Lately I’ve been talking about email marketing as part of my Online Business Basics Blog Series. We’re taking a slightly different direction now, but still within the same series. In this series I’m talking about all the basics that an online business owner should know. And this week we’re talking about funnels.

Funnels

Depending on how long you’ve been in this online business world, you’ve probably heard about funnels. Because, everyone talks about funnels: marketing funnels, sales funnels, lead magnet funnels, launch funnels, quiz funnels, SLO funnels, webinar funnels. But doesn’t always mean the terms are crystal clear.

I once had someone who was a multi-six figure course creator say to me, ‘I’m a bit embarrassed to say this, but I don’t really understand what a funnel really is. I think I get it, and then someone uses the term in a different way, and I’m confused all over again!’. We laughed about how she has been so successful, and really never needed to be sure about the terminology; clearly her funnels were working just fine!

So even if you aren’t sure exactly what a funnel is, I bet you have one, and I bet you see them all over the place without even recognizing. Anyone who is an online business owner and is involved with digital marketing uses funnels, whether they know it or not. But it’s better if you have a bit of an idea how to use them because there is some strategy behind building a good funnel.

Simply put, funnels help you move things

But, before we dive into marketing funnels, let’s first talk about the humble kitchen funnel. You know, that (usually) plastic gadget that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, used to move material, sometimes liquid, sometimes not, but still something that moves like a fluid (like rice, coffee grounds, oats, flour, etc.) into a specific location? Some kitchens don’t have one; I have a variety in different sizes. The two I use the most include the one that came with my Aeropress (shoutout to all the Aeropress users!) and the one I use to dump my homemade granola from the frying pan into the jar that I store it in (it’s a wide-bottomed funnel, and it’s also the best granola recipe - let me know if you want me to send it your way!) .

You can think of a marketing/sales funnel in the same way. It also moves stuff from one place to another; but in this case it moves people on a journey from being a potential customer to a paying customer.

It’s easiest if you even think of the funnel shaped like an inverted pyramid (yep, like a kitchen funnel), with a wide opening at the top representing the initial stage of awareness and interest, and a narrow opening at the bottom representing the stage of conversion that you’re aiming for. And by conversion I mean converting somebody into whatever you want them to be: a buyer, a subscriber, a webinar registrant, a challenge participant, a quiz taker, etc.

What are you moving them through?

A typical sales funnel consists of several stages, including:

• Awareness: At this stage, the customer becomes aware of you and your offer through your various marketing channels. This is usually accomplished through the free content you produce such as social media, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube channel, search engines. It could also be through word-of-mouth.
• Interest: The customer shows interest in you and your offers by engaging with your content and marketing messages. They do this by reading blog posts, engaging with you on social media, watching your YouTube videos, or signing up for your email list through your lead magnets.
• Consideration: At this stage your potential customer considers your offer (your product or service) and evaluates its features, benefits, and pricing. This stage may involve comparison shopping or reading testimonials (so make sure you’ve got your social proof handy!).
• Conversion: Here the customer makes the purchase (if it’s a sales funnel) or takes the desired action you’re after, like signing up for your lead magnet, or taking your quiz, or registering for your webinar, etc.
• Retention: After conversion, the customer becomes a paying customer and enters a stage of retention where the focus is on keeping them satisfied and engaged with the brand.

What about other types of funnels?

Right! Within that sales funnel bringing a customer from the point of awareness to the point of a buyer, there can be a number of smaller funnels. Just a few examples include:

1. A lead magnet funnel is the process of moving a potential customer onto your email list through the use of a freebie.
2. A webinar/challenge funnel is the process of enticing a potential customer to register for your webinar or challenge.
3. A quiz funnel is the process of having a potential customer doing your quiz and getting onto your email list to receive their result (and segmenting them based on their results so you can do targeted marketing).
4. A launch funnel can be the process of taking your warm audience (people on your email list, followers on social media, etc.) on a journey of being buyers

Let’s think about the plastic kitchen funnel analogy again, imagine moving a group of people on a specific journey to a place where you want them to be. It makes it so clear, doesn’t it?

But, that’s where the simple part ends. Funnels have a lot of moving pieces.

The logistics of a funnel

When you have a goal - whether it’s a sales goal, a list building goal, a launch goal, etc., and you’re thinking about your funnel, the easiest way to start is to simply sketch it out. Start at the end with your goal, and work backwards. What needs to happen to reach your goal?

Ideally, your funnels will be automated. You want to set them up so that most of the logistics will happen without you needing to manually take care of them. You want to be able to give your energy to your potential customers, showing up in your Facebook group (if you have one), giving your all during your challenge or webinars (if that’s your launch strategy), being fully present during your discovery calls. You don’t want to be sending emails and invoices, signing people up for anything manually, taking payment. No, no, no time for any of that!

Let’s look at all of the moving parts to a funnel, such as:

• Landing pages (with great copy and design)
• Opt-in forms
• Automations
• Tags
• Email sequences
• The offer and a way to take payment (checkout page, payment integration, etc) if this is a sales launch
• A way to deliver what you’ve promised (a course platform, a quiz platform, a webinar platform, etc.)
• And of course, the actual thing you’re delivering (your online course, your coaching program, your membership, your quiz, your webinar, your challenge, etc.), which was likely the first thing you had thought about right?

Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?

There are a ton of resources and experts out there to help you develop your funnel, but it’s also important to do it in a way that aligns with your goals. My platform of choice, Kajabi, has ready-made funnels, but I rarely use them. Instead, I set up my own funnels, both for my own business and for my clients. This way we can ensure that we are setting things up exactly the way that feels right for our own goals, and our way of approaching marketing and sales.

Also, there are lots of funnels experts, funnel courses, funnel packages, etc. And then there are very specific types of funnels (think SLO funnels) and techniques (think tripwires, upsells, etc.) to optimize your funnels, that I am not getting into today. This is where you would either get some specialized training or get an expert to help you get this set up. Be in touch with me if you want to be pointed in the right direction. There are so many options out there!

Good luck with your funnels!