talkmagic.co.uk

I will change the page in a few days

Magic Show Builder is now available in CD ROM for just $2.00 plus shipping (about $4.00 or less).
Includes jewel case.

http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00ZJEPUA

Note: It does not include the license. You still have to get it from the site.
BUT it includes the setup program for the .NET Framework which can take a lot of time to download, so if you have a slow internet connection this is the way to go.

If you're looking to sell this software big time, please please PLEASE change your website. I must remind you that 99 % of phishing and scam websites use the same template as you have used.

I went to your website and closed it within 2 seconds, and I'm sure any person with an intermediate knowledge of phishing and scam websites would do the same. Also you'll lose credibility on Google and other search engines further plummeting your sales. Also, using 'keywords' such as 'magic tricks database, magic tricks, variety acts' as the title of your page is not good, and looks extremely fishy.

My personal recommendation ( as if it matters ) would be Wordpress. You can get it from wordpress.org . It's free and the most powerful tool you would ever have used.

So it is the TEMPLATE that you hate so much? I thought it was the copywriting.

I'm just following the advice of the Direct Sales experts.

You can follow the development of my sales letter in this thread from the WarriorForum, the most respected forum on Internet Marketing

http://www.warriorforum.com/copywriting ... post880869

I have to agree with the comments that have been made so far.

THE TEMPLATE:
The website comes across as a hard-sell first and foremost. The moment that impression hits you, it's almost impossible to believe that there's any sincerity in the copy.

The software might be fab, but it's being pitched in the same manner as sports supplements, willy enlargers and get-rich-quick pyramid schemes. And that's hugely off-putting.

HOW MUCH?
The above isn't helped by the fact that the price isn't openly displayed. We need to register our interest before we find out what the program will cost us. I, personally, would lose interest right there and then. In fact, I'd run away screaming (or at least hit the browser's 'back' button a million times just to be anywhere else).

THE COPY:
Given that I already feel like I'm being harrassed by a wonder-drug company, I'm not really inclined to scroll through the massive reams of text on the product description page.

There's a lot of info. It might all be relevant, but I don't need it all thrown at me in one huge lump.

Tell me what this thing is.

What does it do?

How does it do it?

How will it benefit my work and fit into my existing workflow?

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST???

Anything and everything else can be delivered afterwards for those who are still interested. If you don't get the above info to them quickly and easily, they'll just wander off feeling disinterested and mildly irritated.

I'm not usually such an aggressively critical Pete, but I feel that good products shouldn't be allowed to fall foul of a bad sales pitch. For all I know, this thing could be genuinely useful and a worthwhile addition to any performer's toolbox. But people aren't going to give it a try if they feel like the sales pitch is trying to 'sucker them in'.

Pete

All right, I hear you.

The thing is that direct response marketing is not a matter of subjective opinions but of testing.

I'm willing to put to the test any template/headline/copy/etc.

the one that makes more sales wins and becomes the new champ to be beaten by new tests.

condemagnum wrote:So it is the TEMPLATE that you hate so much?

Not so much for my personal choices here. I'm just recommending a solution to improve your website/software's website.

I must remind you that your target customer is the magician. Not an average nitwit sitting on his computer spending at the first opportunity. Magicians are the biggest skeptics ( at least I am ) and you really have to make an impression to sell your product to them.

I doubt that the warriorforum has any special section for selling to magicians. I say this because general marketing rules that apply to the general public do not apply for magicians. They're really hard to convince !

condemagnum wrote:All right, I hear you.

The thing is that direct response marketing is not a matter of subjective opinions but of testing.

I'm willing to put to the test any template/headline/copy/etc.

the one that makes more sales wins and becomes the new champ to be beaten by new tests.

Let's try the proof of the pudding...

How many people have signed up and expressed an interest in your software?

Is this as many as you hoped for?

Can you check to see how many hits your main page got, so you can compare the amount of traffic to the number of registrations?

If business is proving disappointing, then I'd conclude that the Direct marketing templates aren't working for you - and aren't selling your product as effectively as you'd like.

My recommendation would be to forget the formulae and templates (aside from simple design templates which help your site look nice...

Sit down with a pen and paper, and jot down in bullet points all the reasons why you would buy this software.

You're a magician. You're enthusiastic about this product. Communicate that enthusiasm to other people like you, and you'll probably drum up good business. I honestly believe that direct, no-BS communication from somebody who obviously knows their subject is the best sales technique there is.

Pete

Another thing worth mulling over - and I'm sure that many of the board's members will agree with me on this one...

The only reason I'm giving the website the benefit of any doubt, and remain open to the idea that the software might be a genuinely useful piece of kit is because of the personal touch displayed through the posts on this messageboard.

From this thread, I've got the sense that you've come up with an interesting product that you're genuinely excited about, and might fill a big gap in a small market.

That grabbed my attention, and makes me mildly interested in the software.

The website alone would lose me in under 30 seconds.

Pete

I have to agree with most of the other comments made here. That site template has been over used by the hard sell, get rich quick types for quite a while. As soon as I see that narrow, 100 mile long page of text, peppered with yellow highlights, I close the page and go elsewhere. It's been done to death and is a real turn off for me.

Without proper info in tabulated form, showing the features of the software, why a pro magician should buy it, decent screenshots, your commitment to supporting customers and most importantly price up front, I would be very surprised if you were as successful as you could be. You may actually mention all those things on the page, but I couldn't be bothered reading it all to find out. After skimming the first few paragraphs, I just scrolled and scrolled and scrolled down the page to the end.

I'd be sceptical of your marketing advisor too. If they're telling you it's a tried and tested route, then maybe they are correct for certain products, but you have to think about your target audience. I really think you've got the wrong approach. To prove that, leave your site intact and create something more akin to what the established software vendors use, look at the other magic stores. Come up with something along those lines and see what difference it makes in terms of clientele.

Oh, and for what it's worth. If you're selling it for $2 plus shipping and it's as good as you say, it's way too cheap. Coming from a potential customer, that may sound crazy, but you get what you pay for. If I was a pro, looking for a software tool to help me plan my performances, I'd expect to pay much more. Look at how much some single effects cost. I wouldn't expect much from $2 software and probably wouldn't bother buying it. Sad, but true. How could you discount that price? Offer specials? You've nowhere to go with the price.

No offence Salvador. I hope you take these comments as they are meant. As constructive criticism

To be fair, the 2$ cost is for the CD of the software - you still have to buy a licence. But we still don't know how much that is.

Well, there have been hints. Aparantly, it can be bought for 'as little as 27 dollars', according to a post on another forum.

Aside from Pete's advice, which seemed spot on, reading between the lines it seems as if the app started off quite expensive, and has been dropping steadily recently - a few weeks ago it was plugged as being 'at a new, low price point' and there have been a couple of drops since then. Also, since the applied marketing strategy seems to be 'change things and test them' it might be fair to assume that sales have not been great at first, and Salvador is trying to find a combination that works.

Here's the problem; despite the changes that may be made to the template, the vast majority of the intended customer base have already been turned away by the sales page as it is, and are unlikely to revisit just in case the price has been lowered.

I'm not sure that the horse has bolted, but I think a major rebuilding of the site would be needed combined with a new launch to draw neutral attention once again.

To be honest, I'm watching this with a slightly interested eye, I have a very similar application of my own that I've been developing in spare time for a couple of years now (although since I now no longer have any spare time, development has slowed somewhat!). It's not clear whether my system will ever get finished, and if it is whether it will be offered for sale, but I do agree that there is a space for this kind of software in the market. It may not be big, and most professionals will already have a solution in place, but the rest is yet to be seen.

Take care, Ian

IanKendall wrote:To be fair, the 2$ cost is for the CD of the software - you still have to buy a licence. But we still don't know how much that is.

Well, there have been hints. Aparantly, it can be bought for 'as little as 27 dollars', according to a post on another forum.

Ahh, I stand corrected. I thought $2 was an odd price!

Even so, to ask people to sign up to something in order to find out the price just suggests there's something to hide. Why not be open about it?

I thank you all for your comments and I will take up the challenge.

Give me a few days to come up with something completely new.

Here are some pages of some software products.

Do yo mean something like these?

http://www.screenplay.com/p-29-movie-ma ... ter-6.aspx
http://www.screenplay.com/p-13-dramatica-pro.aspx
http://finaldraft.com/products-and-serv ... c=leftarea
http://www.filmwareproducts.com/EPartners/epsched.html

They are certainly more along the correct lines.

You have to remember that magicians are a marketing breed unto themselves - what works for real people will turn away most of us (as has been discussed). If you can build a page similar to these screenwriting pages I think you will see a large increase in sales.

Take care, Ian