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Okay, but where do the potatoes factor in?

And what the heck has that got to do with sales funnels?

Here’s how it went down: in 2005, Russell created “How to Create a Potato Gun” - a series of DVDs meant to promote his potato gun kit.

People who ordered the DVDs were encouraged to buy his kit.

If you’ve seen some of his contemporary methods, you’ll notice that this is an example of up-selling to customers.

It’s something that will go on to define his approach to sales funnels and sales in general.

After, he sold all kinds of products imaginable - from supplements and coupons to software and t-shirts. He even had great success in network marketing.

Not surprising, when you consider his direct response beginnings.

By the time he got his degree and spent a year in the “real world,” Brunson had already made his first million.

The real party starts when ClickFunnels walk in.

In 2014, Brunson launched ClickFunnels with his partner, Todd Dickerson.

ClickFunnels was the first software to offer everything you need to market your business in one tool.

When you look at the features and at Brunson’s previous experience, you can see how ClickFunnels became a masterpiece of his direct response approach:

In fact, if you’re asking me to find a single thing that helped ClickFunnels succeed, I’d say: affiliate marketing.

Brunson did a great job recruiting affiliates, and having them promote his product.

This is why you’ll often see posts titled as: “Is ClickFunnels legit?”

Unfortunately, Brunson hasn’t been very strict when recruiting affiliates, so the program grew a life of its own, and ultimately, there were some poorly chosen affiliates.

In general, Brunson created his own marketing machine for ClickFunnels out of a network of hundreds and thousands of affiliates promoting his products.

This is a legitimate method. And if you’re a first-time business owner, it’s a cost-effective one, too.

You don’t have to pay affiliates their commission until they successfully sell your products.

It’s no wonder that affiliate marketing became a core part of ClickFunnels’ offer.

In addition to building software for sales and marketing, Brunson also became a prolific writer.

He’s sold hundreds of thousands of copies of his 4 books, all of which deal with marketing your online business.

I’ve recently reviewed DotCom Secrets, and I found it to be a good book when it comes to marketing your business for the first time.

Even if you want to improve your marketing strategy, it’s full of actionable advice:

Now, the majority of online businesses create eBooks, videos, webinars, and give them away for free.

However, Brunson turns “baiting” into a work of art, which makes his book worth the read.

Also, pay attention to how his book isn’t an eBook.

You still have to pay for shipping.

This is all a part of the sales funnel strategy; you’ll be making a micro-commitment, which will make you more likely to buy his software by the time you finish reading.

Expert Secrets covers the following:

How does Brunson recommend you do it?

It’s all about secrets with Russell, but I want to do him justice: he, unlike other entrepreneurs and salesmen, at least shares some of his in his books.

Network Marketing Secrets is all about building your network; from affiliates to leads who are ready to buy from you:

Brunson also generates a lot of money through conferences like the 10X Conference that earned him $3mil in 90 minutes.

His speaking engagements start at $500,000.

All things considered, here’s exactly how Russell Brunson grew his net worth:

You may feel pressed to go straight to ClickFunnels, but I’d encourage you to stop right there.

ClickFunnels is expensive, and not all that great.

If you want some of the most effective features like follow-up emails (email marketing automation), you’ll need to pay $297/month.

And you still won’t be getting all the features you need.

Systeme.io is a much better option:

So, what do you say?

Let’s get started!