One of the big selling points of the Sales Funnel Platforms is all the extra tools they include. They promise to significantly increase your conversions and profits, and hte implication isthat you can only get them here…
To be honest, some of them are kind of cool and pretty powerful…
But that shouldn’t make you think they are at all unique or only available on this platform.
In fact, when you start to dig around, you’ll find many of the best marketing tools anywhere, began as free WordPress plugins. This is especially the case with PLR WordPress plugins…
Some hands-on marketer somewhere saw a need and developed a plugin to do a job… and added it to the free WordPress archive.
And someone else saw the potential, grabbed the open-source code and reworked it slightly.
Then they just packaged it up put a price tag on it… hey presto, their own product!
In the case of these Software As A Service (SAAS) platforms, you’ll often find much of their functionality also began as WordPress Plugins…
So it can be pretty easy to find a free version of it, once you know to look for it!
Here’s a quick look at a few of the most popular features on some of the main platforms…
Countdown Timers:
There’s no question, these work. They work on free opt-ins and they work on paid offers. They are particulerly effective when promoting events.
The timer creates a sense of urgency that most people will respond to, whether they realise it or now. Fortunately there are many ways to implement this, including free WordPress Plugins and free websites that will create and host your timers for you.
A/B Split Testing:
Again this is vital, but it’s certainly not restricted to the SAAS services. When we get to the DIY section we’ll share our preferred split testing options for whole funnels, individual pages and even specific elements.
Landing Page Builders:
The SAAS sites all act like they invented the Drag & Drop Page Builder, but this has been a WordPress staple for years now.
There’s a heap of good ones that are 100% free and will do all we need to do, but even if you decide you want the pro features, that will be a one-time payment for a lifetime upgrade… you definitely shouldn’t be paying by the month for something like this!
Template Library:
Some of the SAAS template libraries used to be quite impressive… but realistically they don’t get updated too often and most people do end up using the same templates… so many of the pages created look the same.
With our recommended Page Builder, you can easily clone any of your existing pages with a couple of clicks, so creating your own unique templates is a breeze. We’ll even give you an import file wit ha basic template for each of the pages you need, to get you started.
Shopping Carts & Payment Options:
Yep, you guessed it… all covered with a simple single plugin… that was around long before the SAAS sites tried to claim it as their own. If you’ve got lots to sell you can use a shopping cart, or else a simple checkout plugin will let you connect to multiple payment providers, quickly and easily.
Built-In Autoreponders:
Changing from one autoresponder to another is one of the biggest jobs, and most people will avoid it for as long as possible. So you want to think long and hard before you set up on any paid service that includes an autoresponder.
Because once you do, you’re stuck there paying month after month for a very long time…
Because it’s such a mammoth task to move.
So if you haven’t looked over out List Marketing training, you should at least check out the info on Mautic… Your own professional, full featured autoresponder, no cost, no recurring charges. Set it up on your own website and never pay for this again!
Built-in Affiliate Programs
This one is a bit of a tease, in that it gets people excited, but never delivers.
The vast majority of affiliates just want to promote big launches, so if you do get any affiliates, it will be a small number of people who see your offer as a good long-term fit for their audience.
So it could worth considering… if you have your own products and you have a funnel in place that generates good sales. Just be realistic, you aren’t likely to attract a big number of affiliates unless you have an amazing product that people are getting excited about.
And you can easily manage that kind of program, in-house, with a free WordPress plugin. Or else you can list it in one of the main affiliate marketplaces… Clickbank, JVZoo, Warrior+ etc.
If you’re tempted to opt for the ease of say ClickFunnels’ Backpack Affiliate platform, just remember that the only people know about Backpack are people trying to sell their own stuff on ClickFunnels.
You never see it promoted anywhere else…
So you might want to try a free platform first, before you lock yourself in for $100 a month!
Social Sharing, Social Gates.
Again these are very effective, but both options are easily done with WordPress. There’s hundreds of social media tools available so you can design your own funnels exactly how you want them. Again, we’ll look at these in a little more detail in the next module.
So I hope that gives you a few ideas on how you can power up your funnels, and also reassures you that you don’t need to spend a fortune to access these kinds of features.
If nothing else, keep all this in mind any time someone tries to sell you their amazing new plugin…
Work out exactly what it’s supposed to do and go search the WordPress archive, and you’ll be blown away by just how often there’s a free version that does the exact same thing, that was there long before this marketer had their ‘break-through’.
OK, that concludes the theory section of this training… time now to start building yourself some funnels!
