I think it might be harder than you think to capture non-conversions - I am personally wary of PDF/eBook/non-software downloads that want my email address as a primary capture. But I may be wrong.
There's also a weird thread that runs through most products that actually sell - if it sold, people must be willing to pay more. You'll have to balance 5 people at $5 vs 1 person at $25, and what that's worth to you. So often people tell other entrepreneurs to raise their prices! Raise them again! But there is a sweet spot, and good sales don't mean the price was too low.
I bought Non-app Calendar. I liked what I saw, but I doubt I would have paid more for it. It's a nicely constructed PDF, not a book or game or SaaS or web hosting or any number of other things that cost around or below what I paid for NAC. (Write a companion book on project planning with a fresh take and maybe it would be worth more.)
That's not to say I don't like the product. I really do. I've recommended it to friends and we use it as an exercise tool for planning at the office. So, thanks for the good work, I'm just not sure I'd listen to every opinion that comes your way. :)
Hey, thanks a lot for the comment.
I agree on your points. I would probably not double the price or anything. But at one or two euros more, I would have probably sold the same amount.
Regarding capturing non-conversions, you're right: it's probably more tricky than it seems.
The mistakes you listed make it sound like you're trying to move too fast. Moving fast is good when it comes to product development. But not on the business side. Just focus on these two things:
1) Find a few users who love the product
2) Improve it to the point where they start telling people about it
Forget about analytics, pricing pages, press, etc etc. If you can't get some family and friends to rave about it, you won't get the masses.
Realistically, it will probably take years to really nail 1) and 2) above. But once it happens, you'll very quickly become the next big thing. Read up on the history of Pinterest for a great example of this.
All of them are very common mistakes that when avoided can have a significant impact on the ROI. Even if it is just a side project app you should take promotion and marketing as part of the development of your app.
What worked wonders for some friends who launched a small pet project recently was to get very specialized and local blogs to publish a review of their app for the launch date. It's an easy way to reach an audience of potential early adopters.
The email robot as teaser who would have dispatched drops of info in 4 days before sending the link to buy could have been an interesting scenario to test.
Hey! Thanks for the kind words. GA can do the job, but if you take time to set up a goal etc. If you just include the snippet, you're missing some precious information.
I've been looking for something like this. I'm actually going to buy it right now.
Feedback:
● It's hard to buy because there aren't any full screenshots or product pictures of the actual calendar. I can't see exactly what I'm buying. I know you don't want people to rip off your design and re-create it in excel, but a lack of screenshots is what really made me doubt purchasing N-AC.
● Your call to action button isn't at the top, instead it's somewhere in the middle and end of the page. This just adds purchase "friction". It should always be at the top above the fold, and even in the top menu for single product sites.
● Instead of a blog format, you should stick to a traditional webpage design for selling products and services: [Anchor links menu] at the top, then above the fold right where the reader can see it [screenshot] on left [description and call to action button] on the right, with [testimonials] underneath and further info below that.
● You use way too much text to explain your product. If you use more images customers will be able to see what you mean instead of reading what you're trying to say.
● Use pictures of your testimonial authors next to their testimonials. A/B testing has shown time and time again that people trust pictures of faces over text and descriptions.
● Change "Get it now!" button to "Instant Download"
● Change the purchase button color to the same color red as the word "calendar" at the top.
● You may want to switch to GumRoad or at least A/B test it. People not only trust it more but its checkout process is a lot more smooth and doesn't take your customers away from your site.
● Include American currency in the price: From: [4€] to [4€ | $4.50], You'd be surprised by how many people get scared off when they see a Euro sign.
● Include your full name, your email, and the name of the country next to your flag (Sweden?). I don't know who you are. Your picture looks very professional and I feel like I'm getting a high quality product designed somewhere in Europe but there's too much information left blank. More information about you builds trustworthiness.
● After printing it out I just realized, it's not really a calendar. It's a planner. A calendar tells you what day of the week a date falls on. It's no big deal but it doesn't really need to be re-designed every year to be updated. So you could just leave the "2015" spot blank and people can write in whatever year they want.
Hello! First, thanks for purchasing. Also, thanks for your feedback: very interesting to read.
- I'm a bit surprised that you say there are no product pictures. I included the whole product in pictures where I describe the process. What do you mean?
- I used to have a "buy" button before the fold. I removed it because it caused losing sales. People where getting right to the price without reading the benefits of the product.
- The sales letter format is a choice. I could have used a traditional webpage but didn't want to. Still a valid point and I understand that it isn't your favorite.
- Agreed about the pictures next to the testimonials, that's something I should do!
- I'm not happy with the current copy of the purchase button. Although I don't think I like "Instant download" much more. I might try something in between whenever I have the time.
- Gumroad doesn't handle the VAT mess (for now).
- Good point on the currency, I've had some other feedback stating the same point.
- Again, good point. I should improve the "About" section.
It's "just" a side project and while the sales page has performed really well, there's definitely room for improvement :)
Ah, I see. If the "buy button below the fold" and "sales letter format" works then ignore my first three feedback points. I based them on general design principles and A/B testing I've seen over the years but you're right, they don't work for all startups.
There's also a weird thread that runs through most products that actually sell - if it sold, people must be willing to pay more. You'll have to balance 5 people at $5 vs 1 person at $25, and what that's worth to you. So often people tell other entrepreneurs to raise their prices! Raise them again! But there is a sweet spot, and good sales don't mean the price was too low.
I bought Non-app Calendar. I liked what I saw, but I doubt I would have paid more for it. It's a nicely constructed PDF, not a book or game or SaaS or web hosting or any number of other things that cost around or below what I paid for NAC. (Write a companion book on project planning with a fresh take and maybe it would be worth more.)
That's not to say I don't like the product. I really do. I've recommended it to friends and we use it as an exercise tool for planning at the office. So, thanks for the good work, I'm just not sure I'd listen to every opinion that comes your way. :)