If you work in marketing you are likely to have heard of Russell Brunson and his Clickfunnels business.
Clickfunnels is a SaaS company estimated to be worth $360 Million.
And the best part, it was entirely bootstrapped, meaning they didn't take on any investment to fuel growth.
So, I thought it makes sense to take a look at their landing page and see just what copywriting and conversion mechanics they are using.
And in this post, I will break down the headlines formulas they have used over the years.
And all the copywriting mechanisms of their current landing page.
Ready.
Let's dive in.
The First Headline They used
To get these headlines, I used The Way Back Machine, and I am sure there might even be more versions of this site recorded there, but I think this dip sample is going to be enough to learn from.
This first headline was used/ captured on Nov 11th 2014
I have pulled the headline off the page so you can read it more easily.
"Easily Create Sales Funnels That Convert...
Meet ClickFunnels: It's the only website builder that doesn't just build pages, but actually builds entire sales funnels!"
This headline calls out to the pain point for most funnel builders at the time.
The words 'easily create funnels' would have certainly appealed to people back in 2014 where funnel creation required a lot of skill, coding knowledge and complicated software.
They also use the introductory phrase 'MEET' which is a great term to use when bringing a new product to the market.
Fear Factor Headline
On Aug 17, 2017, this web capture showed a very different approach to the headline previously used.
"Abandon Your Website Now For
Your Business To Survive!
YES, KISS YOUR WEBSITE, SHOPPING CART AND AUTORESPONDER GOODBYE!"
This headline uses a 'fear factor' approach and introduces the worst fear of the visitor, the failure of their business.
But much more than that, the headline uses curiosity combined with fear to force the reader to descend and read the rest of the page.
'Abandon your website':
This sentence makes the reader ask themselves 'why they would do that?' What would cause them to abandon their website?
'For your business to survive':
And this line raises the alert levels of the reader and makes them more open to reading the information on the page. It creates a curiosity loop than they need to close.
Remember the purpose of the headline is not only to encourage them to read on but also to pre-frame them into being more receptive for the rest of the sales letter.
The Utility Headline
Moving on to Sep 1 2018, the team at Clickfunnels used a great utility-based headline.
"ClickFunnels Gives You EVERYTHING You Need To Market, Sell, and Deliver Your Products and Services Online!"
(Without Having To Hire or Rely On A Tech Team!)
In this headline, the emphasis is on what you get. 'Everything you need to deliver your services online'.
But they also add a pain point for business owners. The use and reliance of tech teams.
If you are a business owner, you know just how painful a tech team can be to deal with and how much they cost.
So this headline screams at the business owner who is spending a fortune already.
This headline tactic also forces a comparison element into the reader's mind.
So, from the headline down, the reader is already comparing everything on offer with the alternative.
Which is to spend money on a tech team.
In behavioural economics, this is referred to as creating an anchor. And is a cool mechanism to use in all copy.
The Final Clickfunnels Sales Page Broken Down
So, here we are on the final landing page they use, or at least the current one at the time of writing.
What is on display here has come about through millions of dollars in ad spend and split tests, so it is worth studying to see what is going on.
The Speed, Desire And Anchor Headline Formula
Straight out of the box, we see a new element to the headline while also retaining a previous part.
"Quickly Create Beautiful
Sales Funnels
That Convert Your Visitors Into Leads And Then Customers..."
(Without Having To Hire or Rely On A Tech Team!)
This headline focuses on speed of use with the promise that you can create not only any funnel but a beautiful one and do that quickly.
As someone who has built out funnels, I can tell you that most page builders are slow to set up and create ugly funnels, and I am sure Russell Brunson's team knows this.
So, by promising speed and beauty, you are already appealing to the pain points of people who have used their competition.
"Convert Your Visitors Into Leads And Then Customers":
This next element of the headline lays out not only what Clickfunnels does, but it delivers on what a business owner wants from their website.
That is, traffic to be converted into customers.
And of course, by using the tech team line again, they have added that same anchor.
So, what else is going on?
Social Proof
Even in the above the fold element, Clickfunnels are telling you that what they say is true.
Something which most websites tend to keep lower down on their page.
This small social proof box is an excellent element to add to a website because it not only tells the visitor in seconds that a lot of people use the software.
It also spells this out with data, from the number of users to the number of funnels and also the transactions processed in monetary terms.
This is important for making people feel safe and that they are joining a mainstream software.
The Education Section That Answers The Biggest Objection Early
Dropping down, the page introduces an education section so that people can quickly self educate as to what the difference is between a website and a sales funnel.
This is key because it answers the most significant objection that a person might have, that they already have a website.
By getting this objection out of the way, it leads perfectly onto the next section of their site.
"So, What Does This Actually Do For Me?"
Clickfunnels potential for customers is almost every business with a website, so it makes sense that they cut to the chase quickly and shout out the benefits and practical uses for the product.
And they do this in the benefits section of their site by telling you that the software gives you all the tools you need in one place, a way to generate leads, sell your products and also create follow up funnels.
These are all things that are bound to interest and appeal to people who use a flat website.
The 'Not Sure' Objection And How To Overcome It
By now, the reader has scanned or read the page and is probably impressed.
But they still don't know or aren't' clear how they personally would use a funnel.
Well, that's OK because they have you covered.
To do that they use a 'self-identifying' short quiz.
Once filled in, they then send you to a super creative opt-in page where they will send you a case study.
This is a slick way to grab someone's email address and to follow up.
Always Show, Don't Just Tell
I love product demonstrations, and here Clickfunnels does something incredible, they put in a video that has the founder Russell Brunson teaching you all about the software.
But the genius part is this subheader:
"In Less Than 10 Minutes, You Can Create What Would Have Taken Your Tech Team Weeks To Do".
The page uses that anchor of the tech team yet again, but also adds a specific time frame now.
In 10 minutes, you can create something that would have cost a fortune to build by experienced web designers and coders.
Depth Links To Learn More
It doesn't matter how good your writers are; at some point, a reader will still want to know more.
And this is where depth links come in.
Depth links (a term I use ) is what I call small buttons and links that allow a reader to gain more knowledge and so, take up less space on your landing page.
They are a great way to stop the reader having to scroll back up the page to find your navigation bar.
Social Proof That Creates A Movement You Want To Be A Part Of
This next section is all about social proof, but it calls out the reader with this headline.
"Can You See Why So Many People Just Like You Are
Moving Their Companies
Into ClickFunnels?"
This headline is all about what Clickfunnels wants you to do, to move your website over to them. So they say 'people just like you' and frame this within a question.
Questions activate the brain of the reader and as such are excellent mechanisms to use in sales pages.
The FAQ's
Not many businesses will put an FAQ section directly on their website. But I always wonder why.
After all, the FAQ section answers the objections or concerns of a visitor, and so, pre frames them before they go forward.
FAQ's are a great way to increase conversions.
The Mechanisms Used By ClickFunnels To Increase Conversion
The Clickfunnels home page uses 8 primary mechanisms to sell.
They are.
I am sure you will agree, the sales page which you can find by clicking here is both easy to read and clear.
Too often as copywriters we try to be overly clever and even witty. But in reality, this can often leave the reader unsure of what your product does.
The Clickfunnels landing page leaves you in no doubt as to what their software will do for you and why you need it.
In addition it does this in an easy to read format.
Conclusion
So, there you have it.
The landing page breakdown of a company worth over $360 million.
Does your website have all of the 8 mechanisms used by Clickfunnels?
If not, perhaps you could add one of the elements above to increase conversions.
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Thanks
Andrew Holland