Best I.M. Launch Prices: Data From 100,000+ Sales

chris munchThis is quick guide on the basics of how to price your product and what commissions to give. Of course pricing is just part of the mix, and you will still need to ensure you have a top-notch product, great customer support and build relationships with JV partners.

This post makes a generalization about what affiliates on a whole look for in pricing and commissions. Everyone is different and this won’t be correct for everyone, but represents closely overall trends and expectations.

What is the I.M launch scene?

In this article I make references to the I.M launch scene which is essentially the multiple launches which appear each day on Muncheye.com, with the volume of launches being born out of the growth of the WSO market, which has since peaked and vendors have mostly moved elsewhere.

The typical buyer coming from the I.M launch scene is on a lot of email lists, and has been exposed to a lot of offers due to the many cross promotions taking place, and the auto-sign-up to daily deal mailing lists on products sold through affiliate networks like JVZoo, WarriorPlus and Digiresults.

After Driving 100,000+ Sales, This is What I Have Discovered…

Anything Under $7:

This is too low to attract the ‘heavy-hitting’ affiliates who bring in the most traffic. At prices this low it’s hard to get decent EPCs (earnings per click), so affiliates shy away.

A $1 EPC is a rough minimum expectation for a launch, and many affiliates expect to see a lot higher. If the price is $1 then you would need a 100% conversion to hit a $1 EPC if you are giving 100% commissions, so you can see how lower prices just don’t deliver for affiliates.

$7-$12 @ 100% Commission:

This seems to be a ‘sweet spot’ for the purpose of lead generation to a broader audience with a wide appeal topic like Traffic Generation. Consistently a $7-$9.99 price point with a dimesale works really well when offering 100% commissions to affiliates. You may even wish to consider offering even higher commissions to stand out, as 100% is the norm.

At this price point it is very unlikely to hit 6 figure revenue with the launch even with the upsells. There are only a few examples in the industry achieving this, all of which sold several thousand units on the front end. An example being my Hook Pigeon launch which sold over 11,000 units.

Typically however, most established vendors will sell somewhere between 1000 and 4000 copies on a launch like this, making it a great price point for building a buyers list.

This price is great for small info-products covering a specific topic and used for building a buyers list. For software products you may want to consider a higher price due to the extra work involved, unless lead gen is a serious priority.

$17 @ 75%-100% Commission:

This price is too low to hit big profit numbers, and too high for optimum lead gen.Vendors launching at this price point are often trying to get the best of both worlds by getting leads and making  a profit on the front end. However, in my opinion it is better to set a single objective for a launch (profit or leads) and price accordingly.

Despite this fact, $17 still remains a very popular price point, but is less popular with experienced vendors.

There is ONE exception where the $17 price point can work…

Lead generation for a educated/specialist buyers (such as Product Creators or List Builders). I’ve found these more sophisticated audiences tend to be more willing to pay a $17 asking price for more specialist topics.

More educated/specialist buyers would buy regardless of it being $7 or $17, so conversion rates are the same. Whereas the wider audience which is attracted to more wide appeal topics like traffic, will see a much stronger effect on conversions from a jump of $7 to $17.

To make lead gen in specialist topics work generous commissions are key. $17 @ 50% commission is no good, its less attractive than $8.50 @ 100%. Same $ per sale, but with an anticipated drop in conversions at that price point, affiliates expect more. So you want to be in the 75% to 100% region at the $17 price range to attract more affiliates.

When setting commissions it is important to think about the final EPC the affiliate will get, rather than the $ per sale, as ultimately it is the EPC value that is dictating how successful their campaign is. So $8.50 per sales or $850 per sale is less relevant or interesting to experienced affiliates, whereas the true EPC they get from their commissions is typically more important.

$27 @ 60%-75% Commission:

This is a better balance of profit and lead gen… You will sacrifice lead gen in a big way compared to lower prices, but you can make solid profits at this price point, and still get a respectable number of buyer leads. At this point a 6 figure launch becomes easier, but for higher profits and a better EPC for affiliates I still recommend a higher price.

$37-$47 @ 50%-75% Commission:

I believe this can be a ‘sweet spot’ if the goal is overall front end profit for a simple product launch and works great for simple standalone plugins and specific software.

If your product is strong enough can be positioned in a way to justify a higher value, then picking a higher price would still be better.

Tiered pricing, covered below, will make a big difference here to maximize conversions AND leads (I’ll get onto that in a minute). 60% is a good commission to offer at these prices.

$67 or $97 @ 50%-60% Commission:

These price points get good EPCs (when done right) BUT…

At these higher price points it starts to become increasingly tough to convert buyers in the typical I.M launch scene. This is because  people are seeing seemingly quality low priced offers day after day, so it takes extra work to justify the higher price points.

If you are prepared to put more effort into a presell campaign, do webinars, have a very solid sales page, testimonials and a beefy product then these price points can work, just be prepared for the work involved. Bear in mind a product you sell for $67 on the I.M launch scene, could probably fetch $197 or higher outside of the I.M launch scene, being sold on the webinar circuit as an example.

The amount of effort needed to justify a $67 to $97 price point may see diminishing returns for the extra revenue you get at this higher price. It may be better to go all out and beef up the product and launch campaign so that it can justify a launch price of $197 or much higher.

Many experienced vendors will launch at a sub $97 price on the I.M launch scene, and then sell it at a higher price after the launch period via webinar, paid traffic or otherwise.

Above $97 – 50% Commissions

Popular proven price points are $197, $297, $497, $997, $1497, $1997 and so on.

How high you go really depends on the value that your product delivers, if your branding and authority justifies the higher pricing, and if you have the marketing skills to justify the cost.

50% commissions are typically expected on the launch scene, although as you get to $1000 or higher its possible to drop to 40%. Only very rarely would commissions be lower.

Should I Charge More?

What price point is right for you will depend on your own experience, the product itself, and your ability to put together sales material and a launch campaign that justifies a higher price. Ultimately charging higher prices for quality products is the best way to drive more profits, which can allow you to do even more with your business and provide even more value, but selling at higher prices requires more skill.

It is not unknown for products being sold at $17 to be bought out by an experienced vendor. Some improvements to the product are made, its rebranded, repackaged, and sold at $197 with a better marketing campaign. While the original vendor struggle to make 5 figures and grow his business, the experienced vendor nets an easy 6 figures and expands his business to the benefit of his customers.

Immediate profits are not the only thing to consider. Also bear in mind everytime you sell at a low price or a high price, you brand yourself in that way. You could be seen as the budget seller, or the high ticket seller, Walmart or WholeFoods. That is why so many affiliates only promote higher ticket products, to help maintain their own positioning and price anchoring to their audience.

While most people are selling at a price below the optimum for profits and would probably benefit by raising prices (unless they need leads), in the end you will have to do your own testing and try different prices to get an idea what works for you.

Tiered Pricing Magic…

Tiered Pricing – By using tiered pricing you can justify your highest price and give it a really high perceived value. This will improve conversions and you’ll see more people choose the most expensive option, while still letting the cheapies in (so maximizing leads). Here’s an example:

pricing

In the above example 66% of buyers went for the highest price.

This actually helps you charge higher prices than what you could with just a single price, because the lower price points tell people what its worth. For example, if using the product on one domain is worth $9.95, then using it on 1000 domains for $47 is a great deal – whereas on its own $47 would likely have been perceived as more expensive.

Also notice how the regular prices are crossed out – that’s another very effective pricing trick to up conversions when launching at a discount price.

Commissions, Higher Prices & Rapid Changes!

The I.M. launch scene is increasingly competitive and generous commissions are almost always required for a successful launch.

The marketplace is always changing, every launch is different, as is every vendor. I’m not saying these prices and commissions are ‘perfect’, only that I have experienced these prices working very well.

But to keep moving closer to that perfect price point you just have to keep testing, and remember that the market does not stay the same.

What Next?