Creating An Effective Sales Funnel - Part 4
=====================> PART FOUR OF FOUR <========================
NOTE TO SELF (FINAL!):
WHAT IS THIS 4 PART POST ALL ABOUT?
HERE'S WHAT - SALES FUNNELS: THE 'WHAT', 'WHERE', 'WHEN', 'HOW', PLUS...SOME EXAMPLE LANDING PAGES, SQUEEZE PAGES, OPT-IN PAGES, AND MORE...
PUBLISHED OVER THE FOUR DAYS, ONE PER DAY, TODAY IS PART 4...
OK WITHOUT FURTHER ADO...
INTRODUCTION
Today is the final segment of our 4 part series on sales funnels. We will wind up the basics and drill down a bit more, then I urge readers to try some funnels themselves, ask for feedback, maybe here, and give them a whirl in your online marketing effort!
It has been proven for a LONG time before the internet was around that having upsells, downsells, and adding increasing levels of value for a prospective client works, because it captures your customer while they are already buying from you.
I used this tactic when selling groceries long ago (LOTS of groceries, like 4 million USD a month of groceries!), and there was no such thing as a dales funnel at that time (there was internet, I am not THAT old!)...
So let's get right into this last bit...
Remember what a sales funnel looks like:
How To Effectively Design/Create The Components of Sales Funnel Pages
I am sure that most of yoy have seen landing pages online, and most contain all of the components I mention below. Today we will see what goes into the process for each, and a few key points that you need to be aware of as you create your own pages that support your funnel...
First of all, sales funnels should be targeted towards premium buyers (the 20% that are really buying) rather than others (the 80% that stop by but do not buy). Let’s say you have 100 prospects that have been driven to your Sales Funnel…Likely only the top 20 of those that have shown interest through subscribing to your list will buy something, the other 80 folks will not.
So from the layout, to the title, the expansion points, perhaps an explainer video, any testimonials, your describing of the problem, then providing the solution (benefits), adding a call to action, and etc., your focus should be on convincing these top 20 buyers to buy.
If you are just providing general information that is not calling for anay action on your page, you are wasting those 20 customer’s time, and you conversion rate will drop. Those other 80 customers you can target in your blogs and posts on social platforms. You have their contact information at that point. So calls for action are key throughout.
With that in mind, look at your copywriting effort, the layout of the page, the design of any graphics and so on, to come up with an effective page that will get the message across effectively to those 20…See what others are doing, how they worded things, placed graphics, etc.
Unless you have a lot of experience in these areas mentioned, I would highly recommend using some off-the-shelf programs or sites that are available at a reasonable cost (and some that are more expensive but good) to do a lot of the work for you…
One area that you may WANT to do a bit of work getting proficient at is video creation and editing. You do not have to become a full on producer to be effective, there are courses you can enroll in and lots of free training on the ‘net available…
I have been working on this simultaneously while working on my affiliate program, and can attest to the fact it is doable! There are lots of help materials out there too that are relatively inexpensive such as intros, outros, explainer videos, buttons, pop ups, etc. that makes putting a video together easy…
More reasons to use the off-the-shelf solutions, as much as possible, while putting together your pages include time and money. You do not have to become an expert in programing or coding to create those great looking pages. You can buy one time pay programs or monthly subscription sites that are relatively inexpensive and will do the job nicely…The time you save and that is available for other things is far more than the cost…Bottom line you will likely be able to make MORE mondey than your expense...
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Here are some considerations even if you use the templates for your pages….Remember also with these you should edit each to fit your strategy and offer…
Copywriting Considerations - Focus on Macro wins with the main headlines – use strong words and phrases that will capture the attention of the 20% premium folks that are the real buyers, then do the same with your sub-points, one after the other.
-You are pointing out that what you are offering is unique, valuable and different than what is to be found anywhere else…
-You are adding in the keywords that such customers were looking for when they came to your page
-You are building on the giveaway that they have already received (adding additional value for them for a price)…
-You are addressing a problem that they are looking for a solution for
- You have it!-You make a compelling case in a succinct manner then add a call to action….
Layout of the Page - If you do not know much about design, here is where the templates that are available from a wide variety of sources or sites will be very helpful. If you have taken action to see what the successful competitors are doing, you already know what you need. Find a similar template, then modify it to emulate closely the page that is successful…
-Things like graphics, where the Headlines and sub points are located, what sort of other supporting material such a testimonials, defining the problem, your unique selling point, the graphics used, etc. you can play with until you have what looks similar…
-If you do not have a sample page to follow, then you may have to go through putting page together you think will convert and test it. If you do, start by changing one thing, and test the two against each other, Use the better performing page and do this again, changing another thing. Note change only one thing at a time when you do this…
-Myself, Time is important, so I always go with the templates and also with what is working for others…Time is money my firends...
A Real Life Abbreviated Case Study
OK Theory is good, talking about sales funnels pages and opt-in pages and Front End Offers and Thank You pages etc. is all good, as we have done...Doing some practice exercises is useful to get an idea, but the real test is putting this into practice...
In that regard, it can be helpful to learn about a real life example too of a campaign...How it fits in to your overall program, what comes before, during, and after...You then have a good feeling how the sales funnel can really work for you...
I am going to do just that here, adding my own experience. Obviously I cannot promote my own products, but I can, in a generic manner, show you how I put sales funnels into use for my own online marketing program...
The example I am going to show you is a training sales funnel for creating and marketing training...What you are seeing here is an excerpt of the written content for one such course, the full on course contains video training as well...
By the way this basic set up can be applied again and again as part of a larger set of training courses I am adding to on a regular basis. They are evergreen in nature. This means they are always relevant - there is a base set of skills that every marketer needs, and once you have training courses supporting these in place, they can sell and sell and sell, month after month,
Affiliate markerters can use this kind of training as well...
Here is the process I used:
(1) Created a strategy for my education program.
- Who is the target audience,
- What do they need to learn,
- Where should the classes be hosted,
- How should the courses be set up and should they be content basis (hard copy) or video, or a combination of both,
- What is an acceptable price point/cost I should charge...
(2) Created a basic funnel that applies to every course
- I use a lead-in article, that has an explainer video that can rank quickly
- Created a simple double opt-in page ((email sent to subscriber they they have to respond to using an autoresponder service
- Created a landing page for the particular course
- Created upsell pages where buyers can get special offers (i.e. 3 for 2 - pay for two course, get three)
- Created a thank you page
- Created a set of emails to support the funnel and courses
(3) Created the training and giveaway for each course
(4) Secured a site to host the training materials, the system to track subscribers
(5) Planned for marketing campaigns to include banners, coupons, Twitter and Facebook posts
There is more drill down, but in brief this is how you incorporate the sales funnel into your program. It can help get prospects to buy more than they intended (i.e. 3 for 2 pricing), and can generate further business through using the emails and contacts to build more business over a longer period of time...
Let's Tie It All Together
OK, we started the course out by talking about what a sales funnel is, showed some examples of what one looks like, discussed how to come up with your own, then talked about the components of the funnel overall, then lastly looked at pages in the funnel and how to put then together…
I have read Wealthy Affiliate members speak of a few different sources, but rather than try to mention them all, my recommendation is to do a google search and start checking out all the options out there.
Drill down with the ones that at face value meet your needs, and do this for several. Then if they have a trial period, try them. Once you have found a site that you feel comfortable with sign up…
There are several free programs that allow you to edit the pages if your template site does not have this or if you have a funnel page that you just want to do some small edits on without buying a program…
This is an entire class in and of itself as are some other things we have touched on, but suffice it to say there is plenty of free courses you can find on YouTube that will help you out…
Once you have the sales funnel with all its components together, you need to host it somewhere. Depending on the amount of traffic you expect, a cheap solution is to do it all from your website.
Make the different landing pages unavailable for the public (private) and you have it all there…An example would be if you have a simple lead list funnel, there are only a couple of pieces to the funnel, and not much space is required…
Once you do decide to scale up then you can look at hosting the pages with the service where you created then at, i.e. autoresponder sites will do this. I personally use a landing page site that helps not only with the page, it hosts the page and even automatically adds in the giveaway (also hosted on their server)…Easy peasy...
There are many places to add your products and funnel to so you can tap into affiliates that may want to sell them and receive a commission. Some include JVZoo, Zaaxa, Clickbank, etc. Each has their own procedure so I would rather discuss this in the comment section for each particular affiliate network.
OK, once again, use sales funnels to increase your leads, immediate product sales, and to enable you to tap into the email marketing potential you will have as a deliverable of the sales funnel you create and implement! Watch your leads, sales and satisfaction go up. up, and up!
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CONCLUSION
This is it! We have quickly covered what is involved with planning for a sales funnel, what steps are involved, provided some examples of pages that could be in a sales funnel, and gone over what components could be included on a page...
Now it is up to you to practice and actually create these funnels and pages. What I suggest is that, as we do with posts here, we ask one another for some feedback...Together we can accomplish more than each alone....
This page or any other place within WA is where we can have an ongoing dialogue and share our experiences...I can and am willing to moderate, but basically this is something that can be ongoing and self-perpetuating, meaning I do not have to be in the mix at all for it to happen...
What I said in one of other conclusions is worth repeating: Remember, this is NOT just an exercise...Sales funnels are something that can and should be incorporated into your overall online marketing strategy, even if only to build your lead list...They will help leverage your work and result in more leads and conversions immediately and long term...
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE OTHER SEGMENTS OF THIS POST...
CLICK BELOW LINK FOR PART 3 OF 4
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CLICK BELOW LINK FOR PART 1 OF 4
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Lastly…
As I have said at the end of each segment of this training, I am sure there are lots of ideas and advice others can add to this basic post, so PLEASE share them with us below
Cheers!
Dave : )
Recent Comments
30
Very good training Dave :D. My Ebook is almost ready and then I will write my emails and create the sales funnel. I want to sell multiple products that are related to the free ebook. Should I make a landing page for each product or should I just redirect them from my email to the vendors website? I don't have my own product.
Hi Paul,
Great to hear that you are ready to rock and roll with selling products! That is the first step to freedom from the corporate world! I an half in and half out of that world, and will likely never completely get out of either....
Not knowing what it is you are selling, I would say if the products are related to the main item that you are promoting, you could set the funnel up to either redirect buyers from your sales pages aftet the optin page for each product or sets of products to the eBook...
This would be an interesting case study if you care to share a bit more...I would love to brainstorm how best to set it up and also how to create effective landing pages etc.
Let me know!!
Cheers!
Dave : )...
Thanks for your reply. My plan is to offer a 6 day plan for beautiful skin. This is an ebook. The ebook offers them a guide about what to do for beautiful skin in a step plan that goes per day. For every day in the ebook I will send them an email with a product that will make that certain step of that day extra easy if they want to have the maximum benefit. I am scared they will just read all days in one day though (then my emails won't be synchronized with the daily step plan). So, my big offer is giving beautiful skin through multiple products going from cheap to more expensive. I have two questions: 1. shall I put the products in the ebook itself? 2. If I redirect them to a product in the email sequenses, shall I redirect them to a product review, a landing page that is only about that product or just to the vendors website on the page of that certain product?
My sales funnel in all should be there by the end of february and I will let you know the case study if you want.
Hi Paul,
Am I understanding correctly that the lead is going to buy the eBook (not yours but PLR rights or similar, and you are the one selling). or maybe you are giving the eBook away for free (i.e. in exchange for a name and email contact info - so this is a lead magnet type offer1)?
Either way, your intent is to follow up with an email campaign,...
In each Email you will explain more in depth, one product per Email, how that product supports a step mentioned in the eBook, why they need it, how it will solve their problem, let them know the price, etc. and offer the supporting products via links to the sales page(s)....
If I AM understanding correctly, and the above is what you are planning, I would put the product pictures, descriptions and the links to the sales page(s) into the eBook (pictures, a bit of description) so they can better understand what the emails pertain to and also will open them...
I just decided to add this piece in after re-reading your comment above again...It sounds like what you are recommending will be other's products, not your own...I would DEFINITELYadd in the sales pages to the eBook....
If you are using this as a lead magnet, they will provide their contact info as a part of your sales funnel in any case, so you sending them emails will not come as a surprise (you might mention this in the pitch/landing page for the eBook)...
You could also offer some bonuses for the prospect taking action as well...Maybe some other related material that they would be interested in if they are taking action to get the eBook....
Adding in a giveaway will entice those wavering to take action, everyone likes free stuff, they like feeling that they made a good deal, were clever, and are decisive...
This sounds like a great project. What kind of a tool or tools are you using for the different pieces of the funnel, i.e. for the opt-in page, the sales page, the thank you and delivery page, and so on...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. The ebook that I offer is a free lead magnet for emails yh. I don't know yet which tools I will use. I could use the more expensive clickfunnels.com or something like optimizepress. But I prefer something cheap with quality and something that I can intergrate my Aweber with. Do you have a recommendation?
So you recommend that I put links in the E-book of the products with description and picture to the sales pages. Do you mean sales pages that I make myself to convince them of that certain product or do you mean the sales page of the website that I work for as an affiliate?
So basically I put down the products in the Ebook and in the emails for a double attack while letting them know this from the start of the Ebook?
Cheers! You are a great teacher
Hi Paul,
Yes I would go a cheaper route than using Clickfunnels...Until you are making enough in commissions, that is just too expensive I think...It is a great tool, but man you can spend a lot of money monthly!
There are some cheaper ones out there that will do the trick...You can do a search to see what others think. Some will do any kind of page you may require, while the other can create bonus pages quickly...
With that second tool, you can also load the bonuses and host the pages on the software's web servers, and they integrate with most of the common autoresponders such as GetResponse, AWeber, iClick, etc. This way the lead funnel runs on automatic, 24/7...
I use both with my funnels and affiliate bonus I give with purchases of what I promote...Plus for lead generation as well...
Another thing you might consider is a sales-page creation WP plugin tool...Some of these are free (but I find these do not work as well as tools that create pages off of your web site, either using web-based or on your computer based software...
I am always concerned with too many plugins bogging down loading speed of the site, and these
If this is your first foray into this, my recommendation is to do it as cheaply as is humanly possible, and keep your cost per lead down...Not sure what your budget is but no sense throwing money away either in any case!
Let me check to see if I have some plugin that would work for this, to get you started, since it is not THAT many pages you will create, and save you from buying anything except the autoresponder service.
Speaking of that you can also get a trial account free for 30 days with some, and there are some others that start out free, and only after your list gets over a certain size will you be charged....
I would also take the time to research and see what others offering something similar are doing, and emulate...Save yourself time from developing the whole thing from scratch...
Thanks for the positive comment, this is something that I really like digging into, for myself and for others....
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thanks for the advice again Dave. Yeah I find this very interesting. Most people I see making good money have sales funnels with affiliate marketing. But you think I should put some of the products in my ebook and in the mails at the same time? For a double attack kind of? And I should send them to the sales page of the vendors website right? Not make my own sales page?
If you are an affiliate, you will need to send them through your affiliate link to get credit/paid...
You can link the photos you add to the eBook to your page(s) so when they click. from those pages they can get to the vendor's sales and will have the affiliate link...
On your pages, before you send them to the sales page, you may want to add in a small blurb asking them to check to see that it is YOUR link they are using before hitting the pay button,..
Also if you are adding bonuses, mention in a blurb about what they are and why they are helpful...Let them know how they can claim the bonuses, i.e. receipt or etc. If the vendor is selling on one of the affiliate networks, you may be able to add your bonuses to the thank yo and deliver page they will have....JVZoo does that, I think some of the others as well...
This is interesting! No probs on me chiming in at all....
: )
Oh wow that's amazing. I didn't even know that was possible. I need to contact the vendors for that I guess or? (for the bonus in a thank you page after they buy from that vendor). Or is it a bonus the vendor owns and gives?
Yes you will need to be approved likely to be an affiliate, and they should provide you your own url that will credit you for making a sale and pay you a commission...
For the bonuses you need to come up with them yourself unless they are offering some themselves...in that case I would still recommend adding more and having a separate page so you will look unique to prospects compared to others...
Another good tool would be to use a video along with your content for the pages...If you start with your web site, you can post an article about what you are putting together, then prepare an explainer video on Youtube and embed it on that page....
On your sales page you could also add one...These REALLY are effective...You are trying to establish a rapport with the potential buyer, and good design copywriting will get you so far, but videos...They raise the conversions by 2-3 or more if done well...
I recommend you have a look at the training here, and if you head more let me know...
This is just one scenario...
From the post you send them to a page that explains what they will get (a free eBook or similar that is related to what you are offering - i.e. something else on beautiful skin perhaps) for providing their name and email, and then they will go to the sales page of the product,
Meanwhile, your autoresponder will send them a message to their mail to confirm they want to subscribe. They confirm and automatically they will get another mail with the download site for the book...
The above is to get them as a lead...
But from that initial page they will then automatically be redirected to the sales funnel - a sales page (yours) or the author's sales page, depending on what your author selling the eBook agree to...
I have seen it both ways....
Your sales page could be a bonus page - let me give you an example of one of my sales pages - this is a screenshot only and intended to show you what it looks like.....
It shows only the end of the bonus page...Anyone who buys that product from me will, immediately after their purchase be able to download them. The buyer will automatically receive an email, or in this case, they will get it on the affiliate network site download page as a separate clickable button under the tool download button...
I am going to add in another comment a sample sales funnel so you can see what I am talking about...Sometimes it is better to see it visually than to read about things (see my mind mapping post)...
This is great!
OK Here is a sales funnel diagram you could use to plan for the funnel you are talking about putting together....(See picture attached, you can download and enlarge).....
Hey Dave, very useful I'm currently working on my landing page and I would be very happy if you could make a case study about how best to set it up and also how to create effective landing pages.
what is the best platform to make a landing page?
optimize press,leadpages are quite expensive!
Is there a free platform?(weebly, launchrock)
Thanks :)
Hi Jason,
There are some great tools out there that will make the process much easier. I would do a search for landing page software and then check out some of the options from the results you will have...
Myself, I use a combination of tools, i.e. a landing page creator, a bonus page creator (both will host the pages for you), and even one of the themes I have has a built in WP page builder that works well and is similar to Optimizer, but at a MUCH lesser cost....
Because we are not allowed to promote any particular brand or software tool here, to keep out of hot water at Wealthy Affiliate, we would have to take this off the WA site..PM me if you like, and I can give you further advice...
Cheers!
Dave : )
That is MASTERY, EXPERTISE of the argument, Dave!!! Before reading your posts I thought I knew something about sales funnel and that what I needed was just the HANDS ON part. Now I see I know on the argument as much as a kindergarden student knows. And I am afraid it will take years to get there.
Please hurry YOUR course to us.
Ciao/Phil
Hi Phil,
Thanks so much once again....Your feedback really helped in the development of the course too by the way. We are working to add in a whole live section via webinars etc.
Right now the folks are working through the different ways to put this together...It will add sooooo much to the course....Just as important and the real reason for the training is for the attendees!
Makes too much sense my friend!
Cheers!
Dave : )
You are welcome Bert, this is about as in depth as I can go here, and provided me an opportunity to get some feedback prior to going live with the paid training course I have developed....Cheers! Dave : )
You really put forth a knockout series ... and while battling those awful kidney stones . you are the epitomy of a true networker helping others while fighting battles unseen. Thank you, David, I have saved the entire series ....you are amazing!
Hi Rosie, Thanks for the positive comments, and I hope this mini-series helps you in some manner now and down the road, What I would like to see (and will contribute to) is an ongoing discussion of the subject, and maybe we all can share oue experiences as we slog through this....Cheers and have a great day! Dave : )
Nice to see the finished product Dave. You've done a great job at explaining the workings of sales funnels. Thanks for the effort you have put in (under some trying circumstances I understand). On that note I hope you get that problem resolved very quickly. Regards Ken.
Thanks much Ken, the kidney stone thing is aggravating for sure...
In finishing this series, I had to be careful with what was added so as not to seem like I am promoting my own stuff...I wrestled with just how much detail to add, and decided on less versus more...
In the full on class, there is a lot more hands on and practical exercises included, along with a series of videos....Much more effective...
This 4 part series at least gives readers a deeper sense of what sales funnels are and how they can fit into their programs...If it gets them to take action, it has accomplished its mission!
Cheers!!
Dave : )
Hi Gerald, Running into a bit of heath issue, so will add the rest when free again....Sorry for the delay.....Cheers! Dave : )
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Thank you very very much. I'll be hopefully all goes well launching a book in the next week or so and have been stressing about the marketing side and the funnel to make it successful. This is a good bit to chew on and is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much for sharing. It's helping people.