when to call it quits w/ paid ads..
hello!
i launched https://www.trailtones.com earlier this month. i've run about 4 cohorts worth of google ads, each about $100 at around $1 per click, unfortunately still no buyers.
i think the ads are decent, about 25% click the landing CTA, so that's good, but most fall off at payment.
my next cohort will include a trial of some sort, maybe 1 day pass. but i wonder how much longer and what else is worth trying before i switch efforts to building organic traffic.
if i could get to a 2% conversion i'd be very happy to keep the ads going and focus mostly on optimizing product.
Providing that you:
The problem is probably your funnel.
It's a cold audience. They have just landed on your website and have no idea of who you are.
Instead of going straight for the sale, try providing value first: for example you could ask for an email address in exchange for 1, 2 or 3 free lessons.
At that point if your course is good they should be ready to buy and you can send them an offer.
thanks, yeah, i like that idea. agree that cold audience is probably a big part of the problem. my first stab at it is a 1 day pass (trial), and i can follow up w/ good content via email.
Have you considered also running remarketing to capture interested leads once again? It's usually very cost-efficient.
not yet but will definitely give it a shot. thanks.
If you believe your product is good but you are unable to grab the attention of visitors, then I highly recommend that you check useronboard website, to see how successful websites grab the user attention and what you could do better:
Below are 2 examples:
https://www.useronboard.com/how-musically-onboards-new-users/
https://www.useronboard.com/how-quickbooks-onboards-new-users/
Remember that these products already have some hype around them, so users might stick a bit longer looking around for the value, while in your case it's the first time ever they hear about your brand. So you need to really catch their attention and show them the value. Otherwise a free trial is what they need.
thanks. i like the musically one. i believe the product is a good start but still far from what what it could be. i like how musically has some screens in onboarding to re-enforce the value. would do the same, but yeah, as others have noted, it's still a bit too vague all around. seems best to serve some trials users, see what they like most, fix what they don't, then consolidate the messaging.
I definitely agree with @arrigo stop ads and go organic/direct.
I've had much success in reddit - have you tried talking about the current problems with piano lessons in the https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/ sub? There's about 100k members there.
If not I'd start there just post issues you see - not your solution - and see if others agree or disagree. Maybe if you did a small poll - something that helps the community discuss about the topic of learning in a new way. That would be a good starting point to getting a conversation going about the way people see learning piano... This would allow you to understand what people would pay for vs ads where you can't really ask why did you not buy? There you can truly engage.
Also it's hard for me to tell which age group you are targeting.
I ran my son through 2 piano teachers for several years. He currently does cello and has a tutor drop by for weekly one on one lessons and feedback. If that's the market you are addressing - you should clearly list out your benefits vs those types of lessons. Right now I'm not sure if your lessons are for me - it doesn't seem like they are because it doesn't address it directly. But maybe it does - I'm just not sure...
yeah, agree, it's too vague. the long term vision is broader, but i had to start somewhere w/ content. this one is really for beginners who want to take a plunge, maybe they've learned a few songs off youtube, but they want to build enough muscle to make a fruitful hobby for themselves, join a band, etc. but yeah, i think engaging more will go a long way in figure out how to say that, if it's right, etc.. thanks for checking it out!
No problem - that's how we're all learning - test, test, test.
I would definitely focus on the smallest segment you can define to start. That makes it much easier to find specific folks.
For example, you mention 2 areas hobby and band. I'd pick just one to start and see where folks doing it as a hobby or hoping to join a band hang out. What do they say they have a problem with learning piano? Keep an open mind not just I have to find folks to use my solution.
My son was doing neither of these - it was more parent driven so he would be well rounded. But one possibility is the time constraint - ie I have to take him to lessons or find someone to come by our house - so a video with feedback from a professional could be better / cheaper / less stressful. So you can see how this case is very different from those others and would require a different description and call to action.
Understanding the pain is the key I think. Only then can you truly craft a message that will resonate.
Stop paid ads until...
You explain the product better, even after watching the video I only get the idea that this is some sort of self-guided course. Most people will not watch the video unless they're really curious and want to understand your product better. It's a cliché, but it's true: you only get people attention for 3-5 seconds and then they are gone. Make sure you nail your value-proposition on your headline.
Define the why and who? Why should I buy this? Who should buy this, buyers should own a piano at least I suppose. The why that you have seems weak. Is this for kids? Is this for adults with a piano rusting in their homes? Who is the ideal person for this course? Ask yourself this. For example, a quick and silly idea that came to mind: Piano lessons for people that just inherited a piano but don't really know how to use it.
Why is this better than youtube which is free?
What keywords are you targeting - there's clearly a mismatch between what people are searching and what they find.
I’m a fan of doing 1:1 sales early on so you can find out why they’re not buying. Without knowing the why it seems that you will be guessing.
Some quick tips
Let me know once you have made the changes I will give it another review :)
Some quick questions for you?
Did you build it yourself?
If not did you use a template?
Did you look at landing page builders?
awesome. this is a great list! thanks. i have a few of these on my TODOs already and definitely will consider the others.
yeah, built myself w/ Vue and Go.
originally i built the landing w/ Landen.io which was great but eventually wanted a custom landing so i don't have to worry about constraints, but yeah, downside is some things suffer because i have yet to code, eg. sticky nav.
Interesting that you use Vue :) little over kill for a landing page.
Yeah I get that I built https://versoly.com/ with a HTML/CSS/JS editor so you can code as well as use templates.
oh no, sorry, landing is pure html, JS... app is Vue. agree it'd be overkill, trying to keep payload light on landing as possible.
This comment was deleted 5 years ago
yeah, i think i needed to hear this :)
probably good to do a few free videos on youtube, answering music Q's in Quora, maybe a good place to start. plus interacting w/ users while in the free trial as much as i can.
This comment was deleted 4 years ago
there are for sure, but did some research and plenty of frustration that "just videos" isn't really a replacement for guided lessons that maintain context, meet concrete goals, etc.. also positioning, done well i think this could be seen as an alternative to lessons which can be 40 - $100 a session. but for sure a ways to go there.