Last updated on January 31st, 2024 at 07:39 am
Product promotion can be a tough nut to crack.
There are so many ways to go about it, and each has its own set of pros and cons. It can be hard to determine which method will work best for your product and your target audience.
That’s why we put this guide together.
At ClickFunnels, we’ve been promoting tons of products and services online — as well as helping other people promote theirs! — for over a decade.
And we’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to be successful.
We’re assuming you’ve already got a product that you’re excited to try and sell. In this guide, we’re going to give 13 proven ways to promote it online.
Let’s dive right in!
By the way, in our Your First Funnel Challenge, you’ll build your first (or next) sales funnel side-by-side with the experts (100% free). Check out our full review here.
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1. Tripwire Funnel
The tripwire sales funnel is designed to make sales (although it may be used as a lead-generating funnel since consumers must fill out a shipping form before completing their purchase).
Check out the video below (in the video, it’s the same funnel but referred to as the “Cart Funnel”).
Here’s how it works.
The prospect is drawn into the funnel with some “bait” — a front-end product that is heavily discounted and extremely appealing to your target market. On the first page, the visitor is required to enter their shipping and payment information in order to progress through the funnel.
But since the deal is so enticing, it converts really well.
Then, once they’ve bought into your front-end offer, they are taken to what we call the “OTO” or One-Time Offer page. This is where offer a one-click upsell to the person. You’re now offering them the actual thing you want to sell.
It ends with a “Thank You” page…
The tripwire funnels’ chronology, and the fact that it’s really effective for our customers, is where its genius lies.
The prospect usually fills out their shipping and payment information in order to obtain a free or heavily discounted item (for example, a sample of your product), making them more inclined to take those two typically abrasive actions.
After they provide you that information, you make them an offer.
They’re more inclined to add your upsell to their cart now that the high-friction steps of entering their payment and shipping info (where most cart abandonments happen) are behind them.
Want to learn more about how to build your first tripwire funnel?
Check out our templates over here!
2. Product Launch Funnel
The tripwire sales funnel is ideal for selling your most popular items.
However, when you’re launching a new item, you’ll want to create a little more excitement — build up some anticipation — around the product launch.
For that, we’ve developed the product launch sales funnel. This funnel is built to build suspense and excitement around your upcoming product in order to increase the number of people who buy it on launch day.
Check out the video below…
It all begins with a squeeze page that introduces the product and invites the prospect to register for updates on its progress.
Then, during the days or weeks that follow, you send the lead to three to five additional pages each of which offers further information about the coming product and its progress; in this way, you create suspense and attention.
Finally, on launch day, you send the prospect to the product launch order form.
Here’s an example of what this entire funnel looks like in action.
Want to learn more about how to create a successful product launch funnel?
Check out our templates over here!
3. Webinar Funnel
Over the last few years, webinars — that is, live or recorded instructional videos — have become a household method to generate leads.
And for good reason: webinars are the greatest method to create high-quality leads (time is more valuable than money!).
After all, if someone is willing to sit through a 45-minute presentation, they’re obviously interested in what you have to say and they very well might buy your product.
The best way to promote a webinar is by using a webinar funnel. A webinar funnel is designed specifically to generate leads for your upcoming live or recorded presentation.
Typically, a webinar funnel will consist of the following steps:
The registration page is where you’ll collect sign-ups for your presentation, and the confirmation page is where you’ll tell those people what to do next (add the presentation to their calendar, for instance).
The “indoctrination pages” are what you’ll send to these people to build excitement around your upcoming presentation and increase the number of people who attend.
Here’s an example of what this looks like from Search Engine Journal…
Make sure that the topic of your discussion leads naturally into promoting the product you’re trying to sell.
Not sure how to write your webinar script?
Or build your funnel?
We’ve got you covered! Click the links below.
- Here’s the best webinar script template we’ve ever used.
- Here’s your free trial to build your first webinar funnel.
4. The Dream 100
What’s the dream 100?
Well, it’s a concept that was originally created by expert salesperson, Chet Holmes, and then popularized by Russell Brunson in his Secrets Trilogy books.
The Dream 100 is a list of the top 100 websites where you’d want to be seen by your ideal consumers online, such as podcasts, blogs, newsletters, Facebook groups, YouTube channels, specific influencers, forums, subreddits, or pretty much anything else.
Once you’ve got a list of these places, you then try to get attention from those audiences by either “working your way in” or “buying your way in”.
Work Your Way In — This usually means cold calling, text messaging, emailing, and even direct mailing your influencers to try and build a relationship with them and “bribe” them into some sort of collaboration. For example, you might send a free version of your product to influencers and ask them for an honest review.
Buy Your Way In — If you want to cut to the chase, then you might consider just paying influencers to get in front of their audience. This might include getting a banner ad on their website, putting your YouTube ads at the beginning of their videos, or contacting them and asking what other paid promotional opportunities they offer.
Check out the video below to learn how Russell Brunson has used this process very successfully for his own businesses.
The idea is that you’re intentional about finding and infiltrating the places where your target market and dream customers congregate online.
By doing so, you’ll be able to get your products in front of the right people at the right time… and make more sales.
5. Build an Affiliate Army
What if your influencers in the niche were to sell your items for you?
Wouldn’t that make marketing your products and services a hundred times easier?
That’s something we’ve utilized at ClickFunnels: we’ve created an army of affiliate marketers who get paid up to 40% recurring commission for each customer they refer…
And it was well worth it!
Now, if you search for “ClickFunnels review” on YouTube, Google, or any other search engine, you’ll see a slew of ClickFunnels affiliate marketers advertising our product for us!
You can use the Dream 100 method to create your own affiliate army — make a list of 100 or more influencers in your field who you’d want to convert into affiliates.
Then set up your affiliate program, build a sales funnel for your affiliates to use, pitch those influencers, and give them their unique URLs.
It’ll take some effort to get things off the ground, but it’s well worth it in the long run.
6. Build an Email List
An email list is a group of people who have given you permission to contact them with updates about your product or service.
If you don’t have an email list yet, now’s the time to start building one!
Why?
Because email lists are one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal.
With an email list, you can:
- Keep your customers updated on new product launches or changes to existing products
- Offer exclusive discounts and coupons to people on your list
- Send out automated email sequences that promote your products or services
- Conduct surveys and gather feedback from your customers
… all for free!
You don’t need to pay to reach these people once they’re subscribed to your list. And if you build a relationship with them and provide value, they’ll be more likely to buy from you when the time comes.
Want to learn how to build an email list jam-packed with your dream customers?
Check out our free training series: List Building Secrets.
Soap Opera Sequence
Before we move on from talking about building an email list, it’s important to mention a few strategies that will help you actually market your products to your email list (since that’s what we’re talking about anyways.
The first strategy is what we call the Soap Opera Sequence.
Here’s how it works.
You create a sequence of emails (usually 3-5) that tell a story.
This story should be related to the product you’re selling, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be about the product itself.
For example, if you were promoting a weight loss product, your Soap Opera Sequence could tell the story of a person who’s struggling to lose weight.
They try every fad diet and workout program out there, but nothing seems to work. They feel hopeless and like they’ll never be able to lose weight.
But then, they come across your product. They decide to give it a try, and it actually works! They lose weight and feel amazing.
Now, this story probably doesn’t have anything to do with your product specifically.
The point is to create a relatable story that will get people hooked and wanting to know more.
Once they’re invested in the story, you can start to introduce your product and how it can help them.
The Soap Opera Sequence is an incredibly effective way to get people interested in your products, and we highly recommend giving it a try.
Check out the video below to learn more…
Seinfeld Emails
The second email marketing strategy we recommend is what we call Seinfeld Emails.
You’ve probably heard of the popular sitcom Seinfeld, which aired in the 90s.
The show was about nothing… literally.
Most of the episodes were just a series of random events that didn’t really seem to go anywhere.
But people loved it!
Why?
Because the stories were so interesting, funny, and intriguing.
Seinfeld Emails are similar in that it’s a series of random (but related) events, stories, or facts that don’t really seem to go anywhere.
In other words, these emails (we recommend sending them daily) could be about anything…
- Something interesting that recently happened to you.
- A funny story.
- An interesting article you read.
You get the idea.
The key is that each and every email you send relates back to a product that you sell.
Here’s an example of how this works from Rachel Pedersen — she’s really good at these.
7. Sponsorships
Sponsorships — in relevant newsletters and podcasts — are another popular way to promote products online.
A sponsorship is basically an ad, but it’s usually more expensive than a traditional ad because you’re paying to have your product featured in a specific newsletter or podcast.
But the upside is that it can be a very effective way to get your product in front of people who are already interested in what you’re selling.
For example, let’s say you sell eco-friendly cleaning products. You could find a few relevant newsletters and podcasts that focus on environmental issues and sponsor those.
This way, you know that the people who are reading or listening to those sponsorships are already interested in eco-friendly products, which makes them much more likely to be interested in what you’re selling.
You can use the dream 100 process we outlined above to find and secure sponsorship opportunities.
Take The One-Funnel Away Challenge Now!
8. Advertising
Advertising is obviously a popular way to promote products online, and there are a lot of different ways to do it.
You could run ads on Facebook, Google, or other social media platforms.
Or you could run ads on specific websites that are relevant to your product.
For example, if you sell eco-friendly products, you could run ads on websites that focus on environmental issues.
The key with advertising is to make sure you’re targeting the right audience.
For example, if you’re selling a weight loss product, you wouldn’t want to target people who are already at their ideal weight.
Instead, you want to target people who are interested in weight loss and are actively searching for products that can help them lose weight.
The best way to do this is to use what’s called “audience targeting” when you’re setting up your ad campaigns.
Most advertising platforms, like Facebook and Google, have their own audience targeting options that you can use to make sure you’re only showing your ads to people who are interested in what you’re selling.
And if you’re not sure how to set up audience targeting, there are plenty of guides and tutorials online that can help you out.
Or better yet, do a bit of funnel hacking to figure out what your competitors are doing!
9. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing where you partner with influencers to promote your product.
An influencer is somebody who has a lot of influence over a specific group of people.
For example, let’s say you sell eco-friendly products. You could find an influencer who focuses on environmental issues and partner with them to promote your product.
This is a great way to get your product in front of people who are already interested in what you’re selling.
And the best part is that influencer marketing can be very cost-effective since you usually only have to pay the influencer a one-time fee or a commission on sales.
If you’re not sure how to find or contact influencers, just do a bit of research on Instagram, Google, YouTube, and other popular platforms where your audience hangs out.
You’ll find tons of potential opportunities with just a little bit of research.
10. Giveaways & Contests
Another great way to promote products online is to run giveaways and contests.
This is a great way to get people interested in your product, and it’s also a great way to build up your email list — which you can then market and sell your products to.
To run a successful giveaway or contest, you just need to offer a prize that’s relevant to your product.
To enter the giveaway or contest, people would have to provide their email address — and ideally, share the giveaway on their social media platform of choice.
This way, you can then add them to your email list and market your products to them later on.
There are a few different ways to promote giveaways and contests.
You could promote them on social media, on your website, or even through email marketing.
The key is to just make sure you’re reaching the right audience with your promotion.
And if you need help promoting your giveaway or contest, there are plenty of services and platforms out there that can help you out — such as KingSumo.
11. Collect Reviews & Testimonials
If you want people to trust your product, then you need to show them that other people have tried it and loved it.
The best way to do this is to collect reviews and testimonials from past customers — and then showcase them prominently on your website and social media platforms.
This is a great way to build trust and credibility with potential customers.
And if you don’t have any reviews or testimonials yet, you can always start by asking friends and family to leave you a review.
12. Create Urgency and Scarcity
People are, by nature, procrastinators.
People are more likely to buy a product if they feel like they need to buy it now.
And one of the best ways to create this sense of urgency and scarcity is to use what’s called “limited time offers.”
With a limited-time offer, you offer a discount or some other type of incentive — but only for a limited period of time.
For example, you could offer a 10% discount on all orders placed within the next 24 hours.
Or you could offer a free gift with purchase — but only for the next 100 customers.
Creating urgency and scarcity is a great way to get people interested in your product — and it can also help you boost sales in the short term.
13. Retargeting Ads
Retargeting is a type of online advertising that allows you to show ads to people who have already visited your website or interacted with your brand in some way.
For example, if somebody visits your website but doesn’t buy anything, you could use retargeting to show them ads on Facebook for your product as they browse the internet.
Retargeting is a great way to increase brand awareness and get people interested in your product — and it can be very effective when used correctly.
Final Thoughts
These are just a few of the many different ways that you can promote a product online.
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution — so it’s important to experiment and find what works best for you and your business.
But if you’re looking for some ideas to get started, these 13 strategies should give you a good place to start.
Click below if you’re ready for a challenge!