9 Lessons from Launching My Own Supplements

Now I’ve finally got one of my sup offers converting at about 1% and with a decent AOV (touch wood)…

My imposter syndrome has faded just enough to allow me to pump out this post…

(before, no doubt, my next test bombs and it rushes back with a vengeance).

None of these insights are going to have seasoned copywriters hoisting me on their shoulders and declaring me King… 

But they all proved to be big needle movers in getting my offer working.

  1. Tell a better story

Every supplement niche is saturated…

And Clickbank is awash with gut punching horror stories so extreme they’d make writers at the National Enquirer squirm. 

But unless you’re willing to savage your margins competing on price…

You’ve still got to come up with a better story than your competitors.

Sure, a tale of someone being threatened with having their foot chopped off can grab the attention of blood sugar sufferers…

But there are then other stories you need to weave together to keep people reading and for your offer to work.

This could include:

  • A compelling story behind how a key ingredient was discovered (bonus points if you can link it to a Bible reference)
  • Linking an ingredient or the mechanism to Nobel prize winners
  • The true story of a scientist who took a stand against mainstream opinion to expose a new cause of a common health issue 
  • How an ordinary person discovered a new health protocol that led to them stunning their doctor on their next health check
  • Finding weird traditions or ceremonies in which an ingredient is used
  1. Newness factor (hat trip Mike Abramov)

There has to be a reason why you’re telling your reader about the supplement NOW.

There has to be some new discovery or scientific breakthrough that explains why this supplement is only now possible…

As everybody wants to feel they’re being privy to cutting edge info few people know about. 

So rather than lean on studies from 10 years ago, you need to find something current in Science Daily, Google Scholar or the nlm website.

You also want the study to come from a reputable source the reader is going to recognize and trust (e.g. Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT).

  1. Unpeel the onion to find a deeper reason why the problem exists

There may be a debate raging on whether a “new cause” is vital for an offer to work…

But from my own experience…

Going a layer deeper is what took my offer from 0.5% to 1%.

Because rather than talk about how the readers mitochondria deplete with age (boring!)…

I explained how there’s a toxic byproduct MADE by the mitochondria that’s causing their body to age faster…

And is what’s robbing their energy in the process.

Sure, you don’t want to overwhelm the reader with science.

But you need to make sure you tell them something new…

As readers always want to learn something from your promo.

And then back up your new mechanism with a reputable source.

  1. Explain what it’s similar to

You likely know already that you need to simplify your sentences to grade 6 or lower…

And the same applies to the science behind how the supplement works.

A great way of simplifying the science is to compare how an ingredient works to something else the reader already knows and understands.

YouTube videos by Crash Course, Thomas DeLauer and Dr. Eric Berg are all great sources of simple explanations and metaphors for complex science topics.

Videos by Harvard less so.

  1. Actions not abstractions when discussing the benefits (hat tip Parris Lampropoulos)

You want the reader to visualize how their life will change when they start taking your supplement.

So rather than just talking about feeling energized and with a bigger skip in their step…

Describe real life scenarios in which they’ll feel and benefit from that energy.

This could be going for hikes in the mountains, long cycle rides with their partner, playing tennis and leaping around the court like a gazelle or having the energy to get the shopping done in a breezy mood.

Remember that our sales letters need to be like a movie the reader visualizes in their own mind.

So describe images of transformation that will get readers salivating to experience that same transformation in their lives.

  1. Push the 6 Bottle Option visually and with an AOV close (hat tip Stefan Georgi)

If an offer is going to work it needs to generate as high an AOV as possible.

And the best way to boost AOV is to nudge people towards the 6 bottle option.

So you want every image to be of the 6 bottle pack…

And you want to make sure you hammer home the scarcity of ingredients, why people are buying for friends and family and how the results build over time to make buying the 6 bottle option the smart thing to do.

  1. Speed matters

It’s said that 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load…

And I saw this firsthand.

Despite trying multiple hosting providers and every speed plugin known to man (and woman)…

Engagement on mobile was far below that on desktop.

I’ve now moved my “lazy loading” WordPress page to a HTML static site.

So fingers crossed the boost in speed leads to a lift in engagement and new buyer alerts.

  1. Biggest needle mover can be email creative 

The higher performance of my energy sup offer started with the email creative.

My emails sharing the story of a Native American energy tea consistently smashed any of the emails for my brain or weight loss offer.

So when planning a campaign…

Start with thinking what’s the most intriguing thing you can say in an email to get high opens and an above 1% CTR…

And then build your sales letter from there.

  1.  Woman’s World is a goldmine for headlines and stories

I have a digital stack of Woman’s World magazines, and I’m not embarrassed to admit it!


I’ll regularly delve into them for headlines, story ideas and to find the words women use to describe their menopause, belly fat and other bodily issues.

The short, sharp headline on my energy supplement sales letter may break all the rules on headlines…

But as the cover writers at Women’s World knew before me, it works.

That’s all I have for you for now.

But I’ll continue to share more insights as I progress.

I now have three people lined up to test my offer. And should the conversion Gods smile down, I can start scaling from there.

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