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I’m joined by Jonathan Courtney, as we deep dive on how to set up million dollar sales funnels.
1) Startup Idea 1: Paid Ads Agency
• Huge market for one-person ad consulting businesses
• Target specific verticals (e.g., hair salons, female info product owners)
• Take a cut of revenue instead of charging upfront
2) Facebook ads still crush it (for 40+ demo):
• Still effective for 40+ demographics
• AJ&Smart spends $80k/month on FB ads
• 318% ROI in June ($252k revenue from $80k spend)
"Meta ads are only dead for people under 35" - Jonathan
3) Funnel basics:
• Opt-in page → Free training video → Call booking
• Use ClickFunnels for quick tests
• Use Framer for validated funnels
Pro tip: Automate everything possible in your funnel
4) The book funnel strategy:
• Offer free digital + physical book
• Lose money upfront to get email addresses
• Monetize later with other offers
Example: http://workshopperplaybook.com/
5) Copywriting hacks:
• Focus on increasing status (even for B2B)
• Use pain vs. pleasure framework
• Adjust tone based on economic conditions
Key insight: Status increase drives purchases, even in corporate training
6) Jonathan's funnel philosophy:
• Don't obsess over tracking every conversion source
• Focus on overall company growth
• Prioritize Facebook ad spend ROI
"You have your monthly P&L. You just make sure your company is growing" - Jonathan
To improve your rankings your business on Google and using AI for SEO, sign up to
http://boringmarketing.com/
🎯 To build your own portfolio businesses powered by community you might enjoy my membership.
You'll get my full course with all my secrets on building businesses, peer-groups to keep you accountable, business ideas every single month and more!
Spots are limited.
https://www.communityempire.co/
📬 Join my free newsletter to get weekly startup insights for free:
https://www.gregisenberg.com/
70,000+ people are already subscribed.
Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)
Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND JONATHAN ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jicecream
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-courtney-4510644b/
Episode Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
06:41 Startup Idea 1: Paid Ads Agency
26:19 Funnel Hacking and Conversion Optimization
34:34 AJ & Smart Funnel breakdown
44:27 Copywriting Hacks
1) Startup Idea 1: Paid Ads Agency
• Huge market for one-person ad consulting businesses
• Target specific verticals (e.g., hair salons, female info product owners)
• Take a cut of revenue instead of charging upfront
2) Facebook ads still crush it (for 40+ demo):
• Still effective for 40+ demographics
• AJ&Smart spends $80k/month on FB ads
• 318% ROI in June ($252k revenue from $80k spend)
"Meta ads are only dead for people under 35" - Jonathan
3) Funnel basics:
• Opt-in page → Free training video → Call booking
• Use ClickFunnels for quick tests
• Use Framer for validated funnels
Pro tip: Automate everything possible in your funnel
4) The book funnel strategy:
• Offer free digital + physical book
• Lose money upfront to get email addresses
• Monetize later with other offers
Example: http://workshopperplaybook.com/
5) Copywriting hacks:
• Focus on increasing status (even for B2B)
• Use pain vs. pleasure framework
• Adjust tone based on economic conditions
Key insight: Status increase drives purchases, even in corporate training
6) Jonathan's funnel philosophy:
• Don't obsess over tracking every conversion source
• Focus on overall company growth
• Prioritize Facebook ad spend ROI
"You have your monthly P&L. You just make sure your company is growing" - Jonathan
To improve your rankings your business on Google and using AI for SEO, sign up to
http://boringmarketing.com/
🎯 To build your own portfolio businesses powered by community you might enjoy my membership.
You'll get my full course with all my secrets on building businesses, peer-groups to keep you accountable, business ideas every single month and more!
Spots are limited.
https://www.communityempire.co/
📬 Join my free newsletter to get weekly startup insights for free:
https://www.gregisenberg.com/
70,000+ people are already subscribed.
Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)
Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND JONATHAN ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jicecream
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-courtney-4510644b/
Episode Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
06:41 Startup Idea 1: Paid Ads Agency
26:19 Funnel Hacking and Conversion Optimization
34:34 AJ & Smart Funnel breakdown
44:27 Copywriting Hacks
Creators & Guests
What is The Startup Ideas Podcast?
Get your creative juices flowing with The Startup Ideas Podcast. Published twice a week, we bring you free startup ideas to inspire your next venture. Hosted by Greg Isenberg, CEO of Late Checkout and former advisor to Reddit and TikTok. Subscribe so you don't miss out.
For more startup ideas, we created a database of 30+ startup ideas you can take at https://gregisenberg.com/30startupideas