Introduction To The Symbiotic Ascension System (Part 3.2): The 3-Step Fastrack TOFU List Building Process

Part 3 has been split over two pages, this is page 2, page 1 is here: Introduction To The Symbiotic Ascension System (Part 3.1): Overview

The 3-Step Fastrack TOFU List Building Process

To build the top of your SAS funnel (TOFU) - the list-building bit - with least bottlenecks and delay, the most productive workflow sequence is...

Step 1. Create Your Lead Magnet

Step 2. Build Your Squeeze Page

Step 3. Set Up Your Welcome Email

So, in the core product repurposing section I prompted you to think about your products and offers as strategic pins - of increasing size - on a customer ascension journey map. I also emphasised that although this might result in a slower route to a sale, it can also be a more reliable route. The more strategic thinking allowing you to present the right product or offer, to the right potential customer or subscriber, in the right place, at the right time. Which in turn means a journey with less bounces and more conversions along the way.

As luck would have it, the first pin on the customer journey map is also the first content piece in your process journey (the workflow bit).

So first things first, we begin with...

Step 1. Create Your Lead Magnet

This is your introductory process-orientated action guide or checklist. Designed both for quick consumption and to engage your prospect in a process that can move them at least one step closer to an outcome they seek. From your side of things, boiled down, it’s simply a vehicle to help introduce yourself in a helpful and value-add way (in exchange for their email).

By way of example, it just so happens - hint, hint - I have a lead magnet that goes by the name of...

3 Steps To A Killer Lead Magnet (Action Guide & Checklist)

A quick, simple process that can help...

• Identify your audience’s ‘before and after’ stages of awareness, to help facilitate the journey from A to B.
• Identify and match your target audience’s problems with potential solutions, quick wins or tangible outcomes you could provide.
• Ensure your lead magnet is connected to your core product to enable a more
  strategic first step on the path to a sale.

If you want an effective lead magnet from the get go, it’s worth putting some time into making the right selection and the action guide and checklist  above will help you do that. But remember, if you can repurpose elements of your core product into a lead magnet, then you can also create a highly strategic, natural first step on the ascension journey as well. Repurposing also means you get to demonstrate how you think, work and approach things, while providing a taste of how the experience of engaging with, and consuming a product of yours might be.

One more fastrack hack?

While using the Core Product Repurpose Model along with the Lead Magnet Action Guide offers the most bang for your buck, in terms of efficacy and efficiency, if you don’t have a core product or existing content to repurpose, creating an effective and strategic lead magnet from scratch will of course take a little extra time. But if you’re really keen to get your list building funnel up and running with least possible delay, then as long as you have the ‘what’ of your lead magnet; the premise, contents and title clarified, this is enough to place the first pin on your customer ascension journey map, while you get your lead magnet knocked into shape in the meantime.

Why your magnet matters...

Creating any old lead magnet to collect any old email isn’t rocket science. Wave your magic wand at a blog post to create a PDF and abracadabra: instant – lame old – vanilla magnet!

Exciting right? Quite.

The truth is, if you want to build a quality over quantity mailing list then any old magnet won’t help you do that. What will help you do that is the kind of magnet that’s not just throwing the dice, in the hope of attracting lots of random – potentially reluctant – subscribers, but one that attracts more specific subscribers. Subscribers that are actively  seeking a solution. A solution, that luck would have it, looks a lot like something you can provide.

Because, it’s nice when you both swipe right, right?

Right.

So, to land yourself the right kind of leads; leads that will last, you need to focus on the right kind of magnet. The right kind of magnet is one put together with careful thought and foresight to provide the kind of actionable, process-orientated value that can be put to use again and again. And the right kind of magnet is a magnet that’s valued by your leads, making them much more likely to take the next step forward with you.

And so...

“If you’re gonna do it... do it right, right?”

3 Steps To A Killer Lead Magnet can help ensure your lead magnet offers a solid taste of the value you can provide, while opening the door to more opens, engagement and potential sales down the line.

Click Here To Download Your Free Lead Magnet Action Guide & Checklist Now

Step 2. Build your squeeze page

Your squeeze page - aka opt-in page, lead generation page, call it what you will - has one job: persuade your hard fought for - or bought for - visitors that your offer, your lead magnet, is worth giving up their email address for. So, if you’re building an email list it would seem like a pretty important part of the process then.

And yet...

Squeeze pages rarely get the love they deserve.

But why is that?

Is it because with a few quick lines of copy and a ready made template they’re perceived as easy to do and so low value?

Could be.

Just because something is short in nature, doesn’t mean it has to be short in stature (and I should know)

A 12% conversion rate is pretty good for lead generation landing pages. And by "pretty good," we mean you'll be better than about 90% of your competitors. - Unbounce.

A 12% conversion rate may be better than ‘average’ but it’s still far from a stellar result. And it’s still a long way from what it needs to be, if you’re pumping resources into traffic acquisition at least.

Let’s say you were to pay £1 for every ad-click for example. For every 100 visitors, 88 of them would count for crap and you’d be paying £100 for the remaining 12. So you need to make £100 in sales just to break even.

With an optimistic open rate of 50%, you have 6 chances of making a sale. With a realistic conversion rate of 10%, you’d be doing well if you made just one break-even sale.

Bottom-line being, unless you have a very high end premium product, it won’t add up and you’ll be doomed to fail.

So, while it may be easy enough to create a functional squeeze page that does ‘a’ job, getting it to the point where it’s delivering enough conversions to justify the cost of your traffic is not so easy to do. Bottomline, if you want above average results, a below average squeeze page just won’t do.

Unless, of course - your traffic is warmed up first

Sending only warm traffic to your squeeze page is actually the one thing that could exponentially boost your conversion rate. That’s where the awareness content in the SAS comes in. It’s job being part introductory, part warm up and then to direct those warmed up visitors to your squeeze page, the job of which is to get them over the line and subscribe.

That’s the most effective way to do it. However, even if you take the 1-2-3 fastrack list building funnel route (without the warm up content) there’s still - you’ll be pleased to hear - some scope for above average results.

And that’s because...

Symbiotic marketing is efficient marketing

Logically, if you send generic cold traffic to your squeeze page, the result is likely to be an above average bounce rate and a below average conversion rate. So of course, you need more volume, which involves more cost per subscriber (time and/or money) and every extra penny or minute you put in moves your break even point further away.

So next best thing to warmed-up traffic, is best-fit cold traffic. And best-fit cold traffic comprises a majority of people, looking for a solution your lead magnet can provide, with the knock on effect of more conversions for less cost over time.

Two simple ways you can have more control over the quality of your cold traffic are...

1. Very specific targeting of your ideal audience/customer’s demographics and interests (hello Facebook ads).

2. Very specific targeting of search terms related to what your landing page can actually deliver (hello Google ads).

It’s the ’very specific bit’ that’s the important bit. The bit that will determine your conversion rate, your cost-per-conversion and just how engaged your new subscribers are likely to be. But, even with very specific targeting, you can spend more than you need to, and have a higher cost-per-conversion rate if - you settle for a lazy landing page.

So, you might want to consider...

An ‘above average’ squeeze page that does some warming up instead

Remember an average squeeze page is likely to lead to average (or below-average) results. But above average results requires above average effort up front. That’s the above average effort it takes to purposefully craft copy that clearly communicates a progression in circumstance for your target audience by focussing on benefits and outcomes first.

The good news bit?

You can, create an effective squeeze page - even with limited resources - as long as...

1. You take some time to understand your target audience.

2. You take some time to understand some core conversion optimisation principles.

And what can help you do that is if...

1. You have a blueprint that enables you to structure your page and what it says, in the best possible way (with the aid of conversion optimisation best practices).

2. You have a process to help you efficiently create copy that can quickly connect and clearly communicate (in a way your target audience might actually care about).

So, let me help you with that...

First Steps To A Squeeze Page That Converts includes an introduction to effective squeeze page creation, a conversion optimised blueprint to follow, and 5 (yes 5!) best practice checklists (one for each core section of the page) to help keep you on track.

Click here to see what a squeeze page designed to warm up a cold audience actually looks like.

Click Here To Download Your Free Squeeze Page Action Guide Checklists & get the next set of Symbiotic Ascension System action guides delivered to your in box too.

See what I did there?

Or of course, read on, as we put the final piece of the list building funnel puzzle into place...

Step 3. Set Up Your Welcome Email Sequence

Once you have a lead magnet that can deliver an outcome your target audiences  desires and a squeeze page that quickly and clearly communicates the value that lead magnet - and/or your mailing list - can provide, step 3 is to set up an automated welcome email sequence.

In keeping with our symbiotic marketing philosophy, the first few emails - 1 to 3 typically - are strictly not for selling, but relationship building; expectation setting; a little admin and ideally nudging towards some additional value along the way.

There are three approaches you can take, trade off being time, effort and technical stuff each takes to create, against their effectiveness in term of opens, engagement and deliverability. That said, it can also be approached in a way that means a rapid minimal implementation can gradually be expanded upon for maximal efficacy at a later date.

Which is nice.

Option 1: A minimalist approach...

A minimum viable welcome is not actually a sequence, but a single email that says “welcome, thanks” etc - it’s only job is to acknowledge the list subscription. Pretty much just an autoresponder really. And as it can be knocked up in minutes it’s the easiest way to get your list-building basics up and running without any delay. 

Not that important then really?

If you don’t set up a subscription acknowledgment as a minimum, then your new subscriber’s may struggle to remember who you are next time you email them. Meaning: less opens, more spam reports and unsubscribes.

However, leaving it at that single minimum welcome is not only an opportunity loss in terms of utilising your email content for productive purposes (your more likely to get an open, when you’re still front of mind). It’s also likely to cause a tangible cost in terms of opens, engagement and ultimately of course - sales as well.

Option 2: Taking it up a notch...

You can take a step up from the minimal option simply by adding some additional content via an expanded welcome email. As you’re using the same single email delivery container - there’s no extra technical tinkering required.

Delivery containers?

It’s just a way of differentiating between an email as a delivery mechanism and it’s words/content. A container, is the document; the email, prior to the addition of any words or content.

So, you can set up ‘containers’ (blank emails basically) in an automation and test delivery etc in advance of creating or finalising their content. A sequence therefore requires a separate container for each email in an automated sequence.

The objective of an expanded version is to tick off as many of the aforementioned boxes (expectations, admin, nudging etc) as is practical - without boring the pants off everyone (i.e. you can make it longer but not too long).

Reasons being...

Immediately setting expectations means you can create some anticipation and give your new subscriber a reason to actually open your future emails - “here’s what you can look forward to” sort of thing.

The admin stuff may be a bore, but it helps deliverability - whitelisting etc, keeps your emails out of spam folders. Which in turn means more opens etc - you get the picture.

Nudging towards an action helps increase initial engagement, which in turn helps memory connection, relationship building plus, yes all that deliverability and spam folder stuff. It can be utilised in the form of an additional offer of value: “click here for this thing you may also be also interested in” sort of thing.

Option 3: Taking it to the max...

A maximum welcome sequence is a series of emails automatically sent at regular intervals (typically every 1 or 2 days). Its objectives and content can be similar to the expanded single email, but it can also help avoid the pitfall of trying to cram too much into one email. Additionally, more importantly, it’s an opportunity for relationship strengthening as you begin delivering some of that value you promised.

It’s also a fact that, while a welcome email is more likely to be opened than most, there’ll always be a high proportion of new subscribers who ignore it, miss it, or do open, but don’t click any links in it. But a maximum welcome sequence provides a second (or third) chance for opens, engagement and action (deliverability, memorability etc). And such a sequence can be set up in a way that means the next email is only sent if the last one wasn’t opened or engaged with.

It’s like this...

New subscribers who open my welcome email but don’t click on anything get sent the next one. If they don’t engage with that one, they’re sent a 3rd and final one. No opens? Same thing. But as soon as a click happens then the sequence ends. Meaning, you’re not overly bugging someone and can move them straight to the next sequence without further delay.

Click here to sign up for my mailing list and see. 😉

So, those are your standard welcome email sequence options. However, in the context of our 3-step fastrack list building funnel, then - because it can be adapted into a sequence at a later date - a single welcome email (minimal or expanded) will help avoid content bottlenecks and infrastructure delay.

Want further clarity on exactly what to include in your welcome email?

Click here to download your free welcome email checklist now

Similarly, once all 3 parts of your list building funnel are connected and integrated: squeeze page leading to lead magnet; lead magnet leading to welcome email, you have a basic, but functional list building funnel ready to be expand upon. 

But that also means, choices about...

The technical bits...

To set up an automated welcome sequence, you will need an email automation provider. That said, a further advantage of the single email choice is there is a simple way to get round it (at least to begin with).

Key to this, is that your landing page builder of choice also has a contact form and autoresponder feature (or if you’re on WordPress, you could use a plug-in). This provides the option of setting up a contact form and then sending the contents of your welcome email via an autoresponder. Eh voila, on form submission your welcome email is immediately delivered to your subscribers inbox.

This is how that works using my landing page builder of choice Thrive Architect.

Job done or only just begun?

Which and why?

There’s no getting away from it, email is the fuel that drives the engine of the Symbiotic Ascension System. So if your subscribers ascension, the customer journey and your sales are to progress - choosing which email automation platform to go with can’t be put off for long

Making a email automation choice doesn’t have to be complicated - in theory. Mailchimp - for example - is free and so can give you a quick start without additional expense to contend with, but...Enter your text here...

The decision can become a little harder, once you realise a couple of important things...

1. Prices are always tied to either the number of subscribers you have or emails you send (or a combination of both). So the cheapest choice in the beginning may not be the best choice in the long run. And just because it’s free now, doesn’t mean it always will be. In fact if you’re serious about growing your list and getting cracking with your marketing - it definitely won’t be.

2. The more campaigns and automations you have set up, the more reason you’ll have to stay put. It can be just too painful and time consuming to move. So you need to be comfortable with the features you get for the price, your experience using the platform and with the customer support (which you will need, believe me).

So looking before leaping is the order of the day.

My experience for what it’s worth...

Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to offer you the benefit of a wide range of experience on lots of different platforms - just the one I settled into early on. I did try mail chimp as means to a quick start initially, but once I got serious and began to research other options Active Campaign is where I ended up.

So where were we?

Ah yes, your 3 options are...

1. A single minimum viable welcome email

No more than a sentence or two required - to acknowledge a subscription to your list - means it’s the quickest, simplest, most obvious first-step option. And for bonus points combining an autoresponder with your opt-in form means no additional technical shenanigans required.

2. A single expanded welcome email

Basically option 1 with a significant expansion of content to help set expectations, improve deliverability and opens and nudge your new subscribers towards some initial engagement. With no additional tech stuff required, it’s a logical upgrade with an ROI that makes the extra effor worthwhile.

3. A maximum automated sequence of welcome emails

Option 2 can be spread out and expanded upon by sending a series of up to 3 emails over a few days. More time and space means you can deliver more value from day one while giving yourself a second or third chance to get a welcome email opened and read while you’re still front of mind.Enter your text here...

So whether your initial priority is just getting a basic list building funnel up and running; you’re happy to take little more time to make it more effective early on; or you want to get get up for optimal results from day one, the nature of the incremental expansion possibilities means - no need to get stuck or be held back on your list building quest.

Which is nice.

And whichever route you choose the free welcome email checklist can help ensure your
first email interactions with your new subscribers are properly primed for more opens,
engagement and optimal deliverability down the line.

Click Here To Get The Welcome Email Checklist Now

When You Boil It Down (In Summary)...

The objective of the Symbiotic Ascension System is to connect a logical series of content into a progressive journey that has the power to benefit prospects, by providing value in the form of information and guidance. And the objective of that, is to naturally foster a state of mind, where they’re more inclined to pay you, because they trust you can help them make progress towards an outcome they seek.

Utilising a simple 3 level product ascension model makes the journey easier to plan and visualise with clear objectives to focus on at each level...

Level 1 is planned around your free product (lead magnet) and the main objective is to deliver subscribers and kick-start your email list.

Level 2 is planned around your transformer product and the main objective is to transform your new subscribers into first-time customers with the aid of a high value, low cost sale.

Level 3 is planned around your core product and the main objective is to direct your first time customers and remaining subscribers towards a higher value sale.

And of course, if you already have a core product, then utilising the CPR Model, means you don’t necessarily have to create each of the above from scratch. It can, in fact, be more strategic, effective and productive to re-purpose suitable elements from your core product instead.

Then breaking the levels down further gives us...

Level 1: Top Of Funnel (TOFU)

Quite naturally beginning with level 1 means you can begin building your list with just 3 assets in place, and to avoid bottlenecks, the optimal creation workflow sequence is recommended to be...

1. Create your lead magnet: a free introductory action guide or checklist that delivers a tangible outcome, an insight to your thinking, and more awareness of how you can help your future customers get closer to where they want to be.

Click Here To Get Your Free Lead Magnet Checklist Now

2. Build your squeeze page: the first contact with your prospective subscribers, where the imperative is a quick connection and clear communication of the value your list nd/or your lead magnet can provide - so you can begin securing those all-important good-fit subscribers for your mailing list.

Click Here To Get Your Free Squeeze Page Checklists Now

3. Write your welcome email: the first all-important communication with your new subscribers - while you’re still front of mind - is an opportunity to set expectations and create anticipation, while also contributing to improved deliverability, opens and engagement along the way.

Click Here To Get Your Free Welcome Email Checklist Now

Optionally, followed (or preceded) by...

Awareness Content as a warm up to your squeeze page for a higher conversion rate and more engagement with your first emails.

Too much too soon? Then, there’s a fix for that too, if you...

Click Here To Join The SAS Mailing List

We can send each of the free checklists above one-by-one over the next few days or so instead.

As with all SAS processes, level 1 is designed to strike a balance between efficiency and efficacy, but here the efficiency factor takes priority, enabling you to get your list building up and running in the quickest possible way, allowing you to then quickly turn your attention to...

Level 2: Middle Of Funnel (MOFU)

Here, where the focus is on leading subscribers towards a transformer product, you can build on the foundations of your Level 1 TOFU assets by creating, building and connecting your...

1. Action Guide Sequence

2. Transformer Sequence

3. Transformer Sales Page

Thus, delivering content pieces designed to move your subscribers awareness and understanding forward in a logical and rewarding way.

Smoothing the path towards...

Level 3: Bottom Of Funnel (BOFU)

Where the focus is on designing content that can propel the upward trajectory, while also naturally nudging your new customers towards the main event. And we do this, with the aid of your..

1. Consumption Sequence

2. Core Product Sequence

3. Core Product Sales Page

Although the infrastructure here is ‘more of the same’, the content and copy it contains does require a ‘levelling up, requisite with higher priced sales. This then, is where the SAS range of processes, tools, templates and services very handily come into play, to ensure you don’t get stuck or tripped up at the last few hurdles.

Sounds easy right?

Intentions, Visions & The Glittering Prize

Well, no, not quite.

Appealing as the idea might be, the intention is not to persuade you this ia all easy-peasy to complete. There are, after all - as you can now plainly see - many pieces to create and fit together. And if the system is to be effective - in its goal of building mutually beneficial relationships where everyone gets what they need - ‘average’ content or products won’t cut it either. And so the tough love piece is that: it does take time, commitment and resources to deliver.

Having said that, although building this kind of system may not be the easiest task in the world, it doesn’t have to be a complete slog either - not when you have a clear process to follow, and not when your mind is focussed on the prize...

An automated system that can consistently convert best-fit visitors into warm subscribers, then transform those subscribers into the kind of red hot loyal customers, who can keep your business healthy and strong for years to come.

And so, the actual intention of this guide is simply to...

Help you envision your own ascension funnel, in terms of the key strategic products you might use to map out your own customer journey.

Show you how the complete process can be broken down into smaller achievable chunks with clear deliverable outcomes.

Demonstrate how tangible results can be delivered, allowing you to move forward, without the need for your entire funnel to be up and running first.

More Bad News?

Only a little bit...

In an ideal world, being your own boss would mean the flexibility to work the hours that suit you and the financial security to say “no thank you”. But if your living derives from teaching, consulting or freelancing let’s say, then that living is limited to how many hours you can work each day. And the logical solution, leveraging your knowledge and experience into a model that can scale, is all very well except, urgh: marketing and sales.

And even if intellectually you accept that marketing is a non-negotiable part of the game, if your heart isn’t in it, you’re more likely to be distracted by “magic panaceas” that offer quick hacks and shortcuts. But, of course, these only delay the realisation, that the only way to get yourself a “systemised sales generation machine” is to methodically put the work in each day.

Bottomline, if you’re not feeling the marketing methodology you’re engaged in day-to-day, you’ll struggle to make progress and ultimately, unfortunately, probably fail.

But, there’s still plenty to be positive about...

The Good News Bits

A resistance to spending your time “selling” doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as showing, helping and guiding is congruent with your values and ideals and is something you’re happy to engage with

All it takes is a subtle switch in thinking, a switch to a symbiotic mindset that can empower you to...

• Utilise your experience and expertise to offer help, insight and guidance to naturally build authority and trust over time.
• Systemise the natural ascension of visitors, to subscribers, to repeat customers - instead of having to pressure, push or cajole your way to sales.
• Build win/win relationships that lead to more loyalty and repeat custom over time.

And then of course, this time next year...

We’ll all be a millionaires.

Quite.

Marketing is the way we communicate how our ideas translate to value for people in a marketplace. So, rather than think of marketing as a necessary evil, what if we adopted a different view of it? What if marketing was less about promotion or coercion and more about reaching out to people and helping them to solve problems?

Bernadette Jiwa - Marketing: A Love Story

Truth is, if a symbiotic approach doesn’t sit naturally with you, then I’m wasting my time - and yours - trying to persuade you otherwise. So the switch in mindset, should be the easy bit, because the switch is not about changing your fundamental ideals, values and beliefs. The switch is just about changing the way you think about the marketing piece. And that shouldn’t be that hard to do - as long as your methodology and your values align.

So, if you...

Naturally gravitate towards symbiotic win-win relationships anyway. Have a marketing methodology that drives the content and products you create into more helpful, educational territory.

Have the processes to build a delivery mechanism which aligns the ascension of your audience’s understanding with outcomes your products can provide

And, you want to get your email list started with minimal headaches and delay...

What’s not to like?

Next step...

Click Here To Get The Free Symbiotic Ascension System Blueprint

A more detailed overview of exactly what’s required to get your funnel up and running in PDF format, followed by 3 free foundational action guides designed to help you get started, take action and build momentum towards your own SAS one day at a time.

One Last Thing For Your Consideration...

If you’ve made it through all three of these SAS introductory guides - well done you. That’s not meant to be patronising, but a recognition that there’s been a lot to take in. So thanks for sticking with it. Your time and attention - no doubt in short supply - is appreciated. I hope it was worth the effort and has been worthwhile.

If I had to choose just one thing for you to go away and consider though, it would be this...

If the kind of marketing you’re currently doing or considering feels a bit wrong, that doesn’t necessarily mean the whole idea of marketing is wrong, but your approach to it could be. Not wrong in terms of what may, or may not work and deliver results, but wrong for you, in terms of whether what you spend your time doing fits with your world view.

But if that the case, remember, it can be fixed...

Firstly, if you accept it’s not logical to expect to get yourself many (if any) high-ticket sales on your first contact with a potential customer, then a conventional ascension funnel with the purpose of gradually increasing price-points of products presented should make sense.

And the starting place for that, is to create a basic customer journey map based on those products. But the map is not the territory. The territory is the transitional content of your emails, blog posts, videos and landing pages etc. So, while a product ascension map is a good place to begin, the art is in making the ascension of your products from A to B to C as natural as can be.

Which is where a more symbiotic approach comes in. 

An effective symbiotic approach, requires an understanding of what those travellers most want and need. This then gives you strategic insight into what should go where, when and why. Which, you can then use to plot a route that delivers information and guidance in the most natural and logical way. The objective of which, is to foster more trust and confidence, that in the end, you, your products or your services can actually deliver what they need.

And if you do deliver, then you do get to be perceived as more trustworthy, credible and reliable over time. Which in turn, can mean more sales down the line. And the more sales-per-customer you can achieve, the less time and money you’ll need to feed the marketing machine, and so the healthier your bottom-line can be. Which in turn, means more flexibility and opportunity, for you to choose what you spend your time on and when.

If that resonates and makes sense, then it’s safe to say we’re on the same page. In which case, I for one, would be delighted if you decide to turn the page with me, so we can start the next chapter and working symbiotically towards a win-win.

Speaking of which...

If you’re ready to get started on your journey in earnest, a click on the link below will fastrack you to the next natural part of the process - a series of action guides designed  with much more of the ‘how-to actually get your level 1 up and running’ firmly in mind.

Ready to begin?

Click Here To Get The Free SAS Foundational Action Guide Series Delivered By Email

Click Here To Go Straight To The Free SAS Foundational Action Guide Series Now

No email or credit card required. 🙂