How to Create a Tripwire Funnel in WordPress (Step-by-Step)

Want to learn about tripwire funnels and how they can help you land more sales?

I’ll do you one better.

This tutorial will tell you what a tripwire funnel is, how it can help grow your business, and how to build one all by yourself.

The idea is simple: offer something small and inexpensive to turn visitors into customers.

Why does this work? Because the first sale is the hardest. Once someone buys from you, even if it's just a small purchase, they're more likely to buy again.

The goal is to kickstart the conversion process – and this guide will show you how.

Ready to get started? Let’s dive in.

What is a Tripwire Funnel and How Can it Help You Land More Sales?

Here’s a scenario:

Sarah, a small business owner, signs up for your email list. She's interested in what you offer but not quite ready to commit to your main product. Months go by, and despite receiving your emails, Sarah remains just a subscriber. She thinks, "Maybe someday I'll buy, but not right now." Sound familiar?

This scenario plays out countless times in businesses all over the world. You're attracting sign-ups, your email list is growing, but actual sales? They're not keeping pace.

This is where a tripwire funnel comes in. It's a marketing strategy designed to bridge the gap between interest and purchase, turning subscribers like Sarah into buyers more quickly and easily.

But here's why it's so effective: once someone buys from you and gets to experience your product, they’re inclined to buy again.

And in this guide, we'll show you exactly how to set up a tripwire funnel that works.

Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Tripwire Funnel

This tutorial shows you how to build a simple tripwire funnel in WordPress to boost sales. Follow this guide one step after the other.

Step 1: Download and Install Thrive Architect

When it comes to building high-converting tripwire funnels, there are a few key pieces you need to get right. 

First, your landing page needs to catch the eye and clearly show why your offer is valuable. Next, you need a smooth sign-up process that doesn't scare people away. Lastly, your tripwire product page must be persuasive enough to turn those sign-ups into buyers. Sounds like a lot to handle, doesn't it?

This is where Thrive Architect comes in handy.

Easy Building

This tool makes the whole process much easier. With Thrive Architect, you can build professional-looking pages by simply dragging and dropping elements where you want them. 

Tailored Landing Page Templates for Quick Creating

Starting from scratch can be intimidating. That's why Thrive Architect offers a variety of templates designed to make your life much easier. Whether you're creating a landing page for a digital product, physical product, service, or even a membership site, you'll find templates that fit your needs.

There are templates for every part of your tripwire funnel - landing pages, thank you pages, and sales pages.

Using these templates can save you a ton of time. Instead of starting from scratch, you can pick a template that's close to what you want and then tweak it to fit your needs. 

Built to Help You Sell

Thrive Architect is  full of features to help your funnel work better. Want to grab your visitors' attention and keep them reading? Thrive Architect lets you add eye-catching buttons and colorful content boxes that stand out.

Need to create a sense of urgency? You can add countdown timers with just a few clicks. And since so many people use phones to browse these days, you'll be glad to know that Thrive Architect makes sure your funnel looks great and works well on all devices.

In short, Thrive Architect takes the headache out of building a high-converting tripwire funnel. It lets you focus on what really matters - creating an offer your audience can't resist.

Step 2: Set Up Your Lead Generation Page

In the WordPress dashboard, click “Add New” and select “Page”.

Name your page and click the green “Launch Thrive Architect” button.

Thrive Architect will provide you with four options:

1. Normal Page

2. Blank Page with Header and Footer

3. Completely Blank Page

4. Pre-built Landing Pages

We recommend choosing the "Pre-built Landing Page" option.

In the Landing Page Library, browse through our template sets and select the one you like most.

Each set comes with page templates that serve specific purposes. In the left sidebar, click “Lead Generation” and load the template.

You’ll see that our lead generation landing page has everything you need to effectively promote your lead magnet:

An attention-grabbing headline and space to add supporting, persuasive copy.

A social proof section to add testimonials from people who love your core products.

A well-crafted “Benefits” section to give your audience an idea of what to expect from your lead magnet.

An eye-catching opt-in form for your site visitors to submit their contact information.

Every template comes with helper text, to show you where to add copy and the message it should convey.

So, go through your template and replace the placeholder text and images with your own content.

Don’t forget to save your landing page design.

Step 3: Create Your Thank You Page with Tripwire Product Page

You’ve got your subscribers. Now it’s time to turn them into customers – and your thank you page is where this happens.

By this point, their interest is high and they’re keen to view the deliverable they opted in for. This is the perfect time to present a low-cost product that has a lot of value.

Here’s what you should include on your page:

A genuine welcome message and quick lead magnet delivery

Your Tripwire Offer

And conversion-focused elements to encourage the sale. A few good ones to add are:

A countdown timer to drive quick action

Testimonials to strengthen your credibility.

And a final CTA section to seal the deal.

Step 4: Set Up Your Checkout Process

You’ll need a checkout page since a payment needs to be processed.

If you’re using WooCommerce to sell your products, you can use Thrive Theme Builder and Thrive Architect to customize the default WooCommerce checkout page and connect it to your email marketing service, too.

But other third-party tools like ThriveCart, WP Simple Pay, and others may require you to design a checkout page from within the app.

Once you’ve created your checkout page, add the link to the call to action buttons on your thank you page.

Step 5: Create an Upsell (Order Bump) or Downsell Offer (Optional)

Want to squeeze a bit more value out of each sale? That's where upsells, cross-sells, and downsells come in. These extras can bump up your average order value and give your customers more options to choose from.

Let's break it down. Upsells are like the "deluxe version" of what your customer's already buying. Say your tripwire is an ebook – your upsell could be the audiobook plus some extra goodies. Cross-sells, on the other hand, are more like "fries with that burger". If you're selling a social media guide, why not suggest a pack of ready-to-use social media templates to go with it?

Now, downsells are your plan B. If a customer says "no thanks" to your fancier offer, you can step in with a cheaper alternative that still packs a punch. Maybe they're not ready for your full course, but a focused mini-course might be right up their alley.

Step 6: Connect Your Funnel to Your Email Marketing Service

You'll need to configure your email provider so that a confirmation email lets them know their signup was successful.

In the Thrive Architect editor, while working on your opt-in page, click your form and take a look at the left sidebar:

Click the “Add Connection” button and look for the “Go to API Dashboard” option.

Here, you can connect your email marketing service to your form, so your subscribers are sent to the right place.

To learn how to connect a specific email marketing service to the Thrive API, check out this hub of tutorials.

Step 7: Optimize Your Funnel with Thrive Optimize

Guesswork won't cut it for a high-converting tripwire funnel. You might think you know what your audience wants, but without testing, you're essentially flying blind. A/B testing is your secret weapon here. By creating two versions of a page and seeing which one performs better, you can make data-driven decisions that boost your conversions.

Here's some good news: when you get Thrive Architect, you also get Thrive Optimize right away. It's like getting a powerful sidekick for your funnel-building superhero. Thrive Optimize lets you easily set up and run these A/B tests on your tripwire pages.

Here's how it works: you create two slightly different versions of a page - maybe one has a red button and the other has a green one. Thrive Optimize will show each version to different visitors and keep track of which one gets more people to click or buy. After a while, you'll have solid data on which page design is the winner.

Thrive Tip: Ready to set up your first A/B test? Use this step-by-step guide to get started.

But don't stop there! Keep testing different elements of your pages. Try different headlines, images, or even the layout of your content. Each test gives you insights into what your audience likes best. The more you test and refine, the better your funnel will perform.

Next Steps: Launch and Monitor Your Tripwire Funnel

Now that you've built your tripwire funnel, it's time to launch. Start driving traffic through various channels such as social media posts, email marketing, paid ads, or guest blogging. The goal is to get your target audience to see your promo and enter your funnel.

Once your funnel is live, closely monitor its performance. Track sign-ups, purchases, and where people might be dropping off. We recommend using MonsterInsights for this. 

It integrates with Google Analytics and displays important data right in your WordPress dashboard. You can quickly check visitor numbers, traffic sources, and conversion rates. Use this data to make informed decisions about adjusting your funnel, whether it's tweaking your headline, adjusting your offer, or trying different traffic sources.

Consistent monitoring and optimization based on real data will help you improve your conversions over time.

Ready to Build Your Tripwire Funnel?

You've got all the pieces of the puzzle now. A tripwire funnel can be a key strategy for your business to gain more customers.

Don't let this opportunity slip by. The sooner you start, the sooner you could see more sales. The goal is to implement rapidly and test until you find the right design for your page.

Ready to take the leap? Thrive Architect makes building your tripwire funnel a breeze. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, pre-designed templates, and powerful optimization tools, you'll have your funnel up and running in no time.

Don't wait. Start building your high-converting tripwire funnel today. Get Thrive Architect now and watch your business thrive!

Get Thrive Architect Now