How Justin Welsh Earns $4,000,000 with 1 Funnel
If someone made $4,000,000 from writing words online...wouldn't you want to learn how?
(NOTE: This was a deep dive I wrote back on October 31, 2023…his strategy is still the same today.)
A few weeks ago, I listened to an interview with Justin Welsh.
If you don't know Justin, you're either living under a rock...or you're new to LinkedIn.
I was doing laundry, and had it on in the background...until 1 thought stopped me:
I've been reading his content for 10 months, but never actually analyzed his funnel.
This should be at the top of every content creator's list of things to study.
It's not.
Issue: We dismiss famous creators because of their fame & fortune.
Why?
We don't believe that their strategies will work for us.
After taking 100+ hours to study Justin's funnel...its clearly apparent:
This high leverage strategy can be run by anyone.
Anyone with any size audience can start doing this tomorrow.
Let's take a look - step by step:
Step 1 - Content
Goal - post TOFU content on LinkedIn, attract interest, and move the reader's attention to the author's comment section.
Hook - "Your business success is one plan away."
CTA - "You can join 178,975 subscribers for free in the 📌📌comment."
Picture - include pictures to take up visual real estate in the timeline. Use personalized quotes, testimonials, or screenshots. Justin includes a picture with every post. I'm a huge fan of this strategy.
The LinkedIn post:
The picture attached:
Step 2 - Pinned Comment
Goal - Give more value as a "free bonus", tipping the reciprocity scale in your favor. Move the reader off platform to a newsletter or subscription page.
Hook - "Here's a bonus tip for making it this far."
(Marketing Psychology Tip: reward the reader with a 'bonus' for following directions)
CTA - "Join my free newsletter and get weekly actionable tips for building your own online business here:"
The pinned comment:
Step 3 - Newsletter Signup
Goal - Sell with social proof and testimonials. Set the standard of excellence that you deliver insane value for your "free" signup. Capture the email address.
Hook - "Practical tips guiding you from first-dollar to full-time solopreneur."
CTA / Button - "Join 175k Readers"
The newsletter landing page:
Step 4 - Thank You & Segmentation
Goal - Personalize the "Thank You" with a handwritten signature. Offer an optional questionnaire to segment the reader into specific interests...a great way to collect valuable data.
Hook - "I want to make sure that I send you exactly the type of content and newsletters you want to read."
CTA / Button - "Mind sparing 15 seconds to tell me about what you're hoping to learn?"
The Thank You Page & Questionnaire:
I clicked through 6 questions to get to the last button above. Looks like its hosted by RightMessage. I'm going to take a look into this feature...
Step 5 - Welcome Email
Goal - Set expectations for future emails, validate the email address, and re-direct attention back to his website.
Hook - "It's Time to Upgrade Your Saturday"
CTA / Button - "Come inside and get access to free articles for creators and entrepreneurs..."
The first email after subscribing to the newsletter:
Step 6 - Content Ecosystem
Goal - Hold and keep attention within your content ecosystem.
Offer more free value, solve problems specific to your audience, and move the reader further down your value ladder.
Content subtopics and niches allow the reader to pick and choose what topics that interest them.
The email link leads right back to Justin's newsletter database:
Clicking the first article titled "A Skeptic's Guide to Learning":
There's signups and CTAs at the top, middle, and bottom of every page.
At the end of every article, Justin includes his patented "soft sell."
"Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:"
This has been the same consistent sales pitch across every email, every article, every CTA that Justin writes. Not giving the hard pitch means you will have a longer 'warmup' phase before someone is ready to buy...
BUT...
The reward is that when a reader is ready to buy, they don't need much convincing.
They've seen enough of your brand and value to know what to expect.
Step 7 - Course Landing Page $$$
Goal - Move a red-hot lead to purchase the course product. Show more competency + social proof + boat loads of testimonials.
Hook - "Establish, grow, & monetize your personal brand on LinkedIn."
CTA / Button - "Get Instant Access for $150"
The product landing page:
This landing page is similar to the newsletter one...except heavily focused on paying members' results and testimonials.
It makes Justin Welsh $11,000 per day.
BONUS: The Sly 'Edit' You Never Noticed
By this point...you're knee deep in articles on Justin's website.
You're inundated with so much value that there's no point in going back to LinkedIn.
However, you most likely missed this sly maneuver...
If you head back to where the funnel started...
You'll uncover something verrrrrrrry interesting:
Notice the CTA at the bottom?
Justin edits out the old CTA, and he adds a link directly within the post itself.
OLD CTA - "You can join 178,975 subscribers for free in the 📌📌comment."
NEW CTA - "📌📌 Sign up to read it and get your 2024 plan ready for action: (link)"
He removes one action step from the funnel...which means one less chance to lose prospects.
IMPORTANT NOTE -- Never include an external link when you first publish your post.
If you include an external link, the algorithm throttles your overall reach. LinkedIn wants to keep users on platform...so this makes sense.
Justin avoids this by waiting 10-20 minutes and then edits the post to include the external link.
By that time the post is off and running, and he loses less initial traction and gains more potential subscribers.
Justin Welsh is an OG Autopreneur.
Remember…
Time > Everything.
~ Ryan
PS - Want an expert to build this for you?
I’ve built automations & systems for over 200+ Startups around the world…
Email me today → ryan@thecreatorstack.com
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