{"id":6073,"date":"2020-07-15T08:03:41","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T15:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/passivepromotion.com\/?p=6073"},"modified":"2023-08-28T13:32:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T20:32:01","slug":"how-i-sold-1000-cds-in-10-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/passivepromotion.com\/how-i-sold-1000-cds-in-10-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Sold 1000 CDs in 10 Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why would anyone buy a CD in 2020? Let me count the ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Getting stuff in the mail is fun<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Superior sound quality<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The artwork, lyrics, and liner notes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. It has value as a collectible, especially when autographed<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. To support the artist!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I first heard about the “free + s\/h funnel” through Chris Robley<\/a>, who heard about it through Indepreneur<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It’s a pretty simple idea: you offer a CD for free. The buyer (air quotes) just has to cover the shipping & handling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Throwing “handling” in there allows some wiggle room on your pricing. $7 is typical, which is enough to cover all your expenses, including the actual CD!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I opted for $5, which is much closer to my actual cost. That way nobody can argue “but it doesn’t cost $7 to ship a CD!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I can already hear your objection: “You said you SOLD<\/strong> 1000 CDs!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To that I say three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Money exchanged hands and goods were shipped. Sounds like a sale to me.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. If I had framed the same transaction as a $5 CD with free shipping, you’d have no problem calling it a sale.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. The majority of the 1000 were actually genuine sales beyond the free CD, netting me $3540.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      How did I make money on a break-even transaction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. An order bump<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. An upsell<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. If the upsell is refused, a downsell<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Here’s how it works…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        My Free CD Funnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        The offer page<\/a> is essentially a landing page, with the top navigation removed so they won’t roam off (click to enlarge):<\/p>\n\n\n

        \n
        \"landing<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        Once you enter your shipping info and click on “GET THE CD” you’re presented with an order bump for a $2 sticker:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"order<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Then you click “LET’S DO THIS” and you’re done, right? Not so fast!<\/p>\n\n\n

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        \"upsell\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        The upsell is the remainder of my physical discography for half off, plus a couple other bonuses. That’s 5 more CDs for $30 \u2014 a pretty good deal, if I do say so myself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The upsell used to include another two CDs for $40, but I’ve run out, and I’m about to run out of a third. My garage never looked so spacious!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        If the upsell is accepted, the funnel ends. If not, you’re presented with the downsell:<\/p>\n\n\n

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        \"downsell\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        The downsell is for another CD, the spiritual twin of the free CD, for half price plus free shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The Sound<\/em><\/strong> was actually the free CD up until a couple weeks ago when I got down to the last box, and swapped in The Thought Chapter<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I should add that these really are two of my best albums, perhaps my two best. I’m proud of both and genuinely excited for potential fans to hear them. Anything less wouldn’t be worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In other words, this isn’t just some thinly disguised attempt to liquidate old inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        My Free CD Funnel Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        To give you an idea of the ratio of free to paid, here’s last weekend’s orders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"Sunday<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Here are totals across the entire 10 weeks:<\/p>\n\n\n

        \n
        \"products<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        Since The Sound<\/em><\/strong> and The Thought Chapter<\/em><\/strong> were alternately free and paid at different points in time, their cumulative sales numbers are ambiguous. I added the order bump when I switched the free CD, which is why the sticker count is disproportionately low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The chief moneymaker is the “All CDs” bundle, which started at $40 then dropped to $35 and then $30 as CDs went out of print. Bundle sales account for over $3K and nearly 600 CDs sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Here’s the money shot, literally (you can click to enlarge any of these):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"free<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        The shipping & handling charges cover all my other costs including transaction fees, labels, mailers, and the add-on goodies I’ll detail later \u2014 leaving $3540 profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Here’s a report on just the upsells:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"free<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        That $3540 profit doesn’t factor in the cost of making the CDs in the first place, which is lost to the winds of time, or $1235 in Facebook ads. I’m currently spending $30 a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I could write an entire article on how I promoted the offer, and I will if you twist my arm [UPDATE: I did! Read it here<\/a>]<\/strong>. For now, I’ll just share the most successful video ad, which has so much social proof in the comments that I can’t get newer, objectively better ads to beat it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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