Turning trials on and off to improve ratios?
 

I'm not crazy about trials, but I don't like bad ratios either. So we are experimenting with the idea of turning trials on and off per site based on 1:xxx conversions over the last 24 hours, or based on how much time has elapsed since the last join to the site.

Anyone ever tried anything like this? Comments?

Steve Lightspeed

im not crazy about trials either

Interesting idea. I think it is worth a shot experimenting with it.

that's a waste of time. If they want it, they want it. I turned trials off years ago and I only offer ONE site for the $24.95 instead of back in the day when I charged 9.99 for a three day trial and 19.99 a month.

Then when you look at your ratios, you can look at REAL ratios...If you use trials then you have to take into account the trial joins on your ratio and that's BS.

There's a time when you can micro-manage it TOO much.

how about taking a random percentage of your traffic and see the difference instead of turning everything at one time - then you have a side by side

10% / 90%
25% / 75%
50% / 50%

Thanks for the input. I completely agree, earnings per unique is what really matters. However, *most* affiliates get caught up on the uniques/sales ratio, and they freak if they see anything below 1 in 500.

It drives me nuts to see people post lists of all their sponsors, showing the sponsor-counted ratios. Don't they realize that no two sponsors count hits the same way?

Steve Lightspeed

Check your Lightspeedcash ratios today, we are onto something here!

Ratios are overrated.

very interesting Steve

I turned off trials on darkcavern.com, didn't affect the ratios one bit.

Who's that chick shaking her ass in your sig?

Thats Jordan Capri -- click it and buy the dvd!

When I sort my traffic to figure out what is selling and for how much I do it buy signups vs. how much the signup is worth.

Like so:
I know I sent these two sponsors about 1000 hits:
938 uniques (counted out by me) $70 on 2 signups = $35 per signup.
1026 uniques for $485.19 on 5 signups = $97.04 per signup.

As you can see, my traffic is worth a SHITLOAD more with the second sponsor. Also the rebills grossly outweighed the PPS.

The original payout on the second sponsor was $74.75 but the 23 rebills off of it made it $485.19.

Now if I just looked at conversions, they are 1:587 and 1:256 respectively.

You would say that sponsor 2 is twice as good. But that isn't the case. Sponsor 2 is actually 6.92 times as good as sponsor 1.

This is HUGE were Lightspeed is concerned. Since his sites rebill very well and retain for sometimes years, you can see why just looking at uniques/sales ratios is not going to give you the big picture.

My rebills at Lightspeed are even or higher than my sales per month... That means everytime I make $14 and some change on a sale, I am actually making $28 since it will rebill atleast once. That puts his program inline with $30 PPS programs...

Additionally, if you have the right traffic, his sites convert themselves...

Thanks V_Rocks! Rebills are underrated for sure. We have over 1000 affiliates who have AVERAGED $35 or more with us, many average over $50 per sale. We have some very loyal members!

Steve Lightspeed

While experienced webmasters don't care about the ratio, most do.. It's a good idea. With most webmasters if they see your site converting 1:200 rather than 1:400 they are more apt to rave about your program, promote you longer, and think you are doing better than the other sponsors they use.

Proof of this is the amount of programs that still track and display 2nd page hits and webmasters that buy into the stats.

something is working im at 96 cents a click today

Now that's what I'm talking about!

webmasters love sites with trials

Steves stuff rocks, i have some rebills for over a year with them. I just love getting that monthly check for all my rebills and they just keep rebilling and rebilling. It comes back down to quality content keeps surfers hooked. Keep up the good work Steve, and i want to add your lightspeed dvd's to our dvd rental site let me know if you have wholesale prices for them?

Steve you're bumming me out dude, you should have came to Internext. I miss you and love you...

Love always
DH

I love being able to ask, "Steve, I think I have a rebiller from last year still going on Tawnee Stone or Jordan Capri or the LS sites, can you check and see how long its been going for?"

"Yeah... hmmm.... ok, it's been around since August, 2003 for you."

Hey, thanks, Steve, fucking kickass!"

And a surfer who has his credit card out and wants a membership doesn't mind paying full price.

It's all about retraining your marketplace. Joe surfer has his pants around his ankles, CC on the desk, dick in one hand , Keyboard in the other. He can

A) Purchase a 1-3 day trial for anywhere between $1 to 4.95 . Sites are REAL Big on bragging about the price and putting that stupid idea in the forefront of the purchasers mind. So he busts his nut, Did it all for a buck, downloads a few things and remembers I got this all for a couple bucks but I have to cancel or they are going to charge me 29.95.

B) Purchase a membership to your website for 19.99-29.99 for a FULL MONTH, of EXCLUSIVE porn he will not see anywhere else. He downloads a couple things and remembers , I got access all month!

You then have 29 more days to show him he spent his money well, and that you update, and he really doesn't need to go elsewhere to find what he likes because he is a MEMBER of your site, no more shitty 30 second movie clips, no more being jerked around by clicking one pic and getting another.

The first month of ANY website purchase should be viewed by a site owner as "the trial" It's when they rebill you know you have done your job.


As for webmasters liking trials, webmasters like FHG's, free hosting, fresh updated content for promotion, large payouts, contests, Large partys and anything else sponsors are willing to give away and provide for their traffic. But most of all the webmaster that you want promoting your company likes MONEY. And you will show him more money w/out trials.


I'll take a 1000.00 check from you and a Ratio of 1:650
over
a 750.00 check from you and a ratio of 1:400 all day everyday.

Because you have offered trials you will have to find a way to communicate this to your webmasters, but you can do it.




thats my :2 cents:



This feels like a great place to spam our program but I won't.

All i know is that i´m crazy about Jordan Capri !! :winkwink:

well for me at least i still make more money with sites that have cheap trials compared to full memberships

i hate trial sales

Keep in mind: the cheaper the membership, the cheaper ther customer, meaning as you lower the price of memberships (trials, for example), you attract a lesser-quality surfer (less likely to rebill).

There are ways around this:

a) disable trials. You won't do as many sales, but the quality of sufers will go up dramatically - they will be more likely to rebill.

b) figure out some way to intice the trials to spend more money. That's an exercise up to the reader, but there are quite a few sites now that have figured out how to do this.

[FYI - this is from a RevShare/Program perspective]