Unsure of how to promote my first "product"

[kane]

I've been doing IM since May and have finally created my first "product".

Well...it's not really a "product" like most of the other stuff you see from internet marketers. It's not an ebook or a video that you can download.

It's an online community which does automatic social bookmarking. It's really only useful for internet marketers...not the general population.

I'm struggling with deciding what the best way to promote it is. I've talked to a few friends who've suggested:

1. Typical SEO campaign to try to get organic traffic
2. A WSO on Warrior Forum
3. Offering free memberships to IM gurus in exchange for a "review"
4. Some sort of Joint Venture
5. Setup an affiliate program

Unfortunately I don't have a mailing list so that's not an option.

My only experience in the above suggestions is #1, so I'm a bit nervous of trying the others because of lack of experience. I offer a free account and two "paid" accounts with more features, and I think this setup will just create confusion if I do a WSO or JV.

Any words of wisdom will be much appreciated! :)

[Dennis Rosenberg]

Hi Kane,

4 months in and you have your own product to launch already! Congrats. Many IM-ers never get that elusive first product to market.

My advice...try ALL of the strategies you list...plus more! Don't be "nervous"...you are absolutely GUARANTEED to not get it all right first time out...nobody does or can! Put a stake in the ground, start capitalizing on success, learning from failure and keep moving forward, refining as you go.

There is no one right answer. You won't know what the market thinks of your product until you start getting it out there, and you won't be able to learn from your mistakes until you're ready to start making some by jumping in the water.

Wishing you well,
- Dennis

[kane]

Thanks Dennis :)

I think my problem is I'm never had to really "sell" anything before so I'm nervous about saying the wrong thing or making the wrong claim, or just doing it wrong in general. It doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist too so I have to keep reminding myself about the 80/20 rule when I'm working on projects.

But I like your way of looking at it. If I go in knowing that I'm "GUARANTEED to not get it all right first time out", then it takes a lot of the pressure off ;)

Thanks for the encouragement!!

[euhlir]

Hey Kane,

The best advice I can give you is to pick a few things or everything on that list and see what works. I've put out a few smaller products/services and the knowledge I've gained after each one has been priceless. You can sit all day trying to make the "perfect" launch, but you'll end up making a lot more money in the long run just taking action and replicating 10 fold the things that you find out work best for you.

Hope this helps.

-Eric

[Ed Walters33]

I would recommend SEO for organic traffic to start with - this will start slowly and gather mometum if you do it correctly.

Also have you considered setting up a blog? Google ranks blogs higher than other web sites and you could direct traffic from the blog to your community page.

You need to focus on building up good quality content on both your blog and community site that will attract visitors and help your SEO ranking.

Quality content is KEY!

[kane]

Thanks guys :)

I started with a WSO (http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-special-offers-forum/129021-get-hundreds-high-google-pagerank-backlinks-very-little-effort.html). Hopefully it's ok to link to it?

It was my first "sales page" so it took me a long time to make it look purrrrty enough, but I think it's half-decent!

[shonc]

Thanks guys :)

I started with a WSO (http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-special-offers-forum/129021-get-hundreds-high-google-pagerank-backlinks-very-little-effort.html). Hopefully it's ok to link to it?

It was my first "sales page" so it took me a long time to make it look purrrrty enough, but I think it's half-decent!


This is a good start. A WSO is a good barometer for testing sales conversions. Assuming results are positive. Simply build on it by using the other strategies you listed.

[owbg]

Wow that is a cool product you got. Keep it up.

[GlennGrundberg]

Hey- I followed your WSO with great interest! You did really well, and it looks like you got a winner, which is phenomenal for your first product.

Now ramp it up and do a major launch! Get Mike on board and let him handle the JV's and I think you've got a real winner here.

Then... Rinse and Repeat!

Good luck to ya, you are definitely light-years ahead of a LOT of marketers simply because they don't follow through.

Good On Ya, Mate.

[Chris Douthit]

I would definitely make sure you get involved with article marketing. You would be surprised by how much traffic a well written article can bring to your site. Article Marketing traffic also converts far better than any other kind.

If you’re not a write yourself you can get articles written for you a pretty small price, usually about $5 per 550 word article. If you’re on a budget look for warrior special offers, many times you can find them for under $4 per article if you buy 10 or more at a time.

[Garland Coulson]

I've been doing IM since May and have finally created my first "product".

Well...it's not really a "product" like most of the other stuff you see from internet marketers. It's not an ebook or a video that you can download.

It's an online community which does automatic social bookmarking. It's really only useful for internet marketers...not the general population.

I'm struggling with deciding what the best way to promote it is. I've talked to a few friends who've suggested:

1. Typical SEO campaign to try to get organic traffic
2. A WSO on Warrior Forum
3. Offering free memberships to IM gurus in exchange for a "review"
4. Some sort of Joint Venture
5. Setup an affiliate program

Unfortunately I don't have a mailing list so that's not an option.

My only experience in the above suggestions is #1, so I'm a bit nervous of trying the others because of lack of experience. I offer a free account and two "paid" accounts with more features, and I think this setup will just create confusion if I do a WSO or JV.

Any words of wisdom will be much appreciated! :)


I agree with the others here about using multiple techniques. An affiliate program is critical because it lets 1,000s of other people market for you.

My first product made money in its first month and went to 6 figures in one year using just one technique - ad swaps! Building your own responsive list and swapping with others who have responsive lists is the quickest way to success. Best of all, its free...