Day: May 16, 2024

The R.O.O.T. (Rapid Online Offer Testing) Model: How I test digital offers and funnels before I launch them

Micheal O'Neill

The R.O.O.T. (Rapid Online Offer Testing) Model: How I test digital offers and funnels before I launch them

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It’s gut-wrenching when it happens. And it happens all too often.

We pour our heart and soul into building a new funnel or creating a digital product.

And, when we launch it…….CRICKETS.

I learned the hard way, wasting months of blood, sweat, tears, and hard-earned cash.

Over the years, I have developed the R.O.O.T. (Rapid Online Offer Testing) Model to test funnels and offers before I build them.

These steps have saved me and my clients hundreds of thousands of $$$’s and years of lost time.

Let’s dive in:

Step 1 – Create Your Meta Lead Form For Facebook and Instagram

Meta lead forms are an excellent way to quickly test your funnel and offer concepts.

Lead forms let you collect people’s contact details without them ever having to leave Facebook or Instagram. Using lead forms means you don’t need to worry about landing pages, complex funnels, or sales pages. Meta also pre-loads the person’s details into the form, making it easy for them to opt in.

While friction is valuable for qualifying leads when testing, we want the least amount of when testing friction possible, and that’s why I love Meta lead forms.

Step 2 – Launch Your Ad On Facebook and Instagram

Once you create your lead form, we can move to the ad.

Remember, we’re testing concepts, not optimizing for low-cost leads or sales. For the ad copy, simply use the headline, primary promise, or hook of your lead magnet or offer. This will give you instant feedback on whether your offering is of interest to your audience.

Using this strategy, you can get a high volume of feedback quickly.

Step 3 – Create Your Follow-Up Sequence

Some people will opt-in or show interest in your lead magnet or offer.

The best approach is to be honest. Drop your leads into a follow-up sequence, telling them you are in beta testing. They’ll be the first to know when you launch your funnel or offer. Send them something of value, and then enter them into an engagement sequence.

Remember, our goal wasn’t to collect leads; it was to test our concept. But still, there’s no point in wasting an email address you’ve collected.

Spending a couple hundred dollars to get feedback on your ideas is far better than wasting thousands of dollars building something no one wants.

The best feedback you can get is from a cold audience.

If the results are positive, you have a green light to build.

If you get the thumbs down, go back to the drawing board and start again.

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The battle of the GPT’s – GPT-4 v GPT-4o – 3 head-to-head tests and what it means for marketers and online business owners

Micheal O'Neill

The battle of the GPT’s – GPT-4 v GPT-4o – 3 head-to-head tests and what it means for marketers and online business owners

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I got access to OpenAI’s new “smarter and faster” GPT-4o late yesterday afternoon.

And boy, does this feel like a massive upgrade.

Throughout 2024, I’ve mainly been using Claude and Gemini.

I had become allergic to the voice and tone of GPT-4 content.

And, annoyed at how it could no longer perform specific tasks it once could.

But I have a feeling I will be using GPT-4o more and more:

Here are 3 head to head tests I gave GPT-4 and GPT-4o.

Test 1 – Analysis of 878 responses to a multi-question survey

Client feedback is a goldmine for copywriting and offer creation.

GPT-4, even when using Advanced Data Analysis, always struggled with analyzing large volumes of data. It also provided feedback that was inconsistent with the data or based on a small sample. GPT-4o was the clear winner in this head-to-head test, providing precise, accurate, and comprehensive feedback on the data.

1-0 to GPT-4o. On to the next test.

Test 2 – Create content similar to previous content

I uploaded my last 15 posts into GPT-4 and GPT-4o and asked them both to draft a new post on drafting Facebook Ad Headlines.

GPT-4 responded with its usual verbose and over-hyped language style. GPT-4o, on the other hand, sounded natural, followed my language style, and even mirrored my approach to copywriting from some of my earlier posts.

This was a big win for GPT-4o. With the score at 2-0, we move on to the last test.

Test 3 – Draft a Facebook ad based on a framework

For this test, I provided minimum instructions or guardrails in the prompts.

I loaded up the landing page copy and asked them both to draft ads to maximise outbound clickthrough rate and on page conversion rate. This was the most interesting test. GPT-4o possibly had a slight edge but it was very close.

It is worth noting that outputs from both models were flagged as 100% AI created in my detection tool.

ChatGPT-4o is a big leap forward, possibly even bigger than the leap from 3.5 to 4.

Based on my tests, it looks like the more information you give GPT-4o, the better it will perform.

And this makes it the perfect language model to use for your CustomGPT.

Load up all your previous content, marketing copy, client feedback and even scripts from your course and membership videos into a CustomGPT.

Then get, your CustomGPT to create new content using GPT-4o as the base model.

I think you’ll be surprised at the results.

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My top 5 must-have elements of a high-converting online course or membership sales page to increase your sales and profitability

Micheal O'Neill

My top 5 must-have elements of a high-converting online course or membership sales page to increase your sales and profitability

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One page on your website will make or break your business.

I’ve run nearly 100 digital product launches and studied hundreds of online funnels.

I’ve seen online businesses mushroom overnight and die a slow and painful death.

In all cases, it comes down to the success or failure of just one page.

That’s the sales page. 

And, here are my top 5 must-have elements of a high-converting sales page:

#1 Transformational Headline

The headline is the most important part of your sales page. 

It should speak directly to how your perfect-fit clients’ lives will transform when they buy. Paint a vivid and detailed picture of their life after achieving their dream outcome. The more specific and detailed you are, the higher your conversion rate.

#2 Connection

No one cares about you or your digital product. 

Make the sales page about your perfect-fit client. Immediately after the hero section, include a section that shows them you understand them, their challenges, fears, and ambtions. Let them know they are in the right place and you understand them.

#3 Framework

People don’t want more information. 

They can get that for free on YouTube. What your perfect-fit clients want are shortcuts and guaranteed success. Spend time developing a framework that demonstrates you have a repeatable model that will get them results.

#4 Bonuses

No sales page is complete without bonuses. 

Your bonuses should either overcome objections to buying or help your perfect-fit client get the result they want faster. Never underestimate the power of a bonus. I’ve had people join my programs just to get a bonus. 

#5 Guarantee

Always offer a guarantee. 

Yes, you may end up refunding a tiny percentage of sales, but for every sale you refund, know you picked up many more sales because you included a refund in your offer. Risk is one of the biggest barriers to making sales. A guarantee reverses the risk and makes people feel like they are getting a free shot.

I’ve never landed on a sales page (including my own!) that was either missing or could have done better in one or more of these sections.

My TRANSFORM Framework for high-converting sales pages has 9 sections in total.

If you want a copy, including my sales page template, drop me a comment below, and I’ll get it to you straight away.

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3 simple rules to create an irresistible lead magnet your audience would feel stupid to turn down so you can profitably grow your online business

Micheal O'Neill

3 simple rules to create an irresistible lead magnet your audience would feel stupid to turn down so you can profitably grow your online business

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For years, I struggled with lead generation.

My opt-in rates were low, ad costs were high, and my email list growth was slow and painful.

I was certain ads just couldn’t work for my business.

That was until I discovered it wasn’t the funnel or the ads that were the issue.

The problem was the lead magnets I was using.

Once I started implementing these 3 simple rules, everything changed.

RULE 1 – It must solve a #1 top-of-mind pain point

A great lead magnet answers the question – What keeps my customer awake at night?

People have a limited attention bandwidth. They only focus on their top 1 or 2 problems or pain points; they ignore everything else. An irresistible lead magnet promises to solve and remove a major pain point from their lives.

If your lead magnet doesn’t solve a major pain point, create one that does.

RULE 2 – It must promise a specific tangible outcome

A great lead magnet promises a concrete and specific outcome.

Remember, you aren’t solving all their problems. You are only solving one problem. One of the most common traits of irresistible lead magnets is they are hyper-specific about what will happen once they help the reader solve the problem.

Answer questions like how much? and by when?

RULE 3 – It must promise an immediate result

A great lead magnet promises an immediate payoff.

To promise an immediate payoff, you need to limit the scope of your lead magnet. Remember, you are not solving all their problems. Your goal is to get them to take just one step forward.

One step taken is infinitely more valuable and desirable than 1,000 steps promised.

Your lead magnet will make or break the profitability of your funnel and, ultimately, your online business.

Remember, you are not your avatar.

Invest time living their life. Walk in their shoes and feel their pain.

The longer you spend in their world, the more irresistible a lead magnet you’ll create.

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The #1 Facebook Ad Targeting Mistake 95% of Course Creators and Membership Owners Make (And How to Fix It For Higher ROAS)

Micheal O'Neill

The #1 Facebook Ad Targeting Mistake 95% of Course Creators and Membership Owners Make (And How to Fix It For Higher ROAS)

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There’s an old joke: Why did the accountant cross the road?

Because they looked in the accounts, and that’s what they did last year….

I get to review lots of Meta ad accounts every week.

When it comes to targeting, there’s one big mistake I see course creators and membership site owners make again and again.

And it’s not their fault. It was best practice just a couple of years ago.

But in the world of meta ads, you can’t just keep doing what you did last year and expect it to work still.

The #1 mistake I’m talking about is being too prescriptive and narrow with their audience definitions.

And here’s how to fix it….

Go Big

Target an audience size of at least 10-15 million.

The larger the audience, the lower your CPM and cost per conversion. I battled with the Meta algorithm for years, but in the end, I learned that I can’t outsmart it. I get much better results when I put the Meta algorithm to work for me.

Remember AI isn’t new to Meta. They have been honing their models for years.

Go Broad

Meta has 72,000 data points per user.

Always test a broad audience, which you define by age, location, and, if important, gender. I know this sounds crazy, but when I look across all my ad accounts, my best-performing audience always ends up being a broad audience. In the near future, Meta will remove audience targeting altogether.

Meta’s understanding of their audience goes way beyond a single action they have taken. Let them use this data for your benefit.

Go Home…..Lookalike

Lookalike audiences used to be an advertiser’s secret weapon.

Today, lookalike audiences are irrelevant. Not because the lookalike concept doesn’t work but because Meta automatically leverages it in their broad targeting. Meta knows more about a user than the user knows about themselves.

This is why it’s so important to give them large audiences to work with.

It’s hard to give over control of our ad spend to Meta.

Using specific, detailed targeting gave us the feeling we were in charge.

But it’s clear AI can do some things way better than we can. And I’m ok with that.

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The #1 mistake people make when selling their course, membership, or service online

Micheal O'Neill

The #1 mistake people make when selling their course, membership, or service online

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Your buyers go through a 3 step process when making a purchase.

Skip any step or put them in order wrong, and your offer will flop.

I’ve reviewed thousands of offers for online courses, memberships, and services.

The #1 mistake I see people make is jumping directly to step 3.

And it kills their sales and online business growth.

Here is the 3 step process you need to take your buyers through for profitable online offers.

Step 1 – Identify the problem

If buyers are not clear on the specific problem you solve, they won’t buy.

You’re in the business of solving problems, and the more painful the problem, the more attention it will attract. The more specific you are about the problem you solve, the more your buyers will feel you understand them. Feeling understood is essential for them to even consider buying.

Skip this step, and your offer is doomed before you ever make it.

Step 2 – Identify the solution

People need to buy into “the” solution before they consider “your” solution.

The most successful offers get the buyer to commit to mastery of the solution before asking them to buy. The solution is the journey your buyer must take to achieve their desired outcome. Your goal is to get them excited about the journey and the destination.

If they commit to the solution, selling “your” solution will be easy.

Step 3 – Link your offer to the solution

Most offers jump straight to step 3, and that’s why they don’t sell.

Position your solution as the vehicle your buyer will use to go from where they are today to where they want to be. But it isn’t just any vehicle; it’s the one that will get them to their desired destination faster, easier, and with the least effort. As they have already committed to the outcome, this will feel like the icing on the cake.

If you’ve done your job in Step 1 and Step 2, getting the sale in Step 3 is easy.

Apply these 3 steps the next time you craft an offer and watch the sales roll in.

Trying to fight against human nature is a fool’s game. There

But when we understand human nature and harness it, things get exciting.