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A mini case study.
As a Twitter thread.
For course creators & consultants.6% conversion rate on a paid course from organic search engine visitors >> to a blog post >> to a free email sequence (hosted on @ConvertKit) and private audio feed (hosted with @helloaudiofm).
Our free sample (a.k.a. lead magnet) is a case study and masterclass on launching an eBook to a small audience.
We created it as a 4-part video series, a 5-part audio course, and an 8-part email sequence.
No matter what format
people want or need, they can access it.
We created it as a 4-part video series, a 5-part audio course, and an 8-part email sequence.
No matter what format
people want or need, they can access it.
In this #TwitterThreadCaseStudy, I'm going to focus on the email course that we send to people after they sign up, so you can pull ideas for the types of emails you may want to put into an evergreen sales sequence.
As stated, our email course has 8 emails in total right now.
As stated, our email course has 8 emails in total right now.
One more thing to note before we begin:
It's about conversion rates.
Is 6% a good conversion rate?
It depends on your industry and how you're attracting people.
The contacts we have coming into our email course don't cost us any money to reach. They come from search engines
.
It's about conversion rates.
Is 6% a good conversion rate?
It depends on your industry and how you're attracting people.
The contacts we have coming into our email course don't cost us any money to reach. They come from search engines
.
Generally, I see "people" quote that you should expect a 1 to 2% conversion rate.
There are a lot of problems with this statement:
Rates vary dramatically based on whether you are pitching people from your site, or an email course, or webinar, or sales call, etc.
There are a lot of problems with this statement:
Rates vary dramatically based on whether you are pitching people from your site, or an email course, or webinar, or sales call, etc.
Conversion rates in your business also vary based on whether you're pitching a "cold" audience (who doesn't know you) via ads/SEO, "warm" people who follow you on social or email, or a "hot" audience who buys everything you make.
It also varies based on the price of your items.
It also varies based on the price of your items.
When you're creating business strategies based on conversion rates, try to look for averages in your industry if you don't have your own historical data to look at.
For example, I know we've converted at 15% via email before, and at < 1%.
For example, I know we've converted at 15% via email before, and at < 1%.
A last note on conversion rates. In my own business, this is what has been most common:
Email
: 1 - 3%
Webinars: 8 - 15%
Intimate Group Classes
: ~30%
1-on-1 Calls
: 80%+
Also note—sometimes I make a "Buy now" link available, other times people must apply to join.
: 1 - 3%Webinars
: 8 - 15%Intimate Group Classes
: ~30%1-on-1 Calls
: 80%+Also note—sometimes I make a "Buy now" link available, other times people must apply to join.
Now for the mini case study on the sequence of emails we're using to convert brand new people (from organic web searches) to customers of a paid, evergreen 
course.
Where = the course is always available & is pre-recorded—ready to go for the customer as soon as they buy.
course.Where
= the course is always available & is pre-recorded—ready to go for the customer as soon as they buy.
Email #1 in our sales sequence delivers the case study to subscribers as a 4-part video series or 5-part audio course. They can get into it immediately.
BUT.
The email also includes our 8 most compelling reasons to publish an eBook. And it links to the paid product.
BUT.
The email also includes our 8 most compelling reasons to publish an eBook. And it links to the paid
product.
Email #2 in our sales sequence relinks to the audio/video version of the lead magnet & gets into 8 real-life examples of people who've published eBooks in various niches and price points.
Note: we use examples of our customers and of non-customers. And we link to the product.
Note: we use examples of our customers and of non-customers. And we link to the
product.
Email #3 in our sales sequence is an in-depth lesson in the form of a case study. It tells the story of publishing an eBook online, to a small audience, and making about $1,000 per month from the book.
Hint: The email also links to the paid product.
Hint: The email also links to the paid
product.
Email #4 in our sales sequence gets into the specifics of the paid product.
We highlight one main "feature-presented-as-a-benefit" as well as recap other great things about the product that people might recognize if they've clicked on the product's sales page by now.
We highlight one main "feature-presented-as-a-benefit" as well as recap other great things about the product that people might recognize if they've clicked on the product's sales page by now.
Email #5 in our sales sequence is another in-depth lesson. We go through half the steps of publishing an eBook from scratch (the topic of our lead magnet) and link to a PDF version of the content.
And, surprise, surprise: we also link to the paid product.
And, surprise, surprise: we also link to the paid
product.
Email #6 in our sales sequence is a cool bonus lesson on how to grow an audience for your eBook from scratch.
Whether or not people buy our paid product, they can learn some amazing stuff from our free sample email course.
Whether or not people buy our paid product, they can learn some amazing stuff from our free sample email course.
Email #7 goes in depth again, giving people the remaining half of the steps to launch an eBook from scratch.
Here's a screenshot
we take early on in the data gathering process (when sample size is still low) to get an idea of how emails are performing.
Here's a screenshot
we take early on in the data gathering process (when sample size is still low) to get an idea of how emails are performing.
Email #8 is the last email in our sequence (for now) and it goes into 4 reasons you might want to buy our product instead of YouTubing and Googling everything.
Right now, between these 8 emails, about 6% of the people who sign up for our free sequence buy our course.
Right now, between these 8 emails, about 6% of the people who sign up for our free sequence buy our course.
We've used evergreen email sequences to sell courses that are < $200 (like the one in this case study) all the way up to ones that are ~$600 (which actually had a higher conversion rate).
Note: here's our post on 8 types of sales emails with examples >> https://publishyourthing.com/sales-emails-for-courses/
Note: here's our post on 8 types of sales emails with examples >> https://publishyourthing.com/sales-emails-for-courses/
Where do we go from here to improve our results with our sales email sequence?
#1: Well, first off, we're happy with our conversion rates on organic search engine visitors. Almost 40% of people sign up to the free email course from our landing page, then 6% of those people buy.
#1: Well, first off, we're happy with our conversion rates on organic search engine visitors. Almost 40% of people sign up to the free email course from our landing page, then 6% of those people buy.
How to improve conversion rates on an email course:
#2: Open rates for each email in the course go from 81.8% at the very beginning of the course to 56.8% on the last email of the course. Whereas these are good open rates, we can improve them.
#2: Open rates for each email in the course go from 81.8% at the very beginning of the course to 56.8% on the last email of the course. Whereas these are good open rates, we can improve them.
How to improve conversion rates:
#3: We will work on getting less drop-off in open rates between each email.
We do this by adding a compelling cliffhanger or preview of the next email (at the end of each email) and by tweaking the subject line of each email.
#3: We will work on getting less drop-off in open rates between each email.
We do this by adding a compelling cliffhanger or preview of the next email (at the end of each email) and by tweaking the subject line of each email.
If you're curious about how an evergreen email sequence might work for your brand:
Step
: Try an email course with between 5 - 10 emails at first. 
: Get enough data (test). 
: Refine based on findings. 
: Scale the reach of your course through ads or other means.
Step
: Try an email course with between 5 - 10 emails at first. : Get enough data (test). : Refine based on findings. : Scale the reach of your course through ads or other means.
Always keep in mind that you can add/test other conversion content (ex: a webinar, small group class, sales calls, mini-conferences, online retreats, challenges, etc.) as well.
But, P.S. if you are gonna test emails, check out our article w/ ideas: https://publishyourthing.com/sales-emails-for-courses/
But, P.S. if you are gonna test emails, check out our article w/ ideas: https://publishyourthing.com/sales-emails-for-courses/
. . . and that concludes our first #TwitterThreadCaseStudy. Please reply with questions, share/retweet if you think others would be interested, and/or give us a "like" if you want to see more of these.
Regina out.
Regina out.
