Funnel Friday Ep 01: The Free Challenge Funnel

If you’re looking for an efficient way to:

• Build an email list of potential client
• Create a valuable opt-in offer without having to spend weeks writing an ebook
• Capitalize on a current marketing trend that’s exploding on social media

Then creating a Free Challenge Funnel might be exactly what you should focus on. 

The Puzzle Pieces of a Free Challenge Funnel

Puzzle Piece 1: The Lead Generation Sign up Page

A free challenge funnel starts with an email opt-in.

Abby’s lead generation page has the following blocks:

Hero Block with Signup Form

The hero section is what people will see before scrolling.

Notice how this area is distraction free, no menu, no logo, no social share buttons… The only thing you see when arriving on this page is the lead generation form. There are only 2 choices. Sign up or close the page. Which is the essence of a good landing page.

Abby is doing a good job at keeping it simple and making it super clear that this is a 28-day challenge around movement and having the opt-in form front and center.

I would have liked to see a little bit more information about what you’d get when signing up because the value of the offer is not immediately visible (you have to scroll to the Benefits Block to understand everything you’ll get during the challenge).

Text Block with Social Proof

Here we can find the explanation about the challenge and see social proof of people who already benefited from Abby’s training programs.

It’s a great way to show off the value of the challenge. It demonstrates that other people enjoyed the challenge and used it to get the desired results. For anyone who's not familiar with Abby and her work, it alleviates the fear of this challenge being a waste of their time and inbox space.

Benefits Block Explaining the Challenge 

This is great, it explains in detail, what people will get when signing up. This is exactly what I would have liked to see above the fold.

Never assume people know or understand what they will be getting when signing up. Use a benefits section to make it crystal clear.

Testimonials Block

The more social proof you can provide, the better! Don’t forget that when you’re asking people to sign up, you’re also “selling” and the price your visitor has to pay is their email address (and the permission to show up in their inbox). That’s why, even on a lead generation landing page, testimonials can boost your conversions.

FAQ Block

Basic lead generation pages typically won’t need an FAQ section, but a challenge can raise a couple of questions. That’s why having an FAQ section on your Free Challenge lead generation landing page is smart.

Footer

Puzzle Piece 2: The Confirmation Page

Puzzle Piece 3: The Welcome Email and Email Follow-up

The whole Free Challenge idea is based on the premise of delivering information via email.

In your email marketing service, you’ll set up a welcome message (that will deliver the final puzzle piece, the starter pack PDF) and an email follow-up sequence.

Depending on your email marketing service, you can trigger this series of emails by adding a tag, adding people to a group, or to a specific list.

In the step-by-step video I’ll demonstrate how to set this up using a tag to start an automation in ActiveCampaign.

Puzzle Piece 4: The Starter Pack PDF (the Smart Part!)

This is the smartest part of how Abby sets up the “Made to Move”- challenge!

The moment someone signs up for the free challenge, they are sent a Starter Pack PDF that gives instructions about the challenge -- and how to prepare for the challenge -- but more importantly, it gives them the opportunity to buy her premium products.

How to Create a Free Challenge for Your Business?

I believe that with a bit of creativity, you can find a “challenge” for just about any industry and online business… The way to make sure this challenge is valuable for your business is by creating one of two types of challenges:

Type 1: The Bitesize Challenge to Sell the Full Offer

What’s one thing you can teach your audience that will show them you know what you’re talking about and will make them confident you can help them further?

This works perfectly for online course creators and coaches.

Imagine...

• You’re selling a copywriting course. You could create a 7-day Challenge to write better headlines.
• You’re selling a dog training course. You could create a 10-day Challenge to make dogs stop chewing shoes.
• You’re selling management coaching. You could create a 21-day Challenge to conduct better one-on-ones and motivate employees.

After the challenge, if you did a good job, your audience will be impressed with what they learned and will want to learn MORE (and buy your course or join your coaching program).

Type 2: The Product Ascension Challenge to Prep for the Full Offer

What’s something your audience needs to know BEFORE they can fully appreciate your offer?

This works perfect for service providers, course creators, software vendors and e-commerce.

Imagine:

• You’re selling a list building plugin. Before really seeing all the benefits of the plugin, the 7-day list building challenge will show advanced strategies that can easily be implemented with the tool.
• You’re selling an online business program and before someone would buy, they need to be clear on what business to build. You would thus create a free challenge to validate a business idea.
• You’re selling an ergonomic chair. You would create a free challenge on how to reduce back pain.

The goal here is to make your offer the logical next step in their buying process. 

What do you think?

Are you going to use the free challenge funnel in your online business?
Did you already use it? What were the results?

And also, what do you think about Funnel Friday? Is this helpful?

Let me know in the comments below!