Scientific Advertising: Find Out Where the “Problem” Area Is (and Claim the Profits You’ve Been Missing All Along)

Here is what you need to make the "most" amount of money online...

1. An offer with a $1 EPC (Earnings Per Click or visitor value) -- for example, a $47 product that converts at 2% so that "on average" you make $1.00 every time someone lands on your web page

2. A responsive subscriber list with a 2% clickthrough rate -- this means when you send out an email, 2% of all your subscribers click over to your web page. If you have a 1000 person list, expect 20 clicks per day from those subscribers

3. An upsell offer (a 2nd product to buy immediately after they join) set at roughly double the frontend product price with a 33% take rate -- meaning if you make 10 sales at $47, 3 out of those 10 people will buy the additional product at $97

Adding this upsell increases your EPC from $1 to $1.66. 20 clicks per day = $33.20/day = about $1000 per month from a list of 1000.

What Does This All Mean?

1. You need to place Google Analytics on your web page to find out how well it's converting... is your frontend at $1 EPC yet? If you have a $97 product there, does it convert at 1%? Does your $47 product convert at 2%? Does your $17 product convert at 6%?

If not, setup Google Website Optimizer and run an A/B split test to increase your conversions.

2. You need to track your links either using your autoresponder's built in tracking (which is what I do) or use Linktrackr... you NEED to know how many clicks a typical email gets you.

If you're getting lower than a 2% clickthrough rate then you need to either increase your email deliverability, send more emails or improve  your email marketing.

3. If you don't have an upsell yet, add that offer to your download page and track that using a separate Google Analytics campaign as well -- and even split test two different upsells using Google Website Optimizer until you get it to 33%.

If you don't have a list, if you're not promoting to that list and you're not earning $1 per subscriber per month from that list, then you're doing something wrong.

Now Here's Something Cool...

Let's say you had a subscriber list of 10,000 subscribers -- or were able to get 10 affiliates to promote who each had a 1,000 subscriber list. In any case, you have access to 10,000 people to tell about this webinar.

10,000 subscribers and you want 250 attendees to show up live on a webinar. (By the way, present a webinar the correct way and you can hit $10-$20 Earnings per Attendee on a webinar but that's another story.) Now I can work backwards and figure out how big of a list you'd need...

I know that when it comes to a webinar, I get 50% of all visitors to optin and 33% to show up live. That number never changes, even when I ask other people for their numbers.

  • 10,000 subscribers means an email gets 200 clicks per email
  • 250 live attendees means 750 people need to register
  • 750 people registered means I need to send 1500 clicks
  • You'll need to hit those 10,000 subscribers 8 times before the webinar -- easy to do with a few quick update spread out along 5 days

Lance and I go through a very similar thought process every time we plan a new class, offer, or promotion. You basically need to ask yourself these questions:

1. What's the minimum amount of money I'd be happy with in the next 30 days?

2. Based on your subscribers (if you have a list of your own, great -- if not you'll need affiliates) what price point will they buy at? Now you know how many copies you need to sell

3. Assuming $1 per click with no upsell and $2 per click with an upsell, how you know how many clicks you need

4. Now that you know the required number of clicks, you know how many people need to see your offer to click and buy

That Might Be a Little Too Much Math For Now,
But The Point Is...

If you setup your sales letter and didn't make sales, was it because no one saw your web page? That means you need a bigger list and affiliates. If you see 100 clicks coming in every day and you're not making 1-2 sales a day, then you need to convert better! Add a split test and a follow sequence. It doesn't have to be complicated.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, break down the numbers so you can improve. Break them down so that if everything doesn't go "perfectly" ... it's not your fault, there's just one little thing you need to improve.

Does that make sense? What are your thoughts?

Filed in: MindsetProduct LaunchesTraffic

Comments (31)

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  1. Darrel Hawes says:

    Hi Robert,

    I like this comment that you made toward the end:

    “It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

    For whatever reason, I know that is my tendency, and I know I’m not alone.

    I recall Armand Morin saying once something to the effect that marketing really comes down to understanding psychology and math.

    The math part of the equation *should* be the easy part.

    – Darrel Hawes

  2. Terry Jett says:

    Very good advice as usual Robert.

    And not very hard to achieve if people will only follow the blueprint you have laid out.

    Affiliates are a very important key to our business. Without them bringing in traffic and new subscribers, we would not be where we are. Some people forget this…

    Terry

  3. Judy Jackson says:

    Love the numbers… vital for planning. This post couldn’t be more timely. Applying this to 3 things I have in the works I think will be making the difference between a flop and something fantastic… Who knew how much math and science would be involved when starting on this internet marketing adventure.

  4. Jim Redmond says:

    Robert,
    Good stuff as always. The numbers don’t lie. We just have to pay attention.
    Thanks, Jim

  5. Sherm says:

    I love your whole “thinking backward” approach: “How much money do I want to make?”…and then what numbers and actions do I need to make that happen. Stripped away all the layers of fuzzy thinking; this is really helpful splash in the face.

    Action items: Gotta get Google Analytics set up (gotta oDesk that one out) andadd an upsell!

    Thanks for the great stuff

  6. joseph says:

    total newbee Wants to start making money online soon

  7. Curtis says:

    I love the way you have layed out this plan. It is a very specific goal for me to shoot for.
    S. Specific
    M. Measurable
    A. Achieveable
    R. Relevant
    T. Timely

    Goal setting

  8. Fred Raley says:

    Spot on training there pal. That’s what I teach too!
    I even have a very simple spreadsheeet I would be happy to share with folks to help the calculations

    Keep up the great work!

    Fred

  9. Kamin says:

    Great Article Robert.

    Corporations test like this all the time. I need to start doing this for myself!

  10. Nice tip and advise from Robert. What I like most is your entertaining writing and making great points simplified

  11. trap328 says:

    Hi Robert:

    Great information! I am going to set up google analytical this very second – something else to learn. I still have not found that 15,000,000 a day report that assured us all that in 1 hour of reading we would be set for life, sipping fine wine on a sun drenched beach on some awesome island.

    O’ WELL, I will keep learning from guy’s like you and remain patient with the slow and steady progress that come’s to those of us that are not trying to find the quick buck.

    Thanks again!

    Peter Trapanese

  12. I never get tired of reading your posts, Robert. You have a gift for explaining things in a clear manner – with a dash of inspiration mixed in. This post is excellent advice – for new AND experienced marketers. Thanks for sharing great ideas.

    Jeanette

  13. Excellent post Robert. This is something that most of us overlook when starting out but if you don’t know where it is you need to improve things then it is difficult to make any kind of progress. This makes total sense.
    Glenda

  14. Mark Cato says:

    Often, Internet Marketers seem to forget that they are in a business just like a brick and mortar business. No one operating a successful brick and mortar business would ever think of no knowing the numbers. Just like the internet marketer, the brick and mortar business owner must know the conversion rate, cost per customer, etc. are important and must be taken into account. Both types of businesses must change their advertising, demographics, marketing, etc. if their current conversion rates and costs/customers do not meet expectations.

  15. Ray Dye says:

    Hi Robert,

    For me, the keyword to your post is scientific. In terms of science, it should be possible to duplicate the results by anyone that follows the procedure. I believe that your post clearly outlines the steps. Moreover, it is not shrouded by complexity. Thank-you

  16. It’s good to see the process laid out so clearly. Human beings have a tendency to want to complicate processes but having a guide that explains it so well can help maintain the “kiss” principle.

  17. Hi Robert,

    A superb training post (as usual)

    It always helps to have these formula written down like this as it brings clarity to the things jangling around in your brain.

    When you see it written down on paper (or virtual paper) it make so much more sense and becomes far more easy to take direct action on.

    The tips on using Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer are also very helpful for anyone who doesn’t currently have a way to test and track everything.

    So thank you for being the one to write it all down so clearly and precisely, and including info on the tools needed to see if our efforts are working.

    Cheers
    David.

  18. Kylie says:

    Hey

    This gives me great motivation to get started on something simple.

    Ive been reluctant to invest my limited hours into testing a new website eithout being reasonably confident of making at least some money.

    Thanks
    Kylie

  19. Remco says:

    I don’t get the first example, where you get supposedly 33$ per day, with a list of 1000
    That means that you are mailing this SAME list for about 30 consecutive days?? And also expect to get 2% CTR every day?

  20. Robert Plank says:

    Hi Remco,

    Not only do I expect 2%, I get it. My current 30 day average is 1.52% due to some email deliverability issues. The email I sent promoting this blog post yesterday had a 3.11% clickthrough rate. And I email every day. I find it odd that some people are afraid to email every single day… but that means they aren’t fully monetizing their list.

  21. Ray Edwards says:

    Great post as usual, Robert. Solid info, practical advice. Thanks!

  22. Eric says:

    Well thought out examples. Small improvements can lead to surprising increases over the weeks, and months.

    I agree 1000% that it is important to have even some basic tracking and/or analytics. You can not improve what you do not know 🙂

    The working things out in reverse is a great idea. (i.e. “how may people to I need to ‘see’ a webinar offer to get xxx to attend”)

    thanks

  23. Nancy Boyd says:

    Hi Robert,

    I did get google analytics installed on my sites but discovered that the information I want isn’t easily available. Do you have to customize it or something? Are there tutorials anywhere to show you how to do that? I must be missing something here!

    Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.

  24. Marcy says:

    Hi Robert,

    Can you remind me what plugin you use in email for one click sign up to webinar? I think the advice you give is really useful, however what I need help with is actually putting the whole thing together as I’ve bought many packages from you so I have the know how in theory. Practice is still not right though. Anyway, look forward to hearing from you.

  25. Willem says:

    Hi Robert,

    Great post and numbers game and thanks for sharing your views and helping others.
    What I do not understand is WHY you would allow ONLY 26 comments on this post? I find this really weird while you are asking to share the post on Tweeter and FB as well.

    “Notice: Only 26 More Comments Will Be Allowed in This Blog Post…”

    Thanks
    Willem

  26. Mel says:

    Love the clarity your posts provide but I don’t ‘get’ GA or GWO. Haven’t spent enough time learning them.

    In my bricks and mortar business I took my eyes off the numbers this year and am paying the the price.

    Knowing your numbers is CRITICAL to business success. It tells you what to work on and where to put the effort for better returns.

    Great reminder and action prompter, as always.

  27. Needed an Email address out of my Hotmail so I clicked on your email to see What “we” are doing today.

    My problem is still building a list! But every new person who opts in is One more than I had the day before. Between writing content and posting, writing new emails seems a CHORE!

    Speaking of webinars it would be very helpful if the confirmation letter had the
    Date and Time in the Subject

    I just flag my hotmail webinar notices, they stay at the top, Quick and Easy to see where I’m supposed to go!

    Hint….hint!

  28. Well Robert,
    First things firs . . . I would like to thank you for locating me and presenting the opportunities that you have . . . let alone your website . . . talk about a learning factory . . . you are awsome Robert and I hope to continue this association for some time to come . . Thanks again,Craig

  29. John Antaya says:

    Hi Robert
    I found this post to be very informative. It was like going to school again as there were items that I had never even thought of.
    Thanks for this article as I’m sure to use for better results.
    John

  30. jay venka says:

    No guru ever will teach you this kind of business plan. im just printing the awesome content 🙂

  31. WHK says:

    How do we get future podcast?

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