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One of my favorite tricks to get exposed to new ideas:
Scrolling TikTok with my wife.
Every time we spend some time watching TikToks together I learn about new trends or walk away with an insight for something we could explore in our business.
But there’s another amazing benefit to it:
It also helps me find niche creators who’re crushing it that I would otherwise not come across.
That’s how I found Excel with Grant, for example.
And it’s also how I first stumbled upon today’s creator:
Blaine Anderson
Blaine helps men level up their dating game through 1:1 coaching and online courses (similar to this other creator we funnel hacked a while back).
Now, as we researched Blaine’s funnel, we couldn’t find out exactly how much $$$ she’s making but…
She’s is absolutely CRUSHING it on the content and audience side of things:
- 551k on Instagram
- 160k followers on TikTok
- 24k+ subscribers on YouTube
So as usual, we dove deep into her funnel and walked away with tons of golden nuggets.
Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect to learn by the end of this week’s breakdown:
- The 3 keys to great landing page formatting
- Why you should always send a welcome email
- An unconventional way to make your lead magnet offer more compelling
- A genius tactic to prime new subscribers to buy early in your funnel
And tons more!
Ready?
Let’s dive in.
Funnel Piece #1 → Landing Page
First, let’s break down Blaine’s Free Guide landing page.
Here are 3 things she’s doing well:
- She’s created a compelling lead magnet “offer” by bundling up 4 different freebies into one. Instead of saying “here’s one guide that will help solve you 4 different problems,” she frames it as “here’s 4 different guides that will help you solve 4 different (but related) problems.” This helps increase the “perceived value” of the lead magnet offer and make it a no-brainer for people to opt-in.
- She’s formatted her landing page copy extremely well. Despite her freebie being 4 different guides, she does an amazing job explaining in just a few words how each guide will help you. On top of that, she makes the copy super easy to read (and skim) by using a bulleted list, bolding, and emojis.
- She makes you feel FOMO by making it clear the only way you can get your hands on these guides is by joining her email list. Instead of bragging about how many people are subscribed to her list, she uses “exclusivity” to make her freebie offer even more compelling: “FREE dating guides I only share with guys on my email list.”
Now, here are 3 low-hanging improvements she could make to boost her opt-in rates:
- Making the headline more outcome- or transformation-focused. Headlines that speak to problems and benefits almost always outperform headlines focused on the “product.” The first thing you should tell the reader is what problem you’re going to help them solve or what outcome you’re going to help them unlock (not how you’re going to help them do that).
- Removing (or tidying up) her “sneak peek” section from the landing page. In general, I’m not a big fan of giving people the chance to read your archive of content on your lead magnet or newsletter landing page (it can hurt opt-in rates). IMO your landing page copy should be so clear and compelling that people don’t need a “sample” of your stuff before opting in. But if you do want to have this section for whatever reason, you should at least reduce the number of “featured” posts you include (so people only can read a handful of your best ones) and make sure you only have one CTA at the end of each post (obviously, to join your email list).
Funnel Piece #2 → Thank You Page
Now, let’s talk about Blaine’s Thank You page.
There’s one main thing she’s doing well here:
- She makes it super easy to find and access all the freebies in one place. No need to check your inbox, download a bunch of PDFs, or create an account in yet another student portal. This is a very important aspect that a lot of creators overlook. The easier (and faster) it is for people to get value from your lead magnet, the better.
That being said, there’s a few upgrades she could make here to make her welcome flow more profitable:
- Adding a segmentation survey. Before delivering the guides, she could use a quick segmentation survey to gather more data from her new subscribers. That would allow her to tailor the content she sends you as well as the way she presents her paid offers (which would definitely help increase conversions).
- Being more clear and thorough about explaining the “next steps.” Despite making it easy for the reader to access the freebies, I think she could do a better job “holding their hand” and walking them through how to get as much value as possible from them. For example, she could share a few suggestions for what guide to start with depending on your specific situation or encourage to bookmark the page so you can revisit the rest of the guides later if you’re short on time.
- Sending a quick follow-up email with a link to this page as soon as someone opts in. Lastly, I’m not sure why she doesn’t send some sort of welcome or confirmation email right after you opt-in, but you always should (even if you’re giving people instant access to your freebies like she is). There’s 2 main reasons why: 1) Readers start to get used to seeing your name in their inbox (and opening your emails) and 2) in case they lose access to the page where they can access all the freebies.
Funnel Piece #3 → The Free Guide
Last but not least, let’s dig into Blaine’s freebie.
I’ll be honest.
After seeing her Thank You page, I was a little bit unsure as to what to expect from her free guides.
But as soon as I dug in, I was pleasantly surprised.
Here are a few things that stood out:
- All 4 of her guides are highly actionable. It’s clear that if you implement her advice and follow the steps she lays out for you, you’ll start to see results. And that’s what the best lead magnets do: They deliver a quick win (which builds trust and goodwill) and prime your readers to become paying customers. Which brings me to the next point.
- At the end of each guide, there’s a CTA to grab a copy of her low-ticket course, Online Dating OS. And not only does she a great job transitioning into the pitch, but she also gives you a sneak peek of the first lesson of the course—for free. This is a genius move.
Now, there’s 2 upgrades she could make to these “plugs” to boost conversions:
- Removing the 1:1 coaching offer. If you scroll down a little bit, you’ll notice that underneath the low-ticket course “pitch,” there’s also a form to apply for her coaching offer. This can be distracting and make it harder for people to decide what to buy. So instead, I’d save this additional offer for later and push the low-ticket course sale a bit more. How? Great question!
- Offering a disappearing discount or bonus incentive to create more urgency to take action now. One of the biggest questions everyone asks themselves (consciously or unconsciously) when making a purchasing decision is “why now?” Which is why creating urgency is key to drive sales. Now, one of the best ways to create more urgency is to offer your readers something that’s only available for a certain period of time, like a disappearing discount or bonus. And when someone just joined your email list, you have the perfect excuse to offer this kind of incentive because you can frame it as a “welcome gift.”
Let’s recap, shall we?
And that’s a wrap!
As usual, we covered a lot and there are a bunch of tactical golden nuggets in this Breakdown.
So I’m going to quickly recap them all below so you can get a quick refresher and decide which one of these nuggets you’re going implement in your own funnels this week.
Tactics Worth Stealing From Blaine’s Funnel
- Use bullets, bolding, and emojis to make your landing page easy to read and skim.
- Make sure your lead magnet is actionable and it delivers a quick win for your readers.
- Give your new subscribers a free “sample” of your offer at the end of your lead magnet to prime them even more.
Potential Upgrades She Could Make (That You Can Learn From)
- Always send a welcome email (even when you’re giving your readers instant access to your freebie).
- Use a segmentation survey to gather data from your subscribers—and personalize the way you pitch them on your offers.
- Use a disappearing discount or bonus to create more urgency and turn more new subscribers into paying customers.
Boom—now the ball is on your court!
Which of these are you going to implement over the next week?
Hit reply and let me know!
Also, if you have any follow-up questions after reading this issue, be sure to let me know too!
I’m here to help :-)
Until next week,
~The Email Marketing Ninja
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