📌 Jon’s funnel broke all the rules

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Hey! 👋

This week’s EmailBreakdown is a big one.

You’ll learn how Jon Morrow built an empire from scratch, launched courses with no audience, and scaled using paid traffic, not content.

His Blog is one of the biggest online - 4,000,000 readers (SmartBlogger)

Plus, a killer mindset shift from his mom that changed his life (here’s how)

This week’s 3 handpicked email gems…

1.  A Beginner’s Guide to Ghostwriting(w/o the Fluff)

2. How to Build a Niche Website in 2024 (Step-by-Step)

3. How to Write a Hook: 7+ Bold Ways to Instantly Grab Attention

Backstory

When Jon was five, another kid called him "disabled."

He didn’t know what it meant. So he asked his mom.

She paused, then said: “It means you can’t do some things as well as other people... but it also means you can do some things better than most.”

Jon never walked a day in his life.

But he could think, write, and teach in a way few others could.

That belief became his edge.

And it helped him build a 7-figure education company from his wheelchair - using just his mind, a sip-and-puff joystick, and a lip-controlled mouse (See how it works)

What's in it for you?

1. How to stack small wins into a $2M system

2. How to launch without an audience

3. How to scale with paid traffic

Email Delivery

Jon’s email funnel didn’t begin with a big list or cold outreach - it began with radical usefulness:

1. A free guide on how to pitch HuffPost.

2. A $7 Black Book with editor contacts.

3. A $200 course on freelance writing.

Every step built trust by delivering real results fast.

And the tone was friendly, focused, and clear - just like his landing page:

No tricks. Just clarity and value. That’s what made readers open every email after.

Jon’s emails followed a proven logic. Click-driven follow-ups, layered urgency, and interest-based filtering. It wasn’t just good copy—it was engineered engagement.

Clarity + Credibility + Contrast + Conversion — That’s the model behind his funnel. It reads like a story but converts like a machine.

Content

Content Ecosystem: From blog to bank

SmartBlogger runs on a tightly engineered ecosystem:

Structure:

• Blog: High-traffic cornerstone content

• Newsletter: Promotional + educational (2-3 emails per campaign)

• Email logic: Click-driven follow-ups, urgency layers, interest-based filtering

Connection:

• Blog drives discovery → newsletter builds relationship → funnel converts

• Jon hit 10K subs before publishing his first post, via guest appearances and free resources

Ecosystem layers:

1. Free content: Blog, SEO, podcasts

2. Mini-courses / books / challenges: Early wins + trust

3. Main course: $1K–$2K evergreen products (e.g., guest blogging)

4. Upsells / coaching / masterminds: High-ticket momentum

Every layer feeds the next. Nothing random. Free work earns authority, content earns trust, and each product fuels the next step.

Perspective Take: This is a closed-loop system where each product feeds the next. Students become coaches. Courses fuel trust. Free work fuels endorsements.

AI Philosophy: Amplify, don’t fear

Jon didn’t see AI as a threat—he saw it as a multiplier.

He used 12–15 custom prompts per article to speed up ideation, formatting, and drafting. The result? Content that felt handcrafted in a fraction of the time.

“Top 1% writers using AI are now indistinguishable from top 1% writers without it.”

But here’s the catch:

Writers without AI fluency are falling behind. Fast.

Jon’s take was simple: AI won’t replace skilled writers. But it will replace the ones who stay stuck in the past.

Growth

Jon ignored the “build-audience-first” advice. Instead, he:

1. Created his course first.

2. Ran Facebook ads to a free guide.

3. Collected emails at $1/subscriber.

4. Sold the $7 Black Book on the thank-you page.

5. Upgraded 10% of buyers into a $200 course.

He reinvested profits into more ads

In 3 months (Here is the exact formula)

• 100,000 subscribers

• 23,000+ buyers

• $2M+ in sales

• Starting budget: $100

Name for it: The Traffic Engine.
Philosophy: Skip the slow game. Start converting.

The real secret? His system wasn’t just a funnel—it was an ecosystem:

• Guest posts brought early traffic (Jon hit 10K subs before publishing his first blog post)

• Mini-products funded ad spend

• Main courses drove revenue

• Upsells & coaching deepened trust

Every part of SmartBlogger’s funnel fed the next. Nothing random. All engineered.

Monetization

Jon doesn’t sell one course. He sells momentum (Step-by-Step)

Each offer leads to the next:

1. Free content → List growth

2. $7 product → Break-even on ads

3. $200 course → Entry-level solution

4. $600 upgrade → Deeper transformation

5. $2,000+ coaching → High-touch success

He runs three funnel types:

• Tripwire Funnel ($7 → $200): Best for trust-building and list growth.

• Webinar Funnel ($500–$3K): Best for high-volume sales.

• Call Funnel ($5K+): Best for personal coaching or premium programs.

Each funnel is profitable on its own.

Together? They form a customer ladder.

Jon’s secret:

Plan from the top down. Start with your high-ticket offer—then design everything else to qualify buyers for it.

His business isn’t a bunch of offers - it’s a flywheel:

• Free work built authority

• Courses created results

• Students became testimonials and even coaches.

That’s how Jon built a $15 M+ brand - starting with a $7 ebook.

P.S. oh, and…

I hope you found value here.

If so, please forward this to 2 friends who might benefit as well - sign up here.

P.P.S.

Questions about newsletter growth, monetization, or other how-to topics?

Reply to this email or connect with me on ​LinkedIn.​