Sales from the EDGE Issue #001

Sales from the EDGE
Back Issue #001

Sales from the EDGE Issue #001

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Sales from the EDGE, Issue #001
"Pushing-the-limits" in Web sales
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SALES FROM THE EDGE is sent only to MYSS! owners and to paid
subscribers (we'll charge for the EDGE soon).  We publish it
only when I have something truly original and important to
share with you.

It might be a brand new sales-getting technique or perhaps
the result of a sales-generating experiment that we run on
our own site.

Whatever the topic, I promise you this...

It will help *YOU* sell on the Web.
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If you have not subscribed to SITE-SELL!, you're not getting
the whole MYSS! package.  Please do it now -- it's free..

>>        http://www.sitesell.com/site-sell.html
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July 22, 1999
Issue #001
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PLEASE PASS THIS E-ZINE TO OTHERS.  OR, BETTER STILL, LET 
THEM KNOW HOW TO GET IT FOR FREE...  

>>        https://secure.sitesell.com/order.html     :-)
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>>        THIS ISSUE'S TOPIC --> E-zines

1) Do you know *WHO* your subscribers are?

2) You've got to SELL your free e-zine!
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1) Do you know *WHO* your subscribers are?

I have just completed an analysis of SITE-SELL! subscribers
(SITE-SELL is our free e-zine that is available to anyone
who visits the site). Out of the last 1000 subscribers to
SITE-SELL!, only 19.8% have bought MYSS!!

Why the exclamation points at the end of that last sentence?
Because I was surprised.  I expected that number to be at
least 40%.  This stat has some important implications.

Hey, anyone who subscribes to SITE-SELL! obviously has an
interest in selling on the Web.  So why wouldn't they pay
US$17 for a book that is now generally acknowledged to be
the best... at any price? Especially when we guarantee it,
100%??  Especially with the powerful book reviews and reader
testimonials, fully documented, on the site?

That question has prompted me to design a study to find out
why visitors don't buy.  This is a study unlike any other.

Here's how I figure it... Half the people who don't buy
MYSS! are most likely just not that interested in the topic.
They came in, looked around, and said, "Nah... not for me."
Fair enough.

But what about the other half?...

They're leaving for reasons that I have to learn.  Once I
discover the reasons, I'll be able to address them. And I'll
share them with you.  Stay tuned for results.

Meanwhile, this 19.8% stat can be used to thumbnail my
customer.  They are likely people who simply worry about a
$20 purchase.  So they have to be reminded of the extremely
high value-to-dollar ratio, frequently.  I'll have to stress
this benefit in SITE-SELL!.

And this low number also raises the importance of SITE-SELL
in my own mind...

Since over 80% don't own MYSS!, but are interested enough to
subscribe, they're only a click away from buying MYSS!.
SITE-SELL offers me the opportunity to convert a large
number of INTERESTED people into buyers.

-----

Now let's look at the flip side.  Out of the last 1,000
PURCHASERS of MYSS!, only 22.8%  have subscribed to
SITE-SELL!. That means that 77.2% of *YOU* have not
subscribed to MYSS!. That means that 77.2% of you have
already missed an important article on customer support.

To see this first back issue, go to...

>>   http://www.sitesell.com/site-sell-backissues.html

Now, I *would* like to know why so many buyers of the book
have not taken the freebie...

o  perhaps people assume that I will just cut-and-paste
articles from the book into this e-zine?  Nope, that won't
happen. Every article is brand new.

o  perhaps they assumed that it's NO GOOD, since it's free?
Nope, we've already had raves over the first issue.

So, in a week or two, we'll put up a response form.  When
it's ready, I'll ask for your reasons.  People who
contribute will receive a report back that summarizes the
answers.  I expect there to be some surprising and useful
info in that report.  Why?...

Because, until you know why people don't subscribe, how can
you really address the issues?  After all, you can't treat a
disease until you make a diagnosis!

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ACTION STEP: Thumbnail your e-zine subscribers.  Figure them
out.  What's the #1 benefit for them?  #2?  Weave these into
the content of your e-zine.

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ACTION STEP: Please *do* subscribe to SITE-SELL!...

>>  http://www.sitesell.com/site-sell.html

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2) You've got to SELL your free e-zine!

If you think that signing people up for your free e-zine is
a no-brainer, I hope to make you think again.   :-)

Let's start with another interesting stat.  The PGOLD XPRESS
newsletter is our free newsletter "backup response" for
PennyGold.  We have well over 5,000 subscribers to that
little niche publication, which means a 6-to-1 ratio between
freebie subscriptions and PennyGold sales (over 900 now).

On the sitesell.com site, we were actually selling *MORE*
books than free subs!  The actual ratio was 0.65-to-1 --
yes, we received 65 subscriptions vs. 100 purchases!

"Hey, what's going on?"  I couldn't believe it.  How the
heck can we actually be selling more books than giving away
free stuff?

There are, of course, a few reasons to expect a difference
between the two sites. After all, PG is expensive (price
just went up to CAD$700). And PG is in a rather unique niche
market -- there are not hundreds of free penny mining
e-zines on offer.  So people are less likely to buy PG and
more likely to subscribe to the e-zine.

Still, I expected at least twice the number of MYSS-buyers
to take the free subscription.  We tried a few things, each
of which did a little to improve the rate...

o  moved the link to the top of the left margin

o  did a gentle animation with the SUBSCRIBE link

o  removed the need to have a javascript-enabled browser 
   (we used a js pop-up at one point).

Take a look now at the top of the left hand margin...

>>        http://www.sitesell.com/

These changes did boost the ratio up to 0.85-to-1.  Not good
enough. So then, we got radical.  We made a BIG change...

I had assumed that "free" was a no-brainer... that there was
no need to sell the reader on "paying" me for SITE-SELL!
with his e-mail address.

Wrong!  Big-time wrong!

One day, I looked at the subscription page on the PennyGold
site.  I realized that I did something *DIFFERENT* on that
site...

... I *WORKED* to get the free sub.  I *SOLD* it!

>> http://www.goodbytes.com/pennygold/pgxprs1.html
>> Please, just visit -- don't subscribe.  And don't buy PG.
>> This is just an example, meant to show you the effort.

And what was Ken "the so-called expert in Web-selling"
doing on the sitesell.com site?  I had a measly, quick
"gimme your address" form.

We now devote an entire page to *SELLING* that free
subscription.  Its MWR is... get the e-mail address.

>>        http://www.sitesell.com/site-sell.html

It took time.  It needed a good USP and strong benefits.
These take some hard thinking.  When you're in a hurry (and
we all are), it's almost natural to take the easy route.  
That's certainly what happened to me on this!  

The ratio since the change has increased to 1.2 to 1 --
Phew!  We've almost doubled the original response rate.

I'll test from time to time with better copy and see how
close we can get to a 2:1 ratio.

I doubt if we'll ever get past 2:1 because Web marketing
info is a crowded area.  So the bad news is that you have to
WORK to SELL your free subscription.  The good news is that
once you've done it, the improved response rate works for
you 24 hours a day.   :-)

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ACTION STEP: Do you offer an e-zine?  If not, review the
subchapter in MYSS! now.  It's a powerful way to build an
online business. No need for details here -- it's all in the
book.

If you *do* already offer a free newsletter, review your
sales effort.  If you expect people to just GIVE you their
e-mail address, I'll bet that you are disappointed in the
results...

... especially if your target market is bombarded with free
e-zine offers.

*SELL* your backup response. Think of an e-mail address as a
form of currency.  Now... get paid in that currency!

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Back issues available at...
>> http://www.sitesell.com/edge/backissues.html (not yet!)
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TO UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe, go to the following URL and enter your e-mail
address. If you use more than one e-mail address, be sure to
enter the same one that you used when you subscribed.
>>  http://www.sitesell.com/unsubscribe-edge.html
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Written by Ken Evoy, M.D., 
President of SiteSell.com
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