234: Why I Wrestled a Sumo Wrestler (And What It Taught Me About Funnels)
2026/03/13 | 16 mins.
What if you could turn one Instagram Reel into actual sales, without ever sending someone to a landing page? About a year ago, I started tracking our drop-off rates and the numbers were brutal. My family and I are in Japan right now (I wrestled a Sumo wrestler — long story), and while I've been here I've been thinking a lot about this system we've been building. We stopped sending people to landing pages entirely. Instead, we kept the entire funnel inside Instagram DMs. Opt-ins more than doubled. Same content, same offer; we just removed the friction of leaving the platform. In this episode, I'm breaking down the exact anatomy of what I call the "One-Post Funnel" from the Reel that hooks them, to the DM that converts them, to the $7 impulse offer that upsells 40% of buyers into your next offer. In this episode, you'll learn: • The 4-part content formula for Reels that actually convert (hook, teaching points, CTA, caption structure) • Why DM automation gets 65-90% opt-in rates vs. 30-40% on landing pages — and how to set it up with ManyChat • How a $7 front-end offer qualifies buyers and leads to membership upsells on the back end • The repurposing strategy that turns your top-performing Reels into webinars, email sequences, and more lead magnets
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - What if one Reel could generate sales without a landing page? 1:22 - Japan update: I wrestled a Sumo wrestler for the kids 2:40 - Why I started questioning everything about our Instagram strategy 3:08 - The drop-off problem: views but no sales 3:42 - The stat that stopped me cold (DM opt-in rates vs. landing pages) 4:06 - What if we just kept people inside Instagram? 4:38 - We tested it — opt-ins more than doubled 5:03 - Part 1: The high-converting content formula (hook + 3 teaching points + CTA + caption) 6:05 - Why you should never say "link in bio" again 6:41 - Caption structure: CTA as the first line 7:37 - Part 2: DM automation with ManyChat 8:06 - Why DMs crush landing pages (65-90% vs. 30-40%) 8:45 - How to set up the automation sequence 10:06 - Why instant responses build trust in 2026 10:14 - Part 3: The $7 impulse offer 10:58 - Order bumps and membership upsells on the back end 11:42 - The math: 100 opt-ins → $400/month recurring from one Reel 12:20 - Part 4: Repurpose the winners 13:00 - Next steps: Your 3-step action plan 13:36 - Experience this funnel yourself — DM me SUMMIT26 14:13 - Next week: Dean Graziosi's 680,000-registrant launch 14:45 - Full recap of the One-Post Funnel system
📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me 🎟️ FREE SUMMIT: Join Stu and 24 creators for the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10, 2026): DM "SUMMIT26" to @stumclaren on Instagram or visit https://membership.io/summit
CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me • Membership.io: https://membership.io
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233: Japan Cracked Me Wide Open (What That Means For Your Marketing)
2026/03/11 | 13 mins.
I'm standing in one of the busiest subway stations in the world: Tokyo, rush hour, millions of people moving around me, and I don't speak a word of Japanese. But I knew exactly where I was going. And that experience taught me something about YOUR marketing. My family and I are traveling through Japan right now, and three things have stood out to me that apply directly to how you and I market our businesses. From the Tokyo subway system to a hotel booking gone wrong to our daughter who doesn't love traveling suddenly falling in love with a temple, each experience revealed a marketing principle that most of us are getting wrong. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why simplicity is the ultimate marketing strategy — and how to build a "color, letter, number" system for your business • How the gap between what you promise and what you deliver is quietly costing you customers (72% will switch after one confusing experience) • What Japan's culture of safety and cleanliness teaches us about building communities where members actually engage ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Standing in Tokyo's subway at rush hour 0:42 - Welcome to Marketing Your Business 1:18 - Setting the scene: A family of four in Tokyo 1:56 - Lesson 1: Simplicity is the ultimate marketing strategy 3:13 - The Tokyo subway's color-letter-number system 4:06 - What's the "color, letter, number" system for YOUR business? 4:18 - 7-Eleven's smoothie machine and effortless onboarding 5:00 - 72% of customers switch after one confusing experience 5:47 - Lesson 2: Close the gap between promise and delivery 6:12 - The hotel room that "accommodates five" 7:06 - When trust breaks down in your marketing 7:58 - 65% of customers switch when experience doesn't match the promise 8:27 - Lesson 3: When people feel safe, they open up 8:33 - Marla at Japan's oldest temple 9:27 - Japan's culture of cleanliness and safety 10:03 - What's the "cleanliness" of your community? 10:37 - The three big takeaways recap 11:00 - Your homework: Pick one and take action this week 11:15 - Join us for the free Audience to Income Summit 12:38 - Wrap-up 📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me 🎟️ FREE SUMMIT: Join Stu and 24 industry leading creators for the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10, 2026) — https://membership.io/summit CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me • Membership.io: https://membership.io Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.
232: She Launched a Membership Before Building It (Here's What Happened) - Krystal Schouten
2026/03/09 | 33 mins.
Krystal Schouten launched her membership before anything was built—and it worked. She helps women stop peeing their pants (yes, really), and in this episode, she reveals the limiting belief that almost held her back. Krystal Schouten is a pelvic floor fitness specialist who helps women overcome incontinence and regain confidence. In this episode, she shares her journey from one-on-one personal training to launching a membership - including the fear that almost stopped her. We talk about: • The "welcome to motherhood" myth she's fighting against • How COVID forced her to pivot (and her mom pushed her to keep going) • The limiting belief "I can't be big" and where it comes from • The $2/day reframe that makes membership pricing accessible • Why she launched her membership before anything was built • How she handles the emotional roller coaster of entrepreneurship
📚 FREE RESOURCE: Get Krystal's Founding Member Launch Checklist + Pricing Reframe Script → https://podcast.stu.me CONNECT WITH KRYSTAL: • Instagram: https://instagram.com/fitness.reset • Website: https://fitnessresetinfo.com • Membership: The Body Reset Method CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me • Membership.io: https://membership.io Subscribe for new episodes every week.
231: 4 Small Changes That Nearly Doubled Our Opt-In Rate
2026/03/06 | 12 mins.
What if four small changes to a single page could nearly double your conversion rate and cut your lead costs in half? That's exactly what happened when we stopped assuming and started testing. We had an opt-in page for our workshop that had been running for years. People were signing up, and we were happy with it. But working and working well are two very different things. It's like a car driving with the parking brake on... you're still moving, but you don't realize how much faster you could be going. So we got curious. We ran four split tests. Small changes, not a radical redesign. And the results surprised us. In this episode, you'll learn:
• The headline swap that made the single biggest difference (and why "explicit benefit" beats "implicit benefit" every time)
• Why we ditched the button-to-form setup that had been "best practice" for years
• The short page vs. long page test, and why it won on a free opt-in
• The social proof element most people skip that actually moved the needle This is part 2 of a two-part series. If you missed the last episode on the 6 webinar conversion points, go back and listen to that one first. It sets the stage for everything we cover here.
📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me
CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me • Membership.io: https://membership.io Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.
230: Why Most Webinars Fail (It's Not What You Think)
2026/03/04 | 14 mins.
My client Lisa came to me and said, "Stu, I am terrible at selling." She wanted to revamp her entire webinar presentation. But when we broke down the numbers, we found something she never expected.
Lisa wasn't bad at selling at all. Her close rate was actually strong. The real problem? She wasn't getting enough people into the room in the first place. It was a traffic and show-up problem, not a selling problem. And once we identified that, the solution became simple.
In this episode, I walk you through the 6 conversion points in any webinar funnel -- the chain of events that determines whether your webinar works or falls flat. Most business owners look at the whole thing and say "this isn't working." But when you break it down link by link, the answer becomes obvious.
In this episode, you'll learn: • The 6 conversion points in every webinar funnel (and how to diagnose each one) • Why "I'm bad at selling" is almost never the real problem • How to tell if your bottleneck is traffic, opt-in, show-up, stay-on, close, or follow-up • Why attendees who interact through Q&A and polls are 30% more likely to buy • The follow-up stat most people ignore: 25% of webinar sales happen after the event
📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me
CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me • Membership.io: https://membership.io
Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.
About Marketing Your Business - Marketing Strategies for Business Owners
Marketing Your Business is a podcast dedicated to all things marketing. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the marketing tactics and strategies that lead to a loyal following, growing sales, and a business that gives you more freedom in your everyday life.
Each episode is packed with takeaways to help you get what you have in front of a lot more people. It's about leveraging your marketing to build a business that's high in profit, low in stress, and one that gives you the ability to have the greatest impact on the world.
Join leading online marketing strategist and entrepreneur Stu McLaren as he shares what's working for selling products online with product launches, online communities, email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and more. This is about the marketing that leads to more sales, more profits, and a high-growth business.
But this show isn't just about making money. It's about using the power of marketing to give you more freedom. The freedom to work with who you want, where you want, while having time to travel and do the things that matter. It's about reducing the "go-go-go" stress and redesigning your business so you can be more present in the lives of those who matter most to you.
About Stu McLaren:
For years, Stu has helped experts transform their knowledge and influence into recurring revenue by launching, growing, and scaling 7 and 8-figure membership sites. In 2008, he co-founded the world's most popular membership platform for WordPress (WishList Member). He then went on to partner with New York Times best-selling author Michael Hyatt, helping his company go from a high 6-figure business (with lots of stress) to a high 7-figure business (with low-stress). Michael's profitability soared, his email list grew from 70,000 to over 500,000 and he gained back over 100 days with his family by not having to travel.
Today, he's the Co-Founder of Membership.io, helping creators and entrepreneurs build thriving membership businesses. He's also the author of Predictable Profits, which shows business owners how to create recurring revenue so they can stop chasing new customers and start building real stability.
If you've got an established business and you're looking for ideas on how to get your products and services in front of more people OR you're thinking about starting a business and want to see the behind-the-scenes of another entrepreneur doing it in real time, Marketing Your Business is tailor-made for you.
Listen to Marketing Your Business - Marketing Strategies for Business Owners, The Tim Ferriss Show and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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