| Note: Need more help? Check out the bonus section for help on implementing the ‘Grocery Store’ formula in your business. |
Let’s be real for a minute. The sample booth at the grocery store was one of the most exciting experiences of your childhood. Going on errands with your mom was bad, but the sight of that booth draped in black linen and the old lady with an apron made it all worth while.
The moment your eyes met each other, you uttered two simple words…
“Sample. Lady.”
Their business model was basic:
- Give away free samples
- Sell more product
Now days, the sample ladies are almost an extinct breed. But the strategy of giving away samples is alive and well.
Clay Collins and the LeadPages team implemented the “Grocery Store” formula and increase their subscriber rate from 0.5% to over 10% in a 30 day span.
Before: For every 1,000 visitors they collected 5 email addresses.
After: For every 1,000 visitors they collect 100 email addresses
…if you are just starting out you might be thinking, ‘Well thats great and all but I don’t have ANY traffic to convert.” Go back to last week
s ‘Poster Boy’ formula. There I give you a step by step process that I used to go from 0 traffic to 10,000 readers in 4 months. I’ve used it 3 times and it works brilliantly.
Ok, back to the point…
A 20x increase to your conversion rate can be the difference between $1,000 and $20,000 in revenue.
So, this week I’m breaking it down and showing you exactly how you can implement the ‘Grocery Store’ formula in your business.
Here it is:
EXAMPLE
Suppose that you have a rash pop up on the back of your leg. What is the first thing you do? You Google “rash on leg” of course.
You then determine that you either have leprosy or basic allergies.
You continue to Google around and eventually stumble upon an article written by an allergist. It described your exact problem. There are pictures, symptoms and a case study written on it.
The owners of this page have set up three potential points of email collection.
Option 1: A sidebar widget that asks you to enter your email address in order to receive their weekly newsletter.
Option 2: A pop up that asks you to take a survey (in exchange for an email address).
Option 3: A video walking you through self diagnosis of your symptoms and a downloadable checklist to direct you to the pharmacy or a local doctor. They require an email address so that they can send you the information
Which one would get your attention?
Personally, I could care less about getting regular emails from this site. But a video and checklist about this very problem? I’m in!
Clay Collins and the LeadPages do exactly that and it has sky rocketed their opt-in rate.
Before implementing this strategy their opt-in rates didn’t crack 1%. Now they are over 10%.
And just like the lady in the grocery store handing out samples, everyone that participates leaves happy.
CONVERSION RATE
What does all of this mean? Why all the talk about opt-ins and conversion rates?
This is why I care…
Based on tests I have run on my site over the last 3 months I have determined that for every 1000 visitors, 140 of them will sign up for my free course on creating explainer videos.
For every 65 people that go through the free course, 2 will buy the premium master class at $397.
That means each email address I collect is worth $6.10.
My average daily traffic to my blog currently is around 100 unique visitors. That equals around 14 new emails per day or $85.40.
By comparison sites like michaelhyatt.com and quicksprout.com receive 10,000+ unique visitors per day.
If their conversion rates and product offerings were the same as Videofruit, they would be generating on average $8,540 per day.
By doing a little math we can determine that if I was able to have a big day and get 2.000 people to my site, that increase in traffic will net me around $1,708. (280 new email addresses * 1.53% Conversion Rate) * $6.10)
Conversion rates matter.
GENIUS
1. Relevant: The average American sees over 3,000 advertisements per day. We grow numb to the same thing in the same places as they have always been. Remember banner ads? When was the last time you clicked on one or even noticed one? In 1998 they had 20%+ click through rate. In 2014? 0.11%.
But retargeting ads, those ads that follow you around the internet, have double the click through rate. Why? Because they are relevant. If you see them, it means you have shown past interest in the company and as a result is 2x more likely to click on it. The same principle holds true for specific blog opt-in bribes.
At Videofruit we’ve experienced as high as 14% opt-in rates for post specific downloads as opposed to generic newsletter subscriptions.
2. Helpful: Percentages and emails are nice and all, but 24 months from now none of that matters if you do a bait and switch. LeadPages does an extremely good job of providing high end value in each o their supplements.
They provide a pre-coded and designed web page with a proven track record free for download.
3. Cross Sell: One of the key techniques in their implementation is cross selling. They give the user two options: 1) Download the free HTML template 2) Use our software and be up and going in minutes. This is a great technique to onboard new users.
HOW CAN YOU USE THIS
Here are a few examples of what this would look like in four specific businesses:
1. Videofruit: We provide instructional how-to’s with each of our weekly formula blog post. Readers are given access to these bonus materials by entering our members only area via their email address.
2. Leadpages: Provides HTML web page templates of their highest converting landing pages. Once a week LeadPages releases a new customizable template via their blog. The template is available to everyone, whether or not they have a LeadPages membership.
3. Skin Care: A good friend of mine is starting a skin care business. A great way for him to implement this strategy would be to attach an easy to follow checklist for his readers to follow. This would help his readers through the process of self diagnosis and ultimately finding a doctor to receive professional treatment.
4. Crossfit Gym: Many Crossfit gyms post their work out of the day (WOD) on their blog every morning. However, no one provides this in an easily printable format. In less than 15 minutes the blog post could be adapted to a nicely formatted list that could be printed and taken with you.
How can you use the ‘Grocery Store’ formula to give your customers a free sample of what you have to offer?
Will it work for your industry?
I’ve put together a tutorial that goes over how I’ve implemented this formula in my business. If you need help with specifics, and guidance on the right software to use, checkout the bonus section below.
In the bonus section I cover:
- The exact software I use
- How I collect email addresses
- What I do with the addresses once I have them
- Exclusive offers to work directly with me to help you craft your bonuses.
