who just happened to fall into a partnership with some pharmacist, you are THE pharmacist who were personally looking for something better and created a superb product, why isn't this mentioned anywhere on your homepage? Don't get me wrong, I read it on the "Our Story" page, but why isn't it one of the first things the public sees at the top being mentioned? Based on the superb caption you have - and I quote: ("We create premium sports supplements with zero artificial sweeteners, no food dyes, and no proprietary blends. You deserve healthy supplements, and we're committed to giving you the best on the market.") it would be nice if mentioned somewhere there, so people would get that fact from the get-go.

You mentioned that you are thinking of pushing it through the medical route than just the product route, it is definitely worth doing, as it adds genuinity to your product, thus creating a movement. I know there are a lot of Vegan and/or Organic Chefs who go this route, and they'd team up with Nutritionists etc., who back up their info with Scientific Evidence (you have a great two-in-one - since you do have the medical background [which I think you are playing-down a bit]) AND the solution, through your yearning, to create a better, cleaner, transparent product.

A lot of your friends and family tried the product and they absolutely experienced positive results, do you think any of them would feel cool submitting feedback that you can use as reviews? Any before/after photos? (Here is a dentist [I know, I know, I know, absolutely unrelated] who invented a non-surgical procedure to correct dental problems experienced by patients due to different issues, he's having huge conversions with his approach) *I am not advertising for, nor affiliated with this in no way, form or manner, just using as an example as a conversion page by a medical practitioner.*

You have a lot of great things going for you and this is a progress thread, so I trust that as you keep going, you're bringing in that excellence.

Super, Super, Super Kudos on your venture, man, this is great. Keep up the wonderful work.

 

[Brewer07]

Incredible action so far! Rep ++

I agree with one of the comments above, don't hide the fact you're a pharmacist. In today's age of label transparency, having a genuine story like yours is a huge selling point.


You've also created a really great unboxing experience, I like it!

Thank you! Is there any specific place on the site you would incorporate my pharmacist background/story?

Some thoughts of mine:

1. Add section on home page
2. Incorporate into ads
3. Make a video detailing my background and company story

Your image does not switch when say, I want to see image #2 or #3. I can only see image #1 in big size.

On your product page.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I've submitted a ticket to Shopify Technical support and should have it resolved within a few days.

Hey, Love Love Love the progress you are making - hats off to you.

1. With regards to the feedback you have been receiving, in your assessing, you would be able to gauge the demographics that are making purchases, based on this, you can be able to target ads accordingly.

2. Is it possible to mention something very brief but impactful that would highlight your pharmaceutical background/input in this product? What you have stated in that area is ideal, I'm just thinking there should be a way to include your expert backing?!?! I'm thinking within the highlighted section on the home page.

View attachment 15957

3. The product reviews are pretty cool, and indeed, it's great that you actually have reviews to start with, if possible to feature a couple reviews on the home page, that would also be great, like the example on MJ's landing page for Unscripted

View attachment 15958

As you know, your homepage is the ideal sales page for the product, and it provides credibility for the product, it's awesome you have many reviews already by friends, so you can do a feature of your top 3 or, you can do a slider like MJ has on the Unscripted website which offers a good few that sells the credibility of the book. - Just a suggestion.

So far, you're going well, and I know you are putting in 110%, keep going at it and well, you're at that great stage where you are listening to what your market is saying, therefore, you'll be able to make great adjustments as you go along.

Keep up the excellent work, wishing you ultimate success and growth as you go along this great journey, wonderful to check out your progress.

Thanks for the feedback! I like the testimonial idea a lot. I'm going to work to have that incorporated by the end of the weekend.

 

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[Iammelissamoore]

3. Make a video detailing my background and company story

Perfect way to incorporate your pharmaceutical background and indeed, the best way to sell your product via your genuine story. Place the video on your homepage and that will cover a lot of aspects selling your product, building your brand and adding your credibility.

 

[SYK]

Yup - that's her name. Don't worry, I did a double-take when I first met her too.

Haha... how could her parents do it to her...

And congrats on the sales dude!

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Have you tried an angle highlighting the "fear factor" of dyes, etc. that your product does not have? Obviously you can't be too "scary" for Facebook, but:

1) Headline/video ad highlighting a major long term issue from consuming these ingredients which are in typical supplements --> key here is getting FB users to click the ad

2) Presale (landing page) of a *true* story of the problems you or someone else had from the ingredients that your products do not contain, and how you solved it with these supplements highlighting all *benefits*. Headline of this page should be congruent with step 1) above.

3) CTA on Presale linked to your product page with an exclusive first time order discount off shipping of XX% like someone else in this thread suggested. For "readers only".

link--> fitlife(DOT) tv/these-pre-workout-ingredients-could-be-poisoning-you-original/

"These dyes have been linked to everything from cancer to tumors to ADHD."

Maybe you already tried something like this

 

[Fpm9]

Two "scripts" I'm seeking feedback on:

Script #1 - "Story" Vid on Sanctus Nutrition. This is just me speaking about the company, why I founded it, etc. I've received feedback from this forum and from outside opinions that this is something I should create.

Why are you making this video? What do you aim to accomplish? Why should it exist?

• To tell the story of Sanctus Nutrition.
• To introduce myself and my background, and how that affects the company.
• To explain why Sanctus Nutrition exists and what it contributes.

Intro

• My name is Dr. Alex Brewer
• I’m a pharmacist, and I wasn’t happy with the pre-workouts available on the market.
• I knew other supplement companies were under-dosing their products.
• I wanted to avoid harmful ingredients like artificial sweeteners and food colors.

Focal Force

• What is it?
• How did I choose the ingredients?
• What sets it apart from other pre-workouts?

Main Point #1

• Benefit: better workouts - more endurance - less soreness

Main Point #2

• Benefit: increased mental focus

Main Point #3

• Benefit: feel better - healthier body
  • Focal Force powers your workouts without harmful ingredients, because it is naturally flavored using ginger and monk fruit. It contains zero artificial sweeteners and zero food colors.
  • Low caffeine content means you don’t feel like a tweaking meth addict.

Summary/Conclusion

• Focal Force gives you better workouts without harming your body

Call to Action

• Check out Sanctus Nutrition to find more information on Focal Force.
• Sign up for our newsletter to receive up to 20% off your first order

Script #2 - Interview with friend - he is a fellow pharmacist and an USAW certified coach. He recently started a coaching business. We're working closely together to help each other out. Many people are unfamiliar with olympic lifting, so I want to have a discussion that allows him to introduce the subject and tell people what they can gain from it. This will be a recorded Skype discussion.

Outline

• Introduction
  • Antonio Booker, PharmD, USAW Certified Coach, and CEO of Blackbird Barbell
• Tell us how you got into weightlifting and, specifically, what made you pursue olympic weightlifting
• What is olympic weightlifting?
  • Give an overview of olympic weightlifting
    • What is it?
    • What are common movements?
    • What is the end-goal? What are you looking to achieve by engaging in olympic weightlifting? (Size, strength, explosiveness, all of the above?)
  • Who should engage in olympic weightlifting? Who should NOT?
  • What is the most common myth you hear about olympic weightlifting?
  • If you could only do ONE olympic movement for the rest of your life, which would it be, and why?
• USAW Certified Coach
  • Describe that certification to us.
  • Why did you decide to pursue USAW certification?
  • What is the certification process like? What did you have to “complete” or prove?
  • Why should someone train with a USAW coach?
• Your clients
  • Who is your “typical” client?
  • Who is your youngest client? Your oldest client? (Don’t need details, just looking for an age range)
  • Is there a certain age where people should NOT engage in Olympic weightlifting?
  • What do you look for in a client? Do you ever turn applicants down?
  • Why should someone train with you?
• Blackbird Barbell
  • What is Blackbird Barbell?
  • What encouraged you to start Blackbird Barbell?
  • What is your vision for Blackbird Barbell? Where do you see it 3 years from now?
• General exercise & nutrition recs
  • What is your current weight and body fat % (estimates are fine)?
  • What do your lifting numbers look like? (bench/squat/deadlift, can also insert additional lifts like C&J, etc.)
  • What does your diet look like?
  • How do you juggle being a pharmacist who works 12-hour shifts, a coach and business owner, with eating healthy and training? What would you say to anyone listening to claims to be “too busy” to eat healthy and work out?
  • What supplements, if any, do you take and why?
• Where can people find you?
  • Website? Instagram? Facebook?
  • If people are interested in your coaching services, where can they find out more?
• Parting words

Let me know your thoughts! Are there certain subjects you would add or remove from these videos? How should I market them? How I do draw views to them? I'm really struggling to gain traction outside my friends/Facebook feed.

Script #1 - "Story" Vid on Sanctus Nutrition.

In your intro, I think you should quickly mention the reason why you wanted to avoid sweeteners / colorings. Instead of thinking " Oh ok, Alex Brewer avoids sweeteners ", your audience will think " He's right, those coloring have nogood reason to be in a preworkout and might cause cancer ( or whatever your reasons to avoid those ingredients are )".

Maybe give a quick example on how big companies are under-dosing their products ( " Most companies only use xxx mg of Citruline when studies have shown that the best dosage is xxxx mg " )

Also I think your main point #3 is the most important because this is what differentiates Focal Force from others PWO on the market. From what I understand, points #1 and 2 are basically describing what a PWO is.

Are you targeting mostly people who are familiar with bodybuilding and fitness supplements ? If so, they might want to know why they should switch from their favorite PWO to your product.

Don't forget to say that even though your caffeine dosage is low, it is enough to feel something. IMO energy is one of the most important feature of a PWO.

Script #2 - Interview with friend

Where are you gonna post this video ? And what's the goal of doing this interview ?
Also, I think the title will be important. I never heard of Antonio Booker, so I want to know why I should listen to his interview. What will I learn ?

 

[Brewer07]

Script #1 - "Story" Vid on Sanctus Nutrition.

In your intro, I think you should quickly mention the reason why you wanted to avoid sweeteners / colorings. Instead of thinking " Oh ok, Alex Brewer avoids sweeteners ", your audience will think " He's right, those coloring have nogood reason to be in a preworkout and might cause cancer ( or whatever your reasons to avoid those ingredients are )".

Maybe give a quick example on how big companies are under-dosing their products ( " Most companies only use xxx mg of Citruline when studies have shown that the best dosage is xxxx mg " )

Also I think your main point #3 is the most important because this is what differentiates Focal Force from others PWO on the market. From what I understand, points #1 and 2 are basically describing what a PWO is.

Are you targeting mostly people who are familiar with bodybuilding and fitness supplements ? If so, they might want to know why they should switch from their favorite PWO to your product.

Don't forget to say that even though your caffeine dosage is low, it is enough to feel something. IMO energy is one of the most important feature of a PWO.

Script #2 - Interview with friend

Where are you gonna post this video ? And what's the goal of doing this interview ?
Also, I think the title will be important. I never heard of Antonio Booker, so I want to know why I should listen to his interview. What will I learn ?

Script #1 - ok, I'm moving point #3 up to #1. You're right, I'm spending a lot of time describing what a pre-workout is, rather than discussing why my product is the best one out there. I started with the intention of targeting people familiar with bodybuilding & supplements, but I've been making good progress with people who have never taken PWO before. I'm getting comments along the lines of "I always thought those were full of junk but yours seems legit".

How's this?


Intro

• My name is Dr. Alex Brewer
• I’m a pharmacist, and I wasn’t happy with the pre-workouts available on the market.
• I knew other supplement companies were under-dosing their products.
  • Example: using 2g citrulline when studies looked at doses of 6g - 8g
• I wanted to avoid harmful ingredients like artificial sweeteners and food colors.

Main Point #1

• Why to avoid artificial sweeteners and food dyes
• Explain why they are harmful and totally unnecessary to include
  • They contribute literally nothing

Main Point #2

• Benefit: feel better - healthier body

Main Point #3

• Benefit: won’t affect your sleep or mess with your heart rate
  • Low caffeine content means you don’t feel like a tweaking meth addict.

Summary/Conclusion

• Focal Force gives you better workouts without harming your body

Call to Action

• Check out Sanctus Nutrition to find more information on Focal Force.
• Sign up for our newsletter to receive up to 20% off your first order
  

Script #2 - he's a fellow pharmacist and a gym owner. He's competing in a regional fitness event this weekend, I really hope he places - would help add some cred to his interview ("he placed 1st at XX Regionals").

 

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[RoadTrip]

Congrats on your first 1K month!

Updates:

1. Sticking points:
   1. Generating traffic. Other than the spike in traffic from the shoutout mentioned above, traffic is barely at a trickle. I get boosts from my email list when I post blogs. I need to get SEO hammered down, get my product listed on Google, etc. to start driving more traffic.

Did you give Facebook Ads another try? I really feel this is your best chance of generating targeted traffic. The challenge here is to create an appealing creative, probably a video, and get it aligned with Facebook guidelines. To get inspiration I would suggest you join some of the facebook advertising groups, if you haven't already...

 

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[MoreVolume]

No worries - this is my own custom formulation. I have a manufacturer blending and creating the product.


This is very helpful - thank you! I do have follow-up questions:

1. Were you previously a member of these forums, or did you sign up solely to market your product? I could see members being resistant to an "outsider" coming in just to market their product. I assume you're being an active member on the forum, making other posts unrelated to your product, etc., but would love to hear more about your strategy here, especially the types of posts you are making.
2. We're actually making some progress on physical locations by avoiding large chains (GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, etc.).
3. Video ads are a work in progress. I'll post them up once they are completed!

Really appreciate your insight & advice!

1) It was a mixture of both. Some were boards that I have been on for years, and others were forums that I had "targeted". Either way, I didn't "market" the product. I would find a conversation that was somewhat relevant to the product, and mention the product as if I were a customer. Because of the nature of the product and its unique name, it quickly became a topic of discussion on one forum in particular.


We have the same academic background (kinda ), so I feel like I should say this to you

You have no reason to be dealing with a manufacturer at this stage inthe game. You're leaving money on the table. ALOT of it.
If you could develop a relationship with a local CC or small company with a GMP certified area...your business life will change instantly. Your business can provide alot of value if you find the right people to connect with.
I've seen the margins of guys who have private label manufacturers produce their supplements. Theres no way I could run a business with those kind of returns. Especially in this industry.



Your credentials can get you far....

 

[Andy Black]

My over-riding thought is that you might benefit from fulfilling demand that's already there, rather than trying to generate demand amongst people who are so-so about it.

• What's better than low hanging fruit?

EDIT: Oh, and is your name seriously Dr Brewer ?!? A phramacist called Dr Brewer? How cool!

 

[Brewer07]

Congrats on your progress. I've heard a lot of people complaining about the quality of the suplements and about the fact that some are even dangerous for health.

Did you make the videos yourself?
Here are some suggestions: The transitions between clips could be better. You could also include some clips with people exercising in the gym and maybe some background music. The camera is shaking and it's a bit distracting.

Have you tried explaining the benefits of taking suplements and adress the people who work out but don't take supplements?

Yes - videos are homemade. Figured that'd be obvious based on the quality although we won't use those for marketing, it was good to just do it and give me experience in front of a camera.

Thanks for the suggestions. We're working on that now - planning to work with the same group that made this video:

View: https://vimeo.com/240096020


Re: benefits/addressing people who work out but don't take supplements. I've made good progress at "converting" friends of mine who "don't take pre-workout" into people who buy my pre-workout. The pharmacist credentials help. I've written several blog posts about the science and benefits behind the ingredients I use. It's working within my network - the hurdle we're facing is how to break beyond personal networks and vastly expand our reach.

 

[Andy Black]

I tell my story ALL . THE . TIME. Everywhere.


You might have heard it (the first radio interview linked to in my signature).

I did a 5 min video telling my story as well:

• You don't need to be an expert

I link people to those all the time too.

The message is more important than the medium I think.

Let me know if you get value from either, and whether you think a slicker version would have helped or not.

Think about your own reaction to it, and imagine how others would react to your own story.

 

[Brewer07]

I mentioned him before on this thread, but I wanted to share the group. Dr Jim Stoppani’s brand, Jym, has a die hard cult like following. Anyone starting a supplement company should strive to emulate what he’s built.

Here’s the link to his group on Facebook. I encourage you to join and just watch the posts for a week Log into Facebook | Facebook

Here’s what you’ll see on this 60,000 plus group.

People will go to GNC, spend $300+ on his products, post a photo of them and the long receipt, as a matter of pride. This happens daily on the group.

People will vehemently defend the brand and its science to attacks from GNC employees or random people at the gym.

People post pictures of their Jym brand T-shirt’s and hats daily.

They’re a well informed and very proud group.

Check out his group. Because you both approach supps from a scientific stand point, I think there are a lot of things he does you can borrow as far as marketing goes.

I can't find the video right now, but he had a REALLY good ad on FB lately - was comparing a scoop of Pre-Jym with the "standard" pre-workout scoop. Point of the message was how his product is dosed based on science and you can tell by looking at the size of a serving. He summed up everything I've been trying to say with one video.

Very good recommendation! Thank you

I'm would consider myself quite health conscious due to an auto-immune disease and the fact that I'm selling a natural supplement blend. In case you wonder: finding a solution to my problem resulted in the business I'm currently running.

So what people who are health conscious usually interest:

• Paleo
• Vegan
• Superfoods: quinoa, spirulina, turmeric, etc.
• Ayurveda / yoga / meditation
• Any auto-immune disease
• Oat meal
• Smoothies
• Organic food
• Probiotics

If you combine this with interests of people who like to lift and use pre-workout shakes, you should be able to narrow down targetting to find your target market. These people are generally less concerned about taste and more about the health aspect.

It would be interesting to know how many people fall into the two groups at the same time (pre-workout + the above interests). You can use Facebook Audience Stats in your facebook ads account to get an idea of how many people fall into this group. And you can try running ads to them. Due to my experience with FB ads I don't know of any better platform to accomplish this than Facebook, but maybe other people can chime in and share their experience (Blogs, Instagram, etc.).

Very helpful - thank you for sharing your experience! Stuff like this may seem basic, but I have literally zero experience running ads, so it's gold to me.

Glad to hear from someone else who created a business by finding a solution to their own problem. That was a key piece of advice that led to me creating my company as well.

 

[JSM]

Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed response. I'll reply to each point:



Thank you for not holding back and being honest -> this is why I get so much value from this forum.

Our target is health-conscious 29-34 YO men, high income, weightlifters -> is this narrow enough? We've had sales from people outside that demographic but that's who I picture when I think "target customer".



Would you turn it off completely? Set to exit intent?

Since running, it has 1,411 views, 78 email sign ups (5.5% conversion). Not saying these are good results, just giving stats. Do you think I'd have better results turning it off completely?



Noted. This is an attempt to play into the "social proof" mentioned in #5 below, since, as you mentioned, we currently only offer one product. It shows the image associated with the product - hence, the product image for samples (girl holding a sample) pops up for male names.

Would you turn this off completely? Change its appearance? Change how often it appears?



She's my fiancee and costs $0 to schedule a photoshoot with we had demand for samples and I wanted to get the product listing up in Shopify ASAP. I gave her a sample pack, her phone, and said I needed a product shot within an hour. Haven't taken the time to make a better image.

Seriously - my photos are shit. Most are stock, those that aren't stock aren't high quality. I'll be honest and won't make excuses - it's on me to make time to get a photographer, get a model, and get some good shots. I haven't done that, and it is costing me money.



What would you recommend re: social proof?

I've attempted the IG/social media influencer route and got absolutely no where, just gave out a bunch of product for free with zero return. Also attempted the "so and so just bought" pop-ups.





Do you care about taste? Should I remove any mention of taste/flavor?



My takeaway here: ignore any BB'ing-type marketing, and go the self-improvement route. Find influencers in this realm. Promote via these channels instead of trying to compete against other pre-workouts in the bodybuilding sphere.



They cost $13.78 to make & ship from manufacturer. $5.75 to ship to consumer. So $19.53 total. I won't bullshit you, I didn't do anything fancy - just rounded up to $25.

Would you price differently? I'll run at $24.99 and see how it performs.



This is a big reason I made this product. The next version will be NO caffeine - 90 mg is essentially pointless and I made a mistake here, because I could be marketing it as "caffeine free", "no caffeine", and hitting a large market there, vs. trying to toe the line and appeal to everyone - which is what I did with the 90 mg. Rookie mistake. I learned my lesson for next time.



Thanks again for your detailed response. I agree that the website needs vast improvement. I take responsibility for shitty pics. Social proof, I'm unsure what to do, to be honest. Mainstream availability...down the future, when we have the sales to be taken seriously there.

Let me know if I missed the mark on anything. Thanks again - I really appreciate it!

If your target market is 29-34 year olds I don’t think Instagram will be your most effective route. Most people on Instagram are under 25. For social proof for that target market I think you’ll be better off on Facebook.

 

[Brewer07]

These are the people actually buying?

What pain points does someone like that have, how does your product help those pain points, and how do you communicate those benefits to your customers?

Someone like that is:

Massively busy
Worried about aging
Worried about continuing to look good naked
Concerned about unhealthy ingredients in supplements
Swamped with ads about other supplements (usually from the "bro" crowd)

How do you market to solve those pain points?

Fix the website first. Always, always, always, one step at a time.

Read cashvertising as someone recommended up-thread.

Read every thread @SinisterLex has written about copy.

Explore other threads about websites and product pictures.

Take notes when you talk to @Andy Black about PPC/adwords. (I've talked to him too, time well spent)



I'm just uptight about pricing.

(I see you already changed it to $24.99. Nice.)

TL;DR

I wouldn't worry about social proof and all that right now. Get the website fixed and then build from there.

You know you picked one of the most competitive markets ever, right?

Those are the people actually buying - from my observations. I don't have the hard data to back that up. Does Shopify have those analytics capabilities or will that have to come from elsewhere?

Thanks for the reading advice. Will bookmark and get to ASAP.

Thanks for listing the pain points a customer experiences. I'll need to think on how to market to those issues & properly communicate how I can solve their problem.

And yeah - definitely a competitive market. Is it even harder since this is my first business? Maybe. But 1) it's a space I'm familiar with, 2) I am my own customer (solving my own problem led to this business), and 3) if I can succeed in this space, there are dozens of others the experience will translate to. Bring it on

Great progress OP.

To echo others, I find it hard to see who it's marketed to as well.
The middle aged guys feel like it's not for them. As the above comments confirm.
As a young male myself, who focuses on bodybuilding/powerbuilding workouts, I feel like it isn't for me.
I prefer the strongest pwo, for the best value, that doesn't taste like cough syrup.
To give you an idea, my favorite current preworkout is APS mesomorph. It's $33 shipped on ebay for 25 servings and is extremely strong (grey area supplement). I use a half scoop of Mesomorph for most workouts. 20 servings for $40, for weak stim product, eliminates millions of 20 something, middle class males. The biggest buyers of supplements.
That's not saying your product isn't a value with your proper dosing. It's just my thoughts on a market I'm familiar with.
If you're 100% behind your dosing and the performance of your product I suggest getting it on to labdoor.

Getting a great rating and strong endorsement from labdoor would help your brand greatly.
Top 10 Pre-Workout Supplements

I see your target market is 29-34 y/o, wealthy males, who lift. That's entirely too narrow imo. You're limiting yourself.

The buzzword "clean" seems to be geared towards the Crossfit market. If that's the case you need to build on it.
They are a cult following and are willing to pay for the best if it's endorsed by higher up Crossfitters.
Maybe heading to a "box" aka crossfit gym and handing out samples to spread the word might be a good grassroots campaign.
The fact you're using the appeal to authority (being a pharmacist) is something they would also like.
The selling points of no artificial sweeteners, dyes, and sugar-free/soy-free/dairy-free are all things the crossfit community endorses for the most part.

If you can sponsor someone with a discount code, that would be a way to increase social exposure. Most of the biggest supplement companies sponsor athletes and give them a discount code. If that code is used on the website for the product, the sponsored athlete gets a small kickback portion of the sale.

Good luck, you're doing well so far.

I appreciate the feedback! Thank you for taking the time to do that.

1. You mentioned APS Mesomorph. Not ragging on the product - but I'm going to go through how I eliminated that as a product I would take. Maybe this will help figure out how I can communicate this in my marketing. They use proprietary blends so we can't know for sure what is in the product, but I can quickly figure it out.
   1. Looking on the ingredients label, the first thing listed is "Synthenox-carnosine/nitric oxide complex: 6500mg Beta-alanine, l-citrulline, dl-malate 2:1, arginine alpha ketoglutarate". I'm not sure why there's a comma between "l-citrulline" and "dl-malate 2:1"
   2. So, this blend contains the listed ingredients, at a TOTAL weight of 6500 mg. IT could contain 6498 mg beta alanine, and 1 mg each of the other two...but I doubt that. From digging around on the website, they do reveal it contains 4000 mg beta alanine. This is good - the clinically-proven dose for beta alanine is in the 2.5 - 5 g range.
   3. So, we've got 2500 mg to split amongst l-citrulline dl-malate 2:1 and arginine alpha ketoglutarate (AAKG for short).
   4. At this point, I know this product is under-dosing these ingredients. Benefits from L-citrulline don't kick in until you reach 6000 mg minimum. AAKG has been proven inferior to L-citrulline so I would never use a product containing that in the first place.
   5. I could go on and do this for their other proprietary blends. This has been the case for every product using a proprietary blend I've ever looked at - under-dosed ingredients. I could also do this for any other pre-workout on the market - PreJym, MegaWatt, C4 (don't get me started on C4)..
2. re: going to local Crossfit boxes. I tried the prominent two in my city. One never responded. The other - got complaints about the taste. I did get a wholesale purchase from a box located in another state, so I agree with you there's a ton of potential here. But as someone who isn't a member at a Crossfit box, it is hard to break into their "cult" as an outsider. I do have a member on my team who does Crossfit and he's making progress here.
3. re: sponsoring & discount codes via affiliate program. This was, originally, my primary marketing strategy. It got absolutely no where. I gained one partner from it who has been invaluable so I'm happy I tried it. No one wants to be an affiliate for a start up. @Andy Black & I discussed this yesterday. I think it works great if you're product is already established, which is why it works so well for 1st Phorm, ON, Progenix, etc. I got some shout outs/posts from accounts with ~10K followers but didn't notice much in terms of traffic, and only led to two sales.
4. Definitely want to get onto labdoor, not in a position financially to do it at the moment though.

listen to this man
coupon codes are key
im not sure how often you offer discounts, but sales really started to pick up for my brand when I started offering discount codes
and like he stated, if you find someone to endorse your brand, the coupon code will be an easy way to track their effectiveness

one form of advertising you should consider is having a few guys make Review videos for Youtube
Doesnt matter if they are legit or not, just have some guy sit in front of his webcam or phone and say a few words about your brand. it will go a long way, and add some more passivity (is that a word?) to your business, as people will stumble on to the videos for years to come

1. I had a Youtube review posted and didn't notice any increase in sales or even traffic following. The person reviewing has an IG account with ~10K followers.
2. Anyone who signs up to receive emails gets a discount (see comments about the "Spin to Win" pop up in other replies above ). We've tried a few "flash sales" and didn't get anything from it. I send out a discount code for every sample and we see conversions here. I also have one partner with a decently sized (~9K) IG account who promotes us constantly - his discount code gets used often.

Caveat - there is a good chance I did something wrong re: affiliates, working with local Crossfit boxes, etc. I don't want to come across as not listening to advice - just wanted to share what I have already tried, and what happened. If you see somewhere I screwed up - please let me know!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'm looking for feedback on the design, layout, etc.

Have you looked at the most successful brands and simply try to model that style/presentation?

For instance,

http://jymsupplementscience.com/

I mentioned him before on this thread, but I wanted to share the group. Dr Jim Stoppani’s brand, Jym, has a die hard cult like following. Anyone starting a supplement company should strive to emulate what he’s built.

Actually his brand has gone through some tribulations, supposedly with some agreement with Bodybuilding.com that went south. But yea, I was a big fan until I stopped using stuff with artificial colors/sweeteners.

 

[Scot]

Wtf kind of witchcraft is this @Brewer07 ?!?!? I log onto Facebook messenger to send someone a message and your daggon ad is IN messenger!

Damn props for blowing up FB ads lately, you’ve beeb retargeting me like a mofo!

 

[JoshM]

I really appreciate you stopping in and giving your feedback!

I've studied JYM, Progenex, 1st Phorm, Cellucor, Optimum Nutrition, Onnit, to name a few.

A few things I noted:

1. They all sell multiple products, have an apparel line, and prominently feature their products on the front page. Example: having a "Shop by your goal" feature, where you are led to different products based on your goal (weight loss, muscle building, etc.)
2. Most have contact info - phone number, address - located in the footer. I am working to figure out how to do this in my current theme, as there doesn't appear to be an option to show that information.
3. Some have a video.

They have more products and more content, and better images/3D renders for their products.

For product pages:

1. Onnit has beautiful product pages. Holy sh*t.
2. 1st Phorm and MusclePharm have very short descriptions with 1-3 images.
3. ON is a short description, photos, athlete testimonials from their affiliate athletes.
4. JYM has nothing other than one product shot and a description.
5. Cellucor has several product shots plus a video describing the product
6. Progenex has product shots, video, a description of the science behind the product.

Product pages all lack images of people with the product. It's just the product.

I am aware I need a better 3D render/product picture. Every time I try and get this off Fiverr, it looks like sh*t. My current design guy is MIA / non-responsive when I reach out.



Added CTA to bottom. Working on a separate landing page to send visitors too rather than landing directly on the product page. I'll let you know when I have a finished version.

I'm a bit late to the game, but here's where you need to get your supplement bottle renders:

Supplement Bottle Mock-Up v3.0 - This is where you spend your $5.

Now, you just need an attractive label. It will cost you. Bad designers are a dime a dozen and are afraid to price on value because they suck, but good designers won't bat an eyelash at charging $350 or more for one or two revisions. I suggest sourcing a designer off of Dribbble - do a search query for 'supplement' and you'll get a glimpse of some of the most talented designers you've ever seen: Dribbble - Show and tell for designers

Contact these designers via their profile on Dribbble, explain your project, and see if you can get an estimate. Trust me, going the extra mile on designing the right label will go a long way for you.

For a well-designed and highly-successful supplement brand, I'd recommend taking a look at Old School Labs. I do a lot of conversion optimization work for e-commerce clients and as far as design/copy is concerned, these guys "get it." A fine mix of attractive design, persuasive copy, strong value propositions, social proof, user-generated content (customer photos), credibility, and valuable blog content.

Their product pages are solid too-- very focused on attacking the problem with their "solution" and addresses concerns/objections that a consumer might have when shopping for supplements.

 

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