Coffee Break Blogging

In the world of internet marketing, you very often see people price their products with prices that end in 7. $7.... $27.... $97...

Why do they do that? Is there some hidden psychological reason for this?

The answer is no, and this episode goes into it.

We discuss:

• How the 7 prices got started
• How you never see an emphasis on 7 outside of the IM world
• Whether it makes any sense or not to test out incremental price changes
• When is the ONLY time it makes sense to make such tests?

Let's put this into perspective.

What we are going to be talking about today is going to be kind of informal but it is one that you guys have seen many, many times... And that is Prices that end in 7. Very, very popular in the whole internet marketing world. And you might wonder, is there any reason for it? Is there some deep reason you are unaware of why so many internet marketing prices end in the number 7?

A story that is all too common...

You get a product idea. So, you ask a few people about it and they give you glowing feedback. They tell you its a great idea and they'd be interested in it. So, you think you have a winner on your hands. You're onto something! You go and make it, put it out there for sale and...

Nothing. No sales.

What the hell happened?

Another common one is to create a product you think is awesome. You let a few people into it for free to get feedback. They tell you great things. Then, comes time to sell it and once again...

No sales.

So, this begs the question...

How do you test out a product idea?
How do you test out a price?

Well, the short answer is "pre-sell".

This episode describes the typical situation people find themselves in - and then walks step-by-step through the pre-sales process and how to do this for yourself.

The Blog Monetization Model starts with "product/market fit". This process is a HUGE part of how you find and validate that fit.

In terms of techniques to drive sales, the most common one out there is the low-ball the price.

Put it on sale, offer a discount, put out a coupon.

And sure, it works. For awhile. Until it doesn't.

See, low prices is really lazy marketing. And if you end up relying on it too much, it puts your business into a poor position.

That said, there IS a good time to have low prices.

There's a specific reason for them - and a specific context to them.

In this episode of CBB - and part 2 of our series on setting your prices - we talk all about low prices.

• The 5 dangers of relying on low prices as your primary sales strategy
• When the right time is to use low prices
• Specific " real world" examples of low price strategies being used correctly

This is an important episode, because the last thing I want you to do is mislead yourself into thinking you're going to generate a really nice income online on the back of $7 eBooks. :)

Today we are going to go into Part 2 on how to determine and specify what to charge people... How to set your prices. And today, I want to specifically talk about When Is the Right Time to Have a Low Price Point? And this is a really important topic because I find a lot of people really do try to low-ball their price; almost as if it is a crutch, like they are depending on it. Like you can't make sales unless you low-ball the price or if you are giving discounts and coupon codes and things like that. Or I also see people who just instinctually go to low prices because, quite frankly, they are scared to charge anything more than that. And so, we need to talk about this. We need to talk about when is the right time to use low prices and when it is not the right time to use low prices.

In the first of a series where we'll be talking about how to set your prices, we're going to deep dive on the psychological factors that affect pricing - both for your customer... and for YOU.

Many people struggle with what to charge for their products. And the easiest path is just to low-ball the price. While low prices have their place, it is too often done out of fear.

• Fear of being salesy
• Fear of not making sales
• Fear of being able to deliver

So, how do we get past that?

In this installment of CBB, we'll talk about how to get over the confidence issues with your offer and your price. We'll also talk about the foundation for how to set your price. Lastly, we're going to talk about how price affects what happens AFTER the sale has been made. This is a HIGHLY important topic... and may very well result in you confidently asking for higher prices. :-)

This is the first of a multi-part series having to do with prices - an important aspect of product creation and the monetization of our businesses.

Also, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.

So let us get in to our topic for today...

Topics We'll Cover In This Series

What I want to talk to you about today is actually the start of a multi-part series that we are going to run for the next few installments of Coffee Break Blogging. And we are going to talk specifically, about pricing... How to price your products. This is an often a very confusing topic for people; and me, too, at many times. And there is not an entrepreneur out there who has not second guess himself of what their pricing should be. So, if that is what you feel; it is totally normal, it is totally fine. So what we are going to be talking about here over the next few episodes is just some of what goes into deciding what price to have for the various products that you are selling. So if you are worried about pricing your product too high; or are you thinking maybe it will be better to aim low and hopefully make up for it and they'll buy them, or are you one of those people who just basically give everything away for free, then in a lot of times there are just psychological reasons behind that.

Sometimes there are legitimate marketing reasons to give things away for free; in many cases like lead magnets and blog posts and stuff, but sometimes I find that bloggers are just giving things away for free because they are actually outright afraid to ask for money. So those are some of the things that I want to begin talking about on this episode and in the next few episodes. I want to talk about things like, our fear on charging higher prices; I want to talk about why the size of your product does not necessarily have to be humongous... I want to talk a little bit about what happens after they buy based on what they pay; because that is definitely something you need to keep in mind, especially with instructional products. I want to talk a little bit about the balance of exchange and how important that is. I want to talk a little bit about why aiming low on your prices is not always a good idea but there is a specific right place where low prices make sense.

We are going to talk about how to test out a product idea that you want to charge money for and see if it has any legs. We are going to talk a little bit about those internet marketing style prices that end in seven, and whether there is really anything to it. We are going to talk about how price affects the perceived value of your product. We are going to talk about how to ask people what they pay, but without actually just straight up asking them... How much are you willing to pay; you know, it is going to be a lame question. And we are going to talk about how your pricing is affected by your competition.

Not all of that are we going to be talking about today; but let us go and get started on this topic and talk about a few of them...

Should you have a community inside your membership site? Should you set up a forum or set up a private Facebook group? That's the topic of this installment of CBB.

Truth is, while there are many benefits of having a community inside your membership, it also comes with several cons. And those cons are much more pronounced in the beginning.

In this episode, we'll discuss:

• Pros and Cons of having a community
• Choosing a platform for your community
• When is a Facebook group better than a forum?
• When should you say "no" to a community for your membership?
• When is the right time to start a community?
• What is my preferred platform and why?

Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.

In our last episode, we talked about member onboarding and how it helps you keep members in your membership site longer (member retention).

In today's show, we're going to go right at the topic of retention head on...

How do you increase member retention rates?

We're going to cover 10 specific tactics to make it happen, including:

• Orientation
• A member challenge
• Community swag
• Get them to promote your program (and its for a specific reason)
• Gamification
• Payment Plans
• Monthly content teasers
• Community
• Stand For Something
• Promote best members to VIP

For an explanation of each of these tactics, give this episode a good read. :-)

Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.

In the last episode;  Episode 128, we talked about member onboarding which is that on ramp that you need to send new members to your Membership Site through in order to get them integrated and moving along. Now, that has a lot to do with retention; which is how long will your member stick around. Along that note, I want to go a little further on that topic of Member Retention. And we are going to talk about 10 different tactics for increasing your member retention rate on your membership site.

And we are going to go fairly quick through this; we are not going to get super-detailed on them because this is a "coffee break" session.  It is not supposed to be that long. If you want to jump further into all these things, I actually am working on it currently and it will be posted soon inside the  Blog Monetization Lab, but I am creating a new very in-depth Action Plan called the Membership Site Blueprint. And this Membership Site Blueprint will be a full, beginning to end on a how to set up a membership site that is profitable. Not only that, I am going to take you behind the scenes on exactly how I built the  Blog Marketing Academy. Not only every little tool, but how those tools are configured. It is all going to be there, it is going to be a true blueprint and it will be only available to members of Blog Monetization Lab.

So let's jump right in to it. ;-)

So, once you have a member sign up for your membership site, how do you get them started? How do you get them to stick around?

After all, your monthly program really doesn't matter that much if people don't stay a member.

An important component of this is called ONBOARDING.

It is what happens immediately after they join in order to get them up to speed, get them consuming material, and get them winning.

In this episode, I talk about the goals of onboarding and some ways of doing it. These tactics will also go along way toward increasing your member retention.

Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you. ;-)

How do you go about selling a monthly recurring membership?
Is it harder to sell a monthly membership than a one-time payment?

In this episode of CBB, we dive right into the topic of selling a recurring monthly membership. And we do that by discussing 5 different techniques for getting new members.

We'll discuss:

• Webinars
• Front-End Offers and "Splintering"
• Different positioning
• Blog calls to action
• Trials

How (and when) do you use these different things? Learn the in's and out's of each of the 5 techniques in this episode of Coffee Break.;-)

OK, let's be real... all this talk about membership sites lately here on CBB, and what really makes it "sexy" is the monthly recurring revenue. I've made it clear that a membership site can be used in many other ways, but people REALLY like that monthly recurring revenue.

So, how can you do it? What can you offer that justifies a monthly subscription?

We'll discuss:

• The one simple rule that you must follow to sell a subscription and keep them from cancelling
• The 5 things people will pay the MOST money for
• Examples of how to build these 5 things people buy into your membership
• 2 key factors of delivery to keep your members around
• How I deliver monthly content to my own members
• How to go about building a member community
• How to do what I call "outsourced thinking" and charge for it

This episode will likely get the gears going and generate some ideas for you on how you could set up a monthly recurring subscription program for your blog. I hope it does, because this kind of business model is the "holy grail" of online business.

Once you've set this up, you'll find there's no more preferable way to go. :-)

Hello there! I'm back with another episode of Coffee Break Blogging; Episode 125. It's amazing how these episode numbers just stack up so quickly! :-)

In the last episode, we talked about how to take credit cards on your site. But, the next question is... how do you actually accept the order?

That's where the shopping cart comes in. And, there are a TON of these things out there to choose from.

But, what kind of shopping cart do you really need?

In this episode, we'll discuss:

• The different kinds of shopping carts
• In which circumstances you should use each kind of cart
• Different options for keeping things SIMPLE, especially when you have just a few downloadable products to sell
• An overview of the hosted shopping cart systems and why you may want one
• The benefits of using a membership site platform as your shopping cart
• Exactly how I do it at the Blog Marketing Academy

The shopping cart market is huge with lots of competitors. This episode of CBB will help you find your way through it all.