Bodybuilding.com raided today by the FDA…

Bodybuilding.com maybe in a little trouble after today.  More negative press for an industry that’s already on the radar. Nice!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/sports/baseball/25doping.html?_r=1

To advertise or not to advertise? That is the question.

My comrades and I just finished a brutal brainstorming session regarding advertising venues with absolutely nothing to show for it. Thus, we need your help.

The problem
See, we have a decent size chunk of cash lying in our advertising budget. Other than mmanews.com and some ads on facebook, we really haven’t spent anything on marketing. Even though those two methods alone have been surprisingly successful, we want a much larger reach. If you polled 10,000 people, only 1 or 2 may have ever heard of Muscle Geeks. We need to do better than that, much better because the bigger we get the more everyone saves, including me.

Our facebook app is already being constructed. It has great potential to be a viral marketing weapon. We’re also in the process of creating another site that’ll be a collaborative site (not social networking, more like “wisdom of the crowd”). The details are still being worked out so I can’t say much. However, after spending years on the various supplement message boards, this site should be a hit with everyone, not just Muscle Geeks.

The Solution(s)

Those two methods won’t cost much though. So we’ll still have a lot of money left over for a big marketing push. Here are two possibilities:

We can purchase ad space in the big bodybuilding magazines like Flex, Muscle and Fitness, Fitness Rx, etc just like every other big company does. Not only will it reach over 100,000 customers per magazine, but it also gives us a sense of credibility. Basically, this is the traditional approach: The same one GNC, bodybuilding.com, and Max Muscle uses. In my opinion, BORING!

Or

We can set up a multi-level marketing system (MLM) like Monavie, Xango, etc. We’ve already had several potential Geeks suggest this method to us. The first thing you probably think about when you hear MLM is pyramid scheme. I personally guarantee you that this will in no way be a pyramid scheme type operation.

Basically, we’ll have people apply to be “Lead Geeks.” In turn for getting members to sign-up, they’ll get a percentage of each member’s monthly fee. In addition, they’ll also get free Muscle Geek gear like t-shirts, gym bags, shaker bottles, and samples to hand out to their “clients” as well as getting their supplements at cost. Eventually, we’d have a tiered system that would include free supplements and other prizes if a Lead Geek would reach a certain level. We’d limit the number of “Lead Geeks”, and make it clear that Lead Geeks cannot have other Lead Geeks below them so that those that would become Lead Geeks would make some good cash.

Now would you be able to quit your daily job? No. However, you should easily be able to make another $400 per month (probably more like $600 or more if you’re a true gymrat). And all you’re really doing is something you probably already are doing: telling other lifters what supplements you take and where you get them from. I personally like this option better because it’s a win-win situation for everyone. We get more members which means a bigger profit, Lead Geeks get money for being our grassroots effort, and every Muscle Geek saves more money because we’ll be able to negotiate lower prices from the supplement manufacturers with our increased membership.

That’s not the traditional approach by any means. However, I’m a huge believer in word-of-mouth marketing. I’d rather pay our members to spread the word than give my money to Joe Weider and Muscle & Fitness.

Please let us know what you’d rather see us do. Or if you have something better than those two methods, let us know. Like I said in the beginning, we’re at a standstill right now. We need a push in one direction or the other.

Thanks,
Doc

Huge Muscle Geek Sale - 30-35% below Wholesale. No membership required!

The Good news
This weekend the Europa Super Show is taking place in Dallas, Texas. In honor of the show, a lot of the supplement manufacturers like Cytosport, Gaspari, and MHP are offering damn good discounts. The majority of the discounts are between 30 and 35% off of WHOLESALE pricing. And because we’re Muscle Geeks, these discounts are passed directly to you. So , if there’s ever been a time to stock up, it’s this weekend. It’ll be awhile until we see Superpump 250, NO Shotgun, and Dymatize Elite Protein at these prices. Trust me. Prices are good until August 17th at 11 pm CST.

The better news
This is the only weekend that you don’t have to be a Muscle Geek to purchase supplements from us. Yes, that’s right. Call it a trial membership, test order, or whatever you want. No strings attached. (Seriously, this isn’t like most “trial orders” where you have to sign up for a membership, but you’ll be charged 30 days later if you don’t remember to cancel. Use us and abuse us. You can be one and done if you so choose). Order as much or as little as you like. It doesn’t even have to be from the sale category. Anything and everything is within your limits.

Apparently, a lot of potential Muscle Geeks have “commitment phobia.” The thought of a 12 month membership at $4 per month makes them a little apprehensive. Who would have thought? A guy with commitment phobia? So, what better time to offer a free trial than during one of the biggest sales of the year. So, please take advantage of this while you can because I guarantee we won’t offer another “free trial” this year!

The nuts and bolts – You do not have to be a member to purchase
Dates: August 14th – August 17th at 11:00 PM CST
Link: http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=5734&stype=43&sCat=32
Select *August 14th – 17th Special
Products: See attached PDF for more information

CytoSport Muscle Milk 2.48 lbs All Flavors - $19.99
CytoSport Muscle Milk 5 lbs All Flavors - $39.99
CytoSport Collegiate Muscle Milk 5.29 lbs All Flavors - $27.50
CytoSport Muscle Milk Light 1.65 lbs All Flavors - $17.99
CytoSport Muscle Milk Light 3.31 lbs All Flavors - $33.99
CytoSport Muscle Milk Cytomax 4.5 lbs All Flavors - $20.99
CytoSport Monster Milk 2.2 lbs All Flavors - $23.50
Cytosport Monster Milk 4.4 lbs All Flavors - $44.99
CytoSport Monster Mass 5.95 lbs All Flavors - $28.99
Cytosport Monster Maize 2.98 lbs All Flavors - $14.50
Cytosport Monster Amino 2.65 lbs All Flavors - $18.99
Cytosport Monster Pump 2.65 lbs All Flavors - $23.24

Gaspari Superpump 250 1.78 lbs All Flavors - $27.99
Gaspari Novedex XT 60 caps - $24.99
Gaspari SizeOn 2.84 lbs All Flavors - $33.50
Gaspari SizeOn 240 tabs - $33.50
Gaspari Myofusion 5 lbs All Flavors - $30.99
Gaspari Real Mass 5.95 lbs All Flavors - $30.99

Dymatize Elite Protein 25 lbs - $119.99 (Buy 4 get 1 Free)
*Free 5 lb flavor is Chocolate

Scivation Sesamin 180 caps - $27.50
Scivation Extend 390g All Flavors - $14.99
Scivation Extend 1170g All Flavors - $38.99

Next Protein Designer Whey 2 lbs All Flavors - $16.99

Supreme Protein Carb Conscious Bars (12) All Flavors - $22.99

MHP Dark Matter 2.64 lbs All Flavors - $27.50
MHP Dark Rage 1.9 lbs $29.50
MHP Probolic -SR 2 lbs All Flavors - $19.99
MHP Probolic-SR 4 lbs All Flavors - $34.99
MHP Trac Extreme 775g All Flavors - $29.99
MHP Secretagogue Gold 30/bx - $37.99
MHP Sarm-X 60 tabs - $33.99

Primaforce Glutaform 1000g - $24.50
Primaforce Creaform 1000g - $17.99
Primaforce BCAA 500g - $21.99
Primaforce Beta Alanine 500g - $21.99
Primaforce L-Leucine 500g - $16.99

VPX Shotgun 1.42 lbs All Flavors - Buy 3 get 1 Free $96.99
*Free Flavor is Fruit
VPX NO Synthesize 1.3 lbs All Flavors - Buy 3 get 1 Free $96.99
*Free Flavor is Black Cherry
VPX Redline 120 caps - Buy 3 get 1 Free $91.99

By the way, if you do buy a membership during this sale, get a free Muscle Geeks t-shirt, which is super fly, and a free Muscle Geeks gym tote, which is also super fly.

Take me to the Muscle Geek Sale!

Ugly Betty = Muscle Geeks

This weekend marks the national grand opening of Muscle Geeks. We know for a lot of you outside Illinois, this is the first time you’ve been introduced to us. We also know first impressions mean everything… That’s why we want to warn you.

Ugliness
Our online store isn’t pretty. In fact it’s downright ugly. We don’t have the convenient supplement categories like bodybuilding.com does. We don’t have encyclopedia-like descriptions for every supplement that we carry. We don’t have 1000 authors, trainers, bodybuilders, and doctors writing articles for us. In fact, we don’t even have nutritional labels for every supplement uploaded. Our site is bare and simple.

Muscle Geeks = Simple
We have two categories of products: tanning lotions and dietary supplements. Within each of those categories, we have subcategorized the products by manufacturer. That’s it. We also have a search function! Like I said, simple

However, don’t mistake our ugliness and simplicity for unprofessionalism. What we lack in flair, we make up for with hard work and honesty. We may not have a $100k-200k website, but we have, overall, the lowest prices on the planet! We’ll put our customer service and prices as well as our member satisfaction up against any supplement retailer in the country.

MindBody software
We partnered with MindBody software (they run our online store) because they’ve been around for a long, long time. And during their tenure, they’ve amassed quite a bit of accomplishments (They were just recently named by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing software companies in the world). Their dedication to safety and privacy is surpassed by no one. When it comes to ecommerce and software, there are very few companies that can match them. That’s why we left the technical stuff to them. We’re supplement geeks, not technology geeks. We lift, we take supplements, we read about supplements, and we even test supplements. Technology is not our forte. So don’t worry, you’re in good hands with MindBody!

Cheapest prices on the planet
Our goal has and always will be to relentlessly pursue the lowest supplement prices possible for our members. To make it more concrete, we want to be able to buy NO-Xplode for $26.00 or less. We firmly believe we don’t have to mark up our supplements 10, 20, or even 30% like the other retailers. $1.99 over cost is the highest it will ever be. We also don’t believe companies should keep the discounts for themselves. That’s why our prices will always continue to decrease because our discounts are passed directly to our members. As we grow, our discounts will get bigger and bigger from the manufacturers. And as those discounts get bigger and bigger, our prices will get smaller and smaller. And if you think we’re keeping some of the discounts for ourselves, ask for one of our invoices. We’ll gladly show you how much we pay for our supplements! And if we have to be ugly to accomplish that goal, so be it because I guarantee you if we poll every Muscle Geek member, and ask if they’d rather save money or have a fly website, 99% will say save money…

So with that being said, let me remind you of the saying… Never judge a book by its cover! Join us now.

Important: Muscle Geek membership sign up

Muscle Geeks’ web store will be open August 1st

The Muscle Geeks’ web store will officially be taking orders beginning this Saturday, August 1st. We’ve already received several e-mails and phone calls regarding some confusion over the membership process. To simplify the process, follow the steps below to join Muscle Geeks:

1. Click on the following link to join Muscle Geeks: Get your Muscle Geek membership

You must purchase a membership before you buy any supplements. It’s only $4 per month.. If you’re like the average geek, you’ll save 5 times that much during your first order. If you’re going to buy supplements at the same time you’re purchasing your membership, all you have to do is make sure the contract is in your cart too. Once you purchase the membership, $4 will be deducted from your credit/debit card every month.

Why do we charge a membership fee?

Simply put, to cover our expenses. Every supplement and tanning lotion is only marked up $1.99 over our cost. Even when our discounts get bigger from the manufacturers, your price will only be $1.99 over our cost because all of our discounts are passed directly to every Muscle Geek. Unlike other supplement retailers, we don’t keep those discounts for ourselves. Thus, we really don’t make much per supplement. To make sure we’ll be around for a long, long time, we need a membership fee. We tried to make it as cheap as possible. At $4 per month, you really can’t beat it. I spend $4 per DAY just on water and sports drinks!

Plus, as our membership grows, our prices are going to drop dramatically. The reason: volume. The bigger the volume, the bigger the discounts, the cheaper the prices. Why should someone, who’s not even a member, be able to purchase NO-Xlpode for $26.00 when it was us, the members, who caused the price decrease. If it wasn’t for Muscle Geeks, no one would ever see that low of a price. It just wouldn’t be fair.

2. After your initial purchase, all you have to do is log in and start shopping.

Remember, the first 1000 members only have to pay $4 per month to become a member of Muscle Geeks. After the initial 1000 members, the monthly fee will increase to $7 per month. Also, we have a special gift for the first 1000 members which will remain a surprise. Trust me though, it’s pretty fly.

P.S.
If you want to preregister, go ahead and add the membership to your cart and purchase it. It’s only $4 and it guarantees you a membership. Just click on the link above.

Muscle Geeks: Changing business one geek at a time

Before you invest in any business, it’s always nice to know its plans for the future. In fact, most investors won’t pay a dime until they’ve scrutinized the entire business plan. They’re looking for a big return on investment. Because you invest in Muscle Geeks when you purchase a membership, you should be no different. I’m sure you what to know, “What’s in it for me?”.

Let’s take a journey into the future, the very near future!

You just finished wreaking havoc on your chest during a grueling 45 minute workout. Every single fiber in your pectoral muscles is screaming bloody murder, and soreness is quickly ensuing. It’s the good soreness though. The kind that objectively reaffirms that you just kicked your own ass, and you’re sure your chest will be an inch fuller by next week. On your way out of the gym, you hear a couple of guys raving about a new supplement called NO Plasmacore from Muscle Asylum Project. You hear one of them say, “The pumps were insane. I couldn’t even finish my last set of bicep curls. My arms were so juiced I could only curl an inch or two.” Damn, now you start second-guessing your workout. It was great, and you really killed your chest, but what if you were using that nitrous product. You would have annihilated your pecs so much that you wouldn’t be able to take your own shirt off for two days because of the pump. It would have been one of those workouts that forced you to install a couple more mirrors throughout the house just so you can get a peak of those new pecs that are quickly starting to resemble the Rocky Mountains.

An Amazon-like experience

As soon as you finish your postworkout shake, you go directly to your computer, and log onto Muscle Geeks’ new website. You punch in NO Plasmacore, and quickly up pops an Amazon.com-like description of it. First thing on your agenda: the price. Lower than what you thought. Only $0.99 over our cost, and $10 below the next nearest competitor. How do you know that? Because the new website has the top 5 competitor’s prices right next to the Muscle Geek price. Now you don’t have to waste valuable time price shopping. And the best part? You get the lowest price, even if it’s not Muscle Geeks’ price (even though 99 times out of 100 it will be). That’s right. We’ll order it from our competitor, and ship it directly to you. Hassle-free!
Time spent: 10 seconds

Technical medical jargon no more
Thus far, it’s passed the price test. Now, you want to see what makes it so special. You click on the ingredients’ link that’s directly below a crystal clear image of the product. Up pops the manufacturer’s label. 50 servings? Not bad. There’s a ton of ingredients, half of them you can barely pronounce. Ester-this, methyl-that. You need 6 years of pharmacy school just to decipher the names. No worries. Our pharmacist has already done it. Next to each ingredient name is a simple, straightforward, no-medical jargon explanation of what the ingredient is and does. Quick and easy.

Time spent: 30 seconds

Does it mix
Everything looks good. Now you’re worried about the taste and mix-ability of it. With so many ingredients, it can’t possibly mix easily, let alone taste good. Lucky for you, to the right of the product picture is a youtube video entitled “Does it mix like concrete?”. You click on it, and you’re quickly taken into the Muscle Geeks’ lab that’s attached to our main warehouse. You see three men in white jackets, a blender, a spoon, a shaker bottle, 2 cups, and a bottle of NO Plasmacore. The first man takes a serving of NO Plasmacore and mixes it into 12 ounces of water with a spoon. The second man takes a serving and mixes in 12 ounces of water in a blender. And the third man takes a serving and mixes in Gatorade in the shaker cup. After 20 seconds of mixing, the camera zooms in on each end product. The results: Spoon test: Failed, large chunks that can easily get stuck in your throat. Shaker cup test: Passed, small chunks, but you can easily swallow those with no problems. The blender test: Passed with flying colors. No chunks, and it’s almost a little transparent.

Time spent: 30 seconds

Does it taste like crap?
Now you click on the video directly underneath the mixing video entitled, “Does it taste like crap?”. Once again, you’re taken into the Muscle Geeks’ lab. You see three men in white jackets blindfolded, 9 cups, a pitcher of water, a jug of Gatorade, and a box of Crystal Light pink lemonade mixes. An attractive female lab assistant pours each of the liquids into each cup. She then takes a serving of NO Plasmacore and mixes it in each cup. Each man takes three drinks from each cup. The results: Water test: 5 thumbs down, 1 thumb up. Gatorade test: 3 thumbs up, three thumbs down. The Crystal Light test: 5 thumbs up, 1 thumb down.

Time spent: 20 seconds

Nitrous Comparison
Now you’re really interested. However, you still have a little doubt. What if there’s a better nitrous product out there. Is it really better than NO-Xlpode? No worries. Directly underneath the youtube videos, you see a bar graph that compares the top nitrous products. NO Plasmacore is on it, as is NO-Xlpode, Superpump 250, and Nitrotech. Lucky for you, a lot of Muscle Geek members have already voted. NO Plasmacore gets a 3.5, placing it second behind NO-Xlpode.

Time spent: 10 seconds

Detailed Reviews
One last thing. You want to see some detailed customer reviews. No worries. Directly underneath the product picture, you see NO Plasmacore has 103 reviews. You quickly notice these aren’t your typical reviews. The detailed feedback rival that of tripadvisor.com. Why? Because our reviews are rated by our members. The more helpful the review, the better the rating, and the closer to the top. Thus, you won’t have to spend an hour wading through 30 reviews that say. “It’s awesome man.” The ones that will help you make your decision the most are at the top.

Time spent: 60 seconds

The purchase
Now you’re ready. You’ve only spent 2 minutes and forty seconds on the site, but it feels as though you’ve already taken NO Plasmacore because you know so much about it. You know the price, the ingredients, how well it mixes, how well it tastes, if it’s the best product in its category, and have read some great, detailed user feedback all in the time it would have taken you to price shop at your last retailer.

The add-on
However, right before you hit purchase, you see a horizontal section that’s entitled “Other Geeks have also bought this.” Usually, you’re annoyed by that sneaky up-sell tactics that most other retailers use. However, you’re feeling sympathetic today. Hell, you didn’t even know about NO Plasmacore until today. Maybe there’s something else out there that can help. You notice 35% of the Geeks that bought NO Plasmacore also bought ON’s 100% Whey. What the heck? You need some protein anyways. You add it to your cart in one click.

The bill
Let’s add up the bill. NO Plasmacore: $0.99 over our cost, $10 below the next nearest competitor. ON 100% Whey 5 lbs: $0.99 over our cost, $8 below the next nearest competitor. Shipping: $6. Dang, that’s only $8.98 over our cost, and that includes shipping. You’d pay over that on a single supplement at your previous supplement retailer. It’s almost like owning your own supplement store, but better because you don’t have to worry about employees, rent, taxes, or inventory. And you get it all for only $4 per month, less than a price of two waters at your local gym.

And the best part…
Because you worked out at 6 in the morning, you sent your order before noon. The next two days you have off. By your next workout, you’ll have your NO Plasmacore and 100% Whey Protein ready for an intense arm workout. How? Because Muscle Geeks has 6 strategically placed warehouses throughout the U.S. so every order is guaranteed to arrive within 3 days, with most orders arriving in 2 days!

Peter Pan, is this make believe?
No, it will soon be a reality. We are committed to this vision. We firmly believe this is the future of business. All of our profits and owners’ salaries are being put right back into Muscle Geeks. No bonuses, no raises, and minimum wage for every Muscle Geek employee until we achieve our goals. Remember, our initial investment in Muscle Geeks was virtually $0. We were already using our website for our gym, our warehouse was connected to our gym, and our employees were already working for our gym (We were way overstaffed). Everything should be profit.

If we had just 5% of bodybuilding.com’s orders, this would already be a reality. It’s not going to take much. 10,000 members may sound like a lot, but when the industry is a $22 billion industry, that’s a drop in the bucket. Think about how many people just at your gym uses supplements. Almost every single member, and your gym is one of hundreds of thousands of gyms across the U.S. That’s a lot of potential Muscle Geek members.

How do we turn this into a reality?
Join now, and promote Muscle Geeks like crazy. We’ll help in every way we can, because just like you, we’ll save money on our supplements as our membership grows. We’ll give you shirts, business cards, flyers, etc. If you need it, we’ll get it to you. We’re getting ready to launch a MMA campaign, and we’re in negotiations with a major fitness center chain. We’re trying everything we can to spread the word, but we need your help. Trust us, word-of-mouth marketing is our best bet. Not only does it cost nothing, but people trust people they know.

Remember, manufacturers’ discounts are based on supplement order volume. The more members we have, the bigger our supplement volume, and the cheaper our prices. Right now, our markup is always going to be only $1.99 over our cost (eventually $0.99), no matter how big the discount is. That’s anywhere from 20-40% below WHOLESALE cost. Thus, our prices will continue to drop. We’ll do our best to negotiate the biggest discounts possible, but we need firepower. And that firepower comes in the form of you, and every other Muscle Geek member. The bigger our buying power, the cheaper the prices.

Did we forget something?

Did we forget about a clever marketing idea? Or how about something that would be a great add-on to our site? Let us know. We depend on the Muscle Geek community for answers, ideas, and recommendations. We don’t have CEOs or a board of directors. We have our members, and that’s it!

Muscle Geeks: Greatest invention since the telephone

• NO-Xlpode with a 20% discount: $34.84
• NO-Xlpode with current 25% discount: $32.66 (a little over $2 savings)
• NO-Xlpode with a 40% discount: $26.13.