John.... I Think You Might Be Limiting Your Online Sales Potential
Posted Mar 5, 2001 1:55 AM
Hi John,
Must be Magic! ... Can't see the ebook?
Okay, I'm being cheeky here.... I realize you are supplying the book on a CD-ROM instead.... But why ?
Is there any reason why you decided to deliver the book on a CD rather than in an instant downloadable ebook?
When I first started out, I also made that mistake!
I sold my own ebook on both ebook and CD rom format.
Guess what? ...I soon found that 95% of my customers prefered the ebook version.
The CD sold at a higher price and international freight was expensive from Australia. As the majority of customers (over 90%) were from the USA and Europe, they opted for instant delivery of the information and the lower ebook pricing.
After a few months, I ceased production of the CD version.
Had I persued selling just the CD, with no ebook version.... I would have gone broke!
What do your customers get on the CD, besides the book text and photos?.... Do you also include video segments or magic software, etc?
If you don't, then you would be far better offering it as a PDF ebook.
Quite frankly, for the $63.95 you are charging, it is a little on the expensive side for a CD autobiography. At this price, you would be better off supplying a printed version or "real book" for this amount. If however the CD was a "how to" publication, showing budding magicians how to perform magic tricks, then it would be a different story.
Also, I found it a little confusing, or should I say, it sends the wrong message to your visitors....
That is showing a book cover, when they are getting a CD-ROM. Why not include a CD-ROM cover showing the disc half protruding from the cover in a 3D form?
I understand that your friend's autobiography must have once been available as a real published book, hence showing the cover, but I think this is alittle confusing if you know what I mean.
When I reveiwed your web page, I pretended I was a person interested in magic, as your targeted visitors would be.
I suppose if I was interested in the magicians trade... Yes, the book / CD would be appealing to me.
I think you need to build up the "greatness" of this magic master the book is about.... Maybe with a powerful headline followed up with some compelling sub-headings in bold text.
Showing the CD chapter contents as you have done is good... Customers can certainly see what they are getting for their money.
There are a few spelling mistakes in your copy that you need to fix up... Like "tommorrow" in your slogan at the top of the page.
The testamonial from "Magic magazine" - The independent magazine for magicians" is also a worthy inclusion from a respected published source... That is good for credibility.
The other thing that is confusing (especially to non-Australian residents) is the inclusion of GST in your pricing on the order page which is different to the published price on the web page. Remember, on the Web, you are reaching a world audience, and every country has their own taxes, GST, VAT, etc.
Don't confuse the issue here.... Drop the GST wording and just give an all up price. Most of your clients will be from overseas, unless you intend to mainly promote your site within Australia. GST would not be applicable to them. On orders you get locally, just deduct the tax amount and send that to the ATO..... Keep it simple, don't confuse the issue or create a buying negative in prospective customers minds.
Personally, I think you really should offer an ebook version as well as a CD, as you are severely limiting your sales potential here.
Warmest Regards & $uccess
Ricky Higgs
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Author of the e-book
- Sell Your Brain On The Net