Last updated on February 13th, 2023

Riddle me this: What’s always on? And always green?

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Answer: An evergreen course.

As someone who specializes in ROI-focused conversion copy, evergreen course launches and funnels are one of the best areas for me to demonstrate my zone of genius.

Case in point: Artricia Woods of Affinity Real Estate and Mortgage Training Services has hired us for multiple evergreen funnels for her eCourses.

All the funnels run all the time and have helped her go from $2K months to $20K months. Pretty hands-off.

Another case in point: Cassidy Tuttle of Succulents and Sunshine hired us to create her evergreen funnel and is now selling “a course a day!” 

 

*cue the confetti*

 

Now you may be wondering… what is an evergreen course funnel? 

An evergreen course quite simply is one that sells all year-long, courtesy a well-planned and strategic automated “funnel”. 

Be the FIRST grab the 4-part Game Plan for mastering the key elements for an always-on funnel… for FREE!!  

What’s the difference between evergreen and live launches? 

The key difference is the automation of the launch mechanism. 

In a LIVE launch, also known as open-and-close cart launches, the launch mechanism is usually a webinar these days or a challenge and it’s run LIVE. 

In an evergreen launch, the launch mechanism whatever it may be – webinar, challenge, PDF, is automated. 

The other difference between a live launch and an evergreen launch is, of course, student enrolment. 

With live launches, when cart closes, you pull the curtains down on enrolling any more students into your program. 

With evergreen launches, on the other hand, you can keep nurturing those on the fence and convert them at the perfect time. 

Evergreen launches are perfect for you if you want the predictability and consistency of revenue every month without the stress and overwhelm of launching live every 3-6 months. 

Having said that, there are instances where live launches may be better for you than an evergreen launch. 

And yes, as a launch copywriter and strategist, I love the adrenalin rush and hectic activity that live launches bring. 

When to NOT Evergreen Your Online Course

Are evergreen courses a fit-all-courses solution? 

Maybe, maybe not. 

If your course is extremely high-touch and requires a lot of one-on-one attention and realtime activity, evergreening could do more harm than good. 

At the end of the day, when you sell a course on evergreen, you do want it to be just as powerful and helpful for your students as it would be if you were to run it live. 

You may also not want to evergreen a course or program if it’s positioned as a small-group workshop or a high-end mastermind. 

In both these cases, the positioning of the offer will need to switch before you can consider evergreening it. 

Okay, now you know what an evergreen course is. 

You know there’s a difference between the evergreen launch and live launch and also when not to evergreen. 

Now, let’s look at one of the most important (and often, messed-up!) components of – this evergreen funnel launch style. 

How to Create Your Evergreen Funnel

The evergreen funnel is what does the heavy lifting for this launch because it walks subscribers from Point Sign-Up to Point Sale.

Naturally, when you don’t see conversions… guess who you pin the blame on?

Yeaaahhh… The evergreen funnel.

The only problem is…

Your evergreen launch funnel needs a rock-solid, ROI-focused strategy to ensure it does the job.

Without a strategy, the lukewarm funnel is like me – lost, frustrated, and in pain when I can’t find the nearest Starbucks without a Google Map. (I need caffeine in my system! #thatisall)

So… how do you create your evergreen course launch strategy?

I’m so glad you asked!

 Here’s a simple 3-step process to map out a strategy to gift your evergreen funnel with caffeine-esque superpowers:

 Step 1: Start with the Building Blocks  

The building blocks of your strategy are your product and your audience.

Your evergreen launch funnel must have ONE product focus.

THAT will influence what your lead magnet will be. You cannot have a generic lead magnet and then, expect your funnel to convert. It won’t. Period.

Next… Get ALL the details of that product in one place – price, USP and key outcomes.

Also, you need to know to whom are you selling this. 

You want to focus on – Which emails do they enjoy? Do they check emails frequently? Which subject lines hook them? These are just a few things you need to know.

Finally, you need to map out your copy assets. The good news is you’ve got me and I’ll share the must-have copy assets in this post. Yay! Keep reading! 

Step 2: Build Buying Triggers into the Funnel

Once you have all the foundational data from Step 1, it’s time to add in buying triggers.

The beauty of an evergreen launch is that it runs on autopilot but it still needs to motivate subscribers to act.

In fact, this is where most evergreen funnels start cramping up and falling short of the finish line.

How will you combat this?

 Step 3: Test and Optimize

Once you’ve got buying triggers built into your strategy, you need to add in testing and optimization.

Don’t worry, it sounds scarier than it actually is.

Testing and optimization are essentially keeping a watch on your funnel once you’ve launched it and then, making necessary changes to increase conversions.

A word of caution: This doesn’t mean you’re making changes every day or even, every week. Gosh, no!! Ideally, you let a funnel run for 90 days before you optimize it. 

Evergreen Your Online Course Sales: The 6 Key Copy Components for a Profitable Always-On Funnel

“How much copy will I need for an evergreen launch?”

“Can I simply use what I used for my live launch when I turn this campaign evergreen?”

“What’s the difference between LIVE launch copy and evergreen launch copy?”

These are three of the most popular questions I get from prospects who want to hire me for their evergreen launches. 

Here is a short-list of must-have copy assets for an always-on, always-selling product (or service) launch.

The beauty of an evergreen launch is that not only does it run while you sleep (quite literally, it does!) but it’s also remarkably easy to test.

This short-list of evergreen launch copy assets is based on the B.A.K.E framework that I’ll be teaching in Ready-to-Sell and giving you templates for every asset you’ll ever need.  

Make sure you’re on the waitlist for when doors open. 

The reason I developed and refined this framework is that it helps you understand exactly what to create AND more importantly, why you need it for a profitable funnel. 

With that said…

Here are the 6 key evergreen launch copy assets you need in place.

Remember, you’ll get templates for all of these in Ready-to-Sell. 

 Amped-up authority copy: Another point of difference from the usual live launch is the authority copy asset.

These copy elements act as Clif Bars for your evergreen launch – Fueling it with energy and keeping up the momentum. 

Authority copy includes power-packed blog posts (not those wimpy 400-word ‘write-ups’) and epically engaging social media copy as well as any guest content you share.

Before you start freaking out about this asset… let me reassure you that you don’t need ALL of it when you flip the switch on your evergreen launch. PLUS, when you sign up for Ready-to-Sell, you get quick-to-customize templates for these as well! 

Even 2-3 solid blog posts and a few social media posts can do the job, to begin with.

The idea again is to send new traffic to your lead magnet or your sales page.

Consistency is the name of the game.

This is the organic arm for your evergreen launch traffic generation. You need to flex it. Often.

Optimized opt-in page and thank you page: Your opt-in page is usually the entry point for your evergreen funnel. Yes, some people may find the sales page directly but most would arrive via your email funnel after opting in.

Your opt-in can be a webinar, quiz, eBook or checklist. Whatever it is, it must educate and engage your prospect and compel them to share their coveted email address with you.

Don’t forget to optimize your thank-you page as well. Sadly, most online marketers treat this page as a placeholder, whereas, it is the best time for you to strengthen that connection you’ve established.

Powerfully crafted paid traffic copy: You need to pump traffic into your evergreen launch on a consistent basis. 

Paid traffic is a good start. Though, it’s not the only way. And it doesn’t have to be crazy big. But there must be traffic for you to evaluate whether or not your funnel’s working and also because only then, you’ll make sales.

 You can use paid traffic for your opt-in or lead magnet and for re-targeting those who are on your list or visit your sales page directly. 

 Engagement-driven, educational email sequence: This is where your launch sequence differs slightly from a live launch.

 While a live launch is heavy-handed with the selling (because of the built-in time urgency), the evergreen launch sequence focuses on engagement and education while driving conversions.

Depending on your product and audience, you can sell from email#1. 

But at the same time, you can ONLY sell after you’ve offered real value to them and built a connection with them. 

 Conversion-Engineered Sales Page: More often than not, your evergreen launch sales page will attract traffic that already knows (and hopefully likes) you and should even, trust you.

 Why?

 Because you’ve not dumped them on the sales page directly. Instead, you’ve gracefully led them there via your email sequence or your authority content.

 They value the relationship you’ve built with them.

 Your sales page for an evergreen launch needs to be crafted keeping that connection in mind.

 When you do this, you engineer conversions without feeling like you’re getting a double root canal. (I’ve had one of those and trust me, it’s awful!)

On the other hand… with most live launches, the sales page is usually tailored for cold traffic so you can send Facebook ad traffic directly to it and affiliates can send their tribe to it.

 Unless of course, you’re a super-smart marketer and have 2-3 variants of the sales page for different audience segments. In which case… GO YOU!

 Downsell/Upsell Sequence: Another vital bring-on-those-sales asset is an upsell or downsell sequence.

 However, you don’t want to push products at your people just because you have them.

 That is why your downsell or upsell sequence must be crafted after you’ve segmented folks who did/didn’t buy and personalize that sequence so it’s super-targeted and relevant.

 Remember… connection leads to conversion.

 Connect with their pain and struggle with real empathy and I guarantee you’ll turn them into loyal fans.

 There you have it! 

Everything you need to know about evergreen courses and funnels. Now the question is… Are YOU in the ready-to-sell mode? Do you want to sell your courses on autopilot?  

Pop in your details below to grab the 4-part Ready-to-Sell Recipe so you know exactly what to do for an always-on, always-green online course funnel!