How to run Your Facebook Ads...For FREE!
Every once in awhile, I run into an online business that offers an amazing freebie...and an even more amazing limited time offer immediately after. And I think to myself - "Now this is a good marketer." She's running her ads for FREE.
What?!! Yeah, that's right. I said free.
What I'm talking about is a tactic called a "Tripwire."
If this idea is new to you, hold on a sec. Let me explain a little better what is going on here.
what is a tripwire?
Let's say you're scrolling through Facebook and an ad catches your eye for "The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe in the World." To get the recipe, you have to provide your name and email. And once you do that, you are redirected to a "thank you page" that also has an unbelievable offer on it ==> For the next 15 minutes, you can get "101 More of the Best Chocolate Cake Recipes for just $10." It's a one-time offer. That is a tripwire!
So you, of course, buy the damn thing. And you smile to yourself, proud of your amazing score.
Now you know how it works from the consumer side. So let's take a look from the business side:
That business paid for "The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe in the World" opt-in to appear in your newsfeed.
And let's just assume that they've budgeted $50 per day for that ad to be shown.
To cover the price of their ads, they would need on average 10 people per day to purchase the $10 offer. (5 people @ $10/each = $50... follow me?)
Now this is where things get tricky...
At $50 per day budget, they might be getting people to opt in for $2 each or for $5 each or any other dollar amount. But for the sake of simple math, let's go with $2 and $5 examples.
==> Example #1.
If each opt in costs $2, they're getting 25 opt ins per day. They need 5 sales @ $10. So they need a 20% conversion on the tripwire.
==> Example #2.
If each opt in costs them $5, they're getting 10 opt ins per day. They need 5 sales @ $10. So they would need a 50% conversion on the tripwire page.
What the heck does all this data mean?
It means that if you know how many leads you need to break even and how much you're willing to pay per lead, you'll be able see where you can make adjustments to get or stay profitable.
When it comes to tripwires (or any ads for that matter), I believe it's important not to go in blind. Know your numbers. Know what you can afford to pay per lead and what % you need it to convert at.
If your lead cost is too high on the opt-ins, you can troubleshoot the creative and the targeting.
If your tripwire conversion rate is too low, perhaps the price is too high or the offer is not compelling.
It's easier to know what you can fix when you know your numbers!
What To Offer As a Tripwire
I wish I could say that there's no right or wrong kind of tripwire. But that's just plain not true.
While I can't tell you exactly what you should offer, I can tell you that it should be absolutely irresistible! And, if possible, it should be the logical next step that your customer needs to take after opting in for your freebie.
I'll use my own example of a tripwire I offer here: (BTW, this is by no means perfect. I have some optimizing I'd like to do in order to make it convert better, but this give you the idea).
For my opt-in, I offer a simple breakdown of how I generated $28k with a One Day Sale + Facebook Ads. I show a sneak peek of the ad images, targeting, and landing page. And THEN, on the thank you page, I offer the complete strategy in a Guide + Workbook format so my customers can see the exact steps to set up their own ads like this.
Here's what it looks like:
My Opt-In: The One Day Sale Breakdown.
My Tripwire: The Complete Pop Up Sale Strategy Guide
How to Setup A Tripwire
Before you can even setup your Facebook Ad, you need to have a few basic funnel pieces in place:
1. A freebie or lead magnet
2. A compelling tripwire "upsell"
3. A landing page
4. A thank you page with the tripwire offer
5. A way to take payment
6. Delivery email for freebie
7. Delivery email for tripwire product
...and that's all before the ad!
There are a lot of moving pieces in creating a tripwire. And there's a lot of opportunity to really get your "geek" on!
If you want to start growing your email list using Facebook Ads (for free!) but you don't think you're ready to do it alone, you'll want to check out The Facebook Ad Playbox, where I'm giving you the entire system for a Tripwire Facebook Ad Funnel - from start to finish!
