• By michelle
• In Case Studies, Copywriting
• Posted Dec 17, 2015

[Case Study] Automated Marketing Funnel Increased E-Commerce Sales by 50%

Image credit: hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age/sb1#

When it comes to creating successful sales funnels, there are several variables to consider.

From writing video sales letter scripts to crafting educational email nurture sequences, our professional copywriting team discovered one fact…

To create robust marketing funnels that drive fence-sitters to the conversion point, you have to start with a comprehensive blueprint.

While outlining our sales funnel blueprint that we created for our client Dr. Ruth Roberts, we will also highlight the marketing results.

“Dr. Ruth” (that’s what we call her) she is an integrative veterinarian who uses a specially developed diet to treat and prevent diseases common in dogs and cats.

As animal lovers, pet owners, and suckers for all things cute and furry, we are proud to have designed and deployed a high-converting sales funnel for Dr. Ruth.

If you’re thinking of creating a sales funnel that makes money while you sleep, this information is specifically for you.

[Side note: As you read through this case study on how to create a successful sales funnel, you’ll also receive access to the video that launched this campaign. Be sure to check that out! ]

Determine the solution.

The central nervous system of your marketing funnel hinges on the solution you offer. Yes, if you’ve read our articles before, you’ve discovered strategies to find your target audience and create relevant, client-centric content.

However, in crafting profitable sales funnels that maximize profits, finding the perfect solution for a specific audience is crucial.

We recommend starting with the solution in mind, building a multi-faceted marketing campaign that speaks to the pain and frustration, and then offering relevant/educational information that combats particular problems.

For Dr. Ruth’s marketing funnel, our team had a brilliant solution that provided a springboard for our work.

The sales funnel we built had to help the customer avatar take better care of his or her animals—despite any health setbacks.

Find the centerpiece(s) of your sales funnel.

Think of your marketing funnel as a cell (the science kind, not the prison kind).

You need a centerpiece that serves as the nucleus for your campaign. All the moving parts—the marketing emails, social media shout-outs, and freebie content—revolve around the one centerpiece of your campaign.

In other words, it’s important for you to have one spot toward which you drive traffic, much as the nucleus in a cell functions.

In Dr. Ruth’s case, we wrote and provided direction for a live-action video sales letter. This provided the centerpiece to which we continued to drive traffic.

The story-driven, fact-based, compassionate video sales letter created stellar results.

Watch this video to find out how a successful marketing funnel works!

Create a lead capture campaign.

Lead capture is a process of discovery. To cultivate a relationship with the audience, our team hit two angles.

We designed campaigns for pet owners with older or sick dogs and cats, as well as a marketing sequence to help people prevent diseases.

(Keep reading to discover how split-testing unmasked the most frequent purchasers.)

To capture these leads, our team wrote blogs that offer helpful advice for pet care.

In addition, we drove traffic through Facebook ads. All of our lead capture efforts led prospects to a video opt-in.

Below is an example of one lead capture strategy that attracted prospects into the marketing funnel.

Engineer a sales email series.

Once you attract ideal leads and offer them value in exchange for their email, successful marketing funnels continue to deliver education and relevant material.

In other words, successful sales emails don’t sell anything at all.

Instead, craft a series of emails that…

• Highlight facts.

• Offer advice.

• Tell stories.

• Give away no-strings-attached gifts.

Dr. Ruth’s marketing funnel performed these tasks and produced tremendous ROI. Below is an example of a sales email that puts an emphasis on value, not asking for a credit card.

Write a post-purchase marketing campaign.

User experience, not upselling, is the crux of post-purchase emails that reside within sales funnels.

After prospects become customers, it’s important to enhance the user experience.

For this marketing funnel, our post-purchase sequence streamlined username and password storage, content access, bonus deliveries, renewal reminders, and more.

The bottom line: when a customer uses and enjoys the product, their friends and family will also become buyers.

Discover “the ideal carrot” via split-testing.

We don’t often coin marketing terminology on Copy Doodle, but right now, there is a can’t-be-missed opportunity.

To rev up the success of your marketing funnel, you need to find your “ideal carrot.”

Since you’re in the split-testing phase at this point, one thing to factor in is the pitch—a.k.a. the carrot that gets prospects to enter the sales funnel.

For Dr. Ruth, we took two angles.

One version of the funnel catered to preventing sickness in pets while the other was geared toward alleviating pain in already ill animals.

In running traffic and testing user behavior, we found the treatment angle won over the prevention-centric marketing.

To capitalize on this new development, we wrote additional sequences for an audience who cared for older dogs and cats or had pets that suffered from illness.

As it turns out, our ideal carrot was to offer assistance for pet parents with sick animals, and less so for owners with healthy dogs and cats.

In writing email sequences centered on education, we increased conversions.

This short sample below highlights one of the aforementioned emails—wherein, our copywriters used storytelling to convey information on cancer-fighting pet foods.

The final snapshot

Now that we’ve laid out the blueprint for writing a successful marketing funnel, it’s important to keep one thing in mind…

There are MANY facets of profitable sales funnels. To sum up our work succinctly, our professional copywriting and funnel team…

• Devised a comprehensive marketing strategy that turns cold leads into returning buyers.

• Composed compelling sales page copy that reveals how to avoid illnesses common in dogs and cats.

• Wrote several email sequences that nurture, offer free content, sell the program, and enhance the user experience.

• Created a story-driven video sales letter that captivates and educates.

• Implemented all pieces into ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft.

• Set pricing for community membership and supplement bundle auto-shipments.

• Initiated social media marketing campaigns.

• Drove traffic to sales page and video content.

• Increased conversions with split-testing.

The results

In the first month and half, the sales funnel created substantial results from a small email list of only 2,700 subscribers. The data below proves you don’t have to have a huge company or email list to produce great results.

The early data reports…

• 541 new email list subscribers from $950 in ad spend.

• 23 active subscriptions, which generate consistent cash flow month after month.

• Recurring monthly revenue in the amount of $730. Note that this money flows in from existing customers, so there is no chasing leads.

• Initial sales of $3,568.

• A 27% conversion rate for the first split test, which focused on illness prevention.

• $15,000 in total online revenue last month, as the store got a boost from the additional promotional and funnel efforts (as opposed to a previous monthly high of $10,000.) That’s an increase of 50%.

If you want these results from a sales funnel that nurtures prospects and generates profits for the long-term…

Click here to team up with professional sales funnel copywriters.

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