SUMMARY

A seasoned online marketer since 1999 explains the "new way" to sell: shifting from ad-driven funnels to community-building and personalized pitches for easier, trust-based conversions.

STATEMENTS

• The traditional online sales method involves running ads to drive traffic to an opt-in page, capturing leads for a funnel leading to a sales page and eventual customer purchase.
• Adding follow-up emails to the funnel improves conversions, but it remains part of the "old way" that requires significant effort and often yields inconsistent results.
• Content marketing enhances the old funnel by building trust and accelerating leads to sales, yet it still faces challenges like low visibility and delayed engagement.
• A major problem with ads is spending money without immediate returns, which is psychologically draining and common for beginners.
• Content creation often fails due to lack of audience reach, leading to disheartening invisibility despite effort invested.
• Email marketing remains highly profitable with the best ROI, but low open rates necessitate sending large volumes of emails for minimal results.
• Sales pages frequently underperform due to doubting the offer's appeal, prompting constant revisions and a frustrating "cycle of death" of rebuilding funnels.
• The "perfect offer fallacy" misleads sellers into obsessing over one ideal product, ignoring that most buyers discover desires through options.
• Slow engagement in funnels cools buyer interest, as people see content on social media but delay checking emails, losing momentum.
• Rushing pitches assumes buyers know exactly what they want and trust the seller immediately, which rarely happens without prior exposure.
• The new approach emphasizes content to attract audiences, converting them into community members for faster, personalized value delivery.

IDEAS

• Traditional funnels create psychological stress by demanding upfront investment without quick wins, trapping sellers in a cycle of doubt and rework.
• Buyers often enter stores or online spaces without knowing their exact needs, only clarifying desires when presented with multiple tailored options.
• Social media consumption happens in fragmented bursts, making it unrealistic to expect immediate email checks or purchases from ad or content exposure.
• Building a community mimics a personalized social feed, fostering belonging and trust more effectively than isolated funnels.
• Asking prospects directly what they want via DMs unlocks diverse monetization paths, from custom services to affiliates, beyond a single product.
• Opt-in pages for communities succeed by focusing on free value rather than community hype, achieving high conversion rates like 27%.
• Human psychology craves group affiliation, so community interactions provide inherent value through peer connections, not just creator content.
• Affiliate trials offer zero-resistance sales, leveraging trust from community content to promote tools without creating original products.
• Speed in sales processes varies: too slow loses heat, too fast assumes undue trust, but community DMs balance immediacy with personalization.
• Micro-communities on platforms like Instagram are algorithm-driven feeds; owning one allows control over audience engagement and sales pitches.
• The "perfect process" over perfect offers prioritizes flexible pitching based on buyer input, reducing overwhelm and increasing close rates.
• Daily content offer posts in communities enable ongoing, low-effort sales without ads, turning passive members into active buyers.

INSIGHTS

• Obsessing over a single "perfect" offer limits sales potential, as buyers thrive on choice and discovery rather than pressure for one solution.
• Funnels erode buyer enthusiasm through delays in multi-platform engagement, highlighting the need for seamless, immediate community interactions.
• Trust builds faster in belonging-driven groups than solitary emails, transforming passive content consumers into loyal, responsive audiences.
• Personalization via direct inquiries reveals hidden buyer needs, enabling diverse revenue streams and avoiding the pitfalls of rigid product funnels.
• Email's high ROI persists, but volume fatigue underscores shifting to conversational DMs for efficient, high-conversion pitches.
• Community ownership creates a superior social media alternative, where controlled feeds amplify value delivery and monetization opportunities.

QUOTES

• "The old way still totally works by the way it's just harder and there's a lot of problems associated with it."
• "Most people don't know what the hell they want all right they just have no clue."
• "We're taking too long to engage with them even if you send the email immediately."
• "The perfect pitch is hey what do you what do you want and they say I want this some jeans and you're like oh metaphorically here they are."
• "It's literally like having your own version of social media except people like it more."

HABITS

• Create and post valuable content regularly on social media to attract and nurture potential community members without ad spend.
• Build and maintain an online community to foster ongoing interactions, providing peer value and enabling direct messaging for sales.
• Make daily "content offer posts" in the community, sharing insights then inviting DMs for personalized help to generate leads.
• Respond promptly to community comments or DMs by asking what prospects specifically need, tailoring offers accordingly.
• Promote affiliate products or trials through low-friction recommendations in DMs, focusing on tools that align with community interests.

FACTS

• Email marketing boasts the highest ROI among channels, according to annual HubSpot reports, outperforming all others in profitability.
• A community opt-in page can convert at 27% by emphasizing free value over membership pitches, even after adding optional qualifiers like phone numbers.
• Traditional funnels often result in ad spends of $100 yielding no immediate returns, a common early-stage experience for online sellers.
• Buyers typically require exposure to multiple options to identify desires, as seen in casual shopping scenarios like visiting The Gap.
• Platforms like School enable faster communication in communities, reducing engagement delays compared to email sequences.

REFERENCES

• Creators: The speaker's free online community for marketers, with an opt-in page converting at 27%.
• School: A community platform praised for seamless direct messaging and constant audience access.
• GoHighLevel: An automation tool the speaker affiliates, used for streamlining marketing processes.
• HubSpot: Source of annual email marketing ROI reports confirming its top profitability.
• Instagram, Facebook, YouTube: Social media platforms where content is consumed, contrasted with owned communities.
• Stripe, PayPal: Payment tools for quick, direct sales links via DMs.

HOW TO APPLY

• Produce targeted content on social media that addresses audience pain points, focusing on free value to build initial trust without ads.
• Direct traffic from content to a community opt-in page highlighting specific free resources, avoiding hype about the group itself to boost conversions.
• Once members join, post "content offer" updates sharing insights and inviting comments or DMs for personalized assistance on related needs.
• In DM conversations, inquire about the prospect's exact wants, then propose tailored solutions like services, courses, or affiliates based on their input.
• Close sales frictionlessly by sending direct payment links or trial access, following up within the community to maintain engagement and upsell opportunities.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Embrace community-driven personalization over rigid funnels to sell effortlessly by matching offers to buyer desires revealed through direct dialogue.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Shift ad budgets to free content creation that attracts ideal audiences, prioritizing trust-building over immediate leads.
• Launch a simple community using accessible platforms to convert opt-ins into engaged members who value peer interactions.
• Adopt flexible pitching by always asking "What do you want?" in DMs, unlocking multiple monetization paths beyond one product.
• Integrate affiliate promotions as low-effort entry points, recommending trials of tools that genuinely aid your community's focus.
• Avoid the perfect offer trap by testing diverse pitches, measuring success through quick wins rather than funnel metrics alone.

MEMO

In the evolving landscape of online commerce, a marketer with two decades of experience unveils a paradigm shift: ditching cumbersome ad funnels for vibrant communities that foster genuine connections and seamless sales. Since 1999, the speaker has navigated the digital marketplace's twists, witnessing how traditional strategies—ads luring leads to opt-ins, emails nudging toward sales pages—still function but breed frustration. "The game has changed," he declares, highlighting the psychological toll of sunk costs without returns and the disheartening silence of unseen content. Yet, email endures as the most profitable channel, per HubSpot's metrics, even if inboxes overflow with ignored pleas.

The pitfalls are stark: the "perfect offer fallacy," where creators agonize over one flawless product, ignores how shoppers wander stores like The Gap, desires crystallizing amid options. Rushing pitches assumes instant trust and clarity, while delays in email chains cool hot leads mid-scroll on Instagram. This "cycle of death" traps many in endless revisions, overwhelming daily routines. The antidote? A "perfect process" rooted in content that draws people into free communities, not isolated funnels. Here, value flows from shared insights and peer bonds, human wiring for belonging amplifying engagement.

Communities, exemplified by the speaker's Creators group of 8,700 members, convert opt-ins at 27% by spotlighting free goodies over membership perks. Inside, "content offer posts" blend education with invitations: share a marketing tip, then invite DMs for tailored help. Prospects reveal needs—perhaps an email campaign or ad setup—and sellers respond with bespoke pitches, from one-on-one calls to affiliate trials of tools like GoHighLevel. No more singular offers; instead, a multitude of ways to monetize expertise, closed via Stripe links in moments.

This approach mirrors social media's micro-universes but grants control: your feed, your rules, minus algorithms' whims. For novices daunted by creation, affiliates provide zero-resistance entry, promoting trials that align with community vibes. The speaker, advocating platforms like School for swift DMs, promises a three-step daily rhythm—content, community nurture, personalized outreach—that sidesteps ad spends and overwhelm, rhyming fun with profitability.

Ultimately, this new way liberates sellers from solitary struggles, turning online sales into collaborative triumphs. As communities swell daily from organic content, the message is clear: own your audience, listen intently, and pitch precisely. In a fragmented digital world, belonging breeds business, proving that the simplest path often yields the richest rewards.