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OP here. So, I'm not selling anything in this post. There is a CTA for my newsletter, but that's it. In this post I... * Talk about how I identified a "cash

by bdunn 12y ago

OP here. So, I'm not selling anything in this post. There is a CTA for my newsletter, but that's it. In this post I... * Talk about how I identified a "cash flow" (customers of X, in my case - Infusionsoft.) * Ran a simple ad campaign that was meant to help me find other customers of Infusionsoft. * This ad campaign drove people to an email course that covered why it's a good idea to show variable content to someone depending on where they are in your company's sales funnel. * I talked with each new subscriber to make sure that I didn't waste my time writing something that was only my problem. * Went on to create a very simple product that solved a very specific pain point, and how I then delivered this new product to the people I was talking to. Not sure what's scammy / whatever about that. I've seen a lot of people — especially engineer types — who dive head first into building some massive SaaS only to get demoralized along the way and give up because it doesn't end up becoming some huge success right away. My goal was to try to make a case for building a very simple product for a very specific pain point, get customers who have this pain and want it solved as quickly as possible, and then (possibly) add complexity and scope from there.

Udo 12y ago
Hey. I'd like to re-iterate that I think you're doing a great job, something which I and many others don't have the skills or the talent for. But yeah, it sure looks like you are selling something. Not in the "act now, buy this" sense, but still. Please understand that I'm not putting you down, on the contrary. With all the specifics you provided, this is still a very non-specific article. It's a beautifully written description of a technique that provides a lot of detail and yet gives very little away that could actually be used to learn something off you. And again, that's perfectly OK. I absolutely agree with you about engineer types, and I'll be the first to admit I'm a prime example of that group. In between those two extremes, there is a spectrum of course. > My goal was to try to make a case for building a very simple product for a very specific pain point, get customers who have this pain and want it solved as quickly as possible, and then (possibly) add complexity and scope from there. I'm not sure I agree about the pain point being the most important thing in that strategy, but that may be because after reading the article I still lack the information to judge what it actually is you solved. I ended up building a WordPress plugin, but what I built and how I built it is immaterial here.
- andyakb 12y ago
  What other specifics could he have included? He showed his methodology in finding a problem, the way he found customers [including the copy in his ad], how he structured a email course, and the final product. The only other thing he could have included would have been the copy he used in the email course. This blog lays out a very clear framework you can operate within, so I dont really understand where you are coming from.
biot 12y ago
Throughout the text, there are cross-promotion links for your other products: 1. The $199 "Double Your Freelancing Rate" book 2. The $1,799 "Consultancy Masterclass" 3. The "five day email course" itself, through which "[you] cross-promote [your] products" 4. The $197 "WordPress Conversion Funnel" As well as indirectly for Planscope.io itself. It's actually an impressive thing and I'm curious how well these links to your other products fare. Do the links in these articles end up converting leads at a decent rate?

by bdunn 12y ago

Udo 12y ago

Hey. I'd like to re-iterate that I think you're doing a great job, something which I and many others don't have the skills or the talent for. But yeah, it sure looks like you are selling something. Not in the "act now, buy this" sense, but still. Please understand that I'm not putting you down, on the contrary. With all the specifics you provided, this is still a very non-specific article. It's a beautifully written description of a technique that provides a lot of detail and yet gives very little away that could actually be used to learn something off you. And again, that's perfectly OK. I absolutely agree with you about engineer types, and I'll be the first to admit I'm a prime example of that group. In between those two extremes, there is a spectrum of course. > My goal was to try to make a case for building a very simple product for a very specific pain point, get customers who have this pain and want it solved as quickly as possible, and then (possibly) add complexity and scope from there. I'm not sure I agree about the pain point being the most important thing in that strategy, but that may be because after reading the article I still lack the information to judge what it actually is you solved. I ended up building a WordPress plugin, but what I built and how I built it is immaterial here.

andyakb 12y ago
What other specifics could he have included? He showed his methodology in finding a problem, the way he found customers [including the copy in his ad], how he structured a email course, and the final product. The only other thing he could have included would have been the copy he used in the email course. This blog lays out a very clear framework you can operate within, so I dont really understand where you are coming from.

biot 12y ago

Throughout the text, there are cross-promotion links for your other products: 1. The $199 "Double Your Freelancing Rate" book 2. The $1,799 "Consultancy Masterclass" 3. The "five day email course" itself, through which "[you] cross-promote [your] products" 4. The $197 "WordPress Conversion Funnel" As well as indirectly for Planscope.io itself. It's actually an impressive thing and I'm curious how well these links to your other products fare. Do the links in these articles end up converting leads at a decent rate?