As a business owner, I’m sure you have mixed feelings about the word “funnel.”
I see many of my clients know they need to set one up, but the concept itself is a bit… confusing.
“Isn’t live launching better?”
“Is an evergreen sales funnel the key to passive income?”
On the one hand, evergreen sales funnels have been a key component of the ease and freedom I have in my business.
But I know there’s a huge misconception about evergreen funnels and how to get them set up.
So let’s dive right into how to build an evergreen sales funnel (and bust a few myths about evergreen funnels along the way!).
What is an evergreen funnel?
You know that your business is ready for this step, of setting up your evergreen funnel that leads people to your course, but how exactly do you do it?
Let’s start with… what is an evergreen funnel?
An evergreen funnel is an automated sales process that brings someone from lead to buyer, without you having to be there to make it happen.
This is not a live launch. You’re not present (but are still pretty involved!).
Read more about live launching vs evergreen sales funnels here!
As a quick example, if a person signs up for any of my opt-ins on my website, they’ll enter an evergreen funnel.
If a person signs up for a lead magnet via one of my paid ads, they’ll enter another evergreen funnel.
After signing up, they’ll be taken through a series of automated steps (read: funneled down) that eventually leads them to my offer.
So how can you set up an evergreen sales funnel for your online course?
5-step evergreen funnel that will help you sell your course with ease
Before setting up your evergreen sales funnel, be sure you have the following 3 things in place:
• A validated offer: If the offer within your sales funnel hasn’t seen sufficient sales, then perhaps there’s a bit more work needed before setting up your evergreen funnel.
• A traffic plan: To have a successful, automated sales funnel, you have to know how you’ll be directing traffic to that first step in your funnel.
• A “marathon” mindset: Your business is a marathon, not a sprint. A profitable evergreen funnel takes work and time, so don’t skip on either!
If you’ve got all 3 things set up and ready, then it’s time to create your sales funnel!
If you’d like personalized support in building an evergreen sales system in your business, check out our Evergreen with Ease™ VIP Day.
Step 1 – Create the right lead magnet for your course/business
How do you make a profitable funnel?
Well… I’m pretty opposed to suggesting “the right way” of doing things or to saying “you need” to be doing something.
Having a business that gives you the ease and freedom you crave means you do things in a way that both serves your audience and also serves you best.
Oftentimes, new clients come to me with amazing opt-ins that are jam-packed with value…
But they don’t directly tie back to their end offer— the online course they want to sell.
For an opt-in to successfully and profitably funnel leads into your course, your opt-in must directly respond to your ideal audience’s one problem that your offer solves.
So while my clients are getting people to sign up for their opt-ins, they’re not seeing those same results when it comes time to sell their course to those same people that entered their funnel.
That’s because there’s a huge disconnect– those people are not the ideal audience for their offer.
Which leads to low conversions/sales.
Step 2 – Set up a landing page that converts
Once you have your opt-in ready, you’ll need a place to direct people to sign up for it!
This happens on a landing page.
You can create a landing page right from your email service provider (ESP), but I’ve found that some ESPs have limited options or can feel a bit clunky.
My team and I have actually created tons of great landing pages on Leadpages.
Leadpages is easy to use and allows us more options for tracking page views, sign-ups, traffic sources, etc.
Whichever you use, be sure to keep your landing page short and to the point.
A landing page is not a sales page, so it’s best to stick with copy that connects with your ideal audience and informs them about what they get and why it matters to them.
Also, be sure it’s mobile friendly and matches your other promotional copy and graphics!
If it doesn’t match or isn’t mobile friendly, people will be confused and they’ll exit out of your page.
Step 3 – Set up your opt-in “Thank You” page
Why is this even a step?
The “Thank You” page is a huge missed opportunity for many online course creators.
On this page, you can confirm for people that their request went through, avoiding double sign-ups! (Yes, totally a thing!)
If there’s a 2-step verification on your email service provider, you can let people know on this page so that they can check their email to confirm receipt.
You can even include a small video (or written copy!) to say thank you for signing up in a more personalized way.
And finally, you can direct them to follow you on a social media challenge to stay connected.
Step 4 – Write the email sequence you’ll send once someone enters your funnel
Your welcome email sequence is an important part of your funnel.
Your opt-in attracts leads into your funnel.
This email sequence welcomes and nurtures people through your funnel and into your offer.
The best part? You won’t have to write these emails until it’s time for an update or your offer/opt-in changes!
They’re evergreen, so you’ll be setting them up in an automated email sequence (next step)! ✨
Here are the emails I suggest to my clients to start with.
• Delivery Email- in this email, you’ll include the opt-in + a bit about you
• Value Add Email – Here, you’ll include an actionable tip that your audience can use. This email is great for linking back to your podcast, blog or a previous live stream
• Story/Client Showcase Email – Tell a story that directly reflects the offer you’re about to pitch
• Pitch Email 1 – Invite people into your offer (or sales driver*); don’t be shy! Make sure to link to your sales page (or your sales driver landing page*).
• Pitch Email 2 – Final email in the sequence!
* A quick note about your offer: If your offer is more than $500, then I recommend you direct people to your evergreen sales driver (like a webinar or challenge) instead of directly to your offer.
Because it’s a larger investment, your evergreen sales driver is equipped to further address your ideal audience’s pain points, providing tangible solutions and furthering their trust in you/your business.
This will further nurture them into your offer.
Step 5 – Set up your automated workflow in your email service provider
Now it’s time to automate! 🎉
This is where the tech comes in.
Upload your emails into a welcome sequence workflow inside of your Email Service Provider (ESP).
For a tech-friendly email service provider, I highly recommend ConvertKit!
Time the emails so that they get sent within 1-2 days of each other.
Also, make sure that you connect your landing page so that it automatically triggers the start of your welcome sequence.
And don’t forget– you can outsource the tech part of this process to a Tech VA (virtual assistant).
A Tech VA can help you set up your emails and automations.
If you’d like personalized support in building an evergreen sales system in your business, check out our Evergreen with Ease™ VIP Day.
Launching Your Evergreen Funnel
**drum roll please** 🥁
Your evergreen sales funnel is built and ready to LAUNCH!
When you launch your funnel, you’ll realize that an evergreen funnel is not a “set-it-and-forget-it” sales system.
First, promotion is not passive!
You’ll want to actively promote your opt-in and direct people to sign up for your email list, where they’ll enter your funnel.
Otherwise, you’ll have a wonderfully set-up evergreen funnel but very little sign-ups.
And second, while an evergreen sales funnel does build ease into your business, you still have to monitor it to plug in any holes, respond to tech issues, and make sure things are working smoothly.
Because as people begin to enter your funnel, you’ll start to gather data.
Which emails aren’t working?
At what point of the funnel are people reducing engagement?
Now, before you make any changes or chuck emails out the window, wait until after the first 100 people go through your funnel.
Otherwise, you won’t have enough data to make good, informed decisions.
I highly recommend that you use some form of tracking system to track this data from your sales funnels.
It makes it so much easier to see trends when your data is gathered all in one easy-to-see place.
In fact, I provide trackers for my clients inside our Evergreen with Ease™ VIP Day
Our Evergreen with Ease™ VIP Day was created specifically to shift you into an evergreen business model that generates consistent results for your clients and sales in your business, each and every month.
You can click here to learn more!