Handpan Joe

The Story

Joe and I have known each other since high school. We reconnected properly at university and became best friends. We’ve been to countless festivals together, shared a lot of life experiences.

We have completely different interests. I’m into tech and computers. Joe is artistic—rhythm, music, instruments. The handpan was one of the instruments he learned and mastered over time.

While he was developing his musical skills, I was building mine in web development. A few years later, he needed a website and course platform. I needed a real project. It worked out.

Where He Started

When we first talked about his online business, Joe was paying £250/month for Thinkific. He was making some course sales, so it didn’t feel urgent to change. But the platform had no marketing tools. Email automation was extra and clunky.

His workflow was basically “set and forget.” Upload the course, market it on Instagram, hope people buy. Everything was manual.

The real problem was social media. Joe was spending 40+ hours a week on content with inconsistent results. He wasn’t aware of content marketing—how to actually lead people down a funnel. He was just posting and hoping.

He’d been teaching handpan in person before, but had moved areas and couldn’t keep travelling for lessons. The online course was supposed to replace that income, but it wasn’t working the way he needed.

The Turning Point

It wasn’t a formal “reaching out” moment. We were just catching up, talking about how things were going. It became obvious I could help.

I told him it was a matter of strategy and execution. He wasn’t sceptical. More worried that he didn’t know anything about marketing or tech. He felt like he had nothing to offer in that department.

But I told him he’d already done the hard part. The course was solid. He had a reputation as a good player and teacher. He just needed to actually market it properly. And since he didn’t know how to do that himself, that’s where I came in.

What We Built

Platform Migration

First, we moved from Thinkific to System.io. I’d originally suggested Thinkific based on pricing and ease of use, but System.io turned out to be the better fit—£17/month instead of £250, with all the marketing tools built in.

The course videos are hosted on Google Drive. I wrote custom code that pulls from Drive using an iframe, so updating content is instant. No upload delays, no platform limitations.

The Sales Funnel

The lead magnet is a free “Introduction to Handpan” course. It’s actual content, not just a teaser.

After someone takes the free course, they’re immediately shown an upsell: the full Advanced Handpan Course, normally £500, offered at £397.

If they don’t buy, they get a six-email sequence offering it at a slightly higher price but still below full price. The immediate upsell converts well.

For people who aren’t ready for the full course, individual modules are available at £199 each. That’s worked well too.

The WhatsApp Community

Recently we added a private WhatsApp group. The last email invites people to join. It gives Joe a direct line to his audience without the hard sell. He can mention a module or short course naturally, and people actually respond because they already know him.

Content Strategy

The biggest change was simple: talk about the course.

Joe wasn’t mentioning it enough. We added direct captions about the course, links in stories, structured his content so it actually led somewhere. Just being honest about having a course for sale—instead of hoping people would stumble across it—made a big difference.

We also moved to batch creation and scheduled uploads. Instead of 40 hours a week of reactive posting, he spends maybe 10 hours batching content that goes out automatically.

The Results

The numbers aren’t massive—and I’ll be honest about why.

Handpans are expensive instruments. A decent one costs £700-1,200. So before someone even considers a course, they’ve already made a significant investment. It’s a niche market.

But within that niche, the system works:

• 6-20 opt-ins per week for the free course, without active marketing
• Consistent course sales even during quiet content periods
• £8,000+ in album sales this year alone (the funnel drives music sales too)
• Student success stories like Handpan Dan, who went on to build his own social media presence and plays regularly in his area

The real power is that the system runs even when Joe doesn’t post. He’s had dry spells—weeks where he forgets to post or is just too busy. Leads still come in.

Why This Worked

Joe had a solid course. Five years later, we’re still selling the same content because it’s still relevant. The handpan hasn’t changed. His teaching hasn’t either.

What was missing was the system. A lead magnet. An upsell. An email sequence. A way to keep in touch. A content strategy that actually mentioned what he was selling.

You can have the best course in the world, but if no one knows it exists, it doesn’t matter. The marketing makes or breaks it.

What’s Next

We’re still working together. Current projects:

Custom course platform - Building something with Next.js and Clerk to replace System.io. Not for cost (it’s only £17/month) but for control over look and feel.

Event bookings - Making Joe available for wellness retreats and live events. His day rate is roughly equivalent to a course sale, so doubling up on those could bump his income quite a bit.

The handpan work continues. It’s a fun project—we’re best friends anyway.