Do you feel your email list isn’t engaging with your content?

Do you feel that you can’t do anything about it without a copywriter?

The good news is that there are four strategies to help you get better engagement from your emails.

The even better news is that you don’t need a copywriter to do it.

[bctt tweet=”Only those who are suffering poor email performance are saying that email is dead.”]

If you implement the right strategies, then you will have an email marketing campaign that will be alive and well.

If you’re experiencing low engagement levels from your emails, then it could be because you aren’t sending the appropriate emails at the right time to the right people.

A lot of businesses tend to send the same email to all of their contacts on the same day and same time each week.

While consistency is important, it is even more important that you are sending the right messages to the right people at the right time.

Here are four strategies that you can do to engage your email list without having to hire a copywriter:

1. Knowing What To Ask

One of the best ways in which you can get your email list to engage is to ask them questions but not just any questions, they need to be the right questions.

Let’s look at these two example scenarios:

• Scenario 1 – An e-commerce business selling plus size clothing for women sends an email to their contacts asking what size they are.
• Scenario 2 – Another e-commerce business also selling plus size clothing for women sends an email to their contacts asking what their favorite dinner is.

Which scenario do you think would get the most engagement?

Scenario 1 is the one that would get the most engagement because their question is relevant to their niche.

You can also your email list their preferences however still make sure that the question is relevant to your niche.

Another thing to note is that you don’t ask too many questions on your email as this can put people off wanting to answer them.

If you want to find the average clothing size of your audience for example, then keep it focused around that.

2. Segmentation Is Key

Image Source: ttmc.com

One of the most important rules for email marketing is segmentation.

Segmenting your email list will help you to make sure your emails are being sent to the right people.

The only problem is that segmenting your email list can seem pretty daunting if you’ve not done it before.

It probably only seems daunting though because you’ve read about all the advanced ways to segment.

[bctt tweet=”If you’ve never segmented your email list before then, just start small with the basics.”]

Once you have mastered that then only should you do more advanced segmentation.

You can start segmenting your email list by:

• Those who haven’t bought
• Those who have bought

Segmenting your email list by who has and hasn’t bought means you can send the right emails to those who haven’t bought to nurture them to buy and send the right emails to those who have bought to gather reviews.

3. Pay Attention To Those Who Don’t Respond

There are so many businesses and marketers who spend the majority of their time reviewing why their contacts engage however it is equally important to spend time reviewing why contacts don’t engage.

If you notice that there are contacts on your email list that haven’t opened an email in six months but haven’t opted out, then they may be trying to send you a message that your emails could be better.

These contacts are likely still interested in your brand, products or information but just aren’t interested in your emails.

This is a clear sign that you need to work on sending the right messaging to your contacts.

In an effort to get these contacts to engage again, you can create a segmented list of contacts that haven’t opened an email in over 6 months.

[bctt tweet=”It is important to create a segmented list as people need to be nurtured differently.”]

4. Avoid Buying Email Lists

Image Source: DowSocial

If there is ever a reason your email isn’t engaging, it is because they have no idea who you are or how you got their contact details.

Even if the contacts are interested in your product, if they don’t know who you are or how you got their contacts details, they will feel you have invaded their privacy.

This will not only lead to you getting low engagement levels, but it could also mean that your email domain could be blacklisted.

[bctt tweet=”If you want to make email work, then it is important to build your email list no matter what anyone says.”]

It may seem like buying a list is a quick win, but that is far from the truth.

There is no better way to do email marketing than to build your email list.

Your contacts will then know exactly who you are and why you’re contacting them which will lead to much better engagement levels.

Some Other Ideas

They are 4 strategies that you can start to work on in a fight against low engagement levels from your emails.

Once you have these four strategies in place and are comfortable with them, you can do other things to increase further engagement.

[bctt tweet=”There are no excuses for not having an engaged email list.”]

You don’t need a copywriter or even a designer to improve the engagement on your emails.

All you need are the 4 strategies above and some other ideas to create interest and encourage recipients to open, click and buy.

After you have increased your engagement and are starting to get good return on your emails, can you then look to invest in hiring growth hackers to take your strategy even further.

For the time being, though, there are so many things you can do to start seeing growth and return from your email list.

Here are some other ideas you can use to engage your email list:

Make The Most Of Your Welcome Email

Your first email is probably the most important as it sets the tone. If your first email is standard and boring, then recipients might be more likely to ignore future emails.

If your first email is excitable and piques their interest, then they will be more likely to open future emails.

Nearly all businesses and marketers who do email marketing will send a welcome email to new contacts that have opted-in.

The only problem is that the majority of these welcome emails only confirm that they have opted-in to their email list.

Businesses that do this are missing out on a great opportunity.

The new contact is going to be expecting an email from you which is why this is a great opportunity to really wow them rather than just confirm they have subscribed.

You can do this by offering a surprise discount code, what they can expect to receive in the next coming weeks or asking them why them why they have signed up.

Giveaways

If there is ever a way to get your contact to engage, it is to offer them something for free.

If you want an instant boost in an engagement that will give your email marketing a kick-start, then do a giveaway.

You can kill two birds with one stone with a giveaway as you can kick-start engagement as well as gather insights from your email list.

You can do this by sending an email with a quick and relevant survey and ask contacts to complete the survey for a chance to win something for free.

For this to work, it is important to make sure that the questions on the survey are relevant as I mentioned earlier and that the giveaway you are offering is also relevant.

Autoresponders

I mentioned at the start of this blog post that in order to get your email list engaged you would need to send emails at the right time.

Obviously you can’t sit there all day and send emails out whenever someone opts-in or when someone buys a product.

This doesn’t mean they you can’t though as you can use autoresponders.

Autoresponders are a list of pre-set emails that you have created that will be sent to your contacts from when they first opt-in. Doing this means that you will never forget about contacts so they don’t forget about you and that you’re sending emails at precisely the right times.

Conclusion

Remember; you don’t need to hire a copywriter to do any of the strategies mentioned in this blog post, so there is no excuse for you not to have an engaged email list.

All you need to remember to have an engaged email list is to send the right email to the right people at the right time.

Do you know of any strategies that have worked for you that I haven’t mentioned?

If so, leave them in the comments below and share with everyone else.

Thanks for reading 4 Tips to Engage Your Email List Without A Copywriter which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Starting your online business is one thing… growing it is quite another. 

For better or worse, the internet and its search engines offer no shortage of advice on how to grow a business. 

The problem is…

Which advice should you take? 

To simplify things, we spoke with a successful entrepreneur, Tai Lopez, and asked him what it takes to grow an online business. 

Check out the video below. 

If you’re more a reader than a watcher, we’ve compiled the main points from the video below. 

1. Email is the Future

At first glance, many people think email marketing is dead. 

That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

In fact, 77% of marketers have seen an increase in their email engagement over the last 12 months.

Emails are very effective at building relationships with customers and promoting products. Compiling email lists means collecting customer information that you can easily contact.

Having an email list saves you a lot of time and hassle.

Why? 

Because you can send an email to thousands of people in as little as five minutes. You can also create automated sequences that recapture cart abandoners, welcome new subscribers, and much more. 

ClickFunnels’ email marketing software is just one of many tools included in our monthly subscription. With it, you can build an email list, send emails, create sequences, segment your list, and tons more. 

You can get a free trial here.

2. Copy Matters

Do you worry about the words you write for your sales funnel?

That’s good. 

Because the words you use matter… a lot. 

But if you’re scared that you’re not a wordsmith, Tai Lopez has some great advice: keep things simple.

Write for a customer whom you know personally.

Use power words like “imagine” to help customers see themselves using your product.

Russell recommends the “how to ____ without ____” format to grab the customer’s attention (Ex. How to grow your small business without spending hours every day on social media).

Yes, your copy matters, but when you keep it simple, it will be more impactful (and easier to produce). 

To make this even easier, we’ve put together our most effective “copy formulas” over here — you can get them for free (just pay shipping). 

3. Work With Great Partners

For a new entrepreneur trying to grow an online business, few things are as powerful as partnering with someone who…

• Helps you play to your strengths
• Compensates for your weaknesses

Choose to work with people who complement your own skills. If you’re introverted, work with an extrovert. If you like the research side of the business, pick someone who loves the technical side.

While some small businesses may be able to take off as a solo project, your best chance of success can depend on who you work with.

That might mean working with a talented business partner, getting advice from a trusted mentor, or hiring only the most skilled people to help you tackle business challenges.

Form a well-rounded team to see your small business pick up steam.

4. Track Industry Trends

Seeing growth in your company often means being prepared for the twists and turns of the business world.

As Lopez explains, you need to be able to spot trends ahead of time. More specifically, look for trends as they develop within your chosen industry.

This means paying attention to your competitors, relevant industry news, and forums where your target market hangs out. 

If you can spot a potential opportunity, you’ll be able to capitalize on it early on, giving you an advantage over your competitors.

Identify possible problems people will have, and be prepared to offer solutions. If people see you as a proactive problem solver, they’ll be more likely to come to you for help.

And if you have a ClickFunnels membership, you won’t just be ready with a business idea… you’ll be capable of launching it within minutes. 

5. Set the Right Price

Many small businesses struggle with the same question: what price should you set for your products or services?

You worry that if you price too high, no one will be willing to pay. But go too low and while you might sell a lot, you’ll make next to nothing (or maybe even lose money) with each sale.

Here’s what I want you to remember. 

It’s always better to be the most expensive provider in a market… than the cheapest. 

Why? 

Because the most expensive has a sustainable profit margin, is seen as higher quality, and builds loyal relationships with customers. The cheapest… not so much. 

I’m not saying that you have to be the most expensive. 

But you certainly shouldn’t be the cheapest.

6. Diversify Your Approach

It’s possible that you can get tunnel vision as a business, at least when it comes to promoting your company and generating leads.

But growing a successful business means constantly adapting and trying new things. 

Keep what works, throw out what doesn’t, and try new stuff when what used to work… stops working. 

This means marketing on different platforms (email, Facebook, SEO, etc.), it means building and testing new sales funnels, and it means adjusting your sales process. 

The more you explore, the faster you’ll find the treasure. 

Start Growing Your Business With ClickFunnels

The discussion between Tai Lopez and Russell Brunson shows that growing your online business is well within your reach.

Humble beginnings can translate into an incredible success.

Now that you have a better idea of how to grow your small business, you should also know about the tools you can use to achieve your goals.

That’s where ClickFunnels comes in.

Our software gives you everything you need inside of a single monthly subscription — that includes email marketing, websites, sales funnels, a CRM, workflow automations, A/B testing, an online course creator, membership sites, and tons more. 

We’ve already helped thousands of entrepreneurs grow online businesses, and you can be among them. 

Whether you sell products or have a service business, using ClickFunnels means growth is right around the corner.

If you’d like to see what ClickFunnels has to offer, you can start with a free 14 day trial.

Thanks for reading 6 Ways To Grow Your Online Business: Featuring Tips From Tai Lopez which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Is your email open rates low?

Are you looking for ways to improve your email open rates?

There are some easy things you can do to boost your email open rates without sounding spammy.

The open rate is the most important metric when it comes to email marketing.

It determines whether your emails are useful or whether contacts stop opening them after receiving so many or even one.

If your open rate is low, then it is a clear indication that you need to change something to improve it.

Getting your contacts actually to open your emails can be a very frustrating mission, but once you have done it, you will be more than happy that you persevered.

To make it a bit easier for you, though, I have added 8 ways in which you can improve your email open rates.

Improve The Deliverability

I’m sure you will agree that if your contacts aren’t receiving your emails, then they’re not going to be able to open them. This is a very common cause of low open rates that many businesses overlook.

I recommend that improving your deliverability should be the first thing you should do to boost our email open rates.

Here are a few ways in which you can improve the overall deliverability of your emails:

1. Check Your Spam Score

Image Source: MOZ

The first thing you need to check is your email spam score.

There are some tools online you can use to check whether your emails are considered as spam such as Active Campaign.

You want to aim for your spam score to be 0 out of 8. If it is above 0, then you need to work on your email messaging to reduce the spam score.

2. Ask Contacts To Add You To Their Address Books

If there is one way to make sure your emails are getting delivered, it is to ask your contacts to add your email address to their address book.

To do this, you must make sure that all your emails are being sent from the same email address which is best practice anyway.

All you need to do it add a line of text at the top of your emails asking contacts to add you to their address book.

3. Make Sure Your Emails Are Of Quality

Image Source: Hubspot

You may be surprised at this, but an indication of a non-spammy email is one that contains a good ratio of text and images.

Sending emails that are made up of just one big image can be an indication of spam.

Most times, emails won’t automatically show images and recipients have to click to display the images in the email.

If your emails are made up of up one big image, then it can appear that you’re sending blank emails.

Your contacts will be unlikely to open another email that you send after this.

As well as using both text and images in your emails, be sure that the text in the email isn’t just filler text but is content that offers value.

Only Send Emails To Those Who Will Want To See Them

After you have worked on making changes to improve the deliverability of your emails, you can then start working on who you’re sending your emails to.

Those who are not interested in what you have to say or the offers that you are giving them will simply not open your emails.

There has to come to a point where you need to stop sending emails to those who don’t want to receive them.

If you continue to do this, you will only generate spam signals.

Sending emails to those who want to see them will boost your email open rates massively.

Here are a few ways in which you can determine who does and doesn’t wish to receive your emails:

4. Segment Your Contacts

Image Source: Exact Target

One of the most important factors in email marketing is to segment your email list so that you aren’t sending the same message to all contacts.

Not all of your contacts will be at the same stage of the sales funnel, have the same pain points, have the same goals or have the same interests.

For this reason, it is important that you send different messages to different groups of contacts.

One of the greatest mistakes marketers and businesses make is to send an email to as many contacts in their list as possible because they believe this will lead to higher response rates.

This is not true.

Sending the right emails to the right people at the right time means that contacts will be a lot more engaged than if you were to send it to the majority.

Segmenting your email list will mean that you aren’t irritating your contact by sending them irrelevant emails because as soon as you send one irrelevant email, they may never open any more of your emails and may unsubscribe.

5. Implement A Double Opt-In Strategy

Image Source: BounceCreative

Nothing good will ever come from tricking people into submitting their email address because as soon as you send them an email, they will either flag as junk, unsubscribe or do both.

To avoid this from happening, make sure contacts know that they are opting in to receive emails from you by adding an opt-in check on your contact forms.

You can also go one step further and send an email to newly subscribed contacts asking them to confirm their subscription via a clickable button.

This gives you reassurance that contacts want to receive your emails and will be highly likely to open and engage with them.

6. Let Your Contacts Decide How Often They Want To Receive Emails

Image Source: InboundMartech

Image Source: BestHosting

If there is one way to please contacts, it is to let them have control over how often they receive emails from you and what they want to see in those emails.

This is a strategy that smart marketers use and swear by.

Letting contact have this level control will certainly boost open rates.

Letting contacts have this level of control means they will never view your emails as spam or irrelevant.

You can add two fields to your subscription forms that ask how often they would like to receive emails and what information they would like to receive.

You can use these responses to segment your contacts as mentioned above.

Optimize Your Subject Lines

After you have improved your deliverability and have worked on who you’re sending your emails to, you can work on the subject lines of your emails.

The subject line is the most important content of your email.

If it isn’t enticing enough, contacts won’t open the email to see even the rest of the content you have put together.

The aim is to create enticing subject lines that will pique their interest.

Avoid using any spammy overly promotional words in your subject lines though as is this could do the opposite.

Here are a couple of things you can do to improve your subject lines:

7. Create A Sense Of Urgency

Image Source: ConversionXL

A great way to get contacts to open your emails is to make them feel like they will miss out on something if they don’t open it.

I wouldn’t use this with every email though as it will cancel out the sense of urgency.

An example of an urgent subject line could something along the lines of “webinar registration ends soon” or “last day to sign up for our 21-day free trial”.

8. Split Test Your Subject Lines

Image Source: MailChimp

The only way you will be able to determine which subject lines actually work, is to split test them.

You can do this by splitting a segmented group of contacts in two and sending them the same email, at the same time with the only difference being that the subject lines.

You can then determine which subject line results in the higher open rate so you can implement it into all future emails.

You can continue to split test your email subject lines to find which words and tactics are most effective.

Conclusion

These are just 8 ways to boost your email open rates.

There are more things you can do to improve your open rates however the factors in this blog post tend to get the best results.

Other factors you can try are:

• Ask contacts who have unsubscribed why they have unsubscribed so you can work on correcting issues to reduce the amount of unsubscribes and increase open rates moving forward.
• Use correct spelling and grammar in subject lines as poor spelling and grammar will not give the best first impression, could come across as spam and will deter contacts from opening your emails.
• Personalize your email subject lines so they include the contacts name, location, past purchases, Contacts are more likely to open and respond to emails that are tailored to them.

How many of these factors have you tried and tested to improve your email open rates?

Let me know by leaving your comments below.

Thanks for reading 8 Email Marketing Tips to Increase Open Rates which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Increasingly, brands are turning to the broad reach of the Internet to sell their physical products, marrying the digital and material into one experience for customers.

In our tech-fueled world, entire online marketplaces now exist for buying and selling products of almost every kind.

As a matter of fact, you may have noticed… Amazon and Etsy have become household names, and these sites are empowering small startups and titans of industry in taking their product from creation to delivery.

Today, no matter what size business you run, you can have your brand on the doorsteps of customers anywhere in the world.

And with all the many online tools, you have the chance to hook into this powerful reach yourself to get your physical product into your customer’s hands quickly.

So what’s most important to harnessing these options, building a sales funnel for your physical product, and creating an experience your customers are sure to love?

Great question! Let these 6 points become your mantra as you launch your funnel, and you’ll be on the path to an award-winning sales process in no time.

Reviewing the Entire Fulfilment Process

Physical products need to get from Point A to Point B, but on the way, there’re several steps to consider.

Take refunds for example.

Did you know, on average, up to one in three online sales is returned, and this trend is increasing? (Don’t let that number scare you, though; they can be lower depending on your industry).

Shipping and handling, updating customer billing, costs related to returns… you get the idea.

As you build your funnel, keep the fulfilment process (and its necessary components in mind).

This will give you the chance to keep track of associated expenses, but there’s another amazing benefit.

You’ll also be able to catch any part of the process that might need tweaking to make sure that your physical product isn’t tied up on its way to the customer or worse, never even gets out the front door of your business.

This part of the customer experience is just as much a part of your sales funnel as anything else.

Protip: for a real nitty-gritty look at your fulfillment process and how it factors into your sales funnel, map out each piece as the steps in a flow chart. You’ll have a visual perspective that will let you know where you can trim steps and costs or consider alternatives.

Borrowing the Competition’s Playbook

Depending on your industry, your competitors might inspire a range of emotions in you. And the competition today seems like it’s never been greater.

Data presented by Edward Lowe even shows that, in many industries, 80% of revenues go to 20% of the brands.

Why not take a play from the competition, especially if they’re part of that 20%?

By putting together an analysis on your competitors, you’ll be getting insight on where and how to modify your funnel.

(Check out sneaky tools like these to start getting an idea of their online strategies).

You can also use this snapshot of the competition to simplify your sales funnel and focus on what works.

Less complex funnels, especially for physical products, have less moving pieces, and so, are less prone to hiccups and holdups.

That’s good for your sales and your customers.

Protip: Stay on top of your market. A yearly update of your competitor analysis will allow you to get a look at the evolving landscape of your industry and get ahead of trends.

Providing More to Your Customers… and Increasing Sales

Let’s circle back around and take a look at one of the largest and most successful brands delivering physical products to customers… Amazon.

Even though Amazon is a marketplace that you can use for your physical products, it also provides good lessons in increasing sales potential.

One way that Amazon does this is through cross-selling, presenting related products to capture more average cart value.

When you present your customers with items related to their current purchase, you’re taking advantage of the valuable information you’ve learned about their preferences.

In fact, 35% of Amazon’s entire revenue comes from using cross-selling.

Think of all that sales potential for your funnel!

You’ve probably also heard of upselling, but it’s not some out-dated sales technique.

Research also has shown that it remains a good tactic for increasing average cart sizes.

And like with cross-selling, you have the chance to take advantage of your fulfillment process to deliver more and enhance your customer’s experience.

Protip: Drill down on the reasoning for your upsells and cross-sales. Presenting a lamp to a customer who just bought a book doesn’t make as much sense as giving them the option also to purchase a magazine related to their interests.

Entrusting Your Staff with Your Brand

Factoring in support service for your sales funnel is a certain way to strengthen the funnel for your physical product.

Customers often have questions about warranties or product materials.

They also might have to deal with a lost or stolen package, and they’ll want to turn to someone they can trust.

In that sense, you’ll be entrusting your brand, and your sales funnel to your staff.

And when you choose the right staff, you’ll be boosting customer retention by 5% and profits beyond 25%.

Hire support staff who are knowledgeable about your industry and can learn everything about your product there is to learn.

By having a strong hiring process, you’ll have staff that can best serve your customers by knowing what they’re talking about.

And because it costs, on average, $3,500 to replace even minimum wage employees, your funnel will benefit in more ways than one by having a loyal, well-chosen team.

Protip: Skip micromanaging your support team. When interacting with customers, they’re sure to face many unique situations requiring them to make independent decisions. Be confident in your hiring process and follow up with them on any issues you see.

Engineering the Logistical Side of Delivery

Another factor to remember when building your funnel is how much of the fulfilment process you’ll do yourself.

Major fulfillment houses are popping up left and right, and this industry is expected to have big growth in the coming years.

These companies specialize in warehousing items and packing them for delivery.

There’re a few factors to consider here. It might be easier and more cost-effective for you to go to a fulfillment house, but it also might mean better service for your customers.

For example, with 50% of retailers now offering free return shipping to customers, a fulfilment house that can help you make this a reality for your business can greatly improve your customer’s experience.

(Amazon’s same-day delivery through company-owned fulfillment centres have improved their funnel conversions up to 25%).

These logistical benefits are worth thinking about if you have the option to outsource your fulfilment.

Protip: Working with a fulfilment house shouldn’t just be a grab and go affair. Take time to learn as much as you can about the company, including its ability to handle issues and meet targets.

Finding Opportunities for Future Products

Once you’ve built your funnel, there’s still work to be done.

For physical products, you’ll also want to use your email sequence to expose your customers further to your brand.

Once you’ve captured their information like their name and email, you can combine this with their existing purchase preferences to provide interesting followup emails.

Picture it for a second: if you’re in the fashion industry, three weeks after purchasing a brand new, hip t-shirt, your customer gets a follow-up email.

And in that email, you share some fun clothing trends you’ve seen taking hold across the country.

Before you close out your email, you remind your customer that you’re about to release a new pair of jeans to your site that will surely sell out fast.

By connecting with your customers on this more personal level, you’re also creating space to showcase future products and keep them in your funnel.

Protip: Check out our step-by-step guide to creating an autoresponder that your customers will love to incorporate well-written emails into your sales funnel.

Taking Your Funnel to the Next Level

Selling a physical product comes with its set of unique challenges and hurdles.

But in reality, designing your funnel can be as creative a process as designing the funnel for any product or service.

There’s so many avenues and resources available today, and within the limit, be willing to take a chance with an innovative idea for your sales funnel.

And Josh Felber gave some great examples of doing exactly that for his physical product over at our podcast on re-targeting secrets.

A free, but limited ebook can lead to a webinar session, which can then lead to a chance to purchase your physical product.

Or a flash sale on Instagram can have your customers emailing you for an exclusive coupon before heading to your site.

The possibilities are endless, but the core idea remains the same: your sales funnel is yours to unleash for the benefit of your brand. Remember our points here, and get creative with it!

What would you say are the biggest challenges when creating a sales funnel for a physical product?

Thanks for reading Building A Sales Funnel For Physical Products which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Many of us crowd around the television during the Olympics, in awe as we think “Man, I wish I could be that good at, well, just about anything!”

Why not take the motivation and drive of elite athletes and apply that passion to your marketing strategy?

With enough focus and intensity, you can make your next sales funnel worthy of a gold medal.

The Olympics represent the pinnacle of spectacle and athletic performance, with millions around the world tuning in to see the best of the best compete for the glory and the gold.

The blood, sweat, and tears that go into the training regimen of the most Olympic athletes is difficult for the average person to wrap their head around.

From training for six hours a day, six days a week year-round to insanely strict diets that we could never stomach ourselves, the dedication and intensity of those competing in the Olympics are absolutely staggering.

Okay, so what the heck does this have to do with building a sales funnel?

More than you might think.

While comparing your sales funnel to pole-vaulting or the 200-meter dash may seem like apples and oranges, consider the struggles that marketers face:

• Some days it just feels like we’re going nowhere, essentially spinning our wheels trying to support an underperforming sales funnel.
• Throwing in the towel can be incredibly tempting when we’re not seeing an ROI for our hard work and research.
• Overcoming that final financial hurdle into profitability can be like staring up at a giant, seemingly impossible to overcome.

Likewise, athletes face similar challenges in the midst physical and mental roadblocks as they spend four years preparing for events that could last mere seconds.

But do they give up?

No.

And neither should you.

It’s time to take your funnel out of the kiddie pool and get on Michael Phelps’ level.

How?

Practice Makes Perfect

Olympic athletes aren’t simply born: they’re made as a result of their years of fierce training and focus.

Likewise, killer sales funnels don’t fall from the sky: they’re created as a result of intense research and a fool-proof sales strategy.

If your first funnel falls flat, does that mean you should give up altogether?

Of course not. Instead, learn from the mistakes of your first funnel and understand what not to do the next time around.

Some common pitfalls that even seasoned funnel-builders make include:

• Ignoring the elements of conversion focused design, ultimately resulting in a funnel that fails to convert.
• Relying on a cheap or inexperienced team as a means of cutting corners which therefore cuts sales.
• Focusing too much on the front-end instead of implementing a back-end that grows the profit.

Think of fine-tuning your funnel as simply part of the process, much like athletes have to train for hours on end to recreate their best performances.

The more time you spend building and launching new funnels, the more opportunities you have to grow as a successful funnel-hacker.

Split Test Strategies

Dozens of world records have already been broken at the Rio Olympics.

In fact, it seems like records are constantly being broken the Olympics, year after year.

Why?

Athletes evolve. As researchers and trainers uncover new ways to train, athletes adapt accordingly to raise their own standards to match their competition.

On a similar note, you should constantly work to evolve your marketing and funnel-building to meet the expectations and best practices of your niche.

Funnel-builders should always be split testing to optimize the potential of their marketing strategy.

From the color scheme to copywriting, there are always tweaks that can be made to make your funnel smarter and stronger.

Sure, you can let your funnel sit in autopilot mode; however, that’s no way to grow your network for future funnels and stand toe-to-toe with your competition.

If you hope for your funnel to stay competitive, you can’t afford to test.

Play the Long-Game

It can take some athletes years of rigorous training before they make it to the Olympics: earning a medal requires extreme patience and perseverance.

You can’t always expect your funnels to kill it from the word “go.”

Remember: funnel-hacking represents a marathon and not a sprint.

Think about how long-distance runners kick it into high gear at the end of the race: they fact that were ever “behind” becomes irrelevant as long as they cross the finish line first.

For example, it’s okay to sacrifice some conversions on the front-end to create life-long customers on the back-end.

Many funnel-hackers get laser-focused on their launches that they ignore essential elements of their back-end such as retargeting and segmenting their lists.

In reality, ensuring that you build a base of customers and employ a strategy to turn them into life-long advocates of your business represents the difference between a killer and average funnel.

By focusing on the back-end of your funnel, you play the long-game to ensure more revenue for your business with less legwork.

There are No Shortcuts

Building.

Writing.

Testing.

Funnels represent a lot of hard work, and there are no shortcuts.

Similarly, Olympians train their entire lives to relish a few moments of glory; however, such glory can easily be stripped away from those caught cheating or attempting to undermine the integrity of the games.

On a similar note, funnel-builders attempting to rely on black-hat techniques can lose their funnels and organic search presence at little more than a moment’s notice.

Google is more than happy to punish any business looking to game their system, whether through duplicate content or black-hat link building.

Sure, it may take a while to get caught; however, punishment is usually always swift, sudden and severe.

When it comes to funnel-building, you’re on a relatively even playing field. In other words, there’s no need to “cheat.”

Therefore, use the best tools in your toolbox to outdo your competition rather than looking for the easy way out.

The risk simply isn’t worth it: plus, the energy spent digging for a shortcut could be spent optimizing your next funnel.

Knowing the in’s and out’s of your competition can take you much further than trying to undermine them.

Remain Consistent

Many Olympians live by the mantra of “never give up.”

You should treat your funnels the same way.

If you’re persistent, your funnel has nowhere to go but “up” over time.

Perhaps the biggest mistake a funnel-builder could make is dropping what they’re doing and simply giving up when the going gets tough.

Yes, it can be frustrating to see our traffic drop.

Yes, it sucks when we don’t see the conversion we want.

But that doesn’t mean you should let your funnel fail out of frustration.

Don’t expect your sales funnel to start turning a profit overnight.

Sure, we’re always hoping to become the next big success story; however, realistic expectations will keep you grounded and focused.

Keep going and keep testing. If something’s broken, figure out why and do what you can to fix it.

There’s No Single “Key” to Success

From optimal training and immaculate diet, there are many variables to an Olympian’s success one the day of an event.

There are so many pieces to what makes a successful sales funnel. For starters, let’s think about:

1. The design of your sales funnels, professional in appearance and pleasing to the eye.
2. The copywriting and marketing message of your funnel, designed to encourage visitors to click through rather than bounce.
3. The management of your various traffic streams, from paid ads to organic search and beyond, and how you continue to bring new visitors into your funnel.
4. The performance of your affiliates and referrals optimized to help you build new leads.
5. The strength of your back-end, including your email autoresponders that will help bring back any users who may have fallen out of your funnel.

Here’s a not-so-secret secret:

The success of your funnel doesn’t lie within one single element.

It’s the elements combined that determine the potential of your funnel.

Unfortunately, one weakness can hinder your funnel’s potential.

Similarly, many Olympic athletes train their entire lives for an event just to slip in a split-second of weakness and essentially lose their shot at glory.

Fortunately, you always have the opportunity to bounce back.

Stay organized. Stay diligent. Stay hungry.

Your efforts will pay off.

What Separates a Golden Funnel from the Rest of the Pack?

While funnel-hacking isn’t exactly an Olympic sport (yet), there are some parallels between the struggles of star athletes and the challenges faced by modern marketers.

The marketing world moves fast and is difficult to maneuver in the wake of evolving technologies, new faces and the promise of “the next big thing.”

Much like Olympians, funnel-builders should consider patience, focus and consistency as key virtues to help ensure their success.

So, what do you think separates a star funnel from the rest of the pack?

Thanks for reading Launching A High Converting Sales Funnel Out Of The Box which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Email opt-ins represent some of the most powerful traffic you could hope to send through your sales funnel, granted you understand how to engage your readers.

Whether you’re struggling with opt-ins or are simply looking to boost your conversions, consider these four foolproof emails as a solid starting point.

 If you had an “absolutely essential, no-nonsense marketing” to-do list in front of you, building your base of email opt-ins is something you should have done yesterday.

Failing to build your email list is perhaps one of the biggest mistakes that funnel-builders make.

While focusing the bulk of your efforts on-site may seem like the best course of action, the need to warm leads off-site through avenues such as email marketing simply cannot be ignored.

Besides, the benefits of building an opt-in list can’t be overstated. For starters:

• Opt-ins represent naturally warm leads: if a user opts-in to your list, they want to hear from you (and more than likely buy from you)
• Warm leads will always convert better than cold users who haven’t heard from you (as noted in a 2014 study, in which an email blast to cold readers produced an abysmal 1.7% response rate)
• Emails are relatively inexpensive to send, with a low-cost per-message versus other paid avenues of marketing (plus there are resources such as MailChimp which allow you to get your feet wet with email marketing for free)

Okay, but does email traffic really convert? Or is it all smoke and mirrors?

Listen: the numbers don’t lie.

• Businesses actively warming leads via email results in 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost
• Leads nurtured via opt-in emails are acquired at 33% lower cost versus other leads
• Email converts approximately three times more than social media channels: Additionally, leads acquired through email have 17% higher value in the conversion

Funnel-hackers need an email list.

Effective selling is about much, much more than just slapping a sales funnel on a web page: having opt-ins means that you have access to customers at any given time, whether they’re on-site or not.

But perhaps even more important than having opt-ins, however, is having a set of marketing messages on deck to seal the deal.

Despite popular belief, not all messages need to revolve after selling explicitly.

After all, sending a slew of “BUY NOW” emails will likely set off the spam alarm in the minds of your audience.

Instead, you need a series of killer emails, carefully crafted to nurture your leads, encouraging responses and clicks that will transform your opt-ins into lifelong customers.

Although the possibilities are seemingly endless regarding the types of sales emails you can craft, we’re going to focus on four messages specifically targeted as opt-ins.

Each message has its respective time and place depending on the status of your list; likewise, they can be used as part of an autoresponder series or sent as a one-time blast.

Regardless, the following messages should be kept on deck for any funnel-hacker and can easily be repurposed for future affiliates and offers.

The Welcome

Believe it or not, there’s a lot of unspoken power in a simple “hello.”

Many marketers tend to overlook welcome emails because they’re in a rush to start selling; however, your warm leads won’t stay warm for long if you push them too hard.

The benefits of a welcome email are two-fold to warming leads, both of which are somewhat subconscious:

• Your brand seems more like a helpful resource versus a salesperson
• You have the opportunity to give your marketing efforts a personal touch and actually establish a connection with your readers

Considering that personalized messages resonate with email readers, resulting in a notable six times increase in transaction rates, you can’t afford to personalize your messages.

Welcome messages aren’t rocket science and should achieve the following as succinctly as possible:

• Introduce yourself or your brand (use “I” if possible)
• Briefly, outline or discuss what users should expect from your future emails
• Mention the benefits of your brand, whether it’s helping readers grow their businesses, achieve their goals or simply increase their base of knowledge

Your welcome should be short, sweet and to the point; however, it doesn’t have to be all fluff.

While you shouldn’t necessarily start pushing deals to your opt-ins right off the bat, you can use your welcome email to present value to your users.

For example, you could encourage readers to follow you on Facebook to stay connected to valuable tips, or direct them to your blog to keep up with up-to-date content.

The Freebie

Although some marketers are naturally hesitant when it comes to giving out anything at no cost, sending a freebie email can be a massive trust-builder and turning point for any reader skeptical of buying from you.

Think about it.

Beyond the psychology of “free,” consider what giving away a potentially valuable product or information at no cost achieves, including:

• Building a sense of confidence for your brand (after all, you can afford to give something away for nothing)
• Showing that you’re willing to help your readership by any means necessary (even if that means a potential “loss” for yourself
• Chipping away at the trust barrier for your readership: instead of pushing them to buy, you’re the one eating the cost

Freebies can be especially powerful for those shipping a physical product, which requires marketers to build the most trust versus digital products.

Your freebie is entirely up to you, but informational products such as e-books and webinars are probably your best bet.

If you’re afraid of losing monetary value at the cost of marketing power, consider digging from the vault of past paid webinars that are perhaps no longer selling but are still relevant to your readers.

You may also consider a free-shipping offer or slash a subscription cost for your readers, depending on whether or not such a deal would be cost-effective.

Again, don’t be too pushy with your freebie. Present it at something exclusive to subscribers to provide your “gift” with a sort of feel-good feeling.

Free stuff has worked wonders in the past (think: the infamous Gary Halbert letters with one-dollar bills attached) and can quickly turn skeptics into customers.

The Guru

Similar to the freebie email, you should also send out educational messages that signal your authority within your space, display your knowledge and set yourself apart from the competition.

Such emails are relatively simple to craft if you’ve already got killer content on deck, such as an in-depth industry review or case study.

Through your educational emails, exclusivity should be the name of the game.

That is, whatever you send out is something that your competition can’t provide or hasn’t unlocked.

Present your education as a sort of secret or “insider scoop” that can’t be found anywhere else.

As opposed to the two emails above, educational emails can naturally include a sales-themed call-to-action.

For example, a business selling SEO software could provide an eye-opening case study conducting using their platform, and urge readers to find out more (which leads them into your funnel).

Although you don’t always need to lead users directly to a sales page, all well-crafted emails should include actionable items for users (think: follow on Facebook, claim their free prize, learn more about your service).

The Olive Branch 

Sometimes not all goes according to plan when it comes to email marketing.

Users drop off, don’t respond or seem to disappear out of the blue.

It happens; however, that doesn’t mean that you should give up on such users.

Granted that you’ve segmented your email list, you should do what you can to encourage engagement from past opt-ins, buyers, and subscribers who’ve seemingly gone ghost on you.

Start with a personalized subject line that grabs the readers’ attention and helps remind them that they’ve interacted with you in the past (“Bob, we’ve missed you”).

To help incentivize a sense of interaction, consider a sort of “check-in” message or ask for some form of feedback on your product or service.

Sometimes a steep discount or deal can represent the make or break moment for such users, perhaps giving them the last push they need to get back into your funnel.

Keep in mind that a re-engagement series can easily be automated, making such emails seem like much less of a headache.

Also keep in mind that re-engagement campaigns represent a great opportunity to test new deals and CTA’s given that such users may otherwise drop out of your funnel altogether.

If you’re a little iffy about your writing skills or you find shortlisting and interviewing copywriters for the job a chore, don’t fret. Funnel Scripts lets you generate killer email subject lines and content with ease. Paired with Actionetics for your email automation, it’s a marketer’s dream!

What Emails Work Best For You?

The amount of personalization and customization afforded by email marketing is staggering: in short, you can craft an autoresponder series that achieves just about anything given you have the time and a bit of creativity.

While crafting such emails initially may seem like a lot of legwork, consider how these messages can be automated time and time again, essentially allowing you to run your email marketing on autopilot while you get down to business.

So, what email messages have you found work best with your opt-ins?

Any small tweaks to your email campaigns that resulted in big returns?

ClickFunnels Action Steps

How to Create Content with Funnel Scripts

Step 1: Log in to your FunnelScripts account. Pick up a copy here if you’re not using it yet.

Step 2: Head to the dashboard

Step 3: Click any of the scripts in the menu depending on the content you need.

Step 4: Fill in the information needed in the generator.

Step 5: Click “Save” or “Submit”

After clicking “Save”, a text file will be downloaded immediately.

After Clicking “Submit”, you will be given several ad copy samples based on the information you entered. Check out some of the samples below!

Step 6: Select from the choices, then copy and paste your content.

How to Create Emails with Actionetics Email Builder

Step 1: Log in to your ClickFunnels account

Step 2: Click Actionetics.

Step 3: Go to Email Broadcasts and click on the “+ New Email Broadcast” button.

Step 4: Design your email! You can choose from several templates.

Step 5: Add the information needed

1. The subject of your email
2. Add the email lists. In this case, those who signed up for your webinar
3. Your SMTP Configuration which will be used to send emails.

Step 6: Open Email Editor

Step 7: Add and remove elements to your email according to your preference

Step 8: Click Save

Step 9: You can opt to send your emails upon creation or schedule them to be sent at a future time. Simply click “Send Later” and set the time and date.

Thanks for reading 4 Follow Up Emails To Boost Opt-In Funnel Engagement which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

You have probably heard about the importance of building an email list. But how can you grow one from scratch?

That’s exactly what we are going to discuss today!

Should You Wait Until You Have Something to Sell to Start Building Your Email List?

No!

You should start building your email list ASAP, even if you don’t have a product or service to sell yet. Why?

Because growing an email list doesn’t take that much time in terms of the work that you need to put in every week.

But it will probably take you several years to reach “escape velocity” where your newsletter starts gaining momentum and your subscriber growth begins accelerating.

The sooner you start building your email list, the sooner you’ll get to that point. And once you do have something to sell, you’ll have an audience to sell it to!

Case Study: Ryan Holiday’s “Reading List Email” Newsletter (250k+ Subscribers)

When bestselling author Ryan Holiday was in his early 20s, people who were aware of the fact that he was a bookworm kept asking him for book recommendations.

Eventually, he decided to start a monthly newsletter. Every month, he sends one email with a list of 5 to 10 books and a short, few-sentence review for each book. Since 2009, Holiday has recommended over 3,000 books that he has personally read.

It’s probably safe to say that having an email list played a significant role in his success as an author. When he released his first book “Trust Me, I’m Lying” back in 2012, he already had an audience that he could promote his book to.

Presumably, each subsequent book launch was easier than the previous one because his email list kept growing. Today it has over 250,000 subscribers.

It’s also worth noting that Holiday was reading around 250 books per year anyway.  So picking out the ones he liked the most every month, writing up a few-sentence review for each book and sending it out as a newsletter didn’t require a big time investment. But it did offer outsized returns!

Ask yourself: is there something that you are already doing anyway that you could leverage to build your email list?

Newsletters: The Easiest Way to Grow an Email List from Scratch

Why the Newsletter Format Works So Well

It’s important to strike the right balance between emailing your subscribers often enough to build trust and stay top of mind with them, but not so often that they get tired of your emails and stop opening them. 

Newsletters are a perfect solution because by definition a newsletter requires you to email your subscribers at regular intervals, typically, either daily, weekly, or monthly. 

Moreover, if someone subscribed to your newsletter, it means that this concept appeals to them, so they will likely continue opening your emails as long as the content quality remains high. 

How to Come Up with a Newsletter Concept

Regardless of what you are selling at the moment or intend to sell in the future, you can probably come up with a concept for a newsletter that will allow you to build an email list of potential customers.

It’s probably safe to say that link roundups can work well for most industries:

• Do you write detective novels? Start a newsletter where you share links to the latest releases and a short review of each book.
• Do you have an e-commerce store that sells women’s clothes and accessories? Start a newsletter where you share links to interesting fashion, style, and beauty content from around the web.
• Do you run a SaaS company that sells productivity software? Start a newsletter where you share links to interesting productivity content from around the web and review productivity books.

…etc.

Building an Audience of Potential Customers vs. Building an Audience of Your Peers

Something to consider here is that your newsletter should appeal to your potential customers as opposed to your peers who are doing the same thing as you.

For example, while authors who write detective novels tend to also read detective novels, the vast majority of people who read books in this genre aren’t writers.

So if your aim is to build an audience that you could then promote your detective novels to, it makes sense to focus on content that will be interesting to the readers of this genre as opposed to its writers.

Of course, if your aim is to build an info product business where you teach aspiring novelists how to write detective novels, then it makes sense to share links related to writing, publishing and book marketing in your newsletter. But that’s a completely different business.

We are emphasizing this because sometimes people start building an audience of their peers instead of an audience of potential customers and then struggle to monetize it because they didn’t think things through!

What are the Best Practices When it Comes to Email Newsletters?

Brian Dean has a proven track record of building email lists:

• With his previous business Backlinko he grew the company newsletter to over 250,000 subscribers.
• With his current business Exploding topics he grew the company newsletter to over 90,000 subscribers.

Here are some of the best practices that he recommends if you want to grow your email newsletter:

#1: Creating a Separate Brand for Your Newsletter

A branded newsletter is a newsletter that has its own unique brand that is separate from the personal or the company brand.

The example that Brian provides is Tim Ferriss’ newsletter “5-Bullet Friday” which has its own separate brand and over 1.5 million subscribers.

The reason he recommends having a branded newsletter is that they are easier to share.

If you tell a friend:

“You should sign up for Tim Ferriss’ newsletter!” 

It’s easy to forget, especially if your friend doesn’t know who Tim Ferriss is and therefore might struggle to remember his full name.

Meanwhile, if you tell that same friend:

“You should sign up for the ‘5-Bullet Friday’ newsletter!”

They will probably be more likely to remember its name and subscribe to it.

It’s also helpful if your newsletter’s name explains what the subscribers can expect from it, as is the case with “5-Bullet Friday”.

#2: Having a Unique Newsletter Template That Provides Bite-Sized Value

If you look at the most popular newsletters in the world, they tend to be focused on providing bite-sized value.

“5-Bullet Friday” is the most obvious example here: Tim Ferriss sends out a new issue every Friday where he shares five things that he found interesting.

Typically, it’s a combination of content recommendations, product recommendations, and a quote that he’s been pondering that week. Occasionally he also throws in some news about what he’s up to. 

This template means that you can open a new issue of Tim’s newsletter, quickly scan it to see what this week’s bullets are about and then read it more closely if something catches your eye.

Moreover, it also means that when you see a new “5-Bullet Friday” issue in your inbox, you know what you going to get, you just don’t know the details. 

Brian argues that this combination of the familiar and the unknown is a powerful motivator and a great way to get your subscribers to open your emails. 

He uses the same approach with his own “Exploding Topics Tuesday” newsletter – every new issue covers four trends.

These trends are all over the place, from bamboo pajamas to security posture management, but the newsletter template remains the same!

#3: Having a Dedicated Newsletter Page on Your Website

You want to create a dedicated newsletter page and add it to your website’s navigation bar.

Here’s the homepage of Brian’s software company Exploding Topics:

If you click on the “Newsletter” tab in the navigation bar, you will be taken to the “Exploding Topics Tuesdays” landing page where you can sign up for the newsletter:

According to Brian, most people who sign up for the “Exploding Topics Tuesdays” newsletter do so through this page!

#4: Sending a “Confirmation and Deliverability” Welcome Message

You should send the “confirmation and deliverability” (CD) welcome message to each new subscriber the moment they sign up for your newsletter.

As its name suggests, the purpose of this message is twofold:

Confirmation

You want to confirm that they have successfully subscribed to your newsletter and reassure them that they made the right choice by telling them what they can expect from you going forward.

Deliverability

You want to get them to take an action that would signal to email service providers like Gmail that they want to get emails from you. 

Initially, Brian would ask new subscribers to move the CD message from the “Promotions” tab to their primary inbox in Gmail.

He would also ask them to reply to the CD message and let him know what was the #1 thing that made them decide to check out this newsletter.

Now he has moved to encouraging new subscribers to click the link within the CD message and read the previous issue of the newsletter.

All three approaches can help you improve your deliverability. After all, new subscribers interacting with your welcome message in some way lets email service providers know that people are interested in hearing from you. 

That can reduce the likelihood of your emails landing in the “Promotions” tab or being flagged as spam.

(Though the latter shouldn’t be happening anyway if you are using good email marketing software and aren’t doing anything shady.)

At the time of writing Brian is using this CD message for his “Exploding Topics Tuesday” newsletter:

#5: Maintaining a Consistent Publishing Schedule

It’s also important to commit to a consistent publishing schedule and then maintain it no matter what. Why?

Because you want your subscribers to develop a habit of reading your newsletter so that it would become a part of their routine.

In fact, you can’t miss a single issue, otherwise, you risk breaking this habit that you worked so hard to build.

Brian himself has sent out over 150 “Exploding Topics Tuesday” issues and hasn’t missed a single one.

This means that “Exploding Topics Tuesday” subscribers know that every Tuesday at 9 AM Eastern they are going to get an email with four trends. Reading it is a part of their weekly routine!

Marketing Strategies for Growing Your Newsletter

In order to grow your newsletter, you need to drive traffic to its landing page. But how can you do that?

Twitter Marketing

Don’t have much of a marketing budget to speak of?

In that situation, we would advise building a Twitter following first: post high-quality content, retweet other people in your niche and leave thoughtful comments under their tweets every single day.

Then, once you reach the 10,000 follower mark, launch your newsletter, add a link to its landing page to your bio and promote every new issue the day before its release with a teaser snippet.

Social Media Ads

If you do have a decent marketing budget, you can speed things up by using social media ads to drive traffic to your newsletter’s landing page.

For example, Milk Road, a newsletter that grew to 250,000+ subscribers in under a year, had several paid acquisition channels including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Its co-founders tested a bunch of Facebook ads and found that two types of ads performed well:

1. Meme ads
2. Social proof ads

These ads helped Milk Road gain around 50,000 subscribers in its first year, accounting for around 20% of all subscribers the company gained during that time period.

Something to keep in mind here is that running social media ads is a skill so you need to be prepared for a steep learning curve if you haven’t done it before.

If you want to experiment with Facebook ads, consider buying a reputable Facebook ads course on Udemy. If you wait until one of Udemy’s regular sales, you should be able to snag a course like that for less than $20.

Also, make sure to set aside a “learning budget” of at least $1,000 that you are prepared to burn in order to learn how to run ads.

If you can’t afford that then you probably can’t afford to advertise on social media either. In that case, focus on organically growing your following on Twitter.

Newsletter Ads

Finally, if you have the money for it, you might want to consider advertising on other newsletters in your niche.

After all, if someone is already subscribed to a newsletter in your niche, that’s a reliable indication that they:

1. Like the newsletter format
2. Are interested in this niche

This means that they might be open to checking out your newsletter if you can manage to create a compelling ad that conveys its value!

You Need a Sales Funnel in Order to Monetize Your Email List!

If all you want is to have an audience that you can share your thoughts with, then you can simply focus on growing your newsletter.

However, if you want to make money from your email list, you need to figure out how to monetize that audience.

In other words: if you want to have a business – not just an email newsletter – you need to build a sales funnel!

Want to Learn How to Build Sales Funnels That CONVERT?

Our co-founder Russell Brunson used sales funnels to take ClickFunnels from zero to $100M+ in annual revenue in less than a decade.

He is now widely considered to be one of the top sales funnel experts in the world. Want to learn from him?

His best-selling book “DotCom Secrets” is the best place to start because it covers everything you need to know in order to build sales funnels that convert.

This book is available on Amazon where it has over 2,500 global ratings and a 4.7-star overall rating.

But you can also get it directly from us for free…

All we ask is that you pay for shipping!

So what are you waiting for? 🧐

Get “DotCom Secrets” for FREE!

Thanks for reading How To Grow An Email List Starting From Scratch which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Let’s say your business wants to supercharge its sales funnel; however, you have no idea where to start.  

Fear not: although launching a funnel is arguably the most difficult part of the sales process, we’ve got the eight essential questions (and answers) necessary for you to get your funnel on its feet.

There are no stupid questions when it comes to sales funnels.

In fact, we’d argue that the smartest business asks the most questions.

Seems backwards, right? Shouldn’t the best marketers have all the answers, all the time?

Wrong. You should never, ever expect to have all the answers when it comes to your marketing efforts or industry.

In fact, curious companies have a distinct edge over their seemingly self-assured competitors as they…

• Adapt with marketing trends and technical developments (and if you follow Internet marketing in the slightest, you know how platforms such as Google can turn businesses on their head overnight)
• Keep from stagnating regarding their products and services
• Better understand the wants and needs of their users, following the feedback from their communities and testing what works and what-what doesn’t

Now, there’s plenty to consider when setting up or rebuilding a struggling sales funnel.

Truth be told, the many moving pieces of a sales funnel can be quite daunting to a first-timer.

After all, there’s a lot of pressure to perform the first time around; therefore, we expect our sales push to gain immediate traction rather than stagnate.

Is this realistic? Can we really expect our funnels to meet or even exceed our expectations from day one?

The success of your funnel depends on some variable including your industry, marketing history, and pure research; however, we’ve narrowed down the eight questions every marketer should ask before rolling out a new funnel.

If you feel that you’ve got the following bases covered, you should feel confident in what your funnel is capable of.

What Traffic Sources Will I Rely On?

You can’t have a funnel without users coming in, which begs the question: where will your users come from?

Keep in mind that although you have plenty of options when it comes to user acquisition, and each source of traffic has its particular pros and cons.

For example, let’s consider the benefits and drawbacks of the following:

Organic Traffic – What’s not to love about organic traffic? In a perfect world, users would come flocking to our sites, enter our funnels and serve us their information on a silver platter.

Unfortunately, organic traffic is often hit-or-miss.

For example, your website selling workout programs for women may also rank for keywords such as “vegan recipes for women” for a one-off blog post you wrote.

Such a keyword may boost your site’s traffic but do absolutely nothing for your conversions.

Of course, organic traffic is much better than no traffic at all.

Paid Traffic – Although paid traffic can be complicated, it’s arguably the best way to ensure that users are engaged and interested in your product before they enter your funnel.

Unfortunately, they are often the priciest users to acquire, and your success depends heavily on the platform you choose (Facebook, AdWords and so on).

Regardless, paid traffic is a great way to test your funnel (granted you have the budget for it).

Email Marketing – The effectiveness of email marketing relies heavily on your list.

Do you have your hands on a hot list or a cold list?

Where did you it come from? How much did it cost you?

What about building your own list?

Email marketing can be a potential goldmine, granted you’re gifted with a legitimate list of potential customers.

Possibilities are seemingly endless when it comes to acquiring traffic for our funnels, which is certainly exciting.

It’s what we do with that traffic, though, that will make or break our funnels.

What Copywriting Do I Need?

Image Source: Kissmetrics

When it comes to the many moving pieces of your sales funnel, a copy is easily one of the most important.

Effective copy is more than the text on the page; it’s engagement, piquing the interest of new users and generating genuine emotion from readers.

Depending on your industry and the sort of deals you’re running, you’ll more than likely need a wide variety of copy for your funnel including (but not limited to):

• Marketing language to help seal the deal (whether on your landing page or advertisements)
• Calls to action to encourage click-throughs
• Email headlines to draw prospective buyers in
• Fine print to make sure your deal is legitimate
• Articles and blog posts to drive additional traffic to your deal

Whether you feel comfortable in writing such copy yourself or decide he need to hire an expert, make sure to cover your bases regarding copy.

An effective sales funnel tells a story, so ask yourself: what message are you conveying to your users?

Do the Numbers Add Up?

Image Source: Datasphere

In short, make sure that you’re getting the best return on your investment possible before activating your funnel.

Marketers often waste resources or go over-budget due to poor planning or simply getting carried away.

You wouldn’t invest $1,000 into your funnel if you only projected $100 in return, would you?

As you begin to craft your sales funnel, make sure to do your homework and set aside a budget beforehand to make sure you don’t go in the red before you even get started.

Likewise, it may be beneficial for you to test some of your existing or new advertising before running it on your funnel to better understand what works and what doesn’t for your niche.

Who is Your Ideal Customer?

Image Source: Single Grain

Businesses can’t thrive without customers, but do you really know what your ideal customer looks like.

That is, what exactly do they want, how do they behave and what can you do to meet your needs?

This information isn’t going to fall out of the sky.

Again, you’re going to need to do some research to understand better users in your space and how they spend.

If you’re unsure of who exactly your ideal customer is, perhaps consider looking into blogs, forums and social media influencers in your niche or industry.

Also, you can take a look at your competitors and their own advertisement to what funnels comparable to your own are trying to achieve with buyers.

What Payment Integration Will I Use?

Image Source: E-WEB Next

There’s nothing worse than losing a customer at the last minute.

For this very reason, payment integration options are essential for a funnel that’s looking to appeal to all users.

Naturally, credit card processing is a no-brainer for the modern business; however, credit cards aren’t the only form of payment in the digital age.

Consider also the popularity of platforms such as PayPal, boasting over 160 million active users, and relatively new, tech-savvy payment options such as Stripe.

A successful funnel meets the needs of all visitors, so take into consideration the need for a diverse payment integration system.

How Will My Autoresponder Be Set Up?

Image Source: Send Social Media

Autoresponders are easy to overlook; however, you’ll be glad you spent quality time crafting them once your sales funnel gets rolling.

Naturally, users have questions, and it’s our responsibility as businesses to make sure those users’ needs are met.

There’s a lot you can do with autoresponders regarding engaging customers; in other words, “autoresponder” doesn’t have to translate to “robotic” or “emotionless.”

Not only should autoresponders nurture leads and keep them warm, but also work as a means of engaging your users.

Again, Question #2 rears its head as you consider the importance of copy in this part of your funnel.

How Do I Create a Sense of Urgency?

If you want a truly competitive sales funnel, you’re going to need to create a sense of urgency regarding your deals.

Crafting copy that drives users to buy sooner rather than later is one of the classic tactics of content marketing that should most definitely be applied to your funnel.

Some examples of creating urgency include…

• Time-sensitive deals (“Buy within the next 24 hours…”)
• Breaking news or information (“This just in…”)
• Language that plays into fear or vulnerability (“Protect yourself before it’s too late,..”)

How Do I Create a Sense of Scarcity?

Image Source: Storeya

Similar to creating urgency, developing a sense of scarcity in your funnel with the further drive home the need for users to buy now.

We don’t want to see users lingering in our funnel; therefore, creating a sense of scarcity within your funnel with giving users that final push to be.

Examples of scarcity marketing include…

• Offering deals “while supplies ”
• Offering “limited run” products (“only 100 available”)
• “Special Edition” products, services and deals (“only the first dozen buyers get this deal…”)

Any Questions?
There’s plenty to ask yourself when it comes to establishing your sales funnel.

Did we leave anything off the list?

What questions do you wish you would have asked yourself before creating your first funnel?

Thanks for reading 8 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Building A Sales Funnel which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Email is a great way to engage your audience. You can use it to learn more about your customers and find out what they expect from you. You can also utilize it to get more clicks and sales. Whatever your purpose, you have to do emails right.

Email marketing is more than just getting your audience to open your email.That is a huge part of it though. First having signups (using a great funnel) and then getting 10k inboxed and clicked on are both huge accomplishments. The focus on this article is to get the customer to click.

It’s about getting them to click your content and take advantage of your offers. How do you make sure that you’re getting engagement and conversions from your emails? Learn these five ways to make sure your email campaigns are on the money.

Build a Solid Email Marketing Strategy

To start, you need to decide on the purpose of your email. Each email should fall under one of these five stages:

• indoctrinate, where you tell them about you

• engage, where you convince them to buy

• ascend, where you get them to buy more

• segment, where you find out what they will buy next
• reengage, where you make them come back.

These stages are co-dependent. When your email is done right, you can be sure that your customers will move from one stage to the next. You have to make each stage’s purpose apparent in every email.

At stage 1, show them what makes you stand out and what they can expect from you. Show them what to do next.

At stage 2, make an offer. Give them something valuable.

At stage 3, entice them with more offers that they won’t be able to resist. Help them make the decision to buy…

At stage 4, show them what they missed from the previous two stages. Get them to buy if they haven’t.

Finally, at stage 5, bring them back to the engagement stage. Make a time-limited offer they will be tempted to take advantage of.

Using these five types of emails in your campaign will give you a leverage over your competitors. Building a solid strategy that prioritizes each of these stages will not only give you conversions. They will also turn your audience into returning customers.

Write Emails That Lead to Conversions

After understanding the five stages of email campaigns, you have to craft messages that are in line with the purpose of each stage. Emails have three main elements: the subject line, the body copy, and the landing page. Each of them has a unique role in getting traffic and conversions for your business. Check out this awesome guide on email etiquette for some useful tips!

The subject line is what will encourage your customers to open your email to begin with. You can either use a blind subject line to pique their interest, or use a direct subject line to show them what’s in store. You can personalize these subject lines to address each customer in your database by their first name. This will allow your email to stand out and lead to a higher open rate.

The body copy is what you will use to get your consumers to click on your offers or products. To do this, you can also choose between blind or direct copy. Typically, since this is the email itself, both are used. Throw in the links that you want them to open based on your purpose.

Your reasons for writing the copy throughout the email will change, depending on what you want your customers to click. It’s good to mix these up when writing so that you’ll see which works and which earns the highest click-through rates.

Lastly, the landing page is what you will use to get your customers to sell your opt-in or your product. Technically, the landing page is no longer part of the email. It has a unique job of its own. This is where conversion happens, so the copy should flow harmoniously from your subject line and body copy to your landing page copy.

You should maintain the message that your subject line and body copy carry. If you applied a direct, benefit-driven subject line and body copy, your landing page should do the same. If you choose to use curiosity-driven content, carry it over to your landing page as well.

Employ Triggers to Persuade Customers

You need to make sure your emails get the clicks. How do you do that? You get your customers to respond by using psychological triggers. These will influence them subconsciously and will help them do what you want them to do, which is to click on your links.

You can persuade your customers by pressing their gain buttons. To use this, you have to show your customer what kind of benefit they will attain when they click on your link. You can also encourage them by using logic. Present practical information, facts, statistics, and opinions that will help them justify their purchase or subscription.

Another way to persuade your customers is to create urgency by using scarcity as a trigger. Increase your click-through rates by giving them the sense that your offer is time-limited and that they must take advantage of it as soon as possible. Fear is another trigger that you can use, but you have to be careful about crafting a good message. With the right motivations and promises, you can get clicks through this mechanism.

Make It Mobile-Optimized

Did you know that 70% of emails are opened on smartphones? You have to make sure your emails are responsive on mobile. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing customers and profit. Email marketing platforms will allow you to see how your campaigns will look like on mobile, so take advantage of it.

Consider the length of your email. Long text will definitely not translate well on mobile. You have to keep your body copy clear and concise. Focus on the benefits you offer and craft your message around it. Keeping your emails brief can be challenging, but it will keep your customers’ attention for a longer period. You can also get higher open rates in future emails.

Make sure that your links can be easily seen and clicked as well. Some emails can have very small text that readers have a hard time clicking on the call-to-action button. Allow your customers to follow through and give you higher click-through rates by making links visible and accessible.

Lastly, ensure that your images are sorted out. This can be the easiest way for your campaign to go awry. Check that your images are uploaded in the right dimensions. Make sure they load properly. Format them accordingly so that the text won’t get jumbled up or scattered around it.

Split Test Your Campaigns

There’s no better way to find out what works for your customers than split testing. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s about time to start. Split testing is when you segment your audience and send them different versions of your email campaign. This is how you find out which is the best performing email for your audience.

To do this, you should only change one element at a time. This will become the variable that will determine the cause of your campaign’s high or low performance. Choose any variable, depending on what you want to troubleshoot. Test subject lines, headlines, and even offers. Use these insights to craft the best emails for your campaigns.

Thanks for reading How to Create Successful Email Marketing Campaigns which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

We already know that Actionetics is a fantastic marketing automation platform when working in tandem with your sales funnel. Be that as it may, if you’re not making the most of Actionetics, then you’re missing out on a lot. If you are completely new to this, here is a comprehensive post about Getting Started with Actionetics.

To help you understand just how powerful an automation platform Actionetics is, you need to discover all the interesting features it offers and not just the obvious ones. While Actionetics is a powerful tool, in and of its own,  it wouldn’t hurt to know and leverage some of the most useful (but rarely used) features of Actionetics.

Here are 4 Actionetics features you probably don’t bother to discover or even use.

1. ACTION SCORE

If you’re already using Actionetics, then you must have already seen the Action Score displayed on every contact profile. A contact’s Action Score for recency, frequency, monetary value, and social scores. To be able to view each element of a contact’s Action Score, all you need to do is to hover your cursor on the display and move it around the rings of the Action Score display.

Some may think that this is negligible, but what makes this feature so important is that enables marketers to determine a contact’s lifetime value and, of course, a contact’s current value to your business. With this feature, you will be given insights on how your contacts behave, where you engage them the most and how to market to them better.

2. CUSTOM GROUPS

Most users new to Actionetics may tend to find custom groups in Action Funnels, a bit tricky. This is especially so when figuring out what custom group to use if you want a particular action, whether it’s external or internal, to trigger your action funnel. Custom group has seven rule groups.

1. SOCIAL

This lets you filter an action funnel step according to the number of social media followers or fans of any social network.

The social networks covered under this category are:

• Picasa
• Pinterest
• Placast
• SlideShare
• SoundCloud
• Tumblr
• Tungle Me
• Twitter
• Vimeo
• WordPress
• yahoo
• YouTube
• About.me
• Angellist
• Blogger
• Delicious
• Digg
• Facebook
• Flickr
• Foursquare
• Friendfeed
• Github
• Google Plus
• Gravatar
• Instagram
• Klout
• LinkedIn
• Myspace

2. CONTACT

This lets you trigger your action funnel step according to contact information

3. FUNNEL

This lets you trigger your action funnel step according to page visited or not visited by your contact.

4. PRODUCT

This trigger is quite similar to Funnel except that it lets you trigger your action funnel step according to whether a particular product is bought or not by a contact.

5. BROADCASTS

This lets you trigger your action funnel step according to particular actions on your email broadcasts (i.e. opened broadcast, never opened broadcast, clicked broadcast, did not click broadcast)

6. LISTS

This lets you trigger your action funnel step according to a particular email list.

7. EMAIL STEP

This lets you trigger your action funnel step according to email step action. (i.e. opened email step, never opened email step, clicked email step, never clicked email step)

Now, I’m pretty sure most of you have tried out Action Funnels, but what some do not realise is that you are not limited to just one custom group or that you’re not utilising the other categories! You can set multiple custom group to fully customise each step in your Action Funnels. Try it out and create and send targeted marketing messages!

3. TAGS

Tags are a quite new to Actionetics, which may explain why you haven’t utilised them yet if you haven’t. While email lists are used to segment your contacts (making it easier for you to send various different marketing messages), tags let you further segment these contacts according to specified actions in each step of your funnel.

You can use tags to segment your contacts, use them as triggers for particular steps in your Action Funnel, and they also let you analyse each contact according to tags added to their profiles. If you want to enable tags to be added to your contacts, all you have to do is to go to your page editor >  go to Settings > Integrations> Select Actionetics as an Integration > Add Tag and add the your tag.

TIP: You can also opt to add “Remove Tag” as an option in your email integration settings.

4. CONTACT PROFILE

It’s not exactly a secret, but I’m pretty sure you haven’t taken the time to see each individual contact in your list’s profile. You’d be surprised to discover a treasure trove of valuable data you can use in planning your next marketing campaign.

Among the information you discover is, of course, your contact’s Action score which has already been discussed earlier. Aside from that, you’ll be able to see their purchase history, their recent activities, memberships you offered that they have subscribed to, etc. If you want to learn more about the Actionetics Contact Profile Dashboard, be sure to check out this post I wrote previously.

What’s next with Actionetics Features?

While you may have read (or heard) of most of the features mentioned above, chances are you haven’t used these features and leveraged them to improve your marketing. You’ll notice that the common denominator about these features is their ability to let you in on valuable data about your contacts.

What’s so important about them, you ask? These data lets you in on your contacts behaviour and how they engage with your marketing. Insights from these data allows you to create personalised and targeted marketing messages to your contacts which is a better approach than some cookie-cutter marketing communications strategy. Always remember that the customers engage better when they relate to your marketing messages. You’ll find that they are more compelled to convert.

If you haven’t tried out Actionetics, then these not-so-obvious features might convince you into subscribing. But if you’re already using Actionetics, but haven’t tried out all these awesome features, then you’re missing out. It’s high time you take your marketing communications to the next level by leveraging these features.

Try them out today. If you enjoyed this post, I am sure you would love these 5 Automation Tricks for Actionetics!

How do you make the most of Actionetics?

Share with us by commenting below!

Thanks for reading 4 Hidden Actionetics Features You Didn’t Know About which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

ClickFunnel’s hosts a powerful suite of tools that can kickstart your online marketing efforts.

Let’s talk about Actionetics.

Actionetics is ClickFunnel’s automation platform that does not only cater to emails alone, but also to SMS with the Twilio integration. What makes this platform possible is that it takes automation into a new level with its roster of features that help you know more about your market, communicate with your market, automate your communication with your market, etc.

If you’re already using Actionetics, then you know how fantastic this tool is. If you haven’t, then allow me to say that you’re missing out on a lot. You can do away with the clutter of using different tools to communicate with your market with Actionetics.

Importing Your Contacts with Actionetics

With Actionetics, adding your existing contacts to the platform is made easy. All you need to do is to go to Actionetics > Contact Profiles > click Import Contacts > upload your file > map out your columns > review your entries > click Upload.

This features makes adding your contacts from your old email marketing application easier as compared to other platforms where procedures are either complicated or there is a tendency for data to be missing.

Creating New Tags

ClickFunnels recently introduced tags into their powerful automation arsenal. What makes tags perfectly awesome is that they let marketers hyper-segment their email list even further beyond email list segmentation.

What are tags, you ask? Tags let you classify your contacts further according to their actions in your funnel. By adding tags to your customer’s profile, you get to store critical information about your customers interests, purchases, or actions which you can use in the future to send them targeted marketing messages.

To get the tag feature rolling into your funnels, you need to set it into specific steps in your action funnels where you want a respective tag to be added into your contact. To do this, in your page editor, go to Settings > Integrations> Select Actionetics as an Integration > Add Tag and add the your tag.

From here, you can use tags as triggers in your Action Funnels. All you have to do is go to Action Funnels > Select which Action Funnel you want to edit > Select the Step you want to add tags as criteria > Select Contacts > Choose Has Tag.

This feature is particularly useful if you want a particular action or behaviour based on the tags you set in your funnel steps to trigger an action funnel step.

Setting Up Your First Action Funnel

If you’re already familiar with Actionetics, then you know how powerful action funnels can be. Action funnels allows you to dig deeper and be as technical as you’d like to be with your email list. Through Action Funnels, you can create custom groups and set them as triggers in order for an action to be done.

What Are Custom Groups?

Custom groups act as triggers to begin a certain action funnel (internal or external actions) when the criteria has been met by a contact. As of now, there are 7 custom group categories:

1. Social. This lets you filter and set your custom group according to a specific number of following or followers of any social network.

2. Contact. This custom group lets you filter your action steps according to country, zip code or state.

3. Funnel. This custom group lets you filter your step according to page visited or not visited.

4. Product. This custom group lets you filter triggers for action steps according to those who bought or did not buy a product to inform them of new offers.

5. Broadcasts. This custom group lets you filter triggers for your action steps according to your email list who opened, did not open, click or never clicked a broadcast.

6. Lists. This custom group filters a particular step in your action funnel according to whether the contact belongs or does not belong to a list.

7. Email Step. This custom group lets you trigger a step on any action funnel according to whether an email step on an action funnel was opened, not opened, clicked or not clicked.

Note: The number of custom groups you can for any step of your action funnel is not limited to just you. You can choose to set multiple triggers.

Click here to read 7 Powerful Action Funnels You Didn’t Know About Using Actionetics to know more about each category.

To create a new action funnel, all you have to do is to Login to your ClickFunnels account > Go to Actionetics > Action Funnels > Create a New Funnel > Add action funnel name > Click Create New Action Funnel > Add New Step OR populate the existing email template > Clickc Add Rule Group to set the trigger of a particular action funnel step.

Building Your First Autoresponder

Autoresponders are a great way for marketers to automatically connect and send messages to their customers as soon as they perform an action that triggers sending the autoresponse. It can be anything as simple as an order confirmation or a signup confirmation, to a more complex series of emails when a visitor signs up to a particular email list.

Setting up your email lists is the first step to get your autoresponders going. The next is to craft your emails to go as autoresponders.

To do this, all you have to do is to Go to Actionetics > Broadcasts > New Email Broadcast.

Enter the information needed.

Choose from the available templates and edit accordingly. Click “Save and Send Test” afterwards to see what your autoresponder looks like when it’s sent as an email.

What’s Next?

As soon as you’ve gotten the hang of these Actionetics features, you’ll find how it adds value to your marketing communications. These features are particularly useful for targeted messages, letting you send out personalized messages to any segment of your market.

Of course, a good marketing or sales copy is also essential to your marketing communications. If you’re already used to creating marketing copy, then good! You’re well on your way to mastering Actionetics. But if you feel that you’re not up to copywriting, there are always various ways to go about it.

Funnel Scripts is ClickFunnel’s copywriting application that lets you create well-written and personalised marketing and sales copies! If you haven’t got a copy of Funnel Scripts yet, then click here to register.

Have you tried out these Action Funnel features yet?

Try them out and tell us your experience by commenting below!

Thanks for reading Getting Started with Actionetics Step By Step which appeared first on ClickFunnels.