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- š¦ š his 4-step "secret formula" for Direct Response success? (part 2 of 3)
š¦ š his 4-step "secret formula" for Direct Response success? (part 2 of 3)
From DTC to Massive Retail Scale...
The $20,000 Gamble: How a Broke College Kidās Ad Launched a $100M/Year Direct Response Empire [Part 2]
Want to discover the 4-step āsecret formulaā one former pizza delivery guy used to grow a $100M/year Direct Response empire?
(And launch a massive retail presence as a result)
Read on because weāre going to reveal it in todayās newsletterā¦
But first, a quick flashback in case you missed part 1 of this seriesā¦
ā¦we left a 23-year-old AJ Khubani who was just about to break through to Direct Response megastardom.
We heard how the child of immigrants went from selling pizzas to gambling his entire life savings on a dream - a dream to hit the big time and make his first million.
Hop over to Part One of the āInfomercial Kingāsā story to see how AJās gamble went, in case you missed itā¦
(Spoiler: it could hardly have gone better!)
But the story isnāt overā¦
AJ turned his initial $20,000 revenue into a $100M/year Direct Response empire.
So how did he do it?
How did he scale his business so fast? How did he manage to go to retail against all odds?
How did he buy his first house at the age of 26 - in cash?
We promised to reveal AJās secret formula for Direct Response success. And thatās exactly what weāre going to do. So if you want to know how to:
1) š§āš¬ Test the viability of a product via Direct Response ads
2) š Scale the product via Direct Response
3) šļø And go to retail all across the USA
ā¦ stick around, because itās all right here.
Branching out and scaling up š
As we covered in part 1, AJās successful first-ever foray into Direct Response advertising - selling cheap cassette players in The National Enquirer - made AJ realize he was onto something.
The walkmans were a hit, but AJ knew they wouldnāt get him to a million. So, he decided to replicate his process with other products - all the while honing his Direct Response ad-writing skills and decision-making process.
Pretty soon, he landed his first ābig productā: a pair of massage slippers.
At just $10 a pair, they sold like crazy.
Within just two years of starting out, in 1985 AJ finally turned a profit, having turned over a total revenue of $1.5 million. His days of delivering pizzas suddenly seemed like a long, long time agoā¦
~ update from our friends at Funnel of the Week ~
From Affiliate to Offer Owner: How to Uncover Hidden Profits & Untapped Opportunities
This weekās Funnel of the Week episode dove into probably the longest upsell funnel ever:
FOURTEEN (14) upsells:
The end result?
This free+shipping offer generates $862 max cart value.
The full swipe file + funnel breakdown was released today inside the Funnel of the Week Members Areaā¦
But in the meantime, in case you havenāt joined yetā¦
Guest expert for the funnel breakdown, James Van Elswyk, also had some bonus content he shared on the callā¦
ā¦All about how to find, build and scale your own offers.
James has generated well over 1 Billion in Revenue with a very healthy 8 figures in profit for myself in his career, doing everything from:
Generating and Selling Leads
Running Large Call Centers (400 agents on the phone)
Being an Affiliate
Starting and Selling an Ecommerce Company
And a whole lot more.
(Go here - https://the-ooo.io - to learn more about a special event James is running all about showing affiliates (and others) how to learn to find, build and scale their own offers.)
On this clip with James,
You'll discover...
The surprising reason why fighting over affiliate "scraps" is killing your margins (and what to do instead)
How controlling the entire supply chain from ad to final sale can explode your profits as a marketer
The secret to finding untapped opportunities and being early to market (James has been doing this consistently since 2008)
Why the first 2 years of a brand new offer are critical for "printing money" before the space gets saturated
How cutting out the middlemen can uncover hidden profit and allow you to scale (most affiliates don't realize this)
The counterintuitive way optimizing for actual sales vs leads can dramatically increase your earnings as an affiliate
Discover the "unicorn" offer type James recommends all marketers pursue in the next few years
The 2 key things affiliates must understand to get into the offer ownership game and 10X their income
Why owning just a piece of the funnel caps your potential (and how to take full control to reap the rewards)
PLUS:
The simple litmus test to determine if an offer type is right for you to pursue as an owner
Why your offer name is crucial: James' counterintuitive method for naming his offer that helps it fly under the radar
Watch this 17 minute clip and get ready to take notesā¦
And stay tuned for the full episode which drops on Monday inside our Funnel of the Week Members' area, go here to get access.
AJās formula for success š
Of all the thousands of products AJ could have invested in, he instead chose to focus his time and money on just a few high-potential items.
Example top-selling DTC/Direct Response products from 1980s National Enquirer magazine
The question is: how did he choose which products to go for?
Well, during his time selling through newspaper Direct Response ads, AJ developed a kind of āformulaā that heād use to predict whether or not a product would be successful.
Before investing a dime, heād ask himself a few important questions:
AJ Khubaniās 4-Step Direct Response Product Selection Formula
Rule #1: Does the product solve a common problem?
In an interview with Inventorsā Digest, AJ explained that he has āno interest . . . [in selling] 10, 20,000, or even half a million pieces . . . itās got to be a mass appeal item.ā
By āmass appeal,ā AJ means that it has to solve a common problem faced by millions of people. The āSmart Mop,ā for instance, made $150 million in sales. Something niche, like anti-fog skiing sunglasses, are unlikely to sell even close to that.
Rule #2: Is it easy to produce?
Take a look at this list of AJās most successful products. What do you notice?
Thatās right, theyāre all relatively simple gadgets. No heavy engineering, no expensive materials. Just quickly manufactured products that are made cheap and get the job done.
If the item fails, you havenāt lost much. If it succeeds, you can reproduce it at low cost. Win-win!
Rule #3: Do customers like it?
Repeat purchases are key to Direct Response success.
Take AJās top seller, for example: the Ped Egg (a simple callous remover). After a while, the blades start to go dull, so customers often buy a new one.
āThe key to building a product,ā says AJ, āis to have very high consumer satisfaction, because you won't get repeat purchases if consumers are not satisfied with the product.ā
Rule #4: Can you āmarket the heck out ofā it?
After establishing whether or not customers like the product - and will buy it time and time again - all thatās left is to market like youāve never marketed before.
Simple, compelling messaging with clear benefits in as many places as possible. Thatās what it takes to get those orders rolling in.
Letās see how AJ applied these rules for his next product launchā¦
A new way to advertise šŗ
Itās 1987. Bon Joviās Livinā On a Prayer is all over the radioā¦
ā¦and the longform infomercial has arrived on TV. DRTV (āDirect Response Televisionā) ads are taking over print ads.
AJ, never one to fall behind the times, leapt on board. He kicked off his DRTV venture with a pair of ultraviolet ray-blocking sunglasses called āAmberVisionā.
Selling 15 million pieces, AmberVision was the definition of a smash hit, and remains to this day an iconic flagship product (head over to eBay and take a look: a pair of AmberVision sunglasses in their original packaging can go for over $70!)
DRTV brought AJās company, Telebrands, to a new level. The pizza boy-done-good was about to become āThe Infomercial Kingā...
šµļø Want to āSpyā on over 10 million unlisted YouTube ads (and landing pages)?
Go here to claim your free trial of all new VidTao 2.0 YouTube Ad Libraryš
The Direct Response to Brand Jackpot š²
By 1988, those whoād doubted AJ could see for themselves just how wrong theyād been; heād bought his first house outright and was enjoying his business success.
But AJ had an itch. He knew there must be a way to expand beyond print and TV, but just couldnāt put his finger on how.
Then, one day, he found himself sitting at a $5 blackjack table in Atlantic City, NJ. The dealer asked what he did for work, and AJ told him he sold this product called āAmberVision sunglassesā on TV.
The dealerās eyes lit up.
āI see that commercial all the time,ā he said. āYouāre the AmberVision guy!ā
What AJ realized in that moment was something that would revolutionize his career: he was creating brand recognition without even realizing it. And if people knew what a product was by the name alone, he should be able to sell that product in retail stores all across the U.S.A.
In other words: brand recognition would be AJās ticket to scalability.
The AmberVision Guy goes retail š
AJās vision was clear: if he could leverage brand recognition, heād be able to sell in retail stores across the country while advertising on TV.
With that in mind, AJ set out on a series of high-profile meetings with executives from Americaās biggest retail chains; Caldor, Jamesway, Woolworthās, Bradleyās - all with the aim of persuading them to sell AmberVision in their stores.
His hopes were dashed, however, when the same answers came back again and again and again:
āYouāre a competitor, we canāt work with youā
āYou canāt sell sunglasses in a boxā
āCustomers want a choice of styles, but you only have one!ā
So there he was in a meeting with Hermanās Sporting Goods, about to give in, when the boss happened to walk by. āWhatās this guy selling?ā he asked.
AJ showed him the box and the boss recognized it immediately.
āI see these on TV all the time! Thatās a great product. Letās give him a test order.ā
It wasnāt much yet, but brand recognition had given the Infomercial King his first big retail break (and it would soon turn out that you can, in fact, sell sunglasses in a box!)
āAs Seen on TVā ā
AJ knew that reminding consumers that theyād seen AmberVision sunglasses on TV would be key to their retail success. With that in mind, he came up with the now-legendary āAs Seen on TVā red label. With this, he hoped to jog shoppersā memories.
Clearly, it worked:
Hermanās 200-piece test order sold out on day one. They immediately ordered 20,000 more.
And they werenāt alone, either: other vendors whoād previously turned AJ down were now willing to look past the productās āflawsā and put in test orders of their own.
Ambervision trailblazed the āAs Seen on TVā revolution and today has made over $150 million. The success seen here highlights the importance of brand recognition as a fundamental step toward Direct Response advertising success.
FREE DIRECT RESPONSE VIDEO AD CONSULT
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Join us for a free YouTube ad brainstorming session here:
Rinse and repeat š
AJ isnāt sentimental about products and never stands by items that arenāt selling.
Heās prepared to fail 95% of the time and swiftly move on when he does.
His process looks something like this:
š Launch hard at low cost
ā Find the 5% that works and cut the rest
š¢ Double down on the 5% and market like crazy
š Repeat
Want to see the products heās been able to scale?
Weāll cover that in part 3, coming soonā¦
In the meantimeā¦
š The Takeaway: AJ's Million-Dollar Formula š
So there you have it, folks - the secret sauce that turned a broke college kid with a $20,000 gamble into the $100M/year "Infomercial King."
Let's break it down one last time:
Key Takeaways from AJ Khubaniās
Direct Response Success
šÆ Solve Real Problems: Pick products that fix everyday headaches for millions
š” Keep It Simple: Go for easy-to-make gadgets that won't break the bank
š Build Customer Love: Happy customers come back for more - it's that simple
š Brand Recognition is Gold: Why not scale with Direct Response ads AND build a brand at the same time? Thatās what AJ did with his genius "As Seen on TV" label.
šāāļø Fail Fast, Scale Faster: Ditch the duds, double down on the stars
AJ's journey from pizza slinger to Direct Response mogul shows us that with the right formula, a dash of courage, and a whole lot of hustle, anyone can hit the jackpot. So what are you waiting for? Time to take that $20,000 gamble of your own!
Stay tuned for Part 3, where we'll dive into the products that made AJ's empire soar after this initial big win.
Trust us, you won't want to miss it! šš°
Have a great week!
The VidTao Team
PS - Go here to claim a Free Trial of the all-new VidTao 2.0 YouTube ad library (complete with 10 million+ unlisted YouTube ads & their landing pages)
PPS - Are you spending $1k/day+ on Paid Ads? š Go here to set up a free YouTube Ad brainstorm chat.