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The Challenges of Marketing ThePowerMoves

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Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on August 23, 2021, 9:01 am

"...these 2 book examples are awesome!"

Glad you think so!

And, by the way, the link I gave for the "seduce the attractive partner you want" line is specific to the men's dating blog posts.

So, a better link might be one that applies to both men and women.

E.g.

Since the "About" page mentions The Power Moves as one of the highest ranking/traffic dating sites, I think linking to a post that includes both men and women would be a smarter approach for the home page. (Then, they can diverge from there to other blog posts based on their interests.)

My bad for the mix-up, Lucio, I was in a bit of a rush when I wrote that post.

Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on July 21, 2021, 2:46 pm

Website Update: Up (Products) & Downs (Sales)

It's been 2 weeks now since the website update.

I'm still working on many things at the same time, but so far:

The technical side went quite smoothly.
And the course is significantly better.

That's wonderful.

So a much better product, but... Very poor performance on sales.

I hoped that the installment format was going to increase sales/income.
But that wasn't the case: it's been a major drop.

I'm still in the dark as to the main culprit.

There have been several changes, including theme / style, sales page, price, checkout page, and checkout process (including no more guest checkouts).

So it's not easy to pinpoint the issue.

Price increase might seem the most obvious from the outside, but I'm not convinced yet.
Previous price changes had little effect on sales.
Now it's been a bigger increase of course, but the monthly installments also offer to start at a lower price than before.

So I'm not going to change the price until I first try something else.

These are the moments that make me grateful that I kept recurring costs low: no rush, no panic, keep cool :).

Wanted to share a possibility that may have led to the drop in sales (based on Kolenda's work).

And, it does have to do with price, but not in the clear obvious sense.

Increasing the price makes the buying decision more important. And, that increases people's motivation to evaluate the message — the PU sales page — more carefully because the potential consequences of that decision are also increased (a larger loss in hard-earned money).

Heuristic → Systematic Processing

So, people switched from a more heuristic processing (analyzing the PU sales page quickly) further into more systematic processing (see Thinking Fast and Slow) to avoid a potentially bigger loss.

A lot of what made PU's sales page persuasive before became negated because its effectiveness relied on heuristic processing.

Heuristic processing relies on quick-decision rules and peripheral cues. That's where people pay more attention to:

  • the sheer amount of information/support
  • the aesthetics of the message
  • the person presenting the message (i.e. Lucio's reputation, likability, perceived expertise, etc.)
  • positive reviews, and so on

It's the same quick-decision-making analysis most people do when purchasing a $10 book — a small decision to them because they don't expect the book to be life-changing.

Now that purchasing PU is a bigger decision, people are using more systematic processing to evaluate PU's sales page. And, they're not paying as much attention to all of the peripheral cues above like reviews or the sheer length of the sales page. They're actually reading the sales page and they want to understand what they're reading.

This led to the first problem:

  • People couldn't evaluate the message due to a lack of understanding of what power dynamics is: So, they didn't understand what they were reading. And, to avoid a potentially major loss, they refrained from buying at all to avoid all of the potential consequences that might have come with the purchase decision.

That's been cleared up a bit now, but Kolenda offers some techniques and strategies to deal with this challenge even more effectively.

I'll do my best to share what I can and, as always, if there's something I can better clarify, please let me know.

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I agree with Ali.

I always thought that the articles were the best part of showcasing the website.

There should be a slider on the front page showcasing the most popular articles on this website.
Let the content do the talking.

I bought the course at the original price because it was more resource-efficient to spend the money and find out whether it's good.
Now it's almost an order of magnitude higher.
I would definitely do a lot more extra research on whether it's good.

A combination of design and marketing would work to showcase the work better.
Design and marketing go hand-in-hand in my opinion.

In the product management world, people coin the term product-led marketing.
Essentially, it's about getting people to realise the value of the product with ease.
So design is not about "looking nice" and marketing is not "hard selling".
It's helping the user walk into the product and get as much value out of the product as possible.

Use Vanessa Van Edwards' Website, Science of People As Reference

Vanessa Van Edwards showcases her articles on her front page of her website, Science Of People:

Her blog is organised well too.
Eye-sized profiles for each article:

Compared to this website's blog display:

Lucio Buffalmano has reacted to this post.
Lucio Buffalmano

Awesome, thank you guys!

Vanessa's website is awesome.
And if you look at a few things around here, you can see that I've taken a lot of inspiration from it -or sometimes just outright "copied" some elements- (BTW, my approach and values on the matter are: copying content is not cool, copying design or sale processes is OK, plus it allows me to focus on what I care more of, and what delivers the most value to the audience).

Quick note on different approaches: design VS bottom line VS product

This website cannot even compare in terms of layout or design.

And probably not even in terms of capturing leads and turning visitors into customers (that, we don't know though).

This website is built on a different approach: simple and fast.

This is Vanessa's latest article in terms of Googles' speed measure:

And this is this website's latest article:

Also scoring a perfect "100" on the measure for desktop.

Vanessa probably has a team of interns / people who help her with the design and layout.
Chances are they measure things, sit down and talk about what looks nice, and what works.
And chances are she places a high value on what's "beautiful / pleasing to the eye".

My list of priorities so far is more:

  1. Advance power dynamics / deliver a great and practical product based on that growing and improving body of knowledge
  2. Make quick and simple website and processes (beautiful is great, but if it means "higher complexity and slower", I don't like it much)
  3. Do what's good for the bottom line

Things might change in the future as power dynamics as a discipline becomes more mature.

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Matthew Whitewood
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Quote from Ali Scarlett on September 28, 2021, 6:00 pm

Heuristic → Systematic Processing

So, people switched from a more heuristic processing (analyzing the PU sales page quickly) further into more systematic processing (see Thinking Fast and Slow) to avoid a potentially bigger loss.

A lot of what made PU's sales page persuasive before became negated because its effectiveness relied on heuristic processing.

Heuristic processing relies on quick-decision rules and peripheral cues. That's where people pay more attention to:

  • the sheer amount of information/support
  • the aesthetics of the message
  • the person presenting the message (i.e. Lucio's reputation, likability, perceived expertise, etc.)
  • positive reviews, and so on

It's the same quick-decision-making analysis most people do when purchasing a $10 book — a small decision to them because they don't expect the book to be life-changing.

Now that purchasing PU is a bigger decision, people are using more systematic processing to evaluate PU's sales page. And, they're not paying as much attention to all of the peripheral cues above like reviews or the sheer length of the sales page. They're actually reading the sales page and they want to understand what they're reading.

This led to the first problem:

  • People couldn't evaluate the message due to a lack of understanding of what power dynamics is: So, they didn't understand what they were reading. And, to avoid a potentially major loss, they refrained from buying at all to avoid all of the potential consequences that might have come with the purchase decision.

That's been cleared up a bit now, but Kolenda offers some techniques and strategies to deal with this challenge even more effectively.

I'll do my best to share what I can and, as always, if there's something I can better clarify, please let me know.

Yes, that makes a lot sense and something I had also thought about.

Quote from Matthew Whitewood on September 28, 2021, 6:31 pm

I always thought that the articles were the best part of showcasing the website.

There should be a slider on the front page showcasing the most popular articles on this website.
Let the content do the talking.

I bought the course at the original price because it was more resource-efficient to spend the money and find out whether it's good.
Now it's almost an order of magnitude higher.
I would definitely do a lot more extra research on whether it's good.

Yes, that makes sense.

Consider though that most people don't arrive here on the homepage, but probably via an article.

However, your point might still stand, since one single article might not be enough.
So a good chunk of users might end up doing:

1 article -> homepage -> PU sales page, leave (possibly for good).

Check the forum guidelines for effective communication.
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Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on October 8, 2021, 6:58 pm

Cool to have you here, Dan!

Quote from dan771 on October 8, 2021, 5:13 pm

I grew up in family circumstances where I wasn't able to learn good social skills, and in adulthood I've been something of a classic "nice guy." That's changing fast, as I've come to realize that nice guys should win, and that requires certain skills and choices. I like the analogy of "social martial arts."

I like this a lot.

And it quite captures the spirit as well.

Hadn't we settled for "fly with the eagles" I could see myself spending a few days thinking of some variations of "where nice guys come to finish first".

I feel the same way about this line, I love a lot about it. And, it even feels like it's an obvious, clear beacon of hope for those who want to get more out of life without having to buy into the literature that they have to "change" (i.e. be an "alpha", be this, be that).

That said, personally, I think that using that tagline (or variations of it) would've been a mistake.

The "fly with the eagles" analogy speaks about more than finding victory without giving up one's own desire to be "good". It also speaks to one's ability to soar with the best of them in any endeavor they choose for themself.

And, that can mean:

  • Where nice guys come to finish first — alongside other high-quality individuals who also get more out of life

On top of that, using the eagle symbolism can help include more than the "nice guys":

  • Where women come to get the guy (= learn how to be a higher-quality woman and effective dating strategies)
  • Where former bullies come to reform (= learn how to avoid manipulation, abuse and coercion. And, learn collaborative life and social strategies)
  • Where "bad boys" come to evolve (= learn how to move away from being a low-quality or value-taking "bad boy" and more toward being a higher-quality, higher-status man)

In any case, that eagle symbolism means that more than only nice guys get to win.

With that in mind, I think that "where nice guys come to finish first" would be perfect to include in PU's sales copy. In my opinion, it's too good of a line to pass up :).

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Thank you Ali!

You took my thoughts, but "brought them higher up with the eagles", if you allow me an easy pun :).

Going to think of some way to insert it in the copy as well.

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From the typos' thread:

Quote from Matthew Whitewood on October 15, 2021, 12:08 pm

This is the main issue with the current email marketing and social media marketing too in my opinion.

I believe making the articles easier to understand from the user's perspective will naturally improve the persuasiveness of the articles without putting much extra effort into "marketing push".

That's what Ali and I talk about the lack of a bridge under the thread:
The Challenges of Marketing ThePowerMoves

Yeah, you may have hit on a key "issue" (the quotes because I'm not even sure it's an issue given the current priorities).

Whenever I got closer and/or stumbled upon some PU user's background, "high-IQ" professions or backgrounds seemed to be over-represented compared to the general population.

That might mean that the content right now is not "simple and easy" enough to trickle down to everyone.

I think things are getting easier now, but still not enough probably.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that simplifying things should be a priority right now. I think expanding power dynamics / "social intuition" still is the priority.

Check the forum guidelines for effective communication.
---
(Book a call) for personalized & private feedback

I think paraphrasing and simplifying will take quite a bit of work indeed.

Not sure if there are any quick wins here.

Whenever I got closer and/or stumbled upon some PU user's background, "high-IQ" professions or backgrounds seemed to be over-represented compared to the general population.

I suppose if you want to screen out people, that may be a good idea to leave it complex too.

So it seems quite a few people sign up with their corporate emails.
Like venture capitalists that you mentioned before.

I also think people who like truth and understanding how things work will like this website's content.

Quick note on the TPM lead magnet

I wasn't planning on sharing this yet, but I don't want to forget it.

The "carrot" (lead magnet) that TPM is currently using doesn't feel like it follows the "rule of crunchy solutions."

The "crunchy solutions rule" is the idea that when people want a "real" solution, they'll buy your product. And, when people are only looking for a "crunchy" (a quick and easy) solution, they'll look for resources that require little effort on their end before they can see results.

The current lead magnet, if I'm not mistaken, is an email course. And, the value-proposition to get people to opt-in is that you'll "learn the skills of the top 1% to become more powerful and successful."

But, the problem I feel there is with that is:

  • The solution to their problem isn't quick and easy: it's OK that it's an email course, the main issue is that it's a course that promises to teach you "skills." And, that implies that they'll need to put in effort, work, and energy to develop those skills before they can see results. (And, the harder something is to do, the less likely people are to do it.)
  • It feels like it sells the product, not the problem: the product is an email course on the skills of the top 1%. So, saying that is only selling the product. The problems they might have from a lack of social skills could be a lack of sales, dealing with a boss they hate, no romantic dates, and so on. So, pitching that might be more persuasive.

A potential crunchy solution

An eBook of power scripts.

Lucio has given tons of scripts around the forum and they're just sitting here, going to waste, in my opinion.

Here's an idea:

And, on the inside:

--

To Get the Job:

[How to rebalance the job seeker power dynamics]

You: Actually, I'm happy where I'm staying, I'm fast tracked to take more responsibility, and I think we're going to do great things. But I also love what you guys are doing here, especially the XYZ you've done. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to talk.

[How to respond effectively to trap questions]

Interviewer: what will you do to grow our business / fix this problem / implement this solution

You: Well, having done something similar before I have different ideas in mind (first hint of you holding a valuable bag for him). Of course, I'd first have to et more details about your company (great frame: so if you say something wrong, you preframed it as you not yet having the full info)

For example, one of thing I'd consider... (bla bla bla.... )

(...)

That is just one thing I'd consider doing. Then I've got a few more ideas depending on the details of your business (ie.: don't keep grilling me, I'm not going to share everything easily unless you also share juicier details). And of course, much of it is about the execution (ie.: I'm far more than ideas and plans, I execute well), and flawless execution is what I like to focus on.

How about you, do you have something already in mind?

To Collaborate with An Influencer by Guest Posting:

Hi Lucio,

I recently discovered ThePowerMoves.com and man, what a great website! I love your work! (standard shit, but you never go wrong with that).

You have already written on topic X (balance the "you" and "I", make sure you start some sentences with "you" so it doesn't seem like a "me, me, me fest"), and done so very well, for example your article X, Y (shows she has taken some time to assess the publication, and she doens't seek random writing opportunities)
As a psychologist/attorney/sociologist/whatever, I have 20 years of in-field experience on X, and my latest research has expanded on Z, Y.

Do you think that could add value to your readers (pitch as adding value to the readers first, or, a distant second, to me. Don't make it about money right away: the best websites seek quality, not a few dollars)?

Let me know if you think so (puts the power back on me, so it doesn't feel like pushing stuff on my plate) as I would love to share my expertise with your audience.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,
V

To Get A Refund:

You: "Look man, from what I'm seeing, I like you and your products so whether I buy here or not, I will come back in the future. But I expect honesty from the people I deal with, so please be honest, and you will gain a long-term customer."

--

Then, we could update the list of scripts as new case studies, situations, and examples come up in the forum.

I think this could be even more valuable than the forum thread compilation idea I had last year.

Really wish I could flush out this idea here and now, but I'll have to come back to it.

In the meantime, if you guys have any thoughts, feel free to share them below and I'll get back to them whenever I can.

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