This article is for bloggers, business owners, and those who want to make money online. The mere idea of making money online fascinates people all over the world. Just the thought of it drives the imagination into overdrive with excitement and eager anticipation. This idea is real, and making money online can be your reality. I’m doing it.
The dream of making money online attracts all sorts of people into this business every day. You can turn that dream into reality with persistence and the right knowledge. Sadly, most won’t make it… but anyone can if they really want it. The choices you make are crucial to your success.
You may have noticed that a lot of people trying to tell you which way to go. And you know what, getting started is fairly easy these days… but making money from it, well, that’s another story.
Most people teaching it are broke. No wonder so many people are confused.
The truth is making money online takes a lot of work, and it is not easy. Going down the wrong path can cost you a lot of time and money. It can be discouraging and cause you to quit. Don’t let that happen.
No matter where you live, you can make money online. You must follow certain principles, and you must be persistent. Remember, this isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon.
So what does all this have to do with funnels?
I’ll get to that in a few seconds…
You can start a blog fairly easily, but then what? You can even learn to drive traffic, but still, why isn’t my blog making money?
By the way, don’t worry if you don’t have a blog yet. You may not even need one.
Making money online is part art and part science. That’s a good thing because the experts know what works and the formulas already exist. The art is building the blog and getting visitors, and the science is making the sale. So many people ignore the science of selling and wonder why it’s not working for them.
There’s more to selling than building a blog and getting visitors. Selling is a process, and if the process is not followed in the correct order, you’re not going to make sales.
That’s why we are talking about funnels. A funnel is a sequence of events in a specific order that is needed to make a sale. An online sales funnel is carried out through an email sequence, with each email designed to perform a specific part of the sales process.
So there, if you didn’t know before, now you know what a funnel is.
I told you a few minutes ago that you may not need to have a blog. A good funnel system will provide every part of the sales sequence, including landing pages to close the deal. It would also handle product delivery and payment processing.
Don’t get me wrong, having a blog is great and I recommend it. But just like in the offline world, you don’t need to have a store to make a sale. Sure, it’s great, it’s easier, and people will come back… but you can also put an ad in the paper to make a sale.
So funnels can definitely help your blog close a ton of sales, month after month. However, if your blog does not have much traffic or content, or if you don’t even have a blog, you can still make sales. Make sense?
Having a blog with no sales process = no income (or very little)
Having a funnel system (even with no blog) = MONEY!
I’m about to show you the ways to make money with funnels. Be aware that there are two ways to build funnels… you can build funnels manually, or you can use an integrated system, such as ClickFunnels, that puts all the pieces together for you.
Whether you build a funnel by hand, or use an automated system, you can still make big money (assuming the hand-built funnel was done right). Some of the money making methods would need an automated system.
Just remember if you are building funnels manually, it is vital that you understand the online sales process, what to say in each email, and how often to send them. You’ll also need to make a landing page (and know how to make it convert), and integrate your payment and product delivery platform. You can then automate the process using your autoresponder (the email platform you use). I did not mean to make that sound complex, but there are a series of things you must piece together for it to work.
Sooo… let’s get right into the ways you can make big money with funnels!
1) Use Funnels to Crush it with Affiliate Marketing
You can’t drive Pinterest traffic or Quora traffic to an affiliate offer and expect to make sales. People need to be warmed up, and prepared before they “feel” ready to buy. That is what your funnel will do.
Affiliate marketing is when you promote someone else’s product (as their affiliate) and get paid a commission for the sale.
Instead of sending them to the affiliate offer, you send them to your landing page. The landing page offers them something valuable that they need. They give you their email address in exchange, and they are now opted in to your funnel.
The funnel takes over the entire sales process. There is nothing more for you to do, your only job is to send the traffic. That’s the beauty of a funnel.
This is highly leveraged. To set this up, you find the affiliate products that your target audience needs or wants. Choose several products and build the funnel (to sell them in the proper way and proper order). If you are using ClickFunnels, you have high-converting templates you can use to make it easy. (ClickFunnels is an automated selling system, handling the pre-sale, the sale, the product delivery, and the financial transactions).
You don’t need a blog to do this.
2) Use Funnels to Sell an eCourse (or other digital product)
If you have knowledge on a topic that you want to sell, you can create an ecourse. Creating an ecourse takes time and effort, but you will be handsomely rewarded.
If you do not want to create a course, then you can sell affiliate products as described above. Affiliate products are great if you are just getting started, only because there are so many other things that require your attention. But when you are ready to create your own saleable products, you can kick-ass using a funnel.
With your own course, you set the cost giving you total control over your income. And it doesn’t have to be an ecourse, it can be an ebook, software, an app, or any other digital product you produce.
Again, you do not need to have a blog for this one to work. However, if you are developing products, you already have a lot to offer your audience, and starting a blog is a very good idea. You can still drive traffic using social media, SEO, or paid traffic to your landing pages, BUT with a blog you will also be able to drive traffic from your blog itself (to your landing page). As your blog grows and gains traction, you will have a ongoing source of traffic to your sales funnel.
3) Use Funnels to Launch a Blog or a New Business
This is a good one. Most blogs are launched without any fanfare (including this one), yet the gurus tell us that a well-publicized launch brings immediate traction. Think about that for a moment… what would it be like if you can send 200 people to your blog the day of launch? What would it be like with 500? Or 1,000 or more?
An influx of traffic would lead to blog comments, opt-ins, social shares, and possibly even sales. The point is that you would have traction. You will have social proof.
The same holds true for an offline business. Normally, a new business opens and hopefully a few people walk into your shop. By building anticipation and creating a launch, you could have a line out the door on day one! When people see that, it creates curiosity, and drives repeat business and more new business in the coming days and weeks.
So how do we use a funnel to launch a blog or a business?
Simple… you use social media and/or paid marketing to drive people to your landing page. No website needed. You give them a promise of a something (a great experience or a give-away, etc.) for whatever it is that you do. Keep them in the loop, and let them know the progress towards launch.
You begin driving traffic to your funnel right away… as far in advance as you can before your launch. The funnel takes care of everything else, the reminders, the give-aways, coupons, benefits, special promotions, and anything else that will help bring awareness and desire – all leading up to the launch. This builds anticipation like crazy!
And you know what? As an added benefit, you have a fully engaged email list at the time of launch! You’ve already earned their trust and they are ready for you.
4) Use Funnels to Rock A Membership Site with Recurring Income
Membership sites are one of the most lucrative ways to generate income online. A membership site is a website where your premium content is in a secure area of your site, only accessible by people with a membership.
Now you can sell that membership in one of many ways, including a recurring monthly payment or annual payment.
You can use funnels in two ways here… you can set up one funnel to “sell” the membership to new prospects, and you can set up another funnel to help existing members remain members.
You can use manually built funnels for this if you already have a membership site operating, but by far, an integrated system is better. ClickFunnels has an integrated membership system making the whole process seamless.
Just know that a successful membership site is dependent on the quality and relevance of the content you provide.
5) Leverage Your Funnels By Having Others Promote Them
This is one of the best things you can do to explode your list and your business without having to do any additional sales or marketing.
Remember at the beginning of this list where I suggest using funnels to “crush it” with affiliate marketing? If you recall, affiliate marketing is when you promote someone else’s product for a commission.
In the same manner, you can have other people promote your products. Imagine having a sales force of a few hundred people, all working to sell your products for you. Now imagine that it does not cost you anything, not one dime, to hire this sales force. They do the marketing, they do all the work. You only pay them after they have made the sale, and you have made money.
The issue that comes up is setting up and managing the affiliate system. If your funnels are set up in ClickFunnels, your issue disappears. ClickFunnels has a fully integrated affiliate system available, complete with payment collection, automated tracking, and payments out to your affiliates. Your only work is to let people promoting your niche know that you have an affiliate program (and you can set up a funnel for that!). Then, you do nothing but collect your share of the money.
This one is a fully-integrated no-brainer for those of you who are ready to explode your online income with your own products.
6) Promote ClickFunnels as an affiliate
You are already familiar with affiliate marketing (if not only by reading this article), why not promote ClickFunnels as an affiliate?
I don’t think there is a company on the planet that knows more about effective funnels and landing pages that convert like crazy. There are two important factors to consider when choosing an affiliate product to promote…
- The first is to make sure you are promoting a high-quality product that truly will help your buyer solve a problem
- The second is to promote a product that has a landing page with high conversion
Conversion refers to the ratio of visitors that take action (join a list, make a purchase, etc.). This is important because if a page does not convert, then it is pointless, no matter how good the product is, because no one is buying it.
That’s the whole point of a funnel… to have an automated process that converts like nuts! No one does that better than ClickFunnels, making it very profitable to become a ClickFunnels affiliate.
In short, if you promote ClickFunnels as an affiliate, your customers will be very happy. And you’ll make a lot of money in the process.
You can become a ClickFunnels affiliate by clicking here (for free).
Becoming a ClickFunnels affiliate is completely free. And you know what else they provide? A hands-on intensive affiliate training bootcamp. It’s not for the faint of heart… it’s hard work, but when you make it through, you will have the best affiliate income training on the planet, which you can use to promote ClickFunnels AND any other affiliate product from any company. Oh, and the affiliate bootcamp is COMPLETELY FREE as well!
You can take the affiliate bootcamp for free right here.
(if you are serious about making money, you’d be nuts not to enroll in this free bootcamp right now. You will learn the right way and the best methods available today – even if you never want to promote ClickFunnels. And yes, I am in it too.)
7) Build Sales Funnels for Others
Once you understand how funnels can catapult your business, you’ll also realize how it can do the same for any business – online or off. If you are a user of ClickFunnels, you already know how easy it is to build effective funnels that convert like crazy.
So why not build sales funnels for other people and their businesses? I know this is not a passive method, but hey, you can make substantial income doing this. People are clueless about how easy it really is, and most never want to try.
Remember, you can get a ClickFunnels free trial so you can see how easy it really is (at no cost).
So many businesses need help. Online or off. Even the local pizza shop, restaurant, or bar can use your help reaching their customer base online and getting them into their store. Remember, a proven funnel works! You can charge a significant amount of money doing this. Why? Because there is a clear return on investment. You will be their hero.
Conclusion
Ok, let’s take this in for a landing! Are you ready to make money online? Consider funnels as a way to automate your sales process so you can focus on content. Funnels take the guesswork and uncertainty out of the sales process… and it’s automated!
A funnel is an automated sequence of events, executed via email in a specific order that is needed to warm up the customer and make a sale.
Funnels can make a huge difference to explode your online income. Take this fact from ClickFunnels: “For every $100 a normal website makes, a ClickFunnels sales funnel earns $640, giving business owners 540% more revenue, making them more competitive in the marketplace and more profitable.”
You can try ClickFunnels for 14 days for FREE here.
You can build funnels manually, but I don’t recommend it. You’d need to be an expert in the sales process, and then you’d also need to piece together your funnel, and design and create landing pages, and manage the whole process.
Here’s a recap of the 7 ways to make money with funnels…
- Use Funnels to Crush it with Affiliate Marketing
- Use Funnels to Sell an eCourse (or other digital product)
- Use Funnels to Launch a Blog or a New Business
- Use Funnels to Rock A Membership Site with Recurring Income
- Leverage Your Funnels By Having Others Promote Them
- Promote ClickFunnels as an affiliate (become an affiliate)
- Build Sales Funnels for Others
Resources
- Build funnels to explode your business with this ClickFunnels Free 14-Day Trial
- Make money as a ClickFunnels affiliate (it’s free)
- Enroll in the Affiliate Bootcamp (best on the planet, by the best in the business, and it’s FREE)
- If you want your own blog and you are really serious, take this start a blog course.
If you found this article helpful, may I ask if you can help out by sharing it? It would mean the world to me. Thank you.
If you have any questions for me, add a comment below and I will help you.
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[…] When it comes to the price, ClickFunnels is not the most affordable one, but even its cheapest plan does offer you to create a decent number of sales funnels, so you are getting a lot for what you’re paying for. If you opt to commit for an entire year, you get a significant discount. There is also the exclusive Two Comma Club plan, available only to those who make more than $1 million with their funnels. So that is something to think about if you ever wondered how much you could earn through funnels. […]