Big Lessons from a Product Launch

Starting a new little feature today called, “What’s Working Wednesdays”. Each week you’ll get a real-world case study of what’s working for money making in one of my businesses.

This fits in nicely with Motivation Monday and QnA Fridays.

Now I have some cool stats of my own to show you next week about Facebook, but first, we’re going to hand over this column to massive action taker, Mike Whitfield. He just did another big re-launch of his workout product and added over a hundred new customers to his business.

What makes you such a fast action taker, Mike? Is it the shoes? It’s gotta be the shoes.

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Discovering What Works
By Mike Whitfield

I was recently awarded the TT Trainer of the Year and I was very excited and humbled by it. But to be transparent, about 10 minutes later, I thought it was the perfect reason to celebrate with a promotion of my finishers.

I also decided to upgrade the sales copy and even sweeten the deal. I literally wanted to make it a no-brainer offer.

When I tried to tweak the current copy, I really struggled.

I also felt like I was forcing the product. So, I started with a clean slate and I found that much easier. There was a big lesson I learned when I wrote the new copy, too…

BIG LESSON – Be yourself.

I cut loose, just like I do with my articles, and it came out much more natural. I also based my copy on a recent survey I sent to my readers.

One of the questions I asked was, “Why do you use finishers with your workouts?”

BIG LESSON – Survey your list.

The answers were invaluable. Through that feedback, I discovered my theme for my copy, which was to challenge the reader to invest in the program. People love a challenge.

But more importantly, it helped me create the perfect headline.

I got feedback from Craig’s assistant, Amy, who has been a great accountability partner and gives amazing insight.

BIG LESSON – Get an accountability partner (through a Mastermind)

We had a winner, but to be sure, I wanted to split test them to leverage the traffic coming to the site through affiliates.

Next, I wrote the copy as if I was talking to one person face-to-face. I somewhat rolled the dice, because some of it was a little edgy. Here is an excerpt:

“If you hate hard work or you are not motivated, go join a support group where you go round and round in a cheesy circle doing the same exact exercises for the same exact reps over and over. That’s the program you’re looking for, not this one.”

BIG LESSON – Consider challenging your readers in the copy.

Now it was time to improve the offer. I wrote two more manuals to go with the main program, so now I had 3 Finishers manuals (over 60 finishers) as well as two workout programs.

BIG LESSON – Make it a “no-brainer” offer.

Finally, it was time to select a price. I figured the win/win would be to offer the program at $19.99, my lowest price ever.

I knew my affiliates would benefit from this and I would gain customers with this no-brainer offer. The bonus was that I set up two upsells, which I didn’t have before (oops).

The second day of the promotion, I checked the conversion rate.

I was stunned. The site was converting at 10.26% with the promotion and having affiliates mail out. Once the promotion was over, I checked it one last time and it was at a whopping 14.11% conversion to referred traffic.

Even with just a $19.99 front-end sell, I made $8,100, which is fantastic because I also recently found out my wife and I are expecting our second child (ha-ha).

So to sum it up, here is what worked for me:

– Create an amazing no-brainer offer (I wanted to make it as hard for my readers to say no to this as it is for me to say no to pancakes – and I can’t do that!)

– Craft a headline that resonates with your ultimate customer

– Be yourself with sales copy and be transparent (I told my story of being 300 lbs at one time)

– Get affiliates that have done well for you before to help out

– Figure out a reason to promote something

– Have fun and deliver great value

Those are your BIG LESSONS from What’s Working to Makey the Money online.

To discovering what works for you,

Mike Whitfield

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Thanks Mike, always inspiring to hear about your success.

You’ve come a long way in just the 10 months since you showed up at the TT Summit, became a TT Trainer, joined our Mastermind group, and identified a niche market you could dominate.

And now you are in total domination mode.

Congrats on your well-earned success.

Keep finishing strong,

Craig Ballantyne

Actions speak louder than words. It’s time to hold yourself accountable. You can’t rely on anyone else to change your life for you. Do you want this or not? Are you going to do this or what? Just remember…

“Whatever your dreams are, start taking them very, very seriously.” – Barbara Sher

…We all have less time than we think. Take action today.