How I Cut My Ad Costs by 60% With ONE Funnel Tweak

Picture this: I'm sitting at my desk, staring at my ad dashboard, and watching my cost-per-lead for webinar registrations slowly creep up to $7. SEVEN DOLLARS. Per. Lead.

My eye started twitching. My coffee suddenly tasted bitter. My offer suddenly felt... uncomfortably tight on profit margins.

I think we all know that feeling when something that used to work beautifully in your business starts to... well, not work so great anymore. It's like when your favorite jeans that fit perfectly for years suddenly feel tight after the holidays. (Just me?)

Meanwhile, in another browser tab, my lead magnet ads for a simple PDF were humming along at about $2.20 per lead. That's less than a third of my webinar registration costs!

And that's when my former software engineer brain kicked into gear. If I could get leads at $2 instead of $7, and then somehow get them to my webinar anyway... 🤔

The Experiment Begins

So I tried something that might sound a little sneaky (but isn't, I promise!). I ran two parallel campaigns:

• Ads directly to my webinar registration page ($6-7 per lead)

• Ads to my PDF lead magnet ($2-ish per lead)

Here's where it gets interesting: I "silently" included all the PDF downloaders in my webinar emails. They didn't explicitly register for the webinar, but they got all the same reminders and follow-ups as if they had.

My hypothesis? The webinar-specific registrants would convert better (since they actively signed up for the webinar), but maybe the cheaper PDF leads would still be worth it even with lower conversion rates.

The Results Shocked Me

When I analyzed the data, I discovered something wild: both groups converted at EXACTLY THE SAME RATE.

Let me say that again for the people in the back: People who specifically registered for my webinar and people who just downloaded a PDF and were "silently" included in my webinar emails CONVERTED AT THE SAME EXACT RATE.

But one group cost me $7 per lead, and the other cost me $2 per lead.

This is the part where, in my past life as a software engineer, I would have done a victory lap around the office. This is what we call a STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT FINDING, folks!

The New Experiment

Based on this data, I'm now testing something even better. For my next workshop, I've:

• Completely eliminated direct-to-webinar registration ads

• Only running ads to my PDF lead magnet at $2.20 per lead

• Added a twist: instead of "silently" including them, I'm now telling them right on the thank you page: "Your tech guide is on the way, AND I've already saved you a seat for Monday's workshop!"

The thank you page has a welcome video from me, details about the workshop, and even a VIP upgrade option. It's like getting 2-3 conversions for the price of one lead!

Want to implement this "PDF to Workshop" funnel in your own Systeme.io account? Here's how:

• Create a lead magnet funnel with your PDF download

• On the thank you page, add text that says "I've already saved you a seat for my upcoming workshop!"

• Add a video introducing the workshop topic

• Set up an automation that adds anyone who downloads your PDF to your webinar email sequence

• Optional: Add a VIP upgrade option right on the thank you page for immediate sales

This works because Systeme.io makes it super easy to add people to email sequences automatically - no complex integrations or Zapier needed!

Want to see exactly how I set this up? I did a detailed walkthrough for our members inside the Simple Systems Society and the replay will explain it all for ya!

This week, I challenge you to audit your lead costs. Look at your last campaign and calculate:

• How much did each lead cost you?

• What was your conversion rate?

• Could you test a simpler entry point (like a PDF) to reduce those costs?

Then, if it sounds exciting to you, start planning how you could implement this "PDF to Workshop" funnel for your next launch. Even if you're not running ads, this approach works beautifully for organic traffic too!

Next week, we'll be diving into setting up upsells in Systeme.io - another powerful way to increase your revenue without increasing your ad costs. You'll learn how to create those "would you like fries with that?" moments that can dramatically boost your average order value.

What's your biggest question about setting up funnels in Systeme.io? Please comment down bellow and let me know - I read every email!