I’m in the thick of planning at least 3 separate funnels right now…
One is personal, for the relaunch of the Story Selling Master Class.
The next is for a client, for a “product of the month” launch next month.
The third is for a top-secret project, a systematized process to create instant authority with your target market, increase your “expert status,” AND immediately translate the increased image into more customers, sales, and profits.
In all three cases, I’m acting as much MORE than a copywriter…
The rise of the “marketing algorithm developer”…
I was listening to Dean Jackson a bit back in one of the many places Dean can be heard. (Probably on the I Love Marketing podcast — though I honestly don’t remember.)
And Dean said something that really struck me as matching what I do.
Dean was thinking about automation, artificial intelligence, and all that tomorrow-today future technology that is becoming more and more a part of our lives…
And he wondered how it would impact him, as a marketer.
And, in fact, Dean even started to wonder what role or skill or expertise he can contribute in this futuristic world, when he’s not a programmer and he doesn’t understand the tech from the “geek” side.
That’s when he hit on a term.
Dean realized he already has been developing “marketing algorithms” — even if they’re not inside computers, in the form of code, like we normally think of when we hear the word algorithm.
So, what is an algorithm — and how does it apply to marketing?
Turning to my trusty dictionary (and by that I mean Google), I discover that algorithm is a noun that means…
“A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.”
“A process or set of rules to be followed…” — check. We can come up with marketing processes and behavior-based rules to follow all day long. That’s what we’re doing when we create campaigns, funnels, and so on. With the exception of one-shot marketers who put out a single ad that’s either profitable or not, just about every direct marketing campaign and business is based on processes and sets of rules.
“… in calculations or other problem-solving operations…” — check. We’re not necessarily doing math when we create marketing processes, but marketing is a problem-solving operation. What can we put in front of a prospect to get them to take action? What series of steps can we present that move them down the sales funnel toward purchase? What additional processes can we implement for current and past customers to move them up the value ladder, increasing the result they get and their lifetime value to us? And so on…
“… especially by a computer…” — check? Especially means it doesn’t have to be. But increasingly marketing systems are being programmed into computers, and the management of the marketing processes is automated and handled without input on the marketer’s side.
When you’re creating a complex marketing campaign, funnel, or other marketing-related process, you, too, are developing a “marketing algorithm!”
Even if it’s a selling system meant to be implemented by humans, it can still be an algorithm.
What makes it an algorithm is that there is a set of rules or a process to be followed to achieve a specific result.
At its simplest, you could consider even something as simple as one ad or a phone script to be an algorithm. Run the ad, get X result. When you repeat it, the market is an uncontrolled variable, so the results will change. However, good direct response is based on the idea of the “control” which is a known-effective ad. The premise is that for the most part, what worked before will work again (until the market shifts in some meaningful way).
But the more common marketing algorithm — like Dean was referring to — would be something like a funnel.
— You run ads on Facebook. Prospects see those ads, and a certain percent click through to your landing page.
— On the landing page is a lead magnet offer. A certain number of the prospects request the lead magnet, becoming warm leads.
— Those leads receive a series of messages offering them a tripwire or welcome mat offer, to get them to spend money with you the first time. Over the course of that series of messages, a certain number become first-time customers.
— Once someone becomes a first-time customer, they get additional messages around a core offer at a much higher price. A certain percentage who see these offers take you up on them.
— And perhaps there’s another level beyond this, where customers of the core offer purchase some higher-end product or service.
At each step, you have processes and rules for what you’re going to do. You also have a way to measure the results of each step. This leads to a relatively repeatable solution to the marketing problem of “go out and find members of our target market through Facebook, and make a series of offers to them to maximize value.”
Furthermore, an algorithm can typically be improved. And this marketing algorithm called a funnel can certainly be improved. You can alter each step of the customer journey, and compare results of the previous approach versus the new. You can adapt and create a better solution.
I realized long-ago that this was one of my marketing super powers…
In fact, it came up at The Titans of Direct Response. As part of Titans, I got to attend a very special VIP-only Boardroom Dinner. This is a huge networking dinner that Boardroom was known for putting on (and that was an algorithm in itself!).
The gist of it is that it’s a room full of amazing people, and each person gets a moment in the spotlight, to let everybody else know who they are, and to stimulate conversation throughout the dinner.
One of the questions Brian asked was, “What’s your super power?”
My answer, which I still remember, was, “I create marketing systems where the result of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
In other words, I’m a “marketing algorithm developer.”
I’ve applied this in all sorts of situations. I created a web-based video event formula that generated 10,000s of leads for a client, and led to over half a million in revenue in about two weeks. I created algorithms that translated one-time product buyers into subscribers with high renewal rate. I’ve adapted dozens of algorithms, including for email follow-up campaigns, big “launch” or “reopening” campaigns, funnels, and more.
Along the way, the campaigns that have consistently broken sales records and generated off-the-charts results for clients have been these process-driven marketing algorithms — not just “writing copy.”
This is worth noting.
My next big marketing algorithm…
At the beginning of this essay, I mentioned a top-secret project.
It’s a systematized process to create instant authority with your target market.
It increases your “expert status.”
AND it immediately translates the increased image into more customers, sales, and profits.
It’s a bit rough around the edges right now. It’s based in real-world experience — both mine, and top marketers with whom I’ve worked closely. But it’s never been implemented in its entirety.
This system — this marketing algorithm — is unique and proprietary to me.
This is what I’m moving toward after the Story Selling Master Class.
It’s not complete, refined, or even tested in its final form. (Then again, neither was my web-based video event formula when it generated 10,000s of fresh leads and over half a million in sales.) But it is based on very sound thinking.
I’m looking to “beta test” this full program soon.
It WILL NOT be cheap. Think $10,000 price tag, plus ongoing investments in tech and advertising. It’ll be a mix of training and coaching where I hold your hand as you develop and implement this process in your business.
In the end, you walk away with a system for generating new customers on demand, who are ready, willing, and able to work with you on your terms — who consider you an expert before they even speak with you.
Done right, it basically stops you from having to cold call or cold prospect — customers come to you, ready to take you up on your offer.
Oh yeah, and you’ll have “written” a BOOK — a lot like my Copywriter’s Guide to Getting Paid — which is a huge authority tool and a far better business card than anything else. But it’s far less effort than you think.
I’m looking to create 10 success stories out of this beta program.
I will only want people who are serious and will do the work.
But for the right people, the reward will be tremendous.
If you’re interested in being on the wait list for this — and you’ll be able to handle the $10,000 investment — shoot me an email at [email protected].
I’m not using automated emails for this, or anything like that. We’ll walk through the steps, one-on-one, to figure out if you’re a fit for when I officially open the beta program.
You’ll likely hear more about this in the coming weeks and months. But if you want a front-of-line spot for the beta, be sure to email me now.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
