Issue #89: The AI Dark Funnel (Where 73% of Your Revenue Comes From)

Good morning.

Attribution.

Most entrepreneurs think it's too complicated, too technical, too boring to tackle.

They imagine spreadsheets with complex formulas, data scientists arguing about models, and months of implementation.

But most businesses are sitting on an attribution goldmine they can't see.

Last week, an entrepreneur (client) showed me their marketing dashboard. Beautiful charts. Green arrows pointing up. $180K monthly ad spend "performing well."

Then I asked one question: "Which half of that spend is actually driving revenue?"

Silence.

They were only seeing the "lit" funnel—the final clicks, the last touches, the obvious conversions that Google Analytics tracks. But they did not see the podcasts that planted the seed, the Slack conversation that built trust, the colleague's recommendation that sealed the deal.

All happening in what I call the dark funnel. Invisible. Uncredited. Ignored.

When we “illuminated” their dark funnel with AI, we found $67,000 of their monthly spend was completely wasted on channels that contributed zero incremental revenue.

Meanwhile, podcasts they'd never tracked were driving 30% of their highest-value customers.

We found this using Claude Projects with Skills, some simple prompts, and Lindy AI for monitoring.

No data scientists. No complex attribution software. Total cost: ~$47/month.

Today, I'm showing you how to build the AI system that illuminates your dark funnel—revealing where revenue actually comes from and where money is vanishing into the void.

— Sam

IN TODAY’S ISSUE 🤖 

• Illuminating the Dark Funnel with AI: Claude Projects and Skills that reveal hidden revenue

• Dark Funnel Detection System: Capture the invisible 80% of your customer journey

• Making Decisions in the Light: The Kill/Scale/Test framework for clarity

• What Companies Found in Their Dark Funnel: Real discoveries worth millions

• Beyond Paid Ads: Illuminating organic, content, and partnership attribution

Let’s get into it.

Illuminating the Dark Funnel with AI

Everyone thinks they need enterprise software to see in the dark. You don't.

You don't need a $50,000 attribution platform. You don't need a data science team. You don't need complex infrastructure.

You need AI to shine a light into the darkness, find patterns, and surface the truth about where revenue really comes from (whether that's paid ads, organic search, content marketing, or word-of-mouth).

I'm going to show you how to build a dark funnel illumination system using Claude Projects, Claude Skills, and AI tools (for less than the cost of a Netflix subscription).

The Claude Dark Funnel Illuminator

Create a new Claude Project called "Dark Funnel Revenue Finder" with this custom instruction:

You are an expert at illuminating the dark funnel—the 60-80% of the customer journey that traditional analytics can't see. When I share ANY marketing data with you (paid ads, organic traffic, SEO, content, social, email), you will:

1. FIND HIDDEN REVENUE: Identify channels driving value but getting no credit
2. SPOT DARK PATTERNS: Detect when "direct" traffic spikes after any activity
3. REVEAL WASTE: Find channels stealing credit for organic journeys
4. DARK FUNNEL DETECTION: Identify signatures of word-of-mouth, content influence, SEO value
5. ILLUMINATE PATHS: Show the real customer journey hiding in the shadows

For non-paid traffic sources, look for:
- SEO pages that start journeys but don't get conversion credit
- Content pieces that influence decisions months before purchase
- Social posts that create awareness but show as "direct" later
- Email nurture that gets ignored in last-click attribution
- Partnership/referral traffic hiding as organic

Focus on uncovering what's hidden, not confirming what's visible. The visible funnel is just the tip of the iceberg.

Output format:
1. Dark funnel channels discovered (with evidence)
2. Hidden value in organic/content/SEO
3. Visible channels stealing credit (with dollar amounts)
4. Hidden goldmines to invest in
5. Waste hiding in plain sight

Upload to your Project's knowledge base:

• Marketing spend by channel (if you have paid ads)

• Google Analytics organic traffic data

• Search Console data (impressions, clicks, rankings)

• Content performance metrics (views, engagement, shares)

• Email marketing data (opens, clicks, conversions)

• Social media metrics (organic reach, engagement)

• "How did you hear about us" responses (your flashlight into darkness)

• Revenue by customer with any available source data

Claude Skills: Your Dark Funnel Analysis Toolkit

Add these Skills to your Claude Project to automate attribution analysis. Each skill is a separate file you'll upload to your project.

How to Use These Skills:

1. Copy each skill below into a separate text file

2. Save as .md files (e.g., dark-funnel-analyzer.md)

3. In your Claude Project, click "Add content"

4. Upload the skill files

5. Use the trigger phrases to activate each skill

Skill 1: Dark Funnel Analyzer

Save as: dark-funnel-analyzer.md

## Dark Funnel Analyzer

Categorizes "how did you hear about us" responses to reveal hidden revenue sources in your dark funnel.

### Trigger
- analyze dark funnel
- decode dark funnel
- process how did you hear responses

### Instructions

When triggered with customer responses:

1. Categorize each response:
   - Primary Channel: Podcast/Community/Word of Mouth/Social/Search/Paid/Direct/Other
   - Specific Source: The exact source mentioned
   - Intent Level: High/Medium/Low based on language used
   - Dark Funnel: Yes/No (is this invisible to traditional analytics?)

2. Analyze patterns:
   - Count frequency of each dark source
   - Identify new patterns not seen before
   - Group similar mentions together
   - Note any surprising or unexpected sources

3. Calculate impact:
   - Estimate revenue from each dark source
   - Identify top 3 dark funnel drivers
   - Show what traditional analytics would miss

4. Output a summary with:
   - Hidden channels discovered
   - Revenue attribution to dark sources  
   - Investment recommendations
   - How to track these sources better

### Example Usage

User: "analyze dark funnel: heard you on My First Million, colleague mentioned you, saw your LinkedIn post, my boss recommended you"

Skill 2: Attribution Waste Finder

Save as: attribution-waste-finder.md

## Attribution Waste Finder

Calculates true ROI and finds wasted spend by factoring in dark funnel impact.

### Trigger
- find attribution waste
- calculate true roi
- show me waste

### Instructions

When triggered with marketing spend and revenue data:

1. Calculate standard metrics per channel:
   - Direct ROI = (Attributed Revenue - Spend) / Spend
   - CAC = Spend / Conversions  
   - ROAS = Revenue / Spend
   - Payback Period = CAC / (Revenue per Customer / Months)

2. Apply dark funnel adjustments:
   - Branded search: Reduce credit by 50% (harvesting, not creating demand)
   - Retargeting: Reduce credit by 30% (capturing existing intent)
   - Direct traffic: Assume 60% is dark funnel
   - Content/Organic: Add 20% credit for dark influence

3. Identify waste:
   - Channels with negative adjusted ROI
   - Channels with CAC > 0.8 × LTV
   - Channels showing declining efficiency
   - False performers (high attribution, low incrementality)

4. Output recommendations:
   - Channels to kill immediately (with monthly savings)
   - Hidden performers to scale
   - True ROI after adjustments
   - Total monthly waste in dollars

### Example Usage

User: "find attribution waste - Facebook: $10k spend, $12k revenue. Google Branded: $5k spend, $15k revenue. Content: $2k spend, $3k revenue."

Skill 3: Journey Decoder

Save as: journey-decoder.md

## Customer Journey Decoder

Maps customer journeys to reveal dark funnel patterns and true attribution.

### Trigger

- decode customer journeys

- map journey patterns

- analyze customer paths

### Instructions

When triggered with customer journey data:

1. Decode each journey:
   - Identify likely real first touch (before visible data)
   - Count total touchpoints
   - Calculate time from first touch to conversion
   - Flag "Direct" that's probably dark funnel

2. Find patterns:
   - Most common journey paths
   - Channels that always appear together
   - Channels that convert alone vs. need support
   - Average touches before conversion

3. Apply attribution models:
   - First-touch: Credit to discovery
   - Last-touch: Credit to converter
   - Linear: Equal distribution
   - Dark-adjusted: Factor in invisible touches

4. Reveal insights:
   - Which model best reflects reality
   - Hidden influencer channels
   - True journey length (including dark touches)
   - Channel relationships and dependencies

### Example Usage

User: "decode customer journeys: Customer 1: Direct → Blog → Email → Purchase. Customer 2: Google → Direct → Direct → Purchase"

Skill 4: Organic Value Calculator

Save as: organic-value-calculator.md

## Organic Value Calculator

Calculates the true value of organic channels including dark funnel impact.

### Trigger

- calculate organic value
- find seo dark value
- show content roi

### Instructions

When triggered with organic traffic and content data:

1. Analyze organic signals:
   - Pages with high engagement but low direct conversions
   - Blog posts that appear in customer journeys
   - SEO keywords correlating with delayed conversions
   - Social posts preceding "direct" traffic spikes

2. Calculate dark impact:

   - % of "direct" traffic following content consumption
   - Average delay from content to conversion
   - Lifetime value of organic vs. paid visitors
   - True content marketing ROI

3. Find hidden value:
   - SEO pages driving delayed conversions
   - Content creating dark funnel demand
   - Email influence beyond last-click
   - Social organic's invisible impact

4. Output discoveries:
   - True value of each organic channel
   - Hidden ROI of content marketing
   - Which content deserves more investment
   - How much revenue would disappear without organic

### Example Usage

User: "calculate organic value - Blog: 10k visits, 10 direct conversions. Direct traffic spike of 500 visits 3 days after blog post. Email list grew by 200."

Using These Skills in Your Project:

1. Save each skill as a separate .md file

2. Upload to your Claude Project

3. Type the trigger phrase followed by your data

4. Claude will process according to the skill's instructions

5. Get instant dark funnel insights without complex prompts

Upload to your Project's knowledge base:

• Last 90 days of marketing spend by channel (CSV)

• Customer conversion data with touchpoints

• "How did you hear about us" responses (your flashlight into darkness)

• Revenue by customer with acquisition source

The Illumination Prompts

Here are the exact prompts that turn Claude into your dark funnel detective:

The Hidden Revenue Finder (For Any Traffic Source):

Analyze this marketing data and show me what's hiding in the dark funnel:

[Paste data: Could be paid ads, organic traffic, content metrics, email stats, etc.]

Find:

1. Channels/content getting zero credit but driving revenue
2. SEO pages that start journeys but don't get conversion credit
3. Content pieces influencing decisions months before purchase
4. Email touches ignored by last-click attribution
5. Social posts creating awareness that shows as "direct" later
6. Partnership/referral traffic hiding as organic

Show me what's been invisible. Be specific with impact.

The Organic Attribution Decoder:

Here's my organic traffic and content data:

SEO Traffic:

[Pages, sessions, bounce rate, conversions]

Content Performance:

[Blog posts, views, engagement, shares]

Social Organic:

[Posts, reach, engagement, link clicks]

Email Marketing:

[Campaigns, opens, clicks, attributed revenue]

Decode the dark patterns:

1. Which organic pages start journeys that convert later?
2. What content creates influence without getting credit?
3. How much "direct" traffic is actually from content/SEO?
4. What's the real value of our organic efforts?

Illuminate the true ROI of non-paid channels.

The Content Journey Mapper:

Use your data analysis skills to trace customer journeys through our content:

[Upload CSV with: Customer ID, Content Consumed, Dates, Eventual Purchase]

Map the dark content funnel:

1. Which content pieces appear most in winning journeys?
2. Average content touches before conversion?
3. Time from first content consumption to purchase?
4. Which content acts as discovery vs. evaluation vs. decision?

Show me how content really drives revenue, not just traffic.

The SEO Dark Value Calculator:

Calculate the true value of our SEO efforts:

Search Console Data:

[Keywords, impressions, clicks, positions]

Analytics Data:

[Organic sessions, pages, conversions, revenue]

Find:
1. Which keywords start journeys that convert months later?
2. What's the lifetime value of organic vs. paid traffic?
3. How much revenue would we lose without SEO?
4. Which SEO pages deserve more investment?

Factor in the dark funnel impact, not just last-click conversions.

Setting Up Lindy AI as Your Dark Funnel Watchdog

Create a Lindy Agent called "Dark Funnel Monitor" with these instructions:

You are my dark funnel detective, constantly watching for hidden revenue signals across ALL traffic sources. Every day:

1. Monitor for dark funnel indicators across all channels:
   - Direct traffic spikes after content publishes
   - Branded search increases after podcast releases
   - Organic traffic surges following PR mentions
   - Email engagement preceding "direct" conversions
   - SEO pages with high engagement but low attributed conversions

2. Track non-paid dark patterns:
   - Blog posts that start journeys but don't get credit
   - Social posts creating awareness months before purchase
   - Email nurture touches ignored in attribution
   - Partner/referral traffic marked as "organic"
   - Content consumption patterns before conversion

3. Detect false lights (channels stealing credit):
   - Branded search claiming organic SEO journeys
   - Retargeting claiming content-driven conversions
   - Last-click stealing from email nurture
   - Paid ads harvesting organic demand

Weekly tasks:
- Map dark funnel patterns to revenue (paid AND organic)
- Calculate true value of content marketing
- Identify which SEO pages deserve more investment
- Find correlations between content and conversions
- Measure real email marketing impact

Alert me immediately if:
- Content piece shows dark funnel influence
- SEO traffic correlates with revenue spike weeks later
- Direct traffic pattern suggests word-of-mouth growth
- Any channel is pure waste (paid or organic)

You're looking for value everywhere, not just in paid channels.

The Gumloop Dark Funnel Illuminator (All Traffic Sources)

Build a Gumloop workflow that illuminates your entire funnel weekly:

Node 1: Comprehensive Signal Collection

• Pull ALL traffic data (paid, organic, direct, referral)

• Export Search Console data (impressions, clicks, positions)

• Gather content metrics (views, shares, engagement)

• Compile email performance (opens, clicks, conversions)

• Collect social organic metrics

• Aggregate "how did you hear about us" responses

Node 2: Claude Dark Analysis with Skills

• Send all signals to Claude API

• Include instruction: "Use data analysis skills to find dark patterns"

• Prompt: "Find hidden value in organic/content/email/social"

• Get comprehensive attribution across all channels

Node 3: Illumination Matrix

• If direct traffic > 30% of total: Dark funnel active

• If branded search > organic non-brand: Credit stealing happening

• If content engagement high but conversions low: Dark influence present

• If email clicks don't match conversions: Dark funnel at work

• If new source mentioned 5+ times: Hidden goldmine

Node 4: Action Alerts

• "Found $X hiding in content marketing dark funnel"

• "SEO driving $Y in unattributed revenue"

• "Email nurture worth $Z more than reported"

• "Social organic creating dark demand worth $W"

Beyond Paid Ads: The Organic Dark Funnel

Not everyone runs paid ads. But everyone has a dark funnel.

If you're relying on SEO, content marketing, social media, email, or partnerships, your dark funnel is even darker. 

These channels are already hard to track. And when !80% of their impact is invisible, you're essentially flying completely blind.

The SEO Dark Funnel

Your SEO traffic doesn't convert immediately. Someone searches "how to solve [problem]," finds your article, reads it, leaves. Three months later, they come back "direct" and buy. Your article gets zero credit.

Now that ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI tools are generating more and more visits, you need this even more.

Use Claude with the Data Analysis skill to illuminate SEO value:

I'm uploading my Search Console and Analytics data.

Use your data analysis skills to:

1. Identify blog posts with high engagement but low direct conversions
2. Find correlations between organic traffic and "direct" conversions 30+ days later
3. Calculate the true lifetime value of SEO visitors
4. Show which keywords drive high-value customers (not just traffic)

Factor in the dark funnel - most SEO value is invisible in last-click attribution.

The Content Marketing Dark Funnel

Your best content influences. Someone reads your ultimate guide, subscribes to your newsletter, shares it with their team, discusses it in a meeting, then their colleague visits directly and buys. Your content started it all but gets no credit.

Track content's dark impact:

Analyze my content and conversion data to find dark funnel patterns:

Content Metrics:
- Page views, time on page, shares
- Email subscribers from content
- Return visitor rate

Conversion Data:
- Customer source ("direct," branded search, etc.)
- Time from first visit to purchase
- Content consumed before converting

Find:
1. Which content pieces appear most in eventual buyer journeys?
2. How long from content consumption to purchase?
3. What % of "direct" conversions consumed content previously?
4. True ROI of content marketing including dark funnel impact?

The Email Dark Funnel

Email rarely gets last-click credit. Someone reads your emails for six months, building trust. Then they search your brand name and buy. Google gets credit. Email gets nothing.

But email is often the dark force multiplying everything else.

Illuminate email's true value:

Calculate the real impact of email marketing:

Email Data:
- Opens, clicks, direct conversions
- Subscriber tenure before purchase
- Email engagement patterns

Customer Data:
- Source of conversion
- Email subscriber? (yes/no)
- Time from subscribe to purchase

Reveal:
1. What % of customers were email subscribers first?
2. Average emails consumed before purchase?
3. How much revenue would disappear without email?
4. Which emails correlate with conversions days/weeks later?

The Social Organic Dark Funnel

Someone sees your LinkedIn post. Screenshots it. Shares in their company Slack. Three colleagues check you out. One buys two months later via "direct" traffic. LinkedIn gets zero credit.

Track social's dark influence:

Find the hidden value of organic social:

Social Metrics:
- Reach, engagement, link clicks
- Mentions, shares, saves

Website Data:
- Traffic from social (usually underreported)
- "Direct" traffic patterns
- Brand search volume

Correlate:
1. Social activity with delayed direct/brand traffic
2. High-engagement posts with revenue spikes
3. Social mentions with new customer geography
4. True social ROI including dark funnel impact

Signal #1: The "How Did You Hear About Us?"

Add this required field to every high-intent form:

• Demo requests

• Trial signups

• Contact forms

• Checkout pages

Make it an open text field, not a dropdown.

Dropdowns give you the answers you expect. Open fields give you the truth:

• "CEO mentioned you at all-hands"

• "Saw you on My First Million podcast around May"

• "Our developer found you on Hacker News"

• "Consultant recommended you"

Create a Claude Project called "Dark Funnel Decoder" with this instruction:

When I share "How did you hear about us" responses, categorize them:

Primary Channel: [Podcast/Word of Mouth/Community/Social/Search/Paid/Direct/Other]

Specific Source: [exact source mentioned]

Intent Level: [High/Medium/Low]

Dark Funnel: [Yes/No]

Revenue Impact: [Based on customer value]

If dark funnel = Yes, explain why traditional analytics would miss this.

Track patterns and alert me when new dark sources emerge.

Signal #2: The URL Parameter Hack

Create unique tracking for every dark funnel source:

For podcasts:

• yoursite.com/mfm (My First Million)

• yoursite.com/tim (Tim Ferriss Show)

For communities:

• yoursite.com/slack-revops

• yoursite.com/reddit

For word of mouth:

• Give customers referral links like yoursite.com/ref-acmecorp

Now you can see: "23% of revenue comes from podcast mentions" instead of "23% is Direct traffic."

Signal #3: Correlation Analysis

Create a simple tracker:

Then ask Claude:

Here's my marketing activity log and traffic data.

Find correlations between activities and traffic spikes.

Which dark funnel activities drive the most impact?

The Dark Funnel Dashboard

Create a simple tracker that shows reality:

Update monthly by analyzing "How did you hear" responses with Claude.

Making Decisions in the Light

Every Monday morning, you should kill something that's been stealing credit in the shadows, scale something that's been hidden in darkness, and test something new to illuminate another corner of your dark funnel.

Most companies do none of these. They let campaigns run on autopilot, burning money in the dark while the real revenue drivers remain invisible.

Here's the system that brings everything into the light and eliminates waste automatically.

The Weekly Decision Matrix

Create this simple framework:

Add these rules:

• Red (CAC > LTV): Kill candidate

• Yellow (CAC = 50-100% of LTV): Monitor closely

• Green (CAC < 50% of LTV): Scale candidate

The Kill Triggers

Set non-negotiable rules. When these hit, you kill immediately:

Trigger 1: The CAC Death Spiral

• IF (CAC > LTV × 0.8) AND (Running > 14 days)

• THEN Kill

• No campaign should run two weeks approaching negative unit economics

Trigger 2: The Volume Desert

• IF (Spend > $500) AND (Conversions < 2) AND (Running > 7 days)

• THEN Kill

• $250+ per conversion after a week? Dead.

Trigger 3: The Deterioration Signal

• IF (This Week CAC > Last Week CAC × 1.5) AND (Volume dropping)

• THEN Kill

• When costs spike and volume drops, the campaign is dying

Trigger 4: The Statistical Significance Trap

• IF (Clicks > 500) AND (Conversion Rate < 0.5%)

• THEN Kill

• After 500 clicks, you have enough data. Below 0.5% CR means fundamental mismatch.

The Scale Triggers

When these conditions hit, you pour fuel on the fire:

Trigger 1: The Golden Goose

• IF (ROAS > 3) AND (Volume > 10 conversions/week) AND (Stable for 14 days)

• THEN Increase budget 50%

Trigger 2: The Efficiency Champion

• IF (CAC < Category Average × 0.5) AND (Quality Score: Good)

• THEN Double budget

Trigger 3: The Underutilized Winner

• IF (Impression Share < 50%) AND (ROAS > 2)

• THEN Increase until Impression Share hits 80%

But here's the critical rule: Never increase more than 50% per week.

Why? The algorithm breaks. Go from $100/day to $1,000/day and your CAC triples. Instead, compound:

• Week 1: $100 → $150

• Week 2: $150 → $225

• Week 3: $225 → $337

• Week 4: $337 → $500

Same 5x scale, but the campaign survives.

The Test Allocation

Reserve 20% of the budget for tests. Always.

Test priorities:

1. New Audiences (40% of test budget)

2. New Creative Angles (30% of test budget)

3. New Channels (20% of test budget)

4. Pricing/Offer Tests (10% of test budget)

Every test needs:

• Hypothesis: "We believe [change] will cause [outcome]"

• Success Criteria: "Win if CAC < $X within Y days"

• Kill Date: "Decide by [date] regardless"

The Monday Morning Ritual

Block 9-10 AM every Monday. No meetings. This is your money-saving hour.

1. Export data from all channels

2. Run through Claude with this prompt:

Here's my marketing performance data from last week:

[Paste data]

Apply kill/scale/test framework:
- What should I kill? (CAC > [LTV × 0.8] or other triggers)
- What should I scale? (ROAS > 3, stable performance)  
- What should I test? (Based on gaps in current coverage)

Give me specific actions with dollar amounts.

3. Execute immediately

4. Document decisions

5. Send team update

The Compound Effect

Month 1: Kill 2 wasters (-$10K), Scale 1 winner (+$5K), Test 3 new Month 2: Kill 1 waster (-$5K), Scale 2 winners (+$8K), Test 3 new Month 3: Kill 1 waster (-$3K), Scale 2 winners (+$10K), Test 3 new

After 90 days:

• Eliminated $18K in waste

• Scaled $23K into winners

• Discovered 2-3 new profitable channels

• Improved overall ROAS by 40-60%

What Companies Found Hiding in Their Dark Funnel

Let me show you what real companies (clients of mine) discovered when they finally illuminated the 80% of their revenue journey they couldn't see before.

Discovery 1: B2B SaaS Finds $67K Monthly Hiding in Darkness

The Company: $5M ARR project management software, spending $180K/month on ads, believing they had clear attribution.

The Darkness: Their Google Ads dashboard showed beautiful performance metrics. But those metrics only captured the final, well-lit moments of the customer journey. The real journey was invisible.

The Illumination Process:

• Week 1: Uploaded all data to Claude Dark Funnel Project

• Week 2: Ran incrementality test (turned off the "lights" in test markets)

• Week 3: Analyzed what emerged from the shadows

What They Found in the Dark:

• $30K/month on broad keywords: Pure theater—customers already knew them

• $12K/month on display network: Complete darkness, 0.01% real conversion

• $15K/month on branded search: Just harvesting dark funnel demand

• $10K/month retargeting existing customers: Shooting light at already-converted

But here's what else emerged from darkness:

• Podcasts (never tracked): Driving 30% of enterprise deals

• Slack communities: Creating awareness branded search was claiming

• Customer word-of-mouth: The real driver of "direct" traffic

The Result:

• Killed the false lights: $67K/month saved

• Illuminated the dark funnel: Invested in podcasts and communities

• Cost per customer: $1,200 → $400

• Finally saw where revenue really came from

Discovery 2: DTC Brand's Dark Funnel Worth $200K

The Company: Supplement e-commerce, spending $180K/month on paid media, tracking everything meticulously (or so they thought).

The Illumination: Built attribution system with Claude in one weekend, including dark funnel detection:

• Added "How did you hear about us" to checkout

• Analyzed responses with Dark Funnel Decoder

• Ran correlation analysis on "direct" traffic

What Emerged from the Shadows:

• TikTok ads: Claimed $80K revenue, actually just caught customers at the end

• Email: Claimed $20K, but was nurturing dark funnel leads worth $95K

• Podcast ads: Completely invisible, actually driving $130K

• Influencer posts: No tracking, but driving 40% of "direct" traffic

Into the Light:

• Cut the false signals (TikTok) by 90%

• Tripled investment in dark channels (podcasts, influencers)

• Built tracking for previously invisible sources

• Started asking customers about their full journey

Results After Illumination:

• Found $200K of misattributed revenue

• Revenue up 28% by investing in the dark funnel

• Ad spend down 35% by killing false lights

• Finally profitable—because they could finally see

Discovery 3: The Agency That Doubled Profit in the Dark

The Company: 12-person marketing agency, spending $40K/month on their own marketing, measuring everything.

The Dark Truth: They were measuring the shadows, not the source.

One Weekend of Illumination:

• Exported all deals from HubSpot

• Asked every client: "How did you really find us?"

• Ran Dark Funnel Analysis with Claude

Discovered in the Darkness:

• Facebook: Generated visible leads but invisible quality—2% close rate

• One podcast mention: Invisible to analytics, drove 8 enterprise deals

• LinkedIn organic: Showed as "direct" traffic, actually drove 60% of revenue

• Referrals: The real dark funnel, completely untracked, worth $400K/year

Lighting the Path Forward:

• Killed Facebook completely (false light)

• 5x investment in podcast sponsorships

• Systematic referral tracking system

• Founder-led LinkedIn content

6 Months Later:

• Marketing spend: Down 30% (killed the false lights)

• Revenue: Up 40% (invested in the dark funnel)

• Profit margin: 15% → 32%

• Finally understood their real growth engine

Your revenue is hiding in the shadows. You just need to turn on the lights.

You now have everything needed to illuminate the dark funnel that's been hiding 80% of your revenue journey.

You need:

• Claude Projects (your dark funnel decoder)

• Lindy AI (your darkness monitor)

• CSV exports (the raw signals)

• One weekend (to flip the switch)

That's the entire tech stack that will reveal what's been invisible.

If you're spending $50K+/month on any and all marketing while ~80% of your funnel remains dark, you're likely wasting $20-30K of it. Every month. That's $360,000 annually vanishing into the void.

If you’re spending more or less, you can do the math. Even if “only” 25% is wasted, that’s still thousands upon thousands of dollars in any given year.

Meanwhile, channels worth millions lurk unseen in your dark funnel (podcasts, communities, word-of-mouth) driving revenue while getting zero credit, zero investment, zero optimization.

The system I showed you costs maybe $47/month and illuminates everything.

Every week, your dark funnel system reveals more truth. Where customers really come from. What actually drives decisions. Which messages plant seeds in darkness that bloom into revenue months later.

The tools are free. The prompts are above. The dark funnel is waiting to be illuminated.

Turn on the lights. See what's been hiding. Invest in reality, not shadows.

Until next time,
Sam Woods
The Editor

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