Want to maximize your revenue?
The best way to do that is to build a marketing funnel for your business. But where should you start?
Today we are going to explain how to create a successful marketing funnel with AI and walk you through the entire process!
What is a Marketing Funnel?
Marketing funnels are systems designed to convert potential customers into leads, leads into customers, and customers into repeat customers.
It’s worth noting that the term “marketing funnel” is synonymous with the more popular term “sales funnel”.
The terms “marketing funnel” and “sales funnel” can be used interchangeably.
What is the Value Ladder Marketing Funnel?
The Value Ladder is a marketing funnel that was created by our co-founder Russell Brunson. We used it to grow ClickFunnels to $100M+ in annual revenue!
The main idea behind it is this: you start the relationship with the potential customer with a free offer and then pitch them increasingly more valuable and more expensive offers as they progress through your sales funnel.
So the potential customer starts their buyer’s journey at the bottom of your Value Ladder and then over time they ascend to the top of it where they have the opportunity to purchase your most valuable and most expensive product or service aka your Backend offer!
The Six Most Popular Variations of the Value Ladder Marketing Funnel
#1: Opt-in Funnel
The opt-in funnel, also known as the squeeze page funnel and the lead magnet funnel is the most popular marketing funnel out there. It works best for inexpensive, low-touch products that can be sold automatically via email.
It’s also a great option for those who know that they want to make money online but don’t have anything to sell yet. Remember, you don’t need to have a product or service to start growing your email list!
#2: Application Funnel
The application funnel enables you to qualify leads before reaching out to them.
It works best for expensive, high-touch products and services that require follow-up calls to close sales.
It’s especially worth considering if you offer custom pricing that depends on the scope of the project.
#3: Webinar Funnel
The webinar funnel is an event funnel where you use a free webinar as your lead magnet and then pitch your product or service at the end of it.
It works best for mid-range offers that are low-touch and can be sold automatically via email, for example, productized services or online courses.
It can also work well for expensive, high-touch services. However, in that case, instead of pitching your service at the end of the webinar, you should encourage the attendees to book free consultation calls and then close sales at the end of those calls.
#4: Summit Funnel
The summit funnel is an event funnel where you host an online summit with multiple speakers.
You can either make the summit free and then pitch VIP tickets to the attendees after they register for the event or you can charge for the summit and then also upsell the VIP tickets.
VIP tickets should include various perks such as Q&A sessions with the speakers, recordings from the event, a workbook, etc.
#5: Bridge Funnel
The bridge funnel allows you to connect two different but related ideas.
It works best for affiliate products because it enables you to give potential customers some context and pre-sell them on that product before sending them to its sales page.
#6: Video Series Funnel
The video series funnel, also known as the product launch funnel, is designed to help you launch a new product with a video series that consists of four videos.
In the first three videos, you introduce your upcoming product, provide social proof, and build anticipation with sneak peeks.
Then, in the last video, you announce the launch, add an element of urgency with a limited-time launch discount and end the video with a call to action encouraging people to buy your product.
This funnel works best for mid-range, low-touch products that can be sold automatically via email.
How to Build a Value Ladder Marketing Funnel for Your Business With AI
Building a Value Ladder marketing funnel for your business has never been easier.
With ClickFunnels 2.0 AI funnel builder, you can create one in just 10-15 minutes, even if you don’t have any web design or web development skills!
Here’s how it works:
Step #1: Tell Us About Yourself and Your Business
First, we’ll ask you to tell us who you are, what you are selling, and who is your target audience. This information will serve as the foundation for your sales funnel copy.
Step #2: Select a Funnel Template That Makes the Most Sense for Your Business
Then, we’ll ask you to select a funnel template from the six most popular Value Ladder sales funnel variations that we discussed previously.
As you can see in the screenshot below, each funnel variation is explained in detail within the software itself in case you want to refresh your memory.
Step #3: Select Your Main Brand Color and the Design Style of Your Funnel
Then, we’ll ask you to select your main brand color, which will serve as the basis for the color scheme of your sales funnel.
We’ll also ask you to select a design style from three options: blocky style, colorful style, and rounded style.
The style you select will determine borders, corners, and shadows on the pages in your funnel as well as the use of your brand color.
Step #4: Select an Image Style for Your Funnel
Then, we’ll ask you to select an image style for your sales funnel.
You’ll be able to choose from three options: isometric 3D illustrations, flat illustrations and stock photo portraits.
Step #5: Provide More Details and Select a Writing Voice
Then we’ll ask you to add more details about yourself and your offer.
This is optional but the more information you provide to our AI, the more accurate the copy will be and the less editing you will need to do later.
You’ll also be able to choose from six distinct writing voices: neutral, playful, professional, friendly, informative and quirky. Which one matches your brand voice the best?
Step #6: Click the “Create Funnel Now” Button and Let AI Build a Funnel for You!
That’s it.
All you need to do now is click the green “Create Funnel Now” button and let our AI build a funnel for you. Typically, this takes around 5 minutes.
Our co-founder Russell Brunson made a video where he explains how to edit your funnel inside ClickFunnels 2.0 in case this is the first time you are using our software.
Consider watching it while you are waiting for your funnel!
Step #7: Claim Your Sales Funnel and Your FREE ClickFunnels 2.0 14-Day Trial!
If you already have a ClickFunnels 2.0 account, you can login and copy your sales funnel into your account.
If you don’t have a ClickFunnels 2.0 account yet, you can claim your FREE 14-day trial and create one.
Either way, your funnel is ready. Edit it with our drag-and-drop funnel editor, publish it, and start driving traffic to it!
How to Convert Leads into Paying Customers With Email Marketing
Send Them This Confirmation Message
When a potential customer gives you their email address, the first thing you should do is send them a confirmation message.
In that message, you want to:
- Confirm that they have successfully subscribed to your email list.
- Let them know what they should expect from you going forward.
- Ask them a question, encourage them to reply, and promise that you’ll read and respond to every email.
You can use your confirmation message for customer research by asking new subscribers what they are struggling with the most.
For example, if you are in the health and fitness niche, you can ask them what’s their #1 health and fitness challenge right now.
Copy-paste all responses into a spreadsheet. Over time, you’ll start noticing patterns. Use that to improve your offers, copy, and marketing.
Also, make sure to reply to every email from a new subscriber, especially if you promised to do so. It’s a great way to leave a positive first impression and start building trust.
Note that creating these back-and-forth interactions with new subscribers can also help you improve your deliverability. It sends a signal to email service providers like Gmail that people want to get emails from you!
Send Them This Welcome Sequence
Then you want to send them this welcome sequence at a frequency of one email per day. Send the first email immediately after the confirmation message.
Note that if you are selling a high-touch product or service, you can pitch it at the end of this email sequence and encourage the new subscriber to book a free consultation with you.
That being said, we recommend creating an inexpensive, low-touch product specifically designed for the purpose of converting leads into paying customers.
In our experience, $7 eBooks are perfect for this!
Send Them a Weekly Newsletter
A weekly newsletter can be a great way to:
- Build trust and stay top of mind with your email subscribers by providing free value every week..
- Promote your products and services to your email subscribers without coming across as obnoxious.
- Let your email subscribers know about company news, upcoming launches, seasonal sales, etc.
We recommend reading our article “How to Grow an Email List Starting From Scratch” if you want to learn more about newsletters.
How to Drive Traffic to Your Value Ladder Marketing Funnel
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing can be a great way to generate organic traffic.
However, building a social media following takes time so you’ll probably need to put in 12-18 months of consistent work before you start gaining traction on your chosen platform.
Consequently, using social media marketing as your primary marketing strategy makes the most sense if you have more time than money, especially if you also happen to be decent at writing.
If you don’t know where to start, we recommend watching this video by Dan Koe:
Video Marketing
Video marketing can be another great way to generate organic traffic.
However, building an audience on platforms like YouTube and TikTok takes time, so you should be prepared to put in at least 36 months of consistent work before you start gaining traction.
Moreover, producing video content is a more resource-intensive endeavor, and therefore your output volume is going to be lower.
E.g. you can publish one solid tweet every day but you won’t be able to publish one solid YouTube video every day.
Lower output volume means that it will take you longer to get good at creating video content.
Finally, in order to produce video content, you’ll need video equipment, a space where to shoot videos, and video editing skills.
Consequently, video marketing is best suited for those who have previous video production experience and either already own all the necessary video equipment or can get access to it for free.
All that being said, it appears that a YouTube channel with long-form videos has more staying power than a social media following.
At least that’s what popular YouTuber Vanessa Lau discovered after she came back from her one-year hiatus where she stopped posting on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram altogether.
It turned out that her YouTube channel was the least impacted by her lack of activity. Plus, her YouTube videos turned out to be what people missed the most while she was away!
So it seems that from the long-term perspective, building a YouTube channel can be a great business move.
If you don’t know where to start, we recommend watching this video by Vanessa Lau:
Paid Advertising
We have noticed that entrepreneurs who are just starting out tend to have an aversion to paid advertising even if they can afford it. But guess what?
Paid advertising is the quickest way to generate targeted traffic. It can help you validate your business idea, improve your offer based on market feedback, and optimize your sales funnel for conversions FAST.
Of course, if you don’t have a marketing budget, then paid advertising isn’t an option to begin with. That’s a completely different situation.
But if you do have the money for it, we recommend investing in paid advertising because it can help you get your business off the ground much faster than you could with organic traffic alone.
How to Optimize Your Value Ladder Marketing Funnel With A/B Testing
Once your marketing funnel is up and running, you can begin optimizing it with A/B testing..
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a conversion rate optimization method that works like this:
- You create two versions of the same thing that are identical except for the element that you are testing.
- You drive the same amount of traffic to both versions.
- You see which version has a higher conversion rate.
For example, if you have two potential landing page headlines that you like, but aren’t sure which one you should go with, you can simply A/B test them and keep the winner.
Our software allows you to test everything from ads to landing pages to emails to sales pages to upsells, cross sells, and downsells.
A/B testing can help you increase your conversion rates across the entire funnel, generate more revenue, and maximize profit!
Try ClickFunnels 2.0 Risk-Free!
Let’s be real:
We are biased in favor of our software.
So we understand if you take what we say about it with a grain of salt.
Fortunately, we have a free 14-day trial, so you don’t have to take our word for it.
You can go and see ClickFunnels 2.0 for yourself without any risk!
So what are you waiting for? 🧐
