Free guides
Guides by Don Lyons
Offer Creation
The Grand Slam Offer for Coaches: A Worked Example You Can Copy
A grand slam offer for coaches stacks real value, templates, and accountability, then removes risk with a guarantee tied to actions. Worked example inside.
Operator's Bookshelf
Influence, Applied: Using Cialdini’s 6 Principles in AI-Written Copy
How operators apply Cialdini's 6 principles of influence to AI-written copy, with a copy-paste audit prompt for reciprocity, proof, authority, and scarcity.
Ad Foundations
ABO vs CBO Explained: Which Budget Setting Should You Use?
ABO vs CBO explained: how each one decides where your ad budget goes, when to use ad set vs campaign budget optimization, and how to switch between them.
Conversion Copywriting
Copywriting vs Content Writing: The Difference and Which to Learn
Copywriting vs content writing: the real difference, how to know which one a page needs, and the metrics that prove each is actually working.
AI for Marketing
20 ChatGPT Prompts for Facebook Ads (That Produce Testable Hooks)
20 ChatGPT prompts for Facebook ads that generate distinct angles, hooks, and body copy, not ten rewrites of the same idea. Copy, paste, test.
Funnel Basics
The Simple 3-Page Sales Funnel Any Beginner Can Ship This Weekend
A simple sales funnel for beginners needs just 3 pages: opt-in, thank-you offer, and checkout. Here's exactly how to build and launch yours this weekend.
Offer Creation
How to Increase the Perceived Value of an Offer (7 Levers)
Learn how to increase perceived value of an offer with 7 practical levers: itemized deliverables, proof, bonuses, scarcity, and price framing.
Operator's Bookshelf
$100M Offers, Applied: Building a Grand Slam Offer as a Solo Operator
Alex Hormozi's $100M Offers, applied: build a Grand Slam Offer as a solo operator using the value equation, offer stack, and AI-drafted guarantees.
Ad Foundations
How Much Should You Spend on Ads to Start? A Realistic Beginner Budget
How much should you spend on ads to start? Set a 7 to 14 day test budget sized to your margin and platform, enough to exit the learning phase.
Conversion Copywriting
Direct Response vs Brand Copywriting: A Clear Side-by-Side
See the real difference in direct response vs brand copywriting: what each is for, when to use each one, and how to blend both inside one funnel.
AI for Marketing
Claude Prompts for Copywriting: Why It Beats ChatGPT for Long-Form (With Prompts)
Claude prompts for copywriting that hold your framework and customer voice across a full draft, plus the exact prompt to copy and use today.
Funnel Basics
Sales Funnel Stages Explained (With a Real Micro-Business Walkthrough)
The 4 sales funnel stages explained: awareness, interest, decision, and action, with a real micro-business walkthrough showing what to say at each one.
Offer Creation
Value Stack Offer Examples: How to Make the Price Feel Like a Steal
See real value stack offer examples across price points, plus the exact formula for pricing each item so your total dwarfs what you actually charge.
CRO
Heatmaps and Session Recordings for Conversion Optimization: See Where Visitors Bail
Heatmaps and session recordings for conversion optimization show why visitors bail where analytics only shows that they did. Free Clarity setup inside.
Conversion Copywriting
Email Subject Lines That Boost Open Rates: 7 Formulas and 35 Examples
Email subject lines that increase open rates: 7 proven formulas, 35 swipe examples, the word-count sweet spot, and a prompt that spins up 20 variants.
Automation & MCPs
How to Scrape Leads With AI and n8n (Free Clay Alternative)
How to scrape leads with AI and n8n: build a scraper that cleans, enriches, and writes outreach to a sheet. A free Clay alternative, caveats included.
Ad Foundations
Facebook Ad Objectives Explained: Which One to Pick for Your Goal
Facebook ad objectives explained without the fluff. A pick-your-objective guide so you optimize for buyers, not cheap clicks, plus a prompt to choose fast.
Digital Products
How to Create and Sell a Mini Course (The $29 to $49 Low-Ticket Offer)
Learn how to sell a mini course as a $29 to $49 entry offer. Build one with AI in a weekend, price it for impulse, and warm buyers for your bigger offer.
Funnel Software
ClickFunnels vs Kajabi vs Kartra: Which All-in-One Wins for a Solo Founder in 2026
ClickFunnels vs Kajabi vs Kartra scored on price, funnel depth, courses, and email so a bootstrapped solo founder in 2026 picks the right all-in-one stack.
Conversion Copywriting
The P.S. Line: The Most-Read Part of Your Sales Copy (and How to Write It)
How to write a P.S. in sales copy: why scanners read it first, the four jobs it can do, the 3-line rule, and a prompt to write P.S. variants that sell.
Automation & MCPs
How to Build an AI Newsletter Automation Workflow End-to-End
Learn how to build an AI newsletter automation workflow that gathers sources, curates them with an LLM, and ships a branded send on a schedule, hands-off.
Ad Foundations
Cold vs Warm vs Hot Audiences: How to Structure Ad Campaigns by Temperature
Cold vs warm vs hot audiences, mapped: which message and offer each temperature needs, how to split campaigns by funnel stage, and a prompt to build the map.
Offer Types
Continuity Offer Ideas: 12 Ways to Turn a One-Time Sale Into Recurring Revenue
12 continuity offer ideas to turn a one-time digital sale into recurring revenue, plus the retention logic that makes each subscription model actually stick.
Funnel Software
Systeme.io Review: Is the Free Plan Really Enough to Launch a Funnel?
An operator's honest systeme.io review: what the free plan actually launches, where you hit the wall, and whether it beats ClickFunnels for a solo founder.
Frameworks & Hacks
The Before-After-Bridge Copywriting Formula for Short, Punchy Copy
The before after bridge copywriting formula in three moves: paint the pain, show the after, build the bridge. Side-by-side examples plus a copy-paste prompt.
Automation & MCPs
How to Build a No-Code RAG Chatbot on Your Own Documents
How to build a RAG chatbot on your own documents with no code, so it answers only from your files and stops making things up. The four pieces, made plain.
Platforms
How Much Do TikTok Ads Cost? Minimum Budgets and Real CPMs
How much do TikTok ads cost? The real ad-group minimum, campaign spend floor, and current CPM and CPC ranges so you budget a TikTok test with no surprises.
Digital Products
How to Sell Printables on Etsy: A Beginner’s Guide to Passive Digital Income
The beginner's guide on how to sell printables on Etsy: set up the instant-download listing, design the file with AI, and tag it so it sells on autopilot.
Webinars
How to Increase Webinar Show-Up Rate: The Reminder Sequence That Doubles Attendance
Increase your webinar show up rate with a multi-touch reminder cadence plus a submit-your-why commitment trick. Get the free AI reminder templates inside.
CRO
Why Is My Landing Page Not Converting? 9 Reasons (and the 10-Minute Fixes)
Why is my landing page not converting? A 9-point diagnostic that finds the exact leak, from message mismatch to weak CTAs, plus 10-minute fixes and a prompt.