Funnel playbooks
The eight Brunson funnel playbooks.
Each playbook is a step-by-step build guide for one Brunson funnel archetype, with the common mistakes named and the ladder position mapped. Use them as architecture blueprints – the Hook / Story / Offer work then fills the structure.
Funnel playbooks hub TL;DR
TL;DR: Step-by-step playbooks for the Brunson funnel archetypes. Each carries when-to-use / when-not-to-use criteria, sequential build steps, common implementation mistakes, and ladder-position guidance.
- Cluster
- Brunson funnel playbooks
- Count
- 8 Brunson funnel archetypes
- Intent
- Step-by-step playbooks for the Brunson funnel archetypes. Each carries when-to-use / when-not-to-use criteria, sequential build steps, common implementation mistakes, and ladder-position guidance.
- Schema
- CollectionPage + ItemList; per-detail Article + HowTo + FAQPage + BreadcrumbList
- Last verified
- July 18, 2026
All playbooks
Tripwire funnel
A tripwire funnel converts cold traffic to first-time buyers using a low-priced ($1 to $27) entry offer that promises one specific finished outcome. The tripwire's job isn't to make money – it's to convert prospects into customers, which doubles or triples the conversion rate on the follow-up core offer.
Ladder position
Rung 1 (entry). The tripwire is the bottom of the value ladder – the first commitment a prospect makes that converts them into a customer.
Video sales letter (VSL) funnel
A VSL funnel uses a single video (8 to 22 minutes for sub-$100 offers, 22 to 45 for $100 to $1,000) to walk a prospect from cold to bought. The structure is Hook (audience-first 30 seconds) > Story (founder's why) > Offer (Stack Slide) > Close (specific risk-reversal).
Ladder position
Rung 2 (core). VSLs typically sell the core offer in the value-ladder, sitting between the entry tripwire and the high-ticket back-end.
Challenge funnel
A challenge funnel converts prospects via a 5 to 30 day guided experience where participants complete one small action per day toward a specific outcome. By the end of the challenge, participants have invested enough effort and seen enough progress that the upgrade to the core offer feels like the obvious next step.
Ladder position
Rung 2 (core) or Rung 3 (back-end). Challenges typically sell the core offer ($97 to $497), occasionally the back-end ($997 to $2,997 high-ticket).
Perfect Webinar funnel
The Perfect Webinar is Russell Brunson's signature one-to-many sales presentation: 60 to 90 minutes, structured around an epiphany bridge, three secrets that break false beliefs, and a stacked offer close. Converts 2 to 10% of registered attendees on offers between $497 and $2,997.
Ladder position
Rung 3 (back-end). The Perfect Webinar typically sells the highest-priced core offer or the back-end mastermind, sitting at $497 to $2,997.
Soap Opera Sequence
The Soap Opera Sequence is Russell Brunson's 5-email narrative welcome series. Each email continues a story arc that hooks the reader into opening the next: backstory > wall > epiphany > hidden benefits > urgency. Converts 2 to 8% of new subscribers to first purchase.
Ladder position
Email-layer infrastructure. The Soap Opera Sequence converts subscribers across ladder rungs – tripwire, core, and back-end – depending on which offer the urgency email pitches.
One-time offer (OTO) funnel
An OTO (One-Time Offer) is a single upsell shown immediately after a front-end purchase. Done right, it captures 15 to 35% of buyers and often doubles or triples the funnel's profitability. The key: the OTO extends the buyer's just-made decision, not introduce a new one.
Ladder position
Immediate adjacency to any ladder rung. The OTO sits one step above whatever the buyer just purchased – tripwire → OTO, core → OTO, back-end → OTO.
Seinfeld Email pattern
The Seinfeld Email pattern is Russell Brunson's ongoing list engagement strategy – named after the show 'about nothing' that was actually about its characters. Send 3 to 4 emails per week in the founder's voice: 80% personality and stories, 20% direct offer. Converts the long tail.
Ladder position
Email-layer infrastructure. The Seinfeld pattern converts subscribers across the value-ladder over time – the same email might pitch tripwire, core, or back-end depending on the audience cohort.
Value ladder funnel
The Value Ladder is Russell Brunson's organizing principle for SaaS or info-product offerings: stack offers from a low-priced entry (the bait) up to a high-priced back-end (the buyer's eventual destination). Each rung naturally leads to the next. The economics work because customer acquisition cost amortizes across all rungs, not just the entry.
Ladder position
Meta-pattern (organizes all other rungs). The Value Ladder isn't itself a rung – it's the framework that organizes the tripwire, core, back-end, and beyond.
Each funnel, applied to your cohort
96combos: each playbook cross-applied to a specific cohort, with fit verdict, vocabulary shift, and the cohort’s specific failure mode running this funnel.
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