$1.19M Raised. $0 Paid Ads. Reg CF Powered by Conversion Engineering + Owned SMS

The Early Bottleneck (What We Found)

An initial SMS validation test (~5,000 sends) generated under $10,000 in investments. Heatmap behavior revealed the real issue wasn’t traffic—it was structure: only ~4% of visitors clicked the hero video (the main persuasion asset). Most mobile users were pushed into long-form reading before they understood the opportunity, lowering investment velocity.

Target Audience

Warm customer audiences—especially existing fans and loyalty/rewards members—who already trust the brand, but need a fast, clear orientation to the investment opportunity and a low-friction path to act on mobile.

Goals

Increase conversion from owned traffic by rebuilding the offering page into a decision path Make the video the primary first action to improve clarity and trust fast Use perks/tier structure to reduce “how much should I invest?” friction Drive commitments via owned SMS without relying on paid advertising

Strategy: Engineer Clarity First, Then Activate Distribution

We rebuilt the offering page around one principle: Clarity drives commitment. Instead of treating the page like a disclosure document, we engineered a structured persuasion sequence: Orientation (Video-first hero) Immediate CTA (reduce decision fatigue) Perks ladder / tier anchoring (increase confidence + check size) Business proof (highlights) (kill skepticism early) Market opportunity (logic + upside) Founder credibility (reduce execution risk) Competitive precedent (pattern recognition) Expansion vision (aspiration with grounded framing) CTAs at momentum peaks FAQ + disclosures (answer risk without killing momentum)

Execution

1st Month

Ran SMS validation test (~5,000 sends), diagnosed conversion drop via heatmaps, and identified that the hero video (primary persuasion asset) was being ignored (~4% clicks). Defined the new goal: optimize for video engagement as the lead indicator.

2nd Month

Re-architected the offering page into a structured decision sequence: video-first CTA, perks ladder tier anchoring, highlights/proof blocks early, credibility + precedent + vision modules, and CTAs at momentum peaks. Reduced friction for mobile visitors.

3rd Month

Activated owned SMS as leverage with a focused sequence: Watch-first → Perks → Legitimacy → Vision → (Compliant) urgency. Measured CTR, video engagement, checkout starts vs completed investments, and tier distribution to keep improving.

Final Results

151 Coffee raised $1,188,678.75 through Reg CF with $0 paid ads, driven by 100% owned distribution and a conversion-engineered offering page. The campaign produced 644 investors and 1,215 signups, proving that fixing the decision environment (video-first clarity + tier anchoring + proof sequencing) can outperform paid traffic when paired with a warm audience.