Appendix C · The Igniter

Launch Campaign Architecture

T-minus 16 weeks to Ascent September open. Reach + capture is the gap, not content quality.

Author: The Igniter (GC Studio — Launch Strategist) Date: 2026-05-12 Target: Sept 14, 2026 Ascent cohort kickoff

Launch Thesis

Austin already produces excellent top-of-funnel content (639 monthly podcast listens, ~2,000 newsletter subs, 4 speaking events/year) — but every piece of content dead-ends with no capture mechanism. We build a 4-magnet capture grid, run paid amplification underneath it, route every opt-in through a 14-email nurture into the $1 first-30-days Chiro180 trial, and segment activated trial users into the September Ascent cohort.

Conversion thesis: When a Chiro180-curious DC sees Austin's hook → reads a 1-page concrete artifact (not a wall of text) → gets 14 emails of recurring-revenue + retention proof → the $1 trial is the obvious next step, not a leap.

1. Lead Magnet Portfolio

#TitleFormatPersonaHook AngleCTA
LM-1The Chiro180 Implementation Guide (51 pages, repackaged)PDF + 7-email dripOwner-operator who knows they need a system"The 51-page week-by-week buildout we used to scale from 1 chair to 13 locations"$1 trial after email 4
LM-2The Day 1 / Day 2 Patient Conversion Checklist1-page PDF + 90-sec LoomNew-grad / first-3-years-in-practice DC"Why 70% of new patients ghost after Day 2 — and the 9-item checklist that fixes it"$1 trial in PDF footer + email 3
LM-3The Recurring Revenue CalculatorInteractive Google SheetEstablished DC, $400K–$1.2M revenue, no SaaS yet"Plug your numbers in. See what your practice is worth if 40% of revenue is recurring."$1 trial inline + email 2
LM-4The ChiroTouch → Chiro180 Migration PlaybookPDF + private Loom1,000-person Miyagi ChiroTouch FB group"The exact 14-day migration we ran for clinics leaving ChiroTouch — zero downtime, zero data loss"2 months free Chiro180 (not $1 trial)

LM-2 and LM-3 are the new-list builders. LM-1 is the depth piece for warm leads who want everything. LM-4 is the surgical strike on the ChiroTouch pool — different offer because they're a different buying motion (switchers, not first-timers).

2. Distribution Plan

SurfaceLM-1LM-2LM-3LM-4
Podcast end-card (every episode)weeks 1, 5, 9, 13weeks 2, 6, 10, 14weeks 3, 7, 11, 15weeks 4, 8, 12, 16
Newsletter footer (Mon + Fri)primary CTA Mondayssecondary Fridayquarterly feature
Speaking events (4/yr, ~150 DCs each)swag QR + slideslide only
Instagram bio link (Linktree)yesyesyes
LinkedIn (Austin's personal)weekly Tues postweekly Thurs postmonthly carousel
Facebook ads (cold)retargeting onlyprimary cold creativeprimary cold creative
Instagram adsLM-2 + LM-3 reelsreels + storiesreels
Organic FB postsweeklyweekly
ChiroTouch Miyagi FB groupexclusive, 3 seeded posts
Cold DM (LinkedIn Sales Nav)50/week to ChiroTouch users

Rotation rule: podcast end-card cycles weekly so no single asset burns the warm audience. Newsletter Monday = primary CTA, Friday = soft-pitch in "Opportunities to Work Together" block (Austin's existing scaffold — extend it, don't replace it).

3. Paid Ads Plan — Meta Primary

Month 1 budget: $1,000. Split 70/30:

Creative direction (Austin's voice corpus)

Scale triggers (Hormozi-style)

CPLAction
≤ $50Double budget within 48hrs of the trigger
$50–$100Hold spend, A/B new creative
$100–$200Pause worst-performing ad, reallocate
> $200 for 5 daysKill that ad set entirely

Target steady state by Week 8: $5K/mo Meta spend, ~$70 CPL, ~70 leads/week, ~25 trial signups/week.

4. The Funnel

Cold Meta ad → LM opt-in page → magnet delivered + email 1 → 14-email nurture → $1 trial pitch (emails 5, 9, 12, 14) → 30-day trial conversion → paying Chiro180 sub

14-email nurture — Austin's voice, headline-level

#DaySubject (Austin's hook patterns)Purpose
10Here's your [magnet name] — open this firstDeliver + set expectation
21The number that changed everything (recurring revenue confession)Identity prime
32I almost sold the practice in 2019 (founder story)Trust
43$50,000 / $200,000 — guess which is the turnover numberNumber shock → retention thesis
54$1 gets you 30 days inside Chiro180First trial pitch (soft)
66What 13 locations taught me about Day 2Proof
78The clinic that 3x'd recurring in 90 daysCase study
810Why I stopped doing demosReframe — the trial IS the demo
912Try it for a dollar. I dare you.Trial pitch (direct)
1014Be where your feet are (Brody story)Identity reinforcement
1117Spinal Health Scores — how the dashboard actually worksProduct demo email
1220$1. 30 days. Cancel anytime.Trial pitch (urgency frame)
1324What my mentor Dr. Guy told me the week before he passedEmotional anchor
1428Last call on the $1 trial — here's what you'll see in week 1Final trial pitch + reverse risk

Hard CTA in 4 of 14 emails. Storytelling and proof in the other 10. Austin's voice — first-person, present-tense, short paragraphs, always a PS.

5. The September Ascent Bridge

The Chiro180 trial list IS the Ascent waitlist farm.

Segmentation rules (auto-tagged in ESP)

Ascent invite flow (Weeks 12–16)

Math: 25 trials/wk × 16 weeks = 400 trials. Conservative 30% activation = 120 activated. 25% of activated convert to paid sub = 30 paying. 50% of paying convert to Ascent invite consideration = 15 Ascent-ready from this funnel alone. Combine with existing 2,000-sub newsletter + podcast pool → 50-seat Ascent cohort is hittable, not heroic.

6. Launch Timeline — 16 Weeks

WeekDateShips
W1May 12–18Repackage 51-page guide as LM-1 PDF. Lock landing page template. Set up Meta Business Manager + pixel verification on chiro180.com.
W2May 19–25LM-2 (Day 1/Day 2 Checklist) written + designed. LP live. Newsletter footer updated with magnet rotation.
W3May 26–Jun 1LM-3 (Recurring Revenue Calculator) Google Sheet built + LP live. First 4 ad creatives shot with Austin (1 batch session).
W4Jun 2–8LM-4 (ChiroTouch Migration Playbook) shipped. Cold DM outreach starts to 50 ChiroTouch users/week. Paid ads go live ($1K/mo).
W5Jun 9–1514-email nurture sequence written (The Closer's brief). First nurture goes live for LM-2 + LM-3 opt-ins.
W6Jun 16–22First scale review. If CPL ≤ $50 anywhere, double budget on that ad set. Add 2 new creatives.
W7Jun 23–29Podcast end-card script standardized — every episode closes with rotating magnet CTA.
W8Jun 30–Jul 6Mid-funnel review: 30-day activation rate on trial signups. Budget at $2.5K/mo if KPIs hold.
W9Jul 7–13First "Hot for Ascent" segment identified. Begin private Ascent priming content in newsletter (3 sends).
W10Jul 14–20LinkedIn paid layer added ($500/mo) — Austin's personal account, targeting clinic owners 5–15 yrs in practice.
W11Jul 21–27Speaking event #3 of year — capture 150-DC list with LM-1 swag QR. Add to Ascent priming sequence.
W12Jul 28–Aug 3Ascent waitlist email goes to Hot/Activated tags. Reply-qualified.
W13Aug 4–10Free Ascent webinar live ("How to Build a $2M Recurring Practice"). Replay sequenced over 3 days.
W14Aug 11–17Application window open for waitlist replies. Sales call sequence for application reviews.
W15Aug 18–24Ascent cart opens to Hot list (48-hr first access).
W16Aug 25–31Public Ascent cart open. Newsletter + podcast + ads. Close Sept 7. Cohort begins Sept 14.

7. Measurement — KPIs Per Stage

StageMetricTarget by W8Target by W16
AwarenessMeta impressions/wk200K600K
ClickCTR on cold ads≥1.5%≥2.0%
CaptureCPL (cost per opt-in)≤$50≤$35
TrialCPT (cost per $1 trial)≤$120≤$80
Activation30-day activation rate (3+ logins)≥30%≥40%
ConversionTrial → paid sub≥20%≥30%
Retention90-day paid retention≥75%≥85%
CAC (paid sub)Total spend / paying sub≤$400≤$250
List growthEmail subs added/wk100250
Ascent pipelineHot/Activated tags total80250
Ascent closePaid seats in Sept cohort50

Owner of dashboard: The Lens — weekly Friday wrap into gc-data/business/clients-state/chiro180.md. Trigger review every Friday at 2pm ET.

Mechanism Recommendation Summary

Hybrid: lead-magnet-driven paid funnel + free webinar gate for Ascent. Email-only doesn't scale list fast enough in 16 weeks. Pure challenge format burns Austin's bandwidth. Magnet → nurture → $1 trial → webinar gate → Ascent is the lowest-friction path that uses every existing asset and adds the missing capture layer.

The audience is warm-to-hot for retention thesis, cold-to-warm for $1 trial mechanic. That's the gap the nurture sequence closes.

Let's go. This is the engine.