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🧠 Flywheel Project for September: Sales Flywheel

Unlike August’s sales flywheel that focused on boosting sales for Wallet-Opening Words, the conversion copywriting system I co-created with Phill Agnew, September’s flywheel was designed to build hype for PAINKILLER—a brand new product.

A pretty tall task, if I do say so myself. 😅

The goal was to build a waitlist for our PAINKILLER pre-order campaign.

Spolier: it worked (even better than expected, actually.)

And here’s the flywheel we built to accomplish that:

There were a few cogs designed to make this flywheel spin:

1. I created the Ouchy Pain Finder bot, an AI-powered bot that helps people find their target customers’ “ouchier” pains, as a lead magnet to urge people to join the PAINKILLER waitlist.

2. Once they join, they’re redirected to a Thank You page with a short RightMessage survey asking why they joined the waitlist. (This allows us to tag them based on their current obstacle and type of business so we can send hyper-targeted, personalized emails during the PAINKILLER launch.)

3. As they’re filling out the survey, an automated email sequence delivers the Ouchy bot (which blows their freakin' mind).

4. The second email in the sequence goes out the next day and asks them to provide more detail about what—exactly—triggered them to join the waitlist.

5. They respond, giving us more pain points in their own words, which we use to craft ultra-persuasive social posts and emails to get more people on the waitlist.

And the wheel keeps spinning!

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😭 Big Wobble

Alright, so what mistake should you avoid like the plague?

Product launch​
​We’re waaaaaay behind schedule on the PAINKILLER launch

I originally planned to launch PAINKILLER in late September to take advantage of the Fresh Start Effect of Q4.

But we massively underestimated—almost impressively so—how long it would take to create the product people like you deserve. So we decided to delay the launch.

Instead, we did a pre-order campaign.

But because we barely had time to breathe–much less to give instructions to Superside to build our sales page—we did it using a plain ‘ol Google Doc (this one).

This felt risky but turned out to be brilliant. (I know, this wobble is a rollercoaster of emotions.) More on that in a minute.

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🤩 Big Wins

Alright, so what worked and how can you use it right now to sell more?

Lead magnets​
​Launched a waitlist lead magnet that CRUSHED expectations

The Ouchy Pain Finder bot is so good I used it to help me identify pain points that would resonate with people who are perfect for PAINKILLER.

Then, I used those insights to write this LinkedIn post promoting the Ouchy lead magnet, which drove 500+ sign-ups in just a few hours. (Very Meta, I know.)

(Psst…the first line of that post is an example of the Barnum Effect in action.)

People loved the Ouchy bot, so this turned into a delightful experience.

And once the rave comments started pouring in, it compelled other people to grab Ouchy, too, thanks to the Bandwagon Effect.

Sales letter​
​PAINKILLER pre-order campaign sold out... in just 53 minutes 🤯

The pre-order campaign was meant to last 48 hours—or until we sold all 75 early bird spots.

We used a Google Doc as a sales page letter and updated the remaining spots in real-time. (No pressure AT ALL.)

This created live scarcity because people could see there were only a handful of spots left and lots of people viewing the document.

Throughout the sales letter, I highlighted my own successful marketing campaigns and shared social proof from my students—like the testimonial below—to solidify my credibility as a messaging expert.

But most importantly, we didn’t stress over having a “perfect” sales page for the pre-order campaign because we knew we nailed the messaging.

(That’s the power of a science-backed, customer-driven messaging strategy. 😉)

Website​
​Launched the first-ever Why We Buy 🧠 website

After 4+ years of having *no* offical digital home base, the website for Why We Buy 🧠 is officially live!

It’s sexy *and* smart.

In the hero section alone, we:

• Tap into the Bandwagon Effect (63,353 other marketing geeks are already subscribed), making others more likely to subscribe, too
• ​Prime readers to associate us with their next big breakthrough (see the barely-there “AHA!” text in the background image?)
• ​Link revenue growth with reading Why We Buy 🧠 (see that little green “up” arrow pointing to the opt-in field?)

Phew.

This website is everything I hoped it would be, and all the thanks in the world go to the brilliant designers at Studio for making it happen. 🙏
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🤓 Your Takeaway

If you want to build growth flywheels in your business, there’s lots to learn from our big wins and f*ck-up.

Ask yourself…
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Q: Is bad messaging killing your sales?

You wanna know what selling out in 53 minutes is a direct result of? Nailing your messaging.

Now, the point *isn’t* to ditch professionally done sales pages for Google Docs. Not at all.

It’s to say that if you can’t sell with your words, hiring a designer to create a jaw-dropping sales page won’t help.

Psst…If you wanna learn how to fix your messaging so more people reply and buy in just 3.5 days, join the PAINKILLER waitlist now and get your Ouchy Pain Finder bot for FREE.

(We’re launching next week, and there’s an exclusive bonus reserved for 2,586 smart people on the waitlist. Make sure you’re one of them.)
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Q: Is your website’s hero section helping or hurting you?

You only have 8 seconds to grab your visitor’s attention before they bounce from your site—forever.

The hero section of your website is arguably the most important because it communicates who you are, what you do, and who you do it for.

But don’t stop there.

Choose a few buyer psychology techniques to subtly sprinkle in that’ll keep visitors eager to keep reading.

(You can scroll through the newsletter archive on our brand-new website if you need help brainstorming. 😉)
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Q: Are you being too ambitious with your launch campaigns?

When it comes to launching a new or existing product, make sure you create a schedule that gives you plenty of time and breathing room to deal with unexpected but inevitable issues that will pop up during your launch window.

Not only will this make you feel more organized, but it’ll also save you a ton of headaches and make the launch process more—dare I say—enjoyable.

(Us taking our own advice for the next go-round. 👇)

🔎 Sneak Peek Into November’s Flywheel

Ya’ll, we’re tired. So we’re hitting “pause” on any November flywheels and taking a breather (and nap) after the PAINKILLER launch.

But once we’re back, we’ll work on creating a testimonial flywheel for PAINKILLER to drive more sales.

Goal: Get 30% of PAINKILLER customers to leave an honest review

Stay tuned.

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Until next time, happy growing!

With ❤️ from Katelyn and Jordyn​

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Psssssst: Joanna used 2 subtle (but powerful) science-backed copywriting techniques when she wrote this 5-star review for Wallet-Opening Words.

Do you know what it is? Hit reply to share your guess.

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