First Person to Implement This Business Idea Wins!
I got this idea from the guy who commented on the unsubscribe from everyone who sent you Stompernet emails post. He mentioned that he had 100s of DVDs he hadn't watched yet.
Create a Netflix type business out of all those Internet marketing DVDs!
Pay a low monthly fee, say $29.95, and let members order unlimited DVDs by mail, getting the next one as soon as the last one was returned!
Think about it? The model is already totally in place and the concept is one that is already familiar to most people.
This way you could grab the information you NEED and WANT to learn, and if you like the DVD you can purchase it at a members price.
On Stomper's original launch I think they sold around 1800 members, at $800 a month. If the price for this valuable service was $30, how many more would sign up - 3X?
6000 people at $29.95 = $179,000.00 per month. (If this were my business, I'd not pay affiliate commissions because it's always open and word of mouth and pay per post, adwords, even magazine advertising - would make it a brand that would pervade the market.)
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL - A LONG TAIL BUSINESS?
If you are going to start this business (I'm talking to anyone with the bucks, the time, and the passion to do it), you could make resale deals with as many people who have produced video or audio content - and offer it through your NetFlix type business to feed the growing demand.
I can see some Internet marketers, who listened to Dan Kennedy and and charged $247 for a DVD (and probably sold it launch/scarcity style - LOL) and they are screaming NOOO!
Guess what, the record industry refused to let Itunes break up their albums and sell songs for 99 Cents, and Hollywood refused to let Blockbuster or Netflix have access anything but their backlist - at first.
Listen up - the "information products" business is just another business and the eventual commoditazation and flattenning of all markets is a reality. Competition, market saturation, and copy-cats already contribute to these factors - Long Tail style Amazon or Netflix type distribution is a natural evolution.
That is why now, more than ever, we who intend to be long term in this business need to consider not how to use trickery and obscene commissions to extract the maximum payday out of a faceless "market."
But, to operate in an ethical, transparent, and authentic way toward our customers, and earn their respect as partners in success.
Rick Butts - Internet Marketing Consultant
Filed under Blogroll, World According to Rick by Rick
Comments on First Person to Implement This Business Idea Wins! »
Rick,
It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure that it's going to lead to any more people becoming successful in business.
Netflix doesn't have to support people who watch movies or play video games, because those are just entertainment.
Educating people isn't so easy.
If your only goal is to make money, this is super - you can tap into the vast market of guru groupies who buy infoproducts and never do anything with them.
Just like I get movies in the mail from Blockbuster and leave them on the shelf for 2 months.
These guys aren't going to do any more with a Netflix-style service, but at least they could put a monthly cap on their spending for useless or unused information.
I don't know where you'd get truly great content for it, but I'm sure there are plenty of people willing to give you content that's on a par with the "valuable bonuses" that get thrown into the "big box of crap" style products.
[...] Continue Reading [...]
You mentioned Music in your poist, I heard recently that the Music world is slowly coming to the fact that people hate DRM But Apple are still using DRM for they're iTunes player.
Internet Marketing For online Businessess last blog post..What is a Newbies worst threat?
Rick - I love this part of your post: "Listen up - the "information products" business is just another business and the eventual commoditazation and flattenning of all markets is a reality."
I actually began writing a report on this very topic. It's not something gurus like to talk about.
Ryan Healys last blog post..Is LifeLock Selling a Lie?
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.
My Stompernetflix business isn't there to necessarily help people succeed. I'd love it if they did. But they don't have to.
Hey, does renting a love movie bring romance back into your life?
Does watching Rambo give you the solution to you're anger problems?
Did Richard Simmons' happy fat burning videos make America skinny?
Did Michael Moore's films fix the healthcare system, or make schools safer?
Does the New York Public Library make my city's high schools perform any better?
It's arguable … but not definite. Yet the firms and institutions that marketed those products made off fine. Rick, it's do-able. I'm game to put a project together.
Screw the guru's concerns. "Waah, where's my monopoly on the market, waah!" Oh go plug it. The "doo-rus" have the future of the game. **note: "doo-rus" mentioned by Rick, made popular by me
patent pending, patent, pending…
Christopher Floress last blog post..How To Build Your Life And Business Like A 92,000 Ton War Machine!
Only one problem with this Rick…
Some of the best stuff in IM isn't available to purchase as a big box of disks. Stompernet surely shows that. Their real value is in the services they provide, the 1-on-1 coaching, etc.
Why, even my own SEO Club holds such high value to its members because of the rarity of the information inside. That's why the members have to sign an NDA to get access.
But tell me when this is up and running so I can subscribe. I'd like to get Traffic Secrets 2 for $29.95!
Nathan Andersons last blog post..Death of the Product Launch
Hey Nathan - let's talk about Traffic Secrets II for $29.95…
What if John Reese took TS2, which last time was $997, and subtracted the affiliate commission from it, the real price would be $498.50.
To make his million dollar day he sold 1000 copies.
How many more customers would he get at $29.95 per month? (Me, for one!)
Double?
Could you make any money on 1000 more customers who open your emails, trust you, like you, and rely on your information (and recommendations?)
Could you make money on 3000 customers at $29.95.
Wouldn't your customers be able to better absorb the material if it came to them monthly vs a giant thud on their doorstep?
Also, at the rate of change online - how valid is a $1000 Thud Package a year later?
I mean - look how much has changed in our market with the soaring changes brought about by social bookmarking?
And that is just one marketer.
John sold a pring 'n mail newsletter for $97 a month and people loved it.
He said afterward in the analysis that the continuity income of the newsletter was more profitable for him that the Half Million Dollar Day.
Yeah, sign me up at $29.95!
Rick,
I think instead of doing that - which would probably require you to own a stock of each, why wouldn't you do one of those "trade with your friends" maybe like swaptree or something. (I'm trying to find a site that is more famous for it). This way, you don't personally have to own all of the cd's or dvd's, and you could just charge a subscription rate for people to be able to access the list and swap.
Additionally, this would encourage people to actually exchange more often. If they are paying $29.95 a month, and only swapping their $1,000 dvd's once a year, they are paying $360 a year… which is still a bargain, but they could get $5,000 worth of "product" for the same price.
Also, we'd be able to have people rate the content - after they already watched it, allowing people to see which "guru" really offers valuable content. There's so much more that can be done with a similar site… but I am a bit lazy to spell it all out
I would be happy to right the spec - and an outline of the copy, if someone wants to do the programming on it
David - About Results Marketings last blog post..The 12 Most Useful Social Bookmarking & Autoposting Tools for Your Blog
Well Rick, it's not a bad idea. On the other hand, are these DVD's worth even that hassle? I find that the ones I would give away, or lend to someone are those that have no value to me. And, those that have value, I don't want to give/or lend away.
May I say that there is one marketer that I consistently find value with and that is: Jim Edwards. I have never been disappointed by what he has to offer. And, all his material is a keeper for me!
I have unsubbed from 95% of the lists I am in because I couldn't bear to hear the word Stomperet or Launch again.
Ruths last blog post..You Have To Be Pro-Active With Your Vision Care
Rick,
My beef on all this is this 50% commission and the barrage of blast emails and hyped up promises from affiliates, who really are bringing the end client no added value.
Deliver it both ways… the big package all at once, or monthly. Let the user decide. As marketers, we gotta remember, the final vote is always the client. They vote with their dollars. So, the only true way to see if your idea has merit, would be to test it in the market.
Also, if you're adding coaching, whether in group or one-on-one, the monthly pound of flesh obviously has to go up. The more of you, the closer the relationship your client desires with you because he perceives higher value, the greater the investment for the client.
To me, especially with all the social marketing opportunities, it's about being transparent and up-front, building long-term relationships and delivering value.
If your first move out of the gate is a 100% commission marked-upped $1000 Thud Product or $800/monthly coaching program, you kinda hopped over the transparent, building the relationship part. To me, it's incredibly stupid, greedy marketing that throws away your back-end, which is where you really make your money.
"Let's put some lipstick on this pig." Hell, these guys are smearing on the lipstick and injecting the pig with "Bonus Botox".
It's simple. Fire affiliate marketers who clog your in-box and deliver no value.
What's maybe not so simple is how you choose to market that info-product burning a hole in your back pocket.
Walt
Lipstick on the pig and Boston Botox - WALT you are hilarious.
I respectfully decline to touch this with a 10 foot pole.
Thanks to everyone for the terrific comments.
Rick
Rick:
How about avoiding the cost and hassle of fulfillment altogether?
For those who aren't going to read the book or watch the videos anyway, charge them half price and don't send them anything or give them anything to download, except a receipt.
Less work for everyone involved.
Cool idea Steve,
This whole post was about thinking creatively about how we market - and I love looking at different marketing models and applying them to another industry.
Rick
This idea has great potential. Why not combine the social/university aspect and the videos by delivering the video online with a subscription site? That's basically what we're talking about here. There are some fantastic sites out there now tapping into this model a bit by doing interviews and gathering resources from top thinkers and marketers.
Netflix in addition to delivering videos, also offers on-demand video for many of the movies and tv shows. Combine that with recommendations and reviews by others, Netflix, like Amazon for books, has become my go-to tool for finding great movies and shows to watch and maintaining my list.
Why not create the same type of environment for b2b learning? It doesn't negate what the original content provider is doing. In fact, with an active fairly unbiased community it could be a tremendous benefit. Imagine the competitive knowledge….
How cool would it be to choose your next internet marketing/business growth tool based not only on the promotional hype and recommendations of other 'gurus' but on reviews and ratings from real people who used it?
Monicas last blog post..vTribes Referral Program