The critical post-launch step most Black Friday launchers miss!
If you’ve been following along with our Magical Black Friday Funnels series and writing your copy as you’ve gone through each post, congratulations – you’re done with the hard part, with several weeks left to plug that copy into your design and tech (and test, test, test!).
Imagine how you’ll feel going into November with your Black Friday/Cyber Monday funnel set up and ready to go in time for you to actually enjoy Thanksgiving with your family!
(Instead of waving hello over your laptop to family members you haven’t seen in 18 months, hitting refresh and begging strangers on the internet for CSS workarounds because your funnel builder’s customer service team has the holiday off? I see you #BlackFridayPTSD)
But before you pull the turkey out of the freezer and break out Grandma’s famous recipe for pumpkin pie, there’s one last step you should take to ensure your Black Friday funnel is profitable.
Compared with writing all that sales copy you just finished, it’s a really simple step… but one that so many Black Friday launchers skip – and they end up leaving a TON of money on the table during what is supposed to be THE most profitable weekend of the year!
So let me ask you a question:
How are you planning to follow up with people AFTER Black Friday weekend?
A. Retargeting ads
B. Email follow-up sequences
C. A mix of A and B
If you said A, you’ll likely spend a lot of extra dough on ad campaigns that aren’t performing like they used to (especially with the new iOS updates) as you expand your campaigns to colder traffic.
If you said either B or C, you’re already a step ahead of most Black Friday launchers!!
I see entrepreneurs skipping this step way too often – missing out on all those dream clients who desperately needed what they had to offer, but dropped out of their funnel, never to be contacted again.
How sad is that?? Not only are they not able to serve those dream clients who could have been a perfect fit for their course or coaching program, they’re also missing out on thousands of dollars in unrealized revenue… not to mention future revenue they could have earned over time in customer lifetime value!
But we’re not doing that this year, right?
THIS is the year we’re doing Black Friday the RIGHT way – with all the pieces in place and with the high-vibe-low-stress energy that attracts our dream clients and makes our offer a no-brainer!
And that means leveraging the power of a robust email follow-up system that keeps you top of mind and connected.
Your Email Follow-Up Funnel
To simplify this process, we’re going to think about email follow-up funnels in terms of two audiences:
- NEW dream clients who purchased one or more things in your Black Friday funnel
- POTENTIAL dream clients who visited your funnel but didn’t purchase anything
NEW Dream Clients
Why include your buyers on this list? These are your hot leads. Someone who has purchased from you already is much more likely to buy from you again – as long as you treat them right.
That means…
…onboarding them properly to make sure they can access the offer they just purchased, and
…making sure that if they passed on the order bump or the upsell (and may be regretting that decision), they get a second chance to purchase.*
* Be careful here! If you used “this offer is only available right here and right now; after you leave this page you’ll never see this offer again” in your funnel copy… don’t offer it to them as a second-chance upsell! You’ll burn your trust bridges with them, which defeats the whole purpose of this exercise. If you used “you’ll never see this again at this price”, you have a little more flexibility – offer it at a slightly higher price, so you’re keeping the faith with the people who believed you the first time. (This is one of the reasons you should not give in to the urge to use false scarcity in your funnel copy!)
Your NEW dream clients need the following emails:
- Purchase confirmation email – this is usually generated automatically by your funnel software and/or payment processor.
- Delivery email – where you deliver their login details and tell them how excited you are to have them in your program.
- Onboarding sequence – a series of emails where you give your new clients value that helps them get a quick win from the offer they just purchased.
- Upsell emails – this is where you give them a chance to purchase the order bump and/or upsell they missed the first time around.
- Introduction sequence – a series of emails where you introduce yourself, help them get to know you, and invite them to have a conversation so you can get to know them, too.
- Nurture sequences – ongoing emails that keep them connected, warmed up, and ready for the next step in their customer journey with you!
Notice where the upsell emails are placed in this list. You want to give your buyers the thing they purchased, give them value (to increase the trust factor) and then give them the opportunity to buy the upsell they’re now regretting having passed over. It’s far enough removed from their purchase that they’ve seen you deliver and show up to serve, but not so far removed that the shine is off the upsells.
POTENTIAL Dream Clients
An odd quirk of Black Friday sales is that they happen right at the end of the month – and if your dream client is collecting a paycheck from a traditional job (especially in the New Pandemic Economy), they may have to make some tough choices come Black Friday about where to spend what’s left at the end of the month.
I know, I know… we all want to be everyone’s top choice on Black Friday. That’s one of the reasons we worked so hard a few weeks ago to make your offer irresistible and make sure your language matches what’s going on in your dream clients’ heads… and when all those stars align, it’s a magical match made in heaven!
But sometimes it’s not exactly the right time for someone… or they’re a low quick-start who needs extra time to weigh the pros and cons… or their dog hopped up on the counter and got into the turkey carcass and now they’re sitting at the emergency vet clinic on Black Friday watching their hard-earned cash go down the doggie toilet.
Think about it.
If I’m the dog mom in that scenario, an email from you on December 2nd giving me another chance to grab that offer I’d been eyeing but missed out on during your launch window…
(Because you knew it was the thing that would solve my big struggle and you didn’t want me to miss out on a year of growth and progress in my life or business)…
Would create the kind of bond that makes me your customer for life!
Your POTENTIAL dream clients need the following emails:
- Introduction sequence – a series of emails where you introduce yourself, help them get to know you, and invite them to have a conversation so you can get to know them, too.
- Upsell emails – this is where you give them a chance to purchase the order bump and/or upsell they missed the first time around.
- Downsell emails – if it’s still not the right time for them to buy, that doesn’t mean you should let them drop out of sight, out of mind! A series of value-laden emails (tips, encouragement, your lead magnet, even your tripwire or SLO – something that gives them a quick win at a lower price point) will help you build a trust relationship that keeps them connected so they’re ready to buy from you the next time you launch.
- Nurture sequences – ongoing emails that keep them connected, warmed up, and ready for the next step in their customer journey with you!
Why Follow-Up Is So Critical
We’ve all heard the old marketing maxim: “The fortune is in the follow-up.” Yes, maybe it’s only one potential dream client. Yes, maybe it’s only one sale… TODAY.
But you and I, we’re in this for the long game – and we know the lifetime value of a customer (and the goodwill that comes from that customer’s testimonials and referrals) far exceeds the effort it takes to follow up and get that one sale.
Recommended Resources
While I’ve included some launch email templates inside The Owlery (available as an add-on to Sales Copy Magic), when it comes to email sequences outside of a launch, I turn to the pros. Here are a few of my favorite marketers who have fantastic templates and/or training for email sequences and nurturing your list:
Brittany Bayley’s Swipes That Sell & Text With Success
Brittany Long’s Welcome and Wow & Hidden Loot
Monica Snyder’s Relationship & Revenue
Yara Golden’s Subscriber Reviver Challenge
These are NOT affiliate links – I recommend these programs because I use and trust them.
Let’s Recap…
Over the past several weeks in this Magical Black Friday Funnels blog series, we’ve worked through your entire funnel copy plan, from lead funnel to post-launch follow-up – with (at the time of this writing) seven whole weeks left before Black Friday! Plenty of time for design, tech hookups, and testing, without overwhelm, burnout, or the stress of a hustle-filled launch.
I’d love to know… what surprised you about writing funnel copy for a Black Friday launch? What new thing did you learn that you’re implementing this year? Drop a comment below – your feedback helps me plan the kind of content you need most!
Still Need Help?
Still stuck… and wishing you had a spell that could conjure magical sales copy for you? What if you didn’t have to slog through the whole process the Muggle way? What if you had a little help from a Copy Wizard to give your launch copy the spellbinding touches that will help you magically attract your dream clients?
With services ranging from DIY templates… to done-with-you strategy sessions and copy coaching… to full-service done-for-you launch copy… you’re sure to find the magic sales copy potion that’s the perfect fit for your launch and lifestyle! Book a free consult call and let’s chat about your launch copy goals.
(This is Part 5 in the Magical Black Friday Funnels series. Missed Parts 1-4? You’ll find them here: Magical Black Friday Funnels.)
