Single product, one hitter sites

[sugarkane]

I've recently been playing with a site that features a total of 3 pages - an index page with a single product, plus a privacy policy and a contact page. The same product is also featured on a larger site as part of a range, but the minimalist site generates far more sales on far less traffic.

Is anyone else doing something similar? Is it a fluke or does this approach have genuine possibilities?

[mivox]

Wow. That's very interesting... Only one single product site, or are you planning to spin off more products into their own mini-sites?

[toolman]

Sounds like the copy is targeted dead-on and the search engines see it as relevant to what the searchers are typing in. You see a lot of sites like "the sales letter" type sites from all the "gurus" selling information on how to write "sales letter" type sites and such. If it works...roll with it.

[Marcia]

I've been doing small sites, a couple very small with an index page, a product page or two, another with some info, and a secure order form with credit card ordering handled by a craft mall or shopping cart links.

How they do depends on the product and quality of the photos. They work nicely for a starter.

toolman, they are very targeted and concise. I wouldn't try it for anything very competitive, but specific phrases work.

[pmac]

That is very intersesting. I think that sometimes we forget that simple is sometimes better. In a rush to be all things to all people, e-tailers tend to throw as many product choices as possible at the consumer.I know I have been guilty of this. I find a good, better, best program works well. When I load up a category with more than 5 choices, sales seem to suffer. This approach of a site with one special product getting higher conversion rates makes me wonder........."light bulb appears above my head"

[sugarkane]

I think there's a few things going on here (classic direct marketing copy, qualified visitors as they're not going to find the site unless they want that product), but I think the key is that a decision is being forced: Do I buy or do I leave?

There's no excuse to delay the decision by exploring the site (and then getting sidetracked), so if the sales pitch is good enough you've got 'em...

> spin off more products

It's got to be worth a try. I've another product from a different company being advertised nationally (UK). The ad features a site with around a dozen products, and isn't really producing, so it's an ideal test opportunity.

Added: Assuming this works out, the next step is to try and lure the customers to the larger, stickier site after making the sale. Any thoughts?

[Drastic]

Very interesting thread, great food for thought.

>lure the customers to the larger, stickier site after making the sale.

I think this is an excellent idea. However, you may not want to redirect them after the confirmation - they may find another product they would have rather bought. If you can convince them to opt-in, send them an email a week or two after delivery.

[sugarkane]

>another product they would have rather bought

Good point. And it would make doing discounts and promotions on the main site a nightmare as well, having to update all the micro-sites...

[drbill]

SugarKane.. Here is an Idea......(Proven very well) :)

mini site = product1
cunstomer buys product 1 and then after they have made the order send them to a page that has simlar products ( something like accessories for the porduct they just bought)

EG: Buy a walkman and then send them to another site that is selling batteries or cds or even and expensive headset. Watch you sales soar. Take a profit lost (few %) on the walkman but make 200% on the headset or whatever.

I do something simlar using MySql and php to pull up a small list of othe rthings that would go with the product they just bought... Working very well...

Now anotherthing would be if they don't want to buy then give them somethung that is cheaper but again online with what they wanted to see in the first place....

My 2 cents

[sugarkane]

Nice idea drbill :)

[pmac]

The "would you like fries with that" idea is a great one. When a user adds something to the cart at my site, a small pop up window appears asking if the customer would like to see related accessories. If they click "yes", they are taken to a page with items that are directely related to the item that was placed in the cart. If they click "no" they proceed to the checkout portion of the site. This seems to work very well at driving multiple sales.