Passive income is every entrepreneur’s dream.

Money gets deposited into the bank without lifting a finger. Well, sadly, it’s not quite that easy. But there’s a few ways that you can put in the work and see the fruits of your labor for months – or even years.

One of the most profitable things I’ve done for my business was tweaking my welcome sequence, so that it helps to generate more revenue.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “the money’s in the list,” if you’re an online business owner. Well, it’s totally true if you know how to sell to your list without being a total sleazeball.

Even if you know zilch about sales, it isn’t hard to do if you implement these welcome sequence tactics in your business.

Begin With a Freebie

It all starts with an awesome opt-in offer.

There are so many opt-in offers that you can use to grow your list that I put together The Ultimate Guide to Freebies that you can swipe right now.

[et_bloom_inline optin_id=optin_17]

Before you dive into the land of freebie creation, it’s a good idea to step back and determine what your paid product will be.

Your freebie is your starting point and solution to an immediate need, and your paid product is the end goal.

The key to achieving profitable sequences is to always start at the end and create products backwards. And that doesn’t mean your premium product needs to be created already – just the idea of what it’s going to be.

Your freebie will help you determine if it’s something your audience will invest in.

Now, how do you start mapping out your welcome sequence?

Mind Mapping

As an entrepreneur, you probably have a hundred ideas and when you write them down, you come up with another 20.

Mind mapping helps you plan out your next products and narrow your focus to keep the ball rolling.

There’s a couple of ways you can create a mind map.

For a long time, I was a pen-and-paper type of person and would use large notepads from the kid’s art section of IKEA. These were great, but I noticed something happen, or rather, not happen. I would write my ideas down, then tuck the giant piece of paper away and forget about it for months.

The ink would fade, and those great ideas were lost forever.

Now, I’m digital all the way. I invested in an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil to keep the feel of paper but way more organized. What can I say? Old habits die hard.

The digital method I use for mind mapping includes a decent program that works with Trello and RealTime Board. It is like having a giant notepad, sticky notes, and the ability to add URLs and images all in one place.

So, take your time – get the ideas in your head and connect them together. From here, you’ll be able to see what makes the most sense for your next premium product and everything that could be created along the way to build hype.

Pop-Up Boxes vs Landing Pages

You should now have your line of potential products and freebies created, so we can get to work on the actual welcome sequence.

You’re probably thinking that it starts with the first email after they opt-in, but the welcome sequence starts before they even hit that submit button to snag your freebie.

Your freebie should already deliver killer content – now make it obvious.

Go for the easy yes. Portray your freebie in the best light. Make it impossible for your target audience to close the browser tab without giving you their email address.

Depending on your set up, your freebie may need its own landing page or pop-up box. This depends on how much detail you give about your freebie and where you plan to promote it.

The Creative Boss uses both methods. Some freebies are linked within blog posts, and you just open a pop-up box to enter your information without leaving the page. Our free course, Get Your Blog On!, uses an alternate method that sends visitors to the landing page for more information before asking them to sign up.

The Thank You Page

If you have done this properly, your freebie should have a custom Thank You page set up for it. Now, this only applies to those that have another product directly related to it, so you may be able to add this at a later point.

A Thank You page is a great place to validate a customer.

Sure, you have a subscriber, but this can serve as a quick test to see if they’re ready to be a paying customer. But don’t go for the big sale right away – you’re just testing their willingness to invest.

Are they eager to get out their wallet for something else after receiving your freebie?

This is a method that has been used for years, but I recently started implementing new freebies since reading Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunson.

After creating a new freebie, I determine what additional product I can offer that either builds directly onto what they just downloaded or compliments it extremely well.

A perfect example is the Editorial Calendar Trello board. When you sign up to get your free copy, you’ll be taken to a page that sells you five more Trello boards for only $4. It’s not a high-priced item, but it’s great for weeding out the lurkers from the customers.

Email Funnels

It’ll take a little more effort for some folks to open their wallets (and that’s okay), but by segmenting them on your list, it will be easier to send a better email sequence to each group and nurture them a bit differently.

This is why I use CovertKit for my email service provider (read more here). I can tag subscribers based on actions they take and integrate with Gumroad and other checkout options.

My list is immediately divided into subscribers and customers.

This begins the email funnel, but they don’t get all of the same emails. And although it’s customized, the best part is there are still overlapping emails or minor tweaks that make them usable to multiple sequences.

Core Emails

There are basic emails that you want in your welcome sequence that get sent to everyone that subscribes at one point or another.

Maybe you don’t always send them in the same order, but your new subscriber is bound to see them as they move through the welcome sequence you’ve created.

These are your core emails.

The Download Email

One of the most common core emails you will use is the “download your freebie” email.

The chances are that you bribed them to join your list, so you need to deliver this. This email includes whatever they wanted in exchange for signing up for your list. It should be pretty short and obviously, include their download.

This trains them to open your emails and click where you tell them – there’s no need for anything else.

Help your new subscriber get in the habit of pulling your email from their inbox clutter.

The Welcome to the List Email

Once they’ve received the download email, they’re actively engaged on your list, so you can send them a second email. I like to wait a day, but the timing preference is up to you. I go for the next day because we’re trying to build a new habit, but it won’t work if they don’t see another email for a week or more. By then, they’ve probably forgotten all about me and the freebie I sent them.

This follow-up is the “welcome to the list” email where more information is provided about the community and what type of content they can expect from your emails.

Setting expectations is crucial in any business – tell them what they’ll be getting in your newsletter, where else they can connect with you, and links to your latest blog posts. You can tweak or update it at a later date as you build up your content bank.

The “welcome to the list” email encourages them to open and click at least one link in the email. As I said before, we’re trying to help them build the habit of opening your emails.

Tell Them Your Story (Sorta…)

Ya know what everyone loves? A good story – especially if it’s one that feels like it was written about their life.

Your story should come naturally if you’ve targeted the correct audience.

So, tell them your story – your rags to riches. Tell them how you landed in the position to give them advice and why they should trust you. Kick in the habit-building aspect of this email by giving them a specific direction to take like telling you their own story by hitting reply, joining your Facebook group and sharing their story, or anything else that will get them to click that link in your email.

The Turning Point Story

Now that you’ve shared your story – or rather the beginning of your story – go deeper by sharing a pivotal moment where everything changed for you. That moment where you knew what you were destined to do.

These are the stories that people love. The ones that humanize you. The ones that are relatable. Tell them about your failures and how you’ve overcome them. Make them feel like they’re not alone. These are the stories that best connect you to your audience.

Similar to the first story email, you want them to engage, so end your email with a question or a specific direction for them to follow – give a link and make it obvious that they should click it.

Soft Pitch Emails

So, how are you gonna make some cash with this sequence?

Well, that’s where soft pitch emails come into play. If you’ve played your cards right, you’ve warmed up your subscribers, and they’re pretty darn close to opening their wallets, but you should still tread lightly.

Selling is a fickle bitch and people are sensitive to it. No one wants to feel like they’re having crap shoved down their throats in every email, so create soft pitches with a little finesse.

Introducing the Problem

You know your subscriber has a problem. They validated this by snagging your freebie, but now you need to do some more work.

In the first of your pitch emails, introduce the problem to them. You know it exists. They know it exists. But no one wants to acknowledge it.

This is your chance.

Be creative. Craft a story that introduces the problem, but here’s the kicker… don’t solve it.

You’re not allowed to mention your product, but you want your subscriber to engage, so give them a prompt to respond to the email or on a social network.

The point here, again, is habit-building. You’ve piqued their interest – now keep it.

Although you’ve introduced the problem, refrain from giving a solution in this email. I know you may feel like this is a great place to start selling your product, but just don’t, okay? Leave a hint at the bottom to be on the lookout for the solution in the next email.

The Solution

Ahhh. That sweet relief they’ll feel when this email hits their inbox.

You’re the savior that’s solved all their problems. Somehow, you were able to get in their head, dig out their biggest problem, and craft a solution they’re ready to trade for their first-born.

In this email, you can finally sell your product.

And here’s the thing, even if you think sales are sleazy and a complete turn-off, you’ve spent time building and nurturing this relationship. Just mentioning how your product or service will solve their immediate problem will make you seem like a godsend – not some sleazy door-to-door Jewish bible salesman trying to push the features rather than the results.

The solution email should be the easiest for you to write.

It’s what you’ve been working towards. After all the time you’ve invested nurturing the relationship and building hype about your product, it’s time to tell your loyal reader all about it, and they already have their wallet out before they’re even finished reading it.

To Evergreen Pitch or Not

Wanna know the million dollar question when it comes to selling digital products?

Should you keep it evergreen or only have launch periods?

To be perfectly honest, I don’t have the answer for this one.

What I can say is that launches require a lot of work. Sure, you can repurpose content every time you launch, but you’ll still need to be on and present for things like webinars, Facebook Live, answering questions, and much more.

Evergreen products can be a great route to go. You can set it up once and begin reaping the benefits for quite a while, but it can take a tremendous amount of time to set up initially. You may need to set up recorded video pages, present an illusion of scarcity with timers, set up a pretty robust tagging system with your email service provider, and more.

Another negative for the Evergreen column would be that you won’t have a group of students on the same page of a course, so you would need to be accessible to answer questions during all of the steps as new students are always dripping in.

The good news is – you can offer both!

You will need an amazing welcome sequence that turns a random visitor into a loyal customer and gradually, they become raving fans.

Invest in your sequence, set it up properly, and watch the dollars roll in.

Wrap Up

There’s several moving pieces involved in your welcome sequence, and it can get overwhelming quick. It helps to have a plan, tackle things one at a time, and watch all the pieces come together.

I know setting up a welcome sequence seems like a daunting task, but it’s something that you benefit from while you’re globetrotting or binging Sons of Anarchy for the 7th time.

You buckled down and put in the work to put together an amazing welcome sequence, so now you can focus on something else that will help grow your business.

Are you still unsure of what to use as your freebie? Download the Ultimate Freebie Guide and start building a freebie your audience will love!