It’s Time I Level with You

I’ve got a confession to make:
I’m human…I make mistakes, I have flaws…strengths and weaknesses (just don’t tell my wife).
I get excited, frustrated, defensive, self-conscious, and all that other good stuff that people aren’t supposed to admit. It’s part of life, and I take it for what it’s worth.
The reason I say this, is because as you probably know, Beyond Blogging launched just days ago (seems like an eternity already) and Mike and I have seen our names plastered all over the net, in both good and bad fashions.
Frankly, it’s more press than I’m used to, and considering I’ve written for some pretty large blogs, that’s saying a lot. However, when I write for Copyblogger or Problogger, I’m familiar with that audience, and they with me.
In this instance, I’m being shoved in front of thousands of new faces that don’t know me from Adam, and I think it scares both of us.
Great Discussion
What I love about this, is that thanks to Google Alerts and Twitter, I’ve been able to find almost every mention of my name, Mike’s name, and the book’s name. I click the link and head over to see what’s going on, and when I do, I usually find a great conversation going on.
Thanks to these conversations, I’ve learned a lot, and, I think, so have many others.
Perceived Value
For instance, on Chris Brogan’s blog, his defense of our price caused him to write a really interesting post about perceived value. In essence, people were complaining about the price of our book, and he was defending it for us. I didn’t ask him to, but he did (thanks Chris).
I can understand the complaints, and it’s something that Mike and I struggled with when we priced the book. Frankly, we weren’t sure if we were comfortable with that price, but here’s the deal…
Information Isn’t Free to Those that Offer It
Writing Beyond Blogging cost Mike and I 5-6 months of laborious writing, which we enjoyed, but which we did nonetheless. From there, we spent several hundred dollars on book design, more on web design, and more on everything from the shopping cart to a domain name. This book cost us both time and money, and because I don’t want to spend time away from my family any more than I have (In Afghanistan and working 2 jobs), we decided we wanted to make a profit.
Now, when you take a $47 book, split the commission with an affiliate at 50%, and then subtract merchant fees and expenses, you aren’t left with much. So, those of you that thought we were doing this to get rich are probably off the mark. Would I like to get rich? Hell yes. Did I expect this book to make me rich? No, but we’ll get to that…
The Value Debate
Now, I realize that I can’t price on our effort, because that’s not what you pay for. You pay for value. I think we provided value, and in fact we haven’t had a single negative comment about the book from a single buyer, but to some, even that isn’t enough.
They wanted a $9.99 version. Could we have created one? Probably, but I can tell you it wouldn’t have been as solid. Not because we don’t care, but because when creating something like this, you have to weigh opportunity costs.
Bloggers give for free, in heaps already, but we have to make a living, which is why, from time to time, we sell $47 E-Books.
Creating Your Own Products
I say this because when you create a product of your own, you should consider this debate before creating a price.
We felt our content and our marketing could support that price tag…and from the looks of our early sales numbers, we were right…but I’ve also sold $12 books, and $97 courses. Each had a value and a purpose, and were priced accordingly.
Have there been complainers? Yes, in fact there’s an interesting debate about the rise of the $100 E-Book over at The Ideas Blog, but that goes with the territory. You have to go with what you feel is right.
Marketing Style
The next topic I’d like to discuss, is our sales page. Some called it “MLM,” some called it “scammy,” and some called it “salesy.” I’d like to think it was exactly what it was supposed to be, which is a page designed to send a message to a specific target audience, and prove that the book was worth buying for them.
As I said on another blog…I don’t like writing long sales copy. I didn’t want to for this project, but it’s what I know, and it’s what I know that works. Some people don’t need that much to make a decision, and I get that, but there are a lot of people that do. There are a lot of people that still print out sales pages before they buy.
Me? I scroll to the bottom and check the price, and based on what I believe the content to be, and what I know about the author, I either buy or pass. What’s your style?
Could we have gone with a quick blurb, like they did at How to Be Rich and Happy, and be done with it? Sure.
Could we have thrown the book on Amazon and let the reviews do the talking? Of course.
But why not say what needs to be said and let the reviews do the talking? They’re still out there, on Twitter and on blogs. You can find them at search.twitter.com or via Google.
We did what we did because it’s how marketers market, especially if they are marketing to people that don’t know them. I’d like to think that we could have sold a thousand copies based on our reputation alone, but that’s just not the reality.
But, I’m a believer in the 3rd Tribe marketing mentality. My content speaks for itself if you want to read it. If you like it, cool…check out the book. If you don’t, no problem…read Crush It or Trust Agents (read them anyway).
I’d like to believe that there’s a middle ground, and as a marketer, you’ll have to do your best to find it.
Honestly, I’m not sure if a few lines of text would have given you enough information with which to make up your mind…at least for $47.
What’s your take?
Getting Rich
I said I’d get back to the topic of getting rich, and here’s what I have to say about that.
You can make a living as a blogger…you might make 30k/year, or you might make 200k. If you’re lucky, you’ll come up with a theme like Thesis and sell 3 million in a year.
But, it takes a lot of work, and although it can be done, I’d like you to think bigger. Use your blog as a tool to build an empire, so that you can move beyond blogging as a way of life.
I don’t mean give up blogging, I mean that you should take the pressure off a bit by building other portals and projects. Beyond Blogging is just one of mine. I have the Rockstar series, a consulting gig, and a few other secret projects. But they aren’t all based around blogging.
Blogging is just a start…it’s where you can begin to build your influence.
Think big.
Summing it Up
I know I’ve been a bit long winded today, but I wanted to speak to you from the heart. I wanted to be honest and upfront, so that you can not only learn from what I’ve done, but understand it.
What did you think? Did you pay attention to the launch? Did it speak to you? Was it too spammy, too casual, or just right? If you read the book, what did you think? Hell, have a question? Ask away, I’m here for good.
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