Issue 32 | 1
internet marketing industry starting back in the late 1990s.
Watch this funnel
hack on video
Scan the QR code or go to
www.FunnelU.com/AssociationFunnels
to watch Mike’s hack on video.
By Mike Schauer, founder of Swiped.co
Hey there! It’s Mike Schauer, the
founder of Swiped.co, back with
another issue of Funnel University. For
those who are unfamiliar with who I
am, you may have heard Russell talk
about my site, Swiped.co. Russell and
I connected because what I’ve been doing for a while now
is funnel hack the biggest marketers and advertisers online.
Then, I share my findings with others, except that I put a lot of
focus on breaking down the psychology of the copywriting.
I don’t just analyze funnels - I also post legendary print ads,
direct mail, and all kinds of awesome marketing examples.
I’ll give some information later so that you can connect more
with me. Right now, I have some amazing findings to share
with you this month. So, let’s get right to it...
What is an Association Funnel?
In this issue I’m going to show you three funnels that are
owned by well-known marketer Ryan Deiss and his company,
Digital Marketer. Ryan is most well known for his work in the
2 | Funnel University
In 2012, he decided to venture into other niches. He started
with SurvivalLife.com, which became a multimillion dollar
company in just a few years.
Since then, he has ventured into at least a dozen other niches.
What you’re going to see this month are the sites that Ryan
stuck with out of the dozen other sites that he started.
Here is where it gets interesting: for almost every one of his
niches, Ryan decided to create an association funnel.
In fact, he was so into creating associations that he created
an association management company. That no longer exists
and he’s since dropped a lot of the associations. Right now
he’s sticking with only three. These are the funnels that
we’re going to take a closer look at today. Two of them are
extremely similar in terms of their audience and advertising,
whereas the last one we’re going to look at is in a polar
opposite niche and mostly just coasting on organic traffic
right now. They are:
• Survival Life / Family Protection Association
https://survivallife.familyprotectionassociation.com/
bwaterproof-match
• AGA Deals / The American Gun Association
https://agadeals.com/gun-safe
• Makeup Tutorials / American Beauty Association
MakeupTutorials.com
All three of these successful funnels have these four things in
common:
1. They all start with a free plus shipping offer for a physical
product with a high perceived value.
2. The first upsell offers another free but more premium
item. However, you must join their monthly association
to get it.
3. After the first upsell, they offer additional physical items.
4. Traffic comes from ads as well as their own related blogs.
Before we get into the actual funnels, I want to talk about the
three reasons why you might create an association funnel:
1. Authority: If you’re creating an association around a
specific niche, you will automatically be looked at as an
authority for whatever that association is about.
2. Belonging and Identity: People are going to feel more a
part of an association than a business or a membership.
They’re going to feel more like family.
3. Following: Because of the family feeling you create, your
buyers are going to be more responsive. This is what
Russell means when he talks about building a following.
The same people are going to stick with you and they’re
going to continue to buy from you, versus just having
customers who buy and then leave.
With that introduction, let’s take a look at the first funnel...
The hook is
a high value
tool for free
+ shipping
Funnel #1 – Survival Life
Step 1: Faceboook Ads
Survival Life is Ryan Deiss’ most profitable company outside
of Digital Marketer. It’s the first big one that he started in
another niche and it’s still a high performer for him. In Survival
Life, something that has been running for 5+ years now, their
go-to strategy has been to create free plus shipping offers and
then create a bunch of upsells on the backend.
Now, their free plus shipping offers are always physical items,
because survivalists, their main audience, like tools. Survival
Life looks for cheap tools that seem like they have a lot of
value that they can give away for free plus shipping. An
example is the Ever-Stryke Match. Based on my research and
what I’ve seen over the years, this is their number one free
plus shipping item.
Step 1: Facebook Ad (Example #1)
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In their first Facebook ad example (page 3) you can see their
pitching this free offer for the Ever-Stryke Match. There are
four things that I want to point out in this version of the ad:
1. They tell you the value. So, if you’re getting it free and
you know it retails for $14.95, you know that it’s a really
good deal.
2. Big focus on free. Free is capitalized and featured in
green text.
3. They list how many spots are available, so there is a little
sense of scarcity.
4. They invite you to “become a gear tester.” They aren’t
just asking straight out for you to buy something.
approach and it’s a good strategy to have. You will see this
pattern in the other funnels we’re going to look at as well.
Survival Life’s video ad (below left) shows you a
demonstration of how to use the Ever-Stryke Match. There
is no better form of proof than demonstration. The video
version of the ad pretty much has the same copy as the other
version. You can see how much ad engagement they have
here after just a few weeks.
Step 2: Sales Page

Great legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz said to never,

ever, ever, sell something. Always ask them to try it. That
kind of copy is what they’re following here. It’s a lot softer

Step 1: Facebook Ad (Example #2) Step 2: Sales Page

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 Step 2: Sales Page Order Form Popup

Once you click on the ad, they send you to their sales page.
It’s a pretty short, simple page with three call to action

The Headline
buttons. They like to use buttons that move which are
usually green.

I like the headline: The Everstryke Lighter. The World’s Most

positions
Durable, Long Lasting, Completely Waterproof Lighter - Get
1 FREE!

their lighter
Notice how it has “The World’s Most...” I always like to
try to create a positioning statement that has words like
this in the beginning. It makes you think about, “How is

as #1
my product ‘The Best in the World at... something?’” that
automatically positions you as number one. That’s how
you want to think: “The World’s Most...”, “The Best... On The
Planet.” Fill in the blank.

They also have good product images on this page, even

Issue 32 | 5
though they don’t have a video. I think it would work well if
they included a demonstration video like in their ad but they
do a good job of having animated images that show you
how the lighter works.

Down at the bottom of the page, they list $200 in free

bonuses. What’s interesting about these bonuses is that they
aren’t the typical bonuses you would imagine.

The first bonus is actually another offer, but they call it a

report. After you buy the product, you are given a link that
says, “Check out this special video report.” The presentation
then eventually leads you to sign up for a subscription to
a financial newsletter. It’s interesting how they framed this
subscription as a bonus, getting you prepared for it so that it
doesn’t seem like a sales pitch.

The second bonus is a free basic membership. I’m not really

sure what the basic membership includes because I never
got anything for the basic membership. They just kind of tell
you that you’re a basic member, but you’ll see how that fits
into the upsell coming next in the funnel.

Step 3: $17/month Association Upsell

After you get the lighter, they offer the first upsell. As I just
mentioned, they tell you that, as a bonus, you’re going
to become a new basic member of the Family Protection
Association. In the upsell, they use that basic membership to
frame the one time offer for new members only. The offer is
for another more premium item that you get for free. In this
version it’s a tactical knife valued at $119.

The whole first half of the sales letter is all about the knife.
Just like they did with the lighter, they have excellent
examples of demonstration with a lot of good photos of the
knife and a list of the features and all of the different ways
that you can use it.

The second half of the page transitions to selling the

membership: “So why would we GIVE you this knife? We need
people like you in the leadership of the FPA and to tell your
friends about it. When you upgrade your order now you’ll get

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Step 3: $17/Month Association Upsell

Issue 32 | 7
all the benefits of the basic membership PLUS... You Could
Get Another $600+ In Free Gear This Year Alone...”

So to get the free tactical knife, you need to upgrade your

membership status. Then they list all the benefits you get for
upgrading, including testing free survival and tactical gear.
They say this is for free, but really you have to pay shipping,
just like you did for the lighter. However, you get access to
more expensive gear in which you only have to pay shipping.

The Family Protection Association has a bunch of other

benefits. They host giveaways. You get a printed newsletter
sent to your door. They have patches and certificates and
awards. As you move up in ranks, there’s some gamification.
They also have an exclusive Facebook group and you get a
card in the mail. So it really gives you the feeling that you
belong to something official, even though its all created
from scratch.

An interesting tidbit is that they used to have this offer as a

14 day trial. I believe it used to be $19.95 a month after the
first two weeks. Now, it’s just $17 a month, but you pay right
up front. I think that’s kind of smart. Also, you used to have
to pay shipping for the knife, whereas now you don’t pay
shipping. This probably helped them get less complaints
because it’s a more straightforward offer.

Step 4: $50 Upsell

The sales page for the second upsell is a lot simpler. They’re
offering a bundled kit, where they’re throwing in a bunch of
items that they probably gave away in the past. Just like in
the previous upsell, notice how they mention, “Use your new
member discount.” Again, they’re using that new member
status to make the deal seem really exclusive.

Step 5: $295 Upsell

I was a little disappointed with the third upsell page because
it’s extremely short. For a $295 product, I thought that
there was going to be a lot more copy or at least a video.
Instead, they have an animated image that flips back and
forth between different images of the product. The product
images are impressive, and they do show how much you’re Step 4: $50 Upsell

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Step 5: $295 Upsell

Issue 32 | 9
 The Free bonus report is
really another offer.

Step 6: Thank You Page

10 | Funnel University
getting. However, they don’t really describe and sell it as
thoroughly as I think they could have.
If you look deeper at what they wrote for the copy though,
the message really goes for the jugular. The text reads, “What
will they make your wife or daughters do for food and water
in a real disaster?”
Step 1: Faceboook Ads
Because there is so much tension around gun rights, and a
fear that they could be taken away, this is a niche that really
bands together. So instead of selling gear, they’re offering a
free t-shirt to get gun owners into the funnel. I think this is a
smart offer for a vocal group with a lot of people who like to
show their gun pride.

It’s very fear based - they’re painting this scenario of a real
disaster for the reader. Are you going to have food and
water? No? Well, maybe you should buy this - and that’s
about the only pitch there is.
Again, look how many times “new members” is mentioned.
“New FPA members only” is listed at the top. Then lower on
the page, there are the words “Your new member status”
and “New members, just $295.” So, they’re really using that
association heavily.
I love the structure of this ad, and I love the approach.
They just straight up ask, “Do you love guns? Do you
love America?” Then down further, “The perfect shirt for
gun loving Americans.” So they’ve done a great job of
calling out their audience right from the beginning. Other
versions of this ad use the same copy so you know it’s
working really well.

Step 6: Thank You Page

The thank you page is designed for you to follow two steps.
First they have you join their private community, and second
is access to the bonus report.

As I mentioned earlier, the bonus report is actually a

presentation for another promotion. When you click on it,
you are sent to watch an hour long presentation that upsells
a $79 per year newsletter. If they’re converting well on this
offer, then they’re adding to their average order value, even
though it’s not directly through Survival Life.

Funnel #2 – American
Gun Association
The second funnel that we’re going to look at is for the
American Gun Association. This company was started in
2015, three years after Survival Life. I think what happened
Step 1: Facebook Ad
was that Ryan Deiss and the Survival Life team stumbled on a
sub-niche where some of these survival guys were also really
into guns. I think eventually when they noticed this segment, Step 2: Sales Page
they branched off and targeted just gun owners. Once you click on one of the ads, it takes you to the sales

Issue 32 | 11
 Step 2: Sales Page

12 | Funnel University
 page. Again, they use a headline where they’re putting the
target audience right in the headline. “FREE T-Shirt For 2nd
Amendment Supporters.” Like I said, it’s all about showing
pride and support.

Just like Survival Life with the fire starter offer, The American
Gun Association also offers a one year basic membership.
With the basic membership, they show you this card.
However, you don’t actually get a card - it’s very intangible.

You do get a one year complimentary membership to get

free gear, although you still have to pay shipping. So, it’s not
completely free.

This sales page is a little bit longer than the fire starter page.
You have bonuses, which is similar to the fire starter funnel,
except that you’re getting access to a different kind of
promotion - another financial offer from the same company
as the one we saw before. Maybe this one is better for gun
owners, but it’s the same exact type of bonus offer. They also
have a similar popup order form.

This page is
all about
showing gun
pride
Step 2: Sales Page (cont.)

Issue 32 | 13
STEP 3: $17/month association Upsell
Does this first upsell look familiar to you? It should,
because it’s the same exact upsell as the Family Protection
Association but with slightly different styling and a dark
background. You get the same knife and membership for
$17 a month. The copy is also the same except that it’s
written for the American Gun Association.

In fact, if you go down the page and look at the photo of the
association members, you’ll notice that they used the same
exact picture as the last funnel and just put American Gun
Association wording above it!

So, everything is the same except you get the newsletter

for American gun owners instead of the family protection
newsletter, and you get access to the American Gun
Association Group.

this page
is almost
identical
to Survival
Life’s upsell
Step 3: $17/Month Association Upsell

14 | Funnel University
Step 4: $97 Upsell
The second upsell page is also similar to Survival Life. It
features a bundle discount offer. Just like the other funnel,
it tells you that it’s for new members only. However, this
bundle offer is just a little more pricey, possibly because you
get more quality items. Otherwise, it’s the same type of sales
page with similar copy.

Step 5: Thank You Page

Step 5: Thank You Page

The last step is, again, the same exact thank you page as our
first funnel. The differences are that this one takes you to the
American Gun Association Facebook Group, and the free
bonus report is actually a PDF, not a video. This PDF file ends
up being a sales letter.

Funnel #3 – American
Beauty Association
The third and final funnel is for the American Beauty
Association - the outlier of the group. Their free plus
shipping offer is for a Mieoko makeup brush valued at $24.

At first glance, you can tell this funnel hasn’t been updated
in a while but technically the offer is still running and getting
Step 4: $97 Upsell a good amount of traffic - about 140,000 visits per month. I

Issue 32 | 15
wanted to show it to you because it’s a good example of an
association funnel in a polar opposite niche.
Step 1: Free Makeup Brush Offer
It all starts on their website MakeupTutorials.com. They’re
not currently running any advertising but they used to run
a YouTube ad created in 2015 which had a good amount of
views. They have some good demonstration footage in this
video where they compared the brush bristles and how well
makeup is applied using the Mieoko brush versus something
generic.
On their blog, you’ll notice that the makeup brush offer is the
only place where they are directing you. There’s also a pop
up that eventually appears on the site, asking you to enter
your email address that also takes you to the offer page.

Their blog style page

pushes to the free offer

Step 1: Free Makeup Brush Offer (Blog Popup)

16 | Funnel University

Step 1: Free Makeup Brush Offer
Step 2: Checkout Page
STep 2: Checkout Page
The checkout page is like a super basic shopping cart. They
just put this image and text at the top, “The only makeup
brush you’ll ever need” with a reminder of the guarantee.
Step 3: $10 + $20/Month Association Upsell
The first upsell features their premium item. Remember
that with the other funnels, the first premium item was the
knife. In order to get the knife, the special pricing required
you to get a membership to be a part of the association.
In this funnel, the premium item is an 18 piece brush set,
Issue 32 | 17
 and you have to get a membership to the American Beauty
Association.

The video on this page does most of the selling, along with
some testimonials. This very simple video is about seven
minutes long and it demonstrates more of how the brushes
work and how they’re better than other brushes. They then
will bill you $9.95 for the shipping of the brushes, so you’re
not getting it 100% for free.

As I mentioned earlier, what they used to do and

discontinued with Survival Life and The American Gun
Association, is the 14 day free trial membership with a $19.95
per month fee. That is the current offer for the American
Beauty Association.

the monthly
billing is not
as up front in
this funnel
Step 4: $30 Downsell
This funnel uses a downsell strategy, which is different
from the other two. It says at the top, “Not ready to join our
Step 2: $10 + $20 Association Upsell community? That’s okay. You can still get the brush set.”

18 | Funnel University
 Step 4: $30 Downsell
Then the buyer will be charged $29.95 for the brush set. This
is so they can still get some money from people who just
want the brushes but not the membership.
The product images are good, and I like the before and after
photos of the models. They also break down all the different
brushes that are included in the set. Overall, I think this is a
really solid sales page.
Step 5: $10 Upsell
The second and final upsell is for a contour effects kit for
$9.95 plus free shipping. This offer is a little bit different
in that it’s not free plus $9.95 shipping. What I really like
about this sales page is how they use this question: “You
want to avoid becoming the next big hit on Pinterest
Makeup Fails Board?” They focus on how you can mess up
contouring.
Issue 32 | 19
 I’ve actually seen this image of Nicki Minaj before, when my
girlfriend shared the image with me. It turned out that the
makeup artist just did a horrible job of blending the makeup
in. So, I thought that was kind of cool that they mentioned
this. You don’t want to be this person everyone else is
making fun of when you post your photo on social media. As
a bonus, they also include a course that teaches you how to
use your contour kit.

failure
photos do
a good job
of building
desire for
this upsell
Step 6: Thank YOu Page
The last step is the thank you page, and they give you a 20%
off coupon to use in their store. However, the store doesn’t
exist anymore. It was called the Scrumptious store. I tried
going to this site, but it seems to be down. It’s a smart idea,
but clearly they aren’t paying that much attention to this
Step 5: $10 Upsell funnel anymore.

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Step 6: Thank You Page

Issue 32 | 21
 asSociation Funnels

22 | Funnel University
More Funnels at Swiped.co
This completes the breakdown of these three funnels, and
I hope you got a lot out of it. As I hinted at earlier, my site is
Swiped.co. If you’ve been enjoying my newsletter content,
I think that you’ll really enjoy the site. I reverse engineer
successful sales pages, Facebook ads, print ads, all types of
examples and it is 100% free. I don’t even ask for an opt in.
So, go to Swiped.co and enjoy the great content. I update
the public archive every so often.
However, if you want full access to me and weekly updates
about the latest funnels, copy breakdowns, and my newest
research, my Insiders Membership is where I literally invest
all of my time. Russell is a member, a bunch of other funnel
hackers are in there. Even though it’s not open to the public,
I’m letting Funnel U subscribers check it out for free.
Legal Disclaimer And Terms Of Use
Copyright 2018 © SuccessEtc.com, LLC - All Rights Reserved
When you’re ready, just go to Swiped.co/funnelhackers
where you’ll find a sign up form for a free two week trial. I
have about 20 amazing funnel breakdowns in there already.
As one of my members put it, it’s like NASA-level funnel
hacking. I go and break down the webinar transcripts, entire
email sequences, all their advertising, funnel metrics, and
everything else. There’s also a private Facebook group and
a swipe file hotline where I research and deliver custom
inspirations for you. There are custom tools like one that
reveals the ads, or the ad stats of your Facebook competitors,
and just a ton more value.
So if that sounds good to you, I look forward to connecting
with you personally. Otherwise, I will review more funnels
soon in another issue. Thanks so much for reading!
Issue 32 | 23
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