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Here’s something most creators and solopreneurs get completely wrong about monetization:
You don’t need an audience of 1,000,000 followers to build a profitable, 7-figure business online.
And the creator we’re going to funnel hack today is a great example of that.
Meet Justin Moore, the founder of Creator Wizard.
Over the past couple years, Justin has been building his mini-empire online by helping other creators land more, better paying sponsorships.
And he’s done it with a fraction of the followers many big creators have.
So this week I spent 10+ hours studying and analyzing his newsletter funnel to see what we can learn from him on the email marketing front…
And I found tons of golden nuggets!
Here is a quick preview of what you can expect to learn by the end of this week’s edition:
- A genius referral program tactic
- How to craft a killer welcome email in 4 simple steps
- The 2 keys to getting more readers to take action when you ask them
- A subtle but powerful way to beef up your lead magnet landing page copy
Ready?
Let’s dive in.
Funnel Piece #1 → The Landing Page
First, let’s break down Justin’s newsletter landing page.
First of all, I really like the simplicity of his landing page.
He’s done a great job boiling down his copy to its core essence and streamlining the design aspect of the page.
That being said, there are 3 other things that stood out:
- He is using social proof in his headline. Most creators understand the power of social proof. Which is why most newsletter or lead magnet landing pages include some sort of social proof. But I love how Justin took that one step further and added social proof to his headline (instead of treating it as a “side note,” like most creators do). Very smart move.
- He’s also using social proof in his sub-headline. On top of dropping his email list size in his headline, Justin uses a testimonial to explain how his newsletter will help you. This is an absolutely brilliant (and extremely underrated) way to explain your newsletter or lead magnet value proposition: Instead of you telling people how your content will help them—let your users do the work for you. The more tangible and specific the “testimonial,” the better: “I’ve made over $17,000 from brand deals I found through Justin’s newsletter.”
- Last but not least, he sets crystal clear expectations. After “selling” you on the value prop of his newsletter, he tells you exactly when (as in what day of the week) you’re going to get his emails. Great way to transition from to the CTA.
Now, there’s also a few low-hanging improvements he could make here:
- Coming up with a “name” for his newsletter. One of the easiest ways to increase the perceived value of your newsletter or lead magnet: Name it something.
- Making the headline a tad more tangible and specific. Tbh, Justin’s headline is pretty solid. And I know I already said this, but I really like the way he baked social proof into it. That being said, I think he could go from “pretty solid” to “10/10” if he made the outcome part of the headline a little bit more tangible. For example: “Join 31,150 creators getting sponsorship opportunities.”→“Join 31,150 creators getting high-paying sponsorship opportunities.” → “Join 31,150 creators getting 4-figure sponsorship deals.” Obviously, you want to make sure you’re actually able to deliver on the promise of your headline (which is the harder part).
- Handling potential objections for not signing up. Another small upgrade Justin could make to his landing page copy: Adding a second part to his headline where he addresses some of the biggest or most common “excuses” for not signing up. For example: “Join 31,150 creators getting sponsorship opportunities (without selling your soul to a brand).”Or“Join 31,150 creators getting sponsorship opportunities (even if you don’t have a huge following).”
- Optimizing the landing page mobile experience. If you check out Justin’s landing page from your phone (which is what most people do), you’ll notice you need to scroll down to find the “opt-in box” and sign up. No bueno. An easy way to fix this would be trimming down the value prop testimonial copy a bit or putting the blurb where he says when you’ll get the emails underneath (or inside) the opt-in box.
Funnel Piece #2 → The Thank You Page
Now, let’s talk about Justin’s Thank You page.
There’s 3 main things he is doing well here:
- First of all, just the fact that he has a Thank You page is a win. I know I always say it, but this is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in your entire funnel. Yet, most creators don’t have one (and when they do, they don’t really take advantage of it). Luckily, Justin is not making that mistake.
- He uses a segmentation survey to gather data from new subs. Segmentation surveys are a super powerful tool for learning about your subscribers (and how you can serve them better)—but also for personalizing the content you send them as well as the way you introduce and position your offers (depending on the specific goals and challenges of each reader). That’s why I always include one in the funnels I build for my clients.
- Lastly, he does a great job framing the survey “ask.” Segmentation surveys are great, but if you don’t do a good job “framing the ask,” people won’t bother answering your survey (and you won’t get any data). The 2 keys: (1) Communicating how little effort it will take the reader to complete the survey (and making sure it actually is that easy) and (2) explaining how completing the survey will benefit them.
Now, here are 3 things he could be doing better:
- Hyping up the “transformation” people are going to experience through his newsletter. A rule I live by: Always remind your readers of the value you’ll provide them—this is especially important in your opt-in flows. You want to make sure you’re constantly reminding people of what’s in it for them. So if I were Justin, I’d use the Thank You page to tell people again about the sponsorship opportunities they’ll be able to find through his newsletter (and how that can change the trajectory of their creator business) before asking them to fill out the segmentation survey.
- Offering a “bribe” in exchange for people filling the survey. As I pointed out a few moments ago, Justin did a great job “framing the ask” of his segmentation survey. But he could get even more people to fill it out if he offered some kind of incentive in return. To quote Charlie Munger: “Show me the incentives, and I'll show you the outcome.”
- Giving clear “next steps” instructions. After completing the survey, you get a CTA that changes dynamically depending on your survey answers (nice move). The problem? Justin is not telling people to check their inbox and open his welcome email before or after completing the survey, which is the next (and another crucial) step in the opt-in flow. So besides adding some copy to “hype up the reader’s transformation” to his Thank You page, I’d also add a few lines telling folks to look for his welcome email in their inbox—ideally before introducing the survey ask. That way, he can make sure as many people as possible see that and open his welcome email
Funnel Piece #3 → The Welcome Email
Last but not least, let’s dig into Justin’s welcome email.
This welcome email is VERY good.
If I had to rate it, I’d honestly give it a 10/10.
Here’s why…
- He immediately reinforces the reader’s decision to opt-in. Right away, he tells you exactly how his emails will help YOU—in a clear, specific, and concise way.
- Then, he does a great job setting clear expectations for what’s going to happen going forward. After reminding you of what’s in it for you (the reader), he tells you when you’re going to get each of his weekly emails—and how each of them is going to help you make as much money as possible from future sponsorships.
- After that, he shares a free, valuable resource so you can start leveling up your sponsorship pricing & negotiation skills right away. This way, you don’t have to wait till he sends you his first newsletter to start getting value from his content.
- Lastly, he makes it easy (and valuable) for new readers to spread the word and share his newsletter with other people. Near the end of his welcome email, Justin introduces his newsletter referral program and lets you know you can get $100-off any of his courses (among other things) for referring people to his newsletter. Obviously, this is super smart but what I found most interesting is the way he frames the first milestone/reward of his referral program: Basically, you need to refer 3 people to get $100-off any of his products. But instead of saying “you need to refer 3 people and you’ve referred 0 so far,” he frames it as “you need to refer 4 people and you’ve already got one” (even though you just joined his email list). And somehow this small framing nuance makes you feel like you’re closer to unlocking the reward. Brilliant.
Now, even though Justin did a terrific job with this email, there’s 2 small upgrades he could make to take it from 10/10 to 11/10:
- First, I’d remove one of the “offers” from his signature section so there’s only one CTA. Right before introducing his referral program, Justin has a PS listing some of his free and paid offers. The problem? By having more than one offer there, you’re actually make it harder for the reader to decide what to click on—or if they want to click on anything at all. Instead, I’d only “plug” one offer and I’d leverage the data gathered from the segmentation survey to personalize the language I use to describe it.
- Lastly, if I were to get rid one of the offers and keep the paid one, I’d also give new readers a limited-time “welcome discount.” This could help create urgency and increase the number of people who actually buy something from him early in the funnel. (From a technical perspective, you can use a tool like Deadline Funnel to execute this and make the discount actually expire!)
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 Justin’s Funnel
- Use social proof to make your landing page headline stronger.
- Use a segmentation survey on your Thank You Page to gather data from your new subs.
- Make it easy (and valuable) for your new readers to spread the word and share your newsletter with other people.
Potential Upgrades He Could Make (That You Can Learn From)
- Always optimize your landing pages so they look great on mobile.
- Give your new readers a limited-time “welcome discount” to create urgency and increase conversion.
- Hype up the “transformation” people are going to experience through your content on your Thank You Page & Welcome Email.
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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