I’ve just returned from a visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I took the kids to see family and enjoyed the cooling fog for a few days.
While I was there, I worked on the Social Marketing Guide I’ve posted about, and it’s nearing completion. But I have an incessant need to make everything I do as complete and thorough as possible, which is why it’s taken longer then I originally anticipated.
Now it’s to the point that it’s *the only* Web 2/social marketing guide that takes you from point A to point B, step by step, what sites to promote or link on, how to do it and in what order.  I’m really happy with the information within and how it’s been presented to work for anyone – newbie and old time marketer.
My biggest question at this point is pricing.
It was intended to be offered for free. But it’s a bummer that so many people will download it an never crack it open – because I know how well this stuff works, and I know how much traffic can be gotten by implementing the techniques I teach. It’s sad how few will go through it and actually *do* the work required.
I’m considering offering it at a low price point to weed out the lookie-loos and serial-downloaders.
I don’t want the Guide devalued by a free price tag.  Because this is the ONLY guide of it’s kind, and my extensive attention to and research in social marketing assures it’s the best as well. I mean, if you like to read a lot of theory with no action, go buy some $97 ebook. If you want a plan, this is what you need.
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On the one hand, free is good – you have the widest potential audience, and few people to actually use it, sadly. For wide spreading with a lower price, my favorite theory is master resale rights. With MRR, it falls into all the nooks and cranies of the internet, particularly membership sites, and since the original buyers will bundle it with something that already has value, sell it, or put it in a new package, even those who get it free (if you permit it) will value it because they saw it somewhere for sale.
I also used to give people the option of buying it, or getting it at a low price… my latest thing is “Social Ware”. I pass it out in such a way that anyone is allowed to have it free, as long as they pass it on somehow. I ask them to link to my original copy, but I don’t require it.
I’ve got tons of these ideas, you can poke me on Facebook if you’d like, and I’ll gab about it forever.
I’m just happy you’re doing this and I know how hard it is… It took me a year to finish an overall traffic plan for with 1200 actions items. It sounds like an easier job than it is.
If you want to charge something, charge like $7. That’s an amount that anybody can afford and it’s enough to make you follow up on what you paid for.
Al
You and I both know there’s a lot of “dust gatherers” out there Michelle.
Price it. Even if it’s low.
Some great points Tinu! And Michelle, you’re right, it does make it more readable if people pay for it, plus you want to get back something for all the time and effort you put into this. It’s still tough to get people to pay for things on the web, especially when it’s a digital commodity. Perhaps it would be a good idea to offer it for free for a very limited time, or for the first 200 copies? That way it gives a sense of urgency plus people who get it free, value it more.
I for one am looking forward to this read!
I agree free is good but putting a time on it would work.I use free ever so much.
Hi Michelle,
I would not make it MRR for sure, it would be worse than giving it away for free in my opinion.
Consider this, the people who took time to actually make positive contributing comments, maybe give a free copy to those people who took the time to help you.
Because its on social bookmarking, one idea is have a launch promotion, like if you post 10 comments on social bookmarking sites you will send them a copy of book with proof of there posts which sends you traffic.
Price points, I dont know what you created, is there audios, videos, or ebook?
If you want an audio, let me know, I can interview you for your book, then you will have an audio and ebook to offer, added value.
Im Alex Mandossian telesemiar alumni so I know how to do an interview and I have the recording phone line set up so people can register, listen on phone and at same time those who would rather listen on computer live as an option.
Let me Know, then we can do an audio launch for your new social book.
Just email me back if you want help.
Bob
Whatever you do, let me know. I’d be happy to tell my audience about it, whether there’s a joint venture in it for me or not… you always want to share good stuff with your folks.
There is a study somewhere that says that anything under $7.00 sells really well. As for myself, I try to identify a ‘trusted source’ and will only stay on lists and take the time to read stuff from these four or five trusted sources. For example I will read just about anything Jack Humphreys puts out- I read and took action on his Black Book, even though it was free.
I feel I have done pretty well in my selection of sources and now I pretty much ignore anything with a huge splash page and lots of testimonials because I know that these marketers get these testimonials before their product is even released.
I’d love to buy your new guide, Michelle. If you can tell us more info such as how many pages? hyperlinks in the PDF or not?…then I’ll give you a pricing suggestion. Keep in mind that you could have a differently priced option that includes free yearly updates, like what David Nevue did in his book I recommended at http://www.stevencravis.com/html/extras/books.html (I just need to update since the 2007 version is now available)
Hi Michelle.
I agree – with your thoughts entirely – Free is great – and I would have thought that many if not a lot of people will rarely eveb open it – purely for the fact that its free.
The mere fact that you charge for it even if its a nominal $7 or round about means that more of those people who make the effort will ,most probably read it.
And if anyone knows the kind of information that you give away free on your blogs will by now know that the report will have good information as usual. so back to the original question – Yes I do think you should chareg for it.
I will await for the release and send the message to my list as well
Take care
Hamant
This really echoes the dilemma of many of the indie musicians I deal with. Since Buzzplay.com launched our “Sno-Cap Killer” 2 months ago I have noticed many artists signup for our promotions service and not upload their music. The reason being they are happy giving it away via myspace or other ways. Then on the other hand there are artists who see giving away music as a way of devaluing all music. As much as I think it’s important to give away something it is even more important to have a fair price for what you have to offer.
Hey Michelle,
I think a unique idea would be great… something no one’s done before. I’m not saying free or paid, either way… just something that really delivers value to your market in a way that compels them to act on it.
I really like the 30-day challenge idea… create a 30-day challenge around the contents of your book. Make the objectives of the challenge the benefits you say one would get from reading your book.
I think it provides a great way to present your ideas in a way people will act on… and it will give you the opportunity to really prove the value of what you’ve written… and set you up for a real book launch later… where you can launch your book and sell it for a premium price.
That’s an idea I have planned for my next book… damn, just gave it away!! Of course, there’s other ideas…
Either way, thanks for all your hard work!! I look forward to seeing what you put out.
John Morris
ViralMarketingLaboratory.com
Come on, Michelle – just give it to us!
Stop teasing us with the “should I or shouldn’t I!
I’ve got stuff I’ve paid money for gathering dust – so price doesn’t affect its usefullness
I’d suggest making it viral – ala Jack Humphrey’s Balck Book – and put links to all your software in the back – and maybe even offer branding rights to US!
Or, you could quibble over whether to charge 2, 4, 6, 8 follars for it – or $97!
Sounds exciting, either way
Andrew Larder
MarketingSharks.com
(an actual customer, btw!)
[quote comment="2296"]Come on, Michelle – just give it to us!
Stop teasing us with the “should I or shouldn’t I!
I’ve got stuff I’ve paid money for gathering dust – so price doesn’t affect its usefullness
I’d suggest making it viral – ala Jack Humphrey’s Balck Book – and put links to all your software in the back – and maybe even offer branding rights to US!
Or, you could quibble over whether to charge 2, 4, 6, 8 follars for it – or $97!
Sounds exciting, either way
Andrew Larder
MarketingSharks.com
(an actual customer, btw!)[/quote]
I agree with Andrew Michelle,
I have a hard drive full of stuff I pain money for but don’t use because it’s all just basically BS where as on the other hand if Jack Humphrey’s Black Book was a paperback copy I”d have already worn it out with the cover falling off and pages taped in to keep it all intact. Seems crazy how the one book I got free of charge gets more use than any book I’ve paid for…hmmmmmm…go figure.
But at the end of the day you know my thing is inspiring people to listen to their heart.
So after hearing all the responses…what does your heart say Michelle? Although I WILL NOT complain if you give it to us for free
or maybe select a few of us to do a 30 Day Challenge type of things to demonstrate to others that this stuff really works then you can charge what ever you want because the proof will be in the pudding…feel me?
Life Samadhi Avatari
Dreams Are Real and Inspirations Just A Breath Away!!!
http://lifesamadhi.com
I think you should charge a nominal fee. Hopefully, it’s not $97…I’m new at this so I’m looking for some good info on how to use Web 2.0 in a step-by-step manner to drive traffic to my site. I wasn’t even aware of this aspect of webmarketing until recently.
Oh God spare me the canned sales pitch. I thought Web 2.0 would get us away from using this type of tactic misdirected marketing.
First you ask for help then you jump around the paddock like a rabbit trying to tell me about the price this and that and I still dont know that if what you have is any good.
Why dont you give some godd content away free then charge for the rest that way we can see if what why might buy is any god.
Instead of all this mysterious marketing ploy.
Sincerely.
me
I kind of agree with megaplex a bit. While I don’t agree with the way he or she is saying it… I have seen the “how much should I charge” tactic used quite a bit. John Reese talks about it a lot. You’re a marketer and businessperson… do what you gotta do.
I think doing something unique and revolutionary would really make a statement for who you are and what you stand for. I’ve seen you do some good things with the two products of yours I have… and, in your dealings with your customers.
You’re a good marketer and a good person!
Gary Bencivenga, one of the top copywriters, said, “When you stand for something, you’ll never stand alone.”
I think if you stand in this market for delivering value in terms of what we all want and need… you definitely will not stand alone. I’ll stand with ya!!
I think proving what you’ve got is a unique and exciting way would be really cool… and, ultimately, really profitable for you.
Keep up the good work!
John
Michelle,
There are definitely two schools of thought on your pricing issue and in addition to the do I don’t I internal conflict you face, the previous comments all raise very valid points. I’m probably not helping you much, but my 2 cents is that you should put some kind of reasonable price tag on it ($7-$20). I’ve learned in this business that you should be compensated for your efforts, not to mention you really provide a lot for free already (in my opinion) in your regular blog posts.
I will be really pissed if you sell it for less than $60.
You obviously know what you talk about. I see you all over the place and your posts are interesting and insightful.
You are worth what you are worth. You are at the cutting edge of a fantastic new marketing technique that a lot of the world have not woken up to.
Effective social marketing can make people a lot of money these days, hell I charge $500 to write a piece of linkbait which I then market to social networks.
And you know what? The work is undervalued.
And people are asking you to sell it for $7????????
nnnnngggghh That makes me so mad. This is specialist stuff written by an expert within her field with an extremely limited circulation.
$97 sounds like a bargain.
This is no Wallmart, as anyone knows who works in this space we don’t pile things high and sell them cheap, we create quality products that if used correctly will earn you thousands, and you want to pay the price of a movie ticket?
Unbelievable!
Hi Michelle,
I’m with those who have said “price it” and I also like the idea of the “fast action limitation” for the first 200 copies (or whatever number you come up with). I agree that all your work should be compensated somehow, although from a wise marketing standpoint, this guide will of course be a springboard to future products and sales.
which could be sold for a higher price.
Another thought — I wonder if you’ve considered making a “regular” copy (which could be inexpensive) and a “brandable” copy by using a PDF branding tool — contact me if you’re looking for a good one!
Best of luck with this — I’m looking forward to getting “advance notice” when you release it so that I can snatch up one of the first few copies.
Respectfully,
Mark B.
Hi Michelle,
I would ignore all those who are recommending a $7 or a similar “low” price point. They just want to save themselves some money – that’s their primary motivation. As you well know, those $7 offers are primarily geared for marketers wanting to build their lists and you don’t seem to be needing that at this time. Hence I think any price between $30 to $100 is fair given your time and experience researching and testing various tactics and if you’re deciding to limit the amount of copies sold.
Thanks,
Randall
So many interesting opinions brought up here, as well as some great ideas. I think anyone could learn from this thread when developing their own products.
A couple of responses to individual comments/questions:
@Steven Cravis: The guide covers generating traffic and backlinks via social media outlets. Page count is irrelevant, as most higher page count ebooks are 90% filler with about 5-10 pages of actual actionable content. This is step-by-step, “Go to site x and do Y.” Having finished the steps in the Checklist, you will have hundreds of backlinks for your site.
To everyone: Social marketing can bring in an initial flow of traffic to your site even if your content is lame (i.e. totally auto-generated). And it will create backlinks for you. However, the flow of human traffic from the social media sites will diminsh in proportion to the lameness of your content.
I recommend using these techniques on real websites that a real person would be interested in. But it’s your call. If backlinks are all you want, then go for it.
@Andrew – I’ve always loved you pic.
@Megaplex – Actually, surveying your potential market before releasing a product is an excellent way of making sure you’re bringing something to market that they want. You might be interested in reading some of Marlon Sanders’ work – “The Amazing Formula” goes into it. If this was a “launch formula” it would be a lot more elaborate. If you need to see more quality content, look through the archives here. I can tell this is your first visit. Oh, and have a beer, lighten up!
@Lyndoman – Thank you!
Hi Michelle,
This is not a questions of gathering dust or not gathering dust . This is a numbers question.
Dust or less Dust?? over 90% of all programs at any price rather dust. Even at price points over $5,000 just ask the so called Guru’s and most internet people are information junkies.
So the question now is how can get your new ebook to the most number of people that will read it (we know it is human nature most will not put it to use)?? There have been some great suggestions above and there have been some tried and true principles that are a must. It seems Tinu has captured it and still leaves room for your creative flare. So we are looking to see Soicalware marketing with a Michelle Twist Web 2.0 style. This is a great test of the principles you are teaching in the book itself.
We are all excited about your book for our own use but also excited for you and your accomplishment to give such a complete guide …. and the covering of this ever evolving subject, on a step by step bases was no easy task … Well that is Web 2.0+. The “+” is the step by step guide for any of us newbies.
Please keep us updated on your progress.
PS … As i think about it …Free is Best for numbers and include products that help automate some of those process to give the the whole of your system it greater than the trying to use only individual pieces .. and charging for those programs or services …. i think you have done well with your other products by doing some thing similar …. i love your videos … thanks again
Looking forward to seeing what you put out there, I’m sure it wont be disappointing
Kudos to Michelle for getting people to talk about her pricing before the report’s ready… warming people up to pay for it… I like your style, Michelle
I also like the Social Ware idea… nice one Tinu.
Robert Plank had a great idea which seemed to work an absolute charm. Start off with X and raise the price by Y for every sale.
I have seen it work incredibly well… one that he did started off at $0.05, and increased by $0.05 a time – hundreds of sales resulted.
Why did it work? First, it started off incredibly cheap, and as more people brought and left great feedback, the “social proof” aspect kicked in, prompting yet more people to buy, but at the ever increasing price.
In fact, I might go and write a post on this technique…
Michelle,
I’m new to your blog but like what I see so far. It’s going in the RSS reader as soon as I’m finished writing this.
I think people have beaten the pricing debate to death. I say charge for it, unless you think it will lead to enough goodwill and new business to cover your costs and provide you with your desired quality of life.
I assume that your methods will come with a disclaimer that quantity of social media marketing will never replace quality of social media contributions. Even though you are avoiding the “get rich quick” angle, many newcomers to the field might interpret it as such and not understand that social networks are not the property or playground of marketers. We should respectfully contribute to the conversations with valuable, relevant content without intruding or inappropriately stuffing our message in people’s faces.
I think your book will be very well received and rightfully so. I just wonder when the day will come that social networks are so saturated with half-baked marketing strategies that normal people (our customers) won’t find them as fun, engaging or useful anymore.
5-7 is a good price point I think…
Too much for nuthin?
Remember “No good deed goes unpunished”
When it sounds too good to be true then people don’t want to believe it.
At least require a tell a friend script.
Thanks in advance.
Charge for it. Aaron Wall does with his ebook so why can’t you?
Too many freeloaders out there and its about time they started coughing up for people’s work and experience.
Daz
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