What is clickfunnels anyway?
If you have been told you need to have a sales funnel for your online coaching or products, you have probably heard of Clickfunnels. Let’s break it down so you can understand the basics and if it makes sense for you to use the service.
What Is Clickfunnels? Do You Need To Use it?
Around 2004, I started getting interested in online marketing. There were a lot fewer courses that taught how to do online marketing back then. There were only a handful of big names, like Jeff Walker, Frank Kern, Rich Schefren, and Eben Pagan were some of the most well known people teaching hwo to make money online in those days.
As I was really fascinated by the topic, I was digging around who else I could learn online marketing from. One day I stumbled across a young kid from Idaho, who claimed to have made a bunch of money from selling information that taught people how to make a potato gun. Yes, it sounded that strange over a decade ago too.
His name was Russel Brunson and I would guess he was still in his early 20’s. Russel would go on to do various courses and became one of the better known names in teaching online marketing. But, what has really set him apart was when Brunson introduced a new online software service called Clickfunnels in 2014. At the time, no one could have ever guessed Clickfunnels would completely revolutionize how selling was done online. There were so many products being launched that claimed to be the next big thing. That was until the next launch from the same person (with the same promises). However, Clickfunnels has turned out to be different than all the rest.
Brunson was basically teaching how to use a sales funnel system to make money ‘funneling’ prospects until they bought one of your products. Everyone was fixated on getting the right landing page that would get prospects to give you an email so you could start to communicate with them about your other services and products.
Clickfunnels was a passion project for Russel Brunson and hos team to crank out more funnels to get more leads to his businesses. It turns out that the platform he created is now his biggest business. This landing page software got him featured in Forbes magazine in 2017.
The article, written just 3 years after Clickfunnels was launched, shows revenues going over $360 million. Not bad for a kid who was selling ebooks on how to shoot potatoes as far as possible!
What Does Clickfunnels Do For You?
Let’s do a quick Clickfunnels review. Clickfunnels lets a regular person look like a design pro. It has a drag and drop interface. Thus, it let’s people who used to pay to get sites designed, do it themselves. Removing the learning curve for design is the big selling point. There had been other alternatives like Leadpages, before Clickfunnels. However, Leadpages and Optimize Press, were focused on just doing a great looking landing page. Clickfunnels let you keep going past the landing page to develop a complete sales funnel.
After a person submits her email on your landing page, Clcikfunnels will automatically send that prospect to a page of your choice also built on its platform. It can be a just a plain thank you page, a video message from you describing more about yourself, or a new set of items to buy that keep the person engaged for as long as possible.
You can sell physical goods, coaching, or programs on the Clickfunnels system.
Why Not Just Use WordPress?
WordPress has become the first choice for web designers. It is easy to use and most templates and plugins are free or very low cost. I used the Optimizepress theme for years that worked with WordPress’ technology. It was pretty easy to use. However, when I tried Clickfunnels I knew I had to make the change for any of my own sales funnels.
The ability to see in real time how your pages look is not just effective, it is fun.
You can put on moving background images, swap out headlines, increase graphics, and so much more on Clickfunnels. It is like an adult’s version of Minecraft. Whne using WordPress, you had to constantly save your work, go preview the pages, and then come back to make changes. It was long and hard work if you were doing anything more than one or two page sites. Clickfunnels starts with a landing page, but you can do upsells, downsells, send automated texts, and put people on your email system with ease.
Is it Worth It For Just One Landing Page?
If you are doing one landing page, you are probably going to eventually do more. You want to split test to see which landing page gets you the most leads and or sales. Clickfunnels does have a 14-day free trial, but it is hard to let go once you have live pages that are getting you leads. There is a basic subscription for $97/month and one with more funnels and options at $197/month. Neither are big investments, but if you are not sure if you need the power of Clickfunnels, should you go with cheaper alternatives?
I would actually tell you no, you should go ahead and go with Clickfunnels. If you are interested enough to researching and reading this article and others, it shows me you have more than a casual interest in marketing online. Clickfunnels will save you so much time that it is worth the money.
I Am Just Starting Our Online Is Clickfunnels Too Much?
If you just are doing a blog with a capture form for more information, you can stick with free programs. If you have any dreams of expanding and growing your business, get on Clickfunnels as soon as you can.
Can I Do A Business Without A Sales Funnel?
If that is a question you are asking, then it may not be right for you. You can grow an audience without a sales funnel. You can also build your following on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. There are sponsors who may pay you to promote their products to your audiences if you get large enough. The idea of a sales funnel of your own, is to make money as fast as possible. Because you have a way to capture contact information you do not have to rely on Facebook showing your new offers for you. You can send out an email to your own page. Even if you post an update on Facebook, very few will get notified that you have posted. Facebook makes us pay money to let our followers know about our sales. That is why I recommend only using social media to drive people to your own landing pages. It could be with Clickfunnels or another page, but you will want to have your own source. A source that cannot be taken away from you so easily.
Clickfunnels Features Pros:
Easy to use
Built in templates
Mobile friendly
Make money as an affiliate
Works with most existing mail services (Mail Chimp, Aweber, Active Contact, Get Response, more)
Great technical support
Active Facebook group
Updated frequently
Clickfunnels Cons:
More expensive than others (Clickfunnels vs Leadpages)
Limited funnels at $97 (must pay more to unlock)
Hard to move away from if you start with their system
Conclusion
If you know you need a lead page and sales funnel, Clickfunnels was made to make those easy. You will not go wrong at least trying the 14 day free trial. Bloggers and social media stars do not need to get something that is designed for more direct sales to consumers. WordPress or something like Wix will do all you need in those cases. If you want to see what people are doing with Clickfunnels type a search for ‘Clickfunnels Examples’. You will be able to see what real people are doing daily with the software. In the end you will have to make the decision on where you want your business to be. I vote for bigger and better. That is why I endorse Clickfunnels to my friends and family.
Did this help you? If so, I would greatly appreciate if you commented below and shared on Facebook.
Sterling Sherrell’s Copywriting Blog
Email me: sterlingvmc@gmail.com
“Your sales copy should not try to impress people with your skills, instead it should impress on them that you understand their needs.”
If you are interested in hiring me to write your next winning sales funnel copy, see my 70% off special for first time clients here.
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