I have just begun working on building a list in the last three months.

It is so small that I feel foolish about talking about it so seriously. I have 80 people on my main list and 24 leads on my most recent promotion. I squeezed them through to the main sales page where they did not convert.

It is deadly clear that I have a limited amount of time.

I am going with the model that the prospect generally needs to be exposed to an idea seven times before they are ready to buy it. I did not have seven pieces of copy ready to go which was a mistake. I have sent three more e-mails without any conversion. I have four more shots?

It is a lot of work to capture even 24 leads for a $200.00 product that is being sold for $20.00 elsewhere. I figure since my copy is rough they must be really qualified. They must really desire some information.

I realize that the whole game is now depending on my follow up sales letters.

A small list needs powerful copy to convert even a few of the leads.

Is there a way to split test copy for a list that is so small?

My personal feeling is that it is too small to get any sort of scientific idea of what the variables might be.

Do you think that the crux of your problem might be that you're charging TEN times more for an identical product? If these people are as qualified as you say they are, then they know what they want to buy, and they probably have a rough idea of how much they should be paying.

If they're getting through to the sales page and then not converting, the first thing I'd be trying is some price changes. Better to have a couple of sales at $20 than none at $200 ???

Garrett,

Testing for price seems even more hopeless.

Testing copy for sales conversion with the under 200 visitors to my pitch is my original challenge.

I am working with Autopilot Traffic Machine, you may have seen the main promotion in December or November. At the time we were given an affiliate link that paid 70% on the $19.95 product.

I promoted at that price through my social network and small list as did hundreds of others. I did not convert at the regular price of $19.95.

I was possesed to obtain the resale rights for some reason...even before I had seen the product. I am tight fisted with my money. Ewen Chia has copywriting that I really like.

My price strategy is simple. The product claims a value of $297.00. I have raised the price to $197.00 and have tacked on over $1000.00 in bonuses. I am confident that once they do buy the product they will be more than pleased. I call the package ELITE and I even break a cardinal rule by putting the price right into the title of the page.

This may discourage some prospects but I am filitering out noise to find real signal. The 24 leads I have all were exposed to the ideas of $197.00 and ELITE when they left my sales copy.

I am using Ewen's sales page because I still think it has merit even though it has been over-exposed.

My price straregy is to make this package stand out from the crowd.

My issue is that the COPY must demonstrate the value of the product.

The bonuses are undisclosed. Silly really. Who is going to take my word for it that they have over $1000.00 value. On the otherhand, if you show the cards then they can choose to deny the offer more easily. Dont give them a reason to say no.

I have been informing how the system works in many articles and even a few videos but nothing that calls for action to buy and clearly demonstrates why they should buy.

If I had 10,000 names this would be a no brainer. With 24 prospects...this is more like a card game. The cards are pages of copy. They elicit the change we want or they don't.

Why don't you lower your price to $69.95 or $99.95 and have $100-$200 of bonuses?

Your offer is probably turning people off. $1,000 worth of bonuses is not realistic, people will think it's a made up number and think you are a liar.

I would try to be more realistic if I were you.

What about showing the bonuses?

The original price is $297.00 for two audio classes but was promoted for $19.95.

Do you think that the "supposedly" temporary offer has devalued the product more than 50% even with bonuses?

This is something to be aware of when buying resale rights if this holds true.

I have faith that with the right copy I can convert 2% of this into a sale.

Chris:
I'm going to suggest a totally different approach. Why not complete your series, then drive new people through your sales funnel?

Here's my concern. If you spend a bunch of time trying to convert these 80, then never setup your series, the next 80 you'll be fighting to convert too.

If you really want to do yourself a favor, try selling the 80 direct by phone. "Noticed you didn't take my offer, I'm calling you today to find out why?" Recordings of prospects objections will help you optimize your follow-on.

If you've sold anybody on the first pass, then you know going after additional leads will help finance chasing the first batch. If your original letter never made any sales, then you have bigger problems.

Look at sending informational articles that work around the pains of not owning the product, or that introduces mistakes people make, pointing back to the original sales letter.

An A/B split would be a waste of time at this point. Don't bother, just focus on getting a bigger list together, drive what works, and focus on the sales process.

Sincerely,

Justin

Justin is spot on.

Testing at this level is just plain ridiculous.

What you need to do is find a substantial hungry market first.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

FREE 59 minute copywriting audio How To Find A Hungry Market Online

Thanks.

I figured as much but had to ask. You never know when someone has a tweak or tip that will help you...especially around here.

I am disappointed in the conversion of the sales page copy. Ewen Chia and Jo Han Mok wrote it or had it written and I loved it when I read it. I have added my own pages to the sales experience as well. I added a new page today that I intend to both prime the prospect and disarm them from the sort of over hyped sales language that follows on the sales page.

I think the best way for me to look at this experiment is that I paid $80.00 to build my list and to continue to build a list of people hungry for internet marketing information. All this talk of hunger is making me hungry.

There is only one group of individuals who matter when it comes to judging the relative merits of a piece of sales copy-- and it isn't you, Jo Han Mok or any copywriter on this board...

Internet marketing information-- ugh.

Yeah...the secret police!

Sorry but I don't get what you are saying...

I mean sure common sense is that if it works it works. A generalized overstatement is that the only one that matters is the customer.

Matter can be defined on the web as "a vaguely specified concern".

To be truthful to language here Mr. Winicki we have to realize that we can specify a vauge concern for just about every group you mentioned.

My Self, Jo Han, and any copywriter on this board...it matters to each of us in a different degree and I am not willing to narrow down my perception to what sells or does not sell.

The three individuals you mentioned, I would assume were probably reading this post about list building are involved in selling Internet marketing information to some degree. According to the social theory that I am working with by participating in a group mind while I learn and share my basic mistakes we all grow more skillful. This is why I feel that discussing the details of how my small list needs big copy "matters" to myself, and the copywriters who participated in this experience is worthwhile. As for Jo Han it would be typical of my recent luck if the one peice of copy where I criticise him crosses his desk.

Like yourself I am a Big Noise marketer. I have been learning to focus more and io take a breath and edit my writing. I learned a lot from the tension that went down with my friend Ben on this board. I learned that with professional writers it is very wise to be clear in your language.

My small list is very important to me. I hold true to small tests are the best way to learn. I may not be able to split test just yet but even just looking at the difference in traffic, talking about copywriting, and reflecting on myself brings me closer to the event that matters to a very large degree. The moment of conversion to the sale as you suggested.

Like everyone has said so far, my sample is too small to test. 200 people viewed my page since the 28th, 20 of them opted in. If I had not made some rookie mistakes I am sure that I would have converted the average 2%.

Again I just want to stress the importance of making mistakes as part of the education process. This is why discussing copy matters. It is an important part of the learning process. I hope this frames this discussion in a more positive light for you.

Enjoy,

Chris Titan

p.s. Do you really think that yellow pages warrants scoffing internet marketing information? I felt some of your Big Noise on that one...hahaha