funnels-evergreen

# Funnels Evergreen - The Auto-Webinar Funnel

> *"Evergreen is the live webinar's compound-interest version - but only if the live one already converted."*

This skill designs an **evergreen / auto-webinar funnel** - a webinar that runs 24/7 on autopilot, with simulated-live mechanics, deadline-driven scarcity, and an offer that converts on rotation. Evergreen is leverage: the live webinar that converts at 8% live should convert at 2–4% evergreen, scaling without the operator's calendar constraint.

The hard rule: **never put a webinar evergreen until the live version has been validated** (5%+ attendee-to-sale, 3+ live runs, refund rate <10%). Premature evergreen-ization is the #1 way to burn ad spend on a broken funnel scaled to the moon.

## When to Use

Trigger phrases: "evergreen webinar", "auto-webinar", "automated webinar", "evergreen funnel", "scale my webinar", "simulated live webinar", "deadline funnel", `/funnel evergreen <product>`.

Use when:
- The user has a validated live webinar (5%+ attendee-to-sale, 3+ runs) and wants to scale without delivering live
- The user is launching an evergreen course business and wants the funnel architecture from day one
- The user has an evergreen funnel that's underperforming and needs to fix the simulated-live mechanics or the scarcity layer

Do NOT use for:
- Designing a live one-time webinar (use `funnels-conviction-webinar`)
- Designing a launch-style cart-cycle event (use `funnels-cart-cycle-launch`)
- Authoring the registration page alone (use `convert-webinar-reg-page`)
- Authoring the VSL inside the auto-webinar (use `convert-vsl`)

## Conversion Benchmarks

| Stage | Evergreen baseline (warm) | Evergreen baseline (cold ads) |
|-------|---------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Reg → "live" attendance | 30–55% | 25–40% |
| Attendance → sale | 2–6% | 1–4% |
| Reg-to-buyer (full funnel) | 1–3% | 0.5–2% |

Evergreen typically runs at 20–40% of live performance. Live at 8% → evergreen at 2–3% is normal. Live at 12% → evergreen at 3–5% is normal.

## The 5 Architecture Layers

### Layer 1 - The Registration Cadence

**Job:** convert traffic to registrant with a believable "next session" time.

**Components:**

1. **Registration page** (handoff to `convert-webinar-reg-page`). Includes:
   - Headline with the webinar promise
   - "Next session" prominently displayed (multiple times in the next 48 hours, rotating slots)
   - Presenter credibility
   - 3–5 bullet "what you'll learn"
   - Bonus for live-attendance ("attendees get [X]; replays don't")
   - Disclosure that the broadcast is recorded (see Trust Disclosure below)

2. **Time-slot rotation logic.** Default: offer 4–6 slots in the next 48 hours, with the *closest* slot always 1–4 hours away. The "next session in 90 minutes" mechanic drives 30–50% higher reg-to-attend than "next session tomorrow."

3. **Confirmation + reminder sequence.** Email 1 immediate, Email 2 (12-24 hours before "live"), Email 3 (60 min before), SMS (10 min before - if collected).

### Layer 2 - The Simulated-Live Broadcast

**Job:** deliver the Conviction Webinar content (handoff from `funnels-conviction-webinar`) in a way that feels live without deceiving the viewer.

**Components:**

1. **Pre-recorded video** running on a fixed schedule. Same content as the live Conviction Webinar - pre-frame → 3 belief shifts → pitch → close.
2. **Chat simulation** (optional / contested) - fake chat messages that simulate live engagement. **Wayland default: OFF.** Fake chat is the line where evergreen tips from "scaled live" into deceptive. Trust loss > short-term conversion lift.
3. **Live-feel UI** - countdown to broadcast start, "live" indicator, "X attendees watching" counter. Use ONLY if you also include the trust-disclosure (below).
4. **Buy button reveal at minute 60–67** - same timing as live; not earlier (kills the belief-shift work).

### Layer 3 - The Trust Disclosure (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

The disclosure is what separates evergreen from deceptive. **The viewer must, somewhere, know the broadcast is recorded.**

**Acceptable disclosure modes (pick one or both):**

1. **On the registration page** - small but visible: *"This is a recorded broadcast scheduled for your time zone. Click here to read more."* + a footer FAQ entry explaining the simulated-live format.
2. **In the broadcast intro** - *"This is the recording of [date]'s session, replayed for you in full. Everything you'll see is exactly as I delivered it live."*

**The Wayland rule:** evergreen funnels that hide the recorded nature **suppress refund rate short-term but produce a chargeback / reputation crater within 6–18 months.** Do not skip the disclosure. The Bullshit Filter applies to the funnel architecture, not just the copy.

### Layer 4 - The Deadline / Cart-Window Scarcity

**Job:** create a real, individual deadline that drives the buy decision.

*The deadline-funnel principle (popularized in evergreen circles by Mark Thompson + Drew Mannings; lineage to Halbert's "limited-time offer" cadence + Cialdini scarcity).* Evergreen scarcity differs from launch scarcity: launch has one global deadline; evergreen has *per-buyer* deadlines that expire individually.

**Components:**

1. **Cart-window starts at broadcast minute 60** (when the buy button reveals).
2. **Cart-window ends 72 hours later** (per individual viewer). Default 72h; some operators use 24h or 7 days.
3. **Tools:** Deadline Funnel, Thrivecart per-buyer deadlines, or custom tracking. Each buyer's countdown is tied to their email + IP, not a global clock.
4. **Reason-why for the deadline.** *"Bonuses come off the table after Wednesday at midnight YOUR time"* - must include the *why*. Cialdini's because-effect.

**Trust rule for evergreen scarcity:** if the buyer revisits after the deadline, the price/bonus structure MUST actually change. Fake-resetting deadlines are the second-biggest evergreen trust killer (after fake live chat). Once the deadline is gone, it stays gone.

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