The $11 Marketing Funnel

[Kurt]

If someone only had $11 to invest, I think this is what I'd recommend.

Get an account with a free email autoresponder service like MailChimp that has a free landing page feature.

Here's a video on how to set up landing pages with Mail Chimp:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd9krdk68hs

Buy a domain and learn how to create redirects. Here's how to do it using NameCheap:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZE_SCLA6DY

Get a free site at something like Wix or Weebly.

Take an hour and really master how to use URL redirects and sub domain redirects at Namecheap and use them to point links to your MailChimp landing pages and your Wix/Weebly pages.

This way when you're ready for your own hosting you can change your redirects from Wix to your own site.

MailChimp has limitations for marketers. Use it as a test and only until you're getting results. Then get an account at GetResponse or aWeber and send your redirects either to landing pages on those accounts or to pages on your own site.

I think landing page builders offered by all the autoresponder companies and a really underrated resource and they're easy to get everything hooked up and looking good. Wix and Weebly offer quite a few options for landing pages and using URL redirects keeps you in control while depending on free third party resources.

[JoeSpirit]

You could also set up a free blog site someplace like WP and redirect from there. That way you save even the $11 for the domain until you can buy it from profits.

If you go with the domain purchase to start and don't want to bother with redirects you can simply change the name servers at your registrar.

[Kurt]

Hey Joe...yeah I agree there's a number of things you can do for free. You can make a "site" with free autoresponder services like MailChimp and just send links and traffic to those pages, plus a bunch of other parasite and Web 2.0 sites.

But I think a domain name is the minimum investment a person needs to make if they're serious and it acts as insurance in case accounts are lost for any reason at a free resource.

[JoeSpirit]

I definitely agree. If the free site is absolutely necessary the very first goal in my mind is buying a domain. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to put your content and business in somebody else's control any longer than you have to.

[Kurt]

I definitely agree. If the free site is absolutely necessary the very first goal in my mind is buying a domain. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to put your content and business in somebody else's control any longer than you have to.

I've put a lot of thought into this over the years trying to come up with the bare minimum budget someone needs to get into IM. In theory it's possible to do for free. Having your own domain name doesn't really increase the odds of success, it's insurance in the future for your efforts.

Things like you upload a pdf to a free site, build links to that PDF and then the free site changes their rules and shuts down your account. If you at least use a domain redirect you can upload your pdf to another free download host and just change the redirect destination to the new download.

I actually have a hard time not thinking a hosting service for a domain isn't also essential. Again it's theoretically possible to make money without one but I think it's a lot harder without than with.

[Claire Koch]

You also cannot upload anything to free site for the most part like a zip file.  They delete those immediately
HOWEVER today there are free cloud storage areas everywhere so you don't really need to do that anymore.

I agree with you kurt get the domain if you can afford something like .89 cents a month thats what it comes out
to and for the first year you can usually get domains cheaper.  I use the honey app and have paid less then 3$
for a domain for the first year.  Just something someone can do to get it cheaper if they cannot afford much.
Albiet the price goes up when your payment comes due.

I've been there with free 2.0 sites it really takes your credibility down some.  People look up to domain holders.
But alas people who have no pennies do do it. I know its not the best