100k visits in 7 days
Here is the latest update on the 100k traffic challenge:
As you can see, it’s taking longer than 10 days to generate 100k visits . . . and one big reason is that the volume sources I intended to use . . as you can see from the stats – are NOT cost effective
The big lesson for me is that cheap volume traffic doesn’t lead to leads, necessarily – so have altered the emphasis of this experiment to focus more on quality –
you can see that here:
Friday night update:
As you know, my goal when I started this was 100k visits . . .
and I knew going in that the more voluminous sources would have lower conversions . . .
but when you study that chart, you’ll see that with over 20,000 visits, the bulk of the conversions (and the lowest $/subscriber cost) is coming from strong solo ads.
With some of those conversion rates, (33%, 39%, even 42%) – you could get 1000 subscribers a month on just 3000 visits!
It’s like doing this case study is reminding me personally about how important it is to focus on conversion and $$/subscriber rather than just raw traffic!
But, don’t worry – AM going to show you 100k visits – but it may take a couple more weeks, I am going to do this right and not throw money away! I AM going to continue to buy solo ads, also planning to do some media buys – but probably won’t get to that now until Monday (although might possibly have some downtime Saturday)
Anyhow, would love some feedback – I know it was slow getting started and of course isn’t nearly done . . . but has this been instructive?
What has been the biggest or best thing you’ve learned?
Thanks in advance for the feedback 🙂
Previous days reports:
Today I bought about 8 new solo ads earlier today, most of that traffic is for tomorrow and Sat I think, so don’t have stats on most of that . . .
Because it was 1-click easy and I wanted to finalize the “no” vote on clixsense traffic – I bought another 8000 or so visits . . .
and when you look at the latest conversion stats, you’ll see that the very highest conversion – and lowest Cost Per Subscriber (which in improvely shows up as CPA) – is from some of the solo providers.
Keep in mind, when you buy solos (or any kind of traffic) this is the kind of scattergram you see . . .some low conversions, you knock them out for the future, some are high, you buy again and again, and some are middle of the road and you make decisions.
When you do this over the long run, you build your own “black book” of good traffic sources for YOU and YOUR OFFER –
You see, my offer is not the typical “get rich fast” type of offer that goes out to these leads . . . and some of the providers will struggle to get me conversions, because their list just isn’t right for this topic.
But you test and track and improve over time.
Over the next day or so, I’m planning to buy into an ad network where I’ll be buying banner ads on private sites . . . and again, you’ll probably see lots of variation in cost per subscriber, from site to site . . .
I am hoping for tomorrow for the first buy, but it might be Monday
anyhow, that’s all for now
(prior updates):
Now you will get to see some comparisons of traffic
So far, I’ve been buying high-quality, 50 cent traffic – which obviously I”m not going to do for 100k visits!
There will be a mix of lower-cost traffic.
These are not proven sources, they are sources to test and discover results.
But when you see what happens when you lay them side by side, you then ask, does high volume low cost traffic really work?
And of course it depends.
If you look at this screen shot of this weekend’s traffic, you see over 10,000 visits:
and in this screenshot you see the 4 solo ads and you can compare results:
You see high volume, low price, low conversion traffic
and low volume, high price, high conversion traffic –
but even with the solo ads, you see a variation in conversion rates (and all 4 are on this screen for easier comparison).
And you might ask, ok, who do you buy from?
That’s the key – unless you have contacts and can see like in this study, who is converting and who is not, you do it the way I am doing it here: you buy solos and test each source with a few hundred visits.
if they convert, you buy more.
if they don’t, you don’t.
But the key is down the road, next month – now you know who to buy from – and when you get to where you have 10 people who can deliver 1000 good visits at a 30% conversion rate – you can get 3000 subscribers per month.
The key is doing the testing to see what converts (and also layer in buyer conversion also, unfortunately this campaign only has a high priced ($187) product so far, so with coldish traffic like this, conversion will be low . . . but in your case, you could be more aggressive with a lower price for testing)
My experience is that the higher priced sales make better clients down the road, so I’m running my normal campaign for these.
Now, let’s talk about conversion rates and prices . .
so for Christopher Allen, leads were $2.50 each
For Aliman Paudin leads were $8.00 each (about $100 adspend for 24 leads)
and for James Harrison – 15 leads for about $100 – so around $13.50 per lead!!!
A big loss there, really bad traffic
but notice that if I had ONLY bought those 2 bad solos, I could have concluded that Udimi was a bad place to buy traffic . .. but notice this:
so for Jonathan Soh, I got leads for $1.18, right?
but for the others, they are significantly higher . . . $2 – $13.50 each
So I could go back and buy 1000 visits from Jonathan and feel really good about my purchase.
do you see how you learn and leverage – but you have to track and have easy – to -read tracking screens so that you can easily do that . . .
so in the future, I would buy from Jonathan and probably not any of the others.
And keep in mind, that’s with a simple squeeze page.
Now, we could optimize the squeeze page to get better results too – and drive Jonathan down to less than $1 and the others to maybe $2 each . . .
which is fine (with $20 per subscriber revenue in the long run, I can spend $5 per subscriber and still have a profit margin of 75%)
now, what about the cheap traffic?
The clixsense traffic was $14.80 for 1000 clicks . . .and a conversion rate of .2% so 4 conversions out of 1942 visits . . . so a cost per subscriber of $4.43
so in theory, I could run 100,000 visits a DAY there . . .and get 4 x 50 = 200 subscribers per day at $4.43 per subscriber.
And I might do a supertest like that just to see long term revenue.
The truth is, I know that traffic is weak, and the subscribers are likely just searching for bullets in the sea . . . but part of me deep down wants to save some of them – rescue them from searching, and show them a real business.
So might be willing to spend $500 just to see what I can do with 200 subscribers (think of them as real people) and help a few of them . . and if just 3 of them invest the $187 for the front end training, the leads pay for themselves.
All of that to say – you are seeing about 1/10 of the project so far and hopefully you are seeing how much traffic response can vary, and price per subscriber . . . and you have to test and track those things to know what to spend more money on, and what to stop investing in.
I’m hoping to do another update in the next couple of days, another big traffic buy and maybe another 4-6 solo ads so you can see some more diversity
Sean
(prior posts:)
2 new solo ads and a new squeeze page
Slowly moving along . . . the longer I work on this project the more I want it to be great traffic, instead of just fast traffic – so have really been focusing on the high quality traffic right now, will add in the bulk traffic later . . .
the next squeeze page I have created and am using is this: 4 bonuses squeeze page
Conversions on the first solo ad are low . . . running about 10 % – rough to know if that’s the squeeze page or the provider, but with the next solo running tomorrow, we’ll get some more results.
Also – with this page have 2 solos bought – both run tomorrow
Sellers: Christopher Allen and Jonathan Suh
and here’s a screen shot of the latest conversions so far: latest conversions
From here on out, I’ll post this in reverse order – the latest update right here at the top . . .
I also have tracking set up in improvely, it should show the conversions by source, so once we have a few more sources, I’ll plan to split it out there and show that to you as well
ok, back to work 🙂
P.S. I know that this isn’t the traffic volume I initially intended . . . but I am planning to add in the bulk traffic sources soon, but have spent way more time learning the traffic software and designing the pages than I anticipated . . . I really intended initially to just send traffic to an existing page and then decided instead to focus on using this as an opportunity to rebuild an older, less productive funnel – and have really done more changes than I thought I would need to initially (and certainly spent more time and second-guessing than I usually do)
One client sent me this, I kind of hope you feel the way he does to some degree:
Today I added optimizely tracking to my site and tracking . . .
This allows me to track conversions through multiple products (which clickmeter won’t permit)
HOWEVER – I still plan to use clickmeter to redirect to the squeeze page and the reason is that if any emails get flagged for spam from a solo ad mailer, my url shouldn’t be affected –
then the clickmeter link will redirect to the squeeze page with code on it that will identify the solo I am running . . .
for example, notice this link with the code at the end – I would have set that to the name of the solo ad seller instead of test, if it were a real solo ad link: http://infobusinessuniversity.com/how-to-create-coaching-program-in-48-hours-sean-mize/?ims=test
Now before I go any further, I have to tell you this:
Actually, I don’t have to, but I want to.
Because I think that sometimes it seems like everything I do is easy.
I just “know” what to do.
But when I am doing something new, I don’t always.
In fact, rarely.
And I want to share that with you.
You see, I use clickmeter for solo ads, but rarely buy more than 2000 clicks a month.
So it’s easy with just a few links, I only use it for a few days to make sure they send me the traffic I bought and paid for!
But I am in the process of setting up and entire tracked backend funnel.
And I’ve been procrastinating about it for some time (sound familiar??)
But have simply decided that since I am running 100,000 visits, they might as well all be tracked with the right goals in place!
So . . . I KNOW It’s frustrating on your part.
Because I’m not making all this happen as fast as I intended.
But something tells me that if you get to see all these parts operating correctly, and not just 100,000 visits – it will mean so much more anyhow.
So please consider it a bonus 🙂
Now, frankly, I’m pooped. I did the weekly coaching call today and the faith based call, then spent several hours procrastinating during the process of deciding which conversion tracker to finally use . . .
And frankly speaking, I just don’t feel like placing ads right now.
So . . . I’m going to save ads for tomorrow.
But the good news is . . . everything is set up to just start buying the traffic (finally!)
One more thing . . . here is a screen shot of the traffic that has run since yesterday.
The first line of results is from the exit pop on the site (so organic or my traffic)
and the second line of results is from the 1st solo ad that ‘s running (the 2nd one will run on Oct 7th)
first day of tracking with thrive themes (exit pop and 1st solo ad)
I’m going to call it a day soon – and plan to be back at it tomorrow
Sean
Today I completed the squeeze page with the first layer of conversion tracking installed and am beginning to buy traffic:
As a review, over the next 7 days, I intend to generate 100,000 visits to my website:
www.infobusinessuniversity.com
I’ll use a variety of traffic sources, show you those sources, and show you conversions per source.
It will also include organic and unidentified traffic as a small part of the traffic, and I’ve installed pop ups on those pages that will also be tracked.
So you’ll be able to see total 7 day traffic.
I will be using a wide variety of sources, from very high quality traffic to very low quality traffic.
Normally, I simply run very high quality traffic – but it tends to be time consuming and sometimes expensive to run.
So when I decided to set this up, I wanted to show you a wide variety of traffic sources so that you can perhaps discover some traffic sources you want to test.
And since I’ll be showing you conversion rates – you’ll be able to make your own decisions about some sources and simply not participate!
That’s the advantage of seeing something like this first – hand – because if you see a traffic source that perhaps you’ve wondered about, but haven’t tried – and see that my conversion rate is very very low, you can write that source off.
Also, I’m going to be using a number of sources I’ve never used before, as well.
So it’s a test for me as well!
So . . . please don’t be judgemental about these traffic sources. They are designed to be instructional, and some will show you to stay away.
Others might reveal a traffic source to you that you didn’t realize could convert – but you see it converting for me.
And I’m going to use clickmeter to do the tracking . . . . it allows me to track per source and show 2 conversion metrics, which I will set to be the optin, and a sale . . .
As you may have noticed, it’s taken long enough to get this going because of the logistics of making this “perfect” – and if I try to make it more perfect, I’ll get tons more complaints!
So having said that . . . once I get this going so that it’s STARTED – then I may overlay additional conversion rate tracking . . but for now, I’m focused most especially on just getting it running.
By the way, that’s a lesson across the board in starting and creating things – sometimes you just have to get started, even if it’s not perfect, even if it’s not what you had in mind from the beginning-
So without further adieu –
let’s get started
The first traffic source I’m using is solo ads, and I’ll likely buy a couple a day or so. This will likely be the most expensive traffic I use, most other traffic will be less expensive, or effectively free (I’ll show you as I go along)
I’m going to use Udimi for finding solo sellers
I’ll show you my second buy (I bought the first one as a test so have bought one, this video will show you how I set up the 2nd buy):
Now that the squeeze page and the first 2 solo ads are bought, I will probably close today out.
I still need to finalize the conversion campaign I’ll use, and need to have that in place before I can add conversion code. The plan is to do that tomorrow.
Once that’s done, I’ll beef up traffic, plan on buying about 2 solos per day, plus bulk traffic.
Hopefully, I’ll start bulk traffic tomorrow – but don’t want to do that until the final conversion code is in place! But wanted to get a couple solos bought, of course give you an update, and most importantly, get started!
With so many moving parts (and of course this isn’t my only project) it can take time to set everything up – and in this case it’s taken much more time than some have had patience for!
So thanks for hanging in as I get things set up, and in the next day or so you’ll begin to start seeing stats!
Sean
Pre-Start:
Finally, an update 🙂 Initially I had planned to make this “quick and dirty” as they say . . . 100k visits, conversion, sales page.
Then I got this bright idea that I should show you how I create the squeeze page and make it so you can easily just do the same thing . . . well, I spent the better part of maybe a week procrastinating on the best way to do that, what software to use . . . and finally tonight I just decided I would use thrive themes for the squeeze page and just use one of my standard sales pages and download pages for the thank you/download page combination.
This is just a story of what NOT to do . . . spin and spin and spin thinking of what to do . . . what you will see in a moment is a funnel put together in about 2 hours after I just said, ok, gonna do it with what I have!
So I want to show you the squeeze page now.
I probably won’t start driving traffic tomorrow as I’ve made a commitment with a friend that will likely take the better part of the day – it will be a good time, we are hiking behind his property, maybe 6, 7, miles – and great views. But it means I won’t be online with no distractions so I can focus!
So . .. the hope is Friday. but if you work at home and you have a family you probably know that Friday’s especially are prone to distractions and diversions.
Anyhow, the hard work is done – the squeeze page completed and the upsell sales page/thank you page/download page combo complete.
By the way, you’ll notice the thank you page is not exactly what I teach . . . and the reason is that I have promised to show conversions to sales in this campaign, so want to test at least 1000 visits to the money page, and perhaps split test that with waiting 24 hours to show it . . . but want to have something in place to show you conversions fast, rather than letting desire build in the campaign over time, as I usually do (that is my greatest weakness in this business, because I trust my backend so much, and KNOW the conversion dollars long – run, I don’t prioritize first – day and first- week sales – but I believe I probably should (do you read that hesitant language!!)
Ok, so to review – I’ve created the squeeze page and the upsell/thank you page (but not the long term funnel, just shuttling these leads into my normal campaign)
And due to the vagaries of the independent marketer work-from-home lifestyle, it might be a couple days before I have another uninterrupted sitting like I am having right now, during which I will plan to install the tracking code (so you can see source conversion rates) and then start buying traffic to the squeeze page.
So for now, here is the squeeze page, you can see how I do it:
New Squeeze Page – Create a Coaching Program in 48 Hours
Like I said, that conversion page doesn’t look exactly like I teach . . . and I’ll likely split test another combo – but for the sake of taking action and using what I already have instead of procrastinating some more (and getting more emails asking me why I haven’t started yet!) – I just created a “minimum viable version” for now.
However, if you want to see a GREAT example of what I teach for squeeze page/thank you page combinations, I recommend you check out these client squeeze pages:
Grow Brand Ebook (notice the immediate redirection to the thank you page, no namby page telling you to go check your inbox!)
Slow Self Improvement (notice the immediate download page – and try to optin twice and see what happens! You can do that too in YOUR autoresponder!)
Here’s one more that’s real close . . . maybe one more iteration of changes are needed to make it GREAT: Build Your Blog Fast
You might be thinking, why the focus on the squeeze page . . . because that’s where it all starts. That’s where your visitor first comes to your site and makes a first impression of you – and your squeeze page and the page they get immediately after the squeeze page help dictate what they think of you on day 1.
So . . . which of these squeeze pages do you think works BEST and why? a thought question for you.
by the way, this was my big topic on my weekly coaching call this week . . . so if you are a member and didn’t listen live, be sure and listen to the recording because it was deep!
Ok, hopefully the insider detail was useful . . . and thanks for your patience as it might possibly be Monday before I can sit peacefully, undistracted, uninterrupted and focus on the next step in this funnel so I can roll out 100,000 well-tracked visits!
Thanks again,
Sean
Once I start driving the traffic, I’ll write a doc and add it to this page for each of the 7 days where you’ll see:
traffic sources of the day
conversion rates per source
optins generated
sales made
Now, before I start, I believe you should listen to a recent member training where I taught on generating traffic:
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