What are funnels for marketing? (A guide for creators) |

Do you want to improve the conversion rate of your business and make more digital products? Marketing funnels could be your secret weapon. Here's how it works.

It's a digital creation which you are confident that your customers will enjoy. It's packed with actionable advice and knowledge, and has the potential to make the difference in your customers' lives.

Then why doesn't it fly off shelves (virtual) stores?

Your marketing plan could be the culprit -- especially if you don't have a strategy to take your clients from the point A (discovering the value of your products) through point B (thinking about purchasing it) to point C (becoming satisfied and loyal customers).

This is where funnels for marketing can help.

In this piece we'll discuss how marketing funnels are an absolute must-have for creators. We'll also discuss the most effective marketing strategies that you can employ at every stage of the funnel.

First, let's be a bit more reflective to answer the question that is to everyone's heart How do we define what is the definition of a funnel for marketing?

What is a marketing funnel?

The marketing funnel maps out the path a prospective customer (or "lead") is on starting with your business until they purchase.

The place a lead falls in the funnel depends on their level of familiarity with your product or brand and the degree to which they're close to making a purchasing decision.

Different marketing professionals break down their funnels into distinct stages. This one will be easy with three stages of the funnel mapping the buyer's journey from awareness to the final decision.

awareness:They're just starting to learn about your company or brand. These leads know they have an issue, however, they don't know which solutions are available.

Take into consideration:These leads are evaluating different solutions. They're trying out the best solution for their issue, and whether they're confident in your product.

The decision:These leads are ready to purchase and they're just waiting for an extra push to become customers.

There are also a lot of phases of the funnel broken down into MOFU, TOFU and BOFU, meaning top of funnel middle of funnel and the bottom of funnel. The farther down the funnel a lead is further down, the more close they are to converting.

If you now know what a funnel does What makes it an essential part of your marketing strategy?

Why do you need a marketing funnel?

Using a marketing funnel can help you make your marketing more effective and effective.

This is what I am referring to as a creator your time is one of your most valuable assets.

A majority of small companies spend less than 5 hours per week on marketing. If you are limited in budget and time to focus on advertising your online business You can't afford to guess what content will appeal to your target audience.

That way, you don't have to make a difficult sell to someone who barely recognizes your brand.

Brian Clark, digital marketing expert and the founder of Copyblogger, explains :

"We do not go into direct advertising to each person who interacts with our content. Instead, we use different strategiesincluding indirect as well as direct -- to make a compelling case for our product when the time is right."

Plus, customers expect relevant content:

90% of customers are more likely to buy from companies which offer offers that are relevant.

60% of consumers would think more positively about a brand if it provided them with more useful informative, engaging, or pertinent content.

When you show your leads the right messaging when they need it and at the right time, you'll see results by focusing on users with specific content that matches where they are in the buying process can lead to an increase of 72% in the rate of conversion .

Do you want to convert cold leads into paying customers? Let's look into the top marketing tactics for each stage of your funnel.

How do you market your digital product at every step of the funnel

Awareness: Draw leads in with lead magnets and social media ads

When they are in the stage of awareness it's not yet time to even contemplate purchasing a product. They're just looking for more about their pain points and what solutions might be offered to them.

Offer these prospects the info they're seeking by providing top-quality material that addresses their concern points. The valuable content will help to promote your brand to the world and establish you as an authority in your niche.

Take Ryan of Signature Edits  as an example. Signature Edits provides presets, templates, and training for their target audience of photographers.

Ryan recognizes that photographers run into various issues, which is why Ryan has two lead magnets for photographers: A guide to candid poses and the free sample pack of photo editing presets .

After someone downloads one of these lead magnets Ryan forwards follow-up emails to inform them about the brand's products and services. Offering two lead magnets helps Ryan ensure that follow-ups are much more relevant and targeted.

In the case of a person who signs up for the photo editing presets, Ryan knows that editing is a point of interest and maybe even a problemthe person. Armed with this information, Ryan can confidently promote his editing software to the potential customer.

Creator Minessa Konecky of Direct to Success utilizes interactive quizzes to bring new leads to her sales funnel and then provide them with a personalized customer journey.

Making use of quiz tool Interact , Minessa created an interactive lead generation test for finding your business blocking factor to bring in and discover more about prospects for new prospects.

If someone is able to take her quiz, Minessa segments them into the following three categories:

Overwhelmed:Small business owners with too much to do and aren't certain which way to fill their day every day.

Professional midlife:Entrepreneurs who know what they need to know, however, they aren't sure what to do next. elements into a plan.

Perpetual Procrastinators:People who are aware of the things they must do however, they are unable to get it done independently.

Based on the group the lead belongs to, Minessa moves them through the funnel, offering three of her free mini-courses.

When they reach the end in the funnel introduces leads to her two primary products. She then encourages them to purchase one of her products or sign up for her program, The Squad Academy .

Another thing to consider before we move on to the middle of the funnel What is the best way to ensure that these lead magnets get in front of your target customers?

Advertising on social media is an effective way to promote your lead magnets -- especially on Facebook.

This is why: Facebook ads generally have less cost and a higher returns than other channels which makes it among the most effective social media platforms available to small businesses.

Additionally, Facebook has some of the most targeted audience-targeting features out there. For example, Lookalike Audiences allow you to target users similar to your current customers.

Take one of your existing audiences for example, blog users or students in online courses and tell Facebook to connect with more users who are similar to your audience.

Learn more about how Facebook ads can help you fill your marketing funnel, check out these resources:

Okay, now that you have the top of the funnel covered, with the funnel's top covered,you're now ready to move on to the next phase: evaluating.

Take into consideration: Nurture leads using email marketing

In the consideration stage, prospective customers are researching and comparing several options. They know what their problem is and know there are multiple options out that can help solve the issue.

Your task is to make people realize that your product is the most effective choice. Now is the time to cultivate those prospects.

It is hard to overstate the significance of nurturing leads. In a world where the majority of leads do not result in sales, nurturing your leads can mean the difference between skyrocketing revenue and dismal sales numbers.

Are you still not convinced? In the average, leads who have been nurtured make 47% larger purchases and generate an increase of 20% in the number of sales prospects than those who aren't nurtured.

And with an ROI of $42 for each dollar spent  the email marketing tool is considered to be one of the most affordable and adaptable marketing tools for use, especially when you're a small-business manager with the funds to back it.

If your prospects have signed up to your list of email addresses now is the time to put them into a nurture sequence.

Email 1.Introduce yourself and convince your readers to think about the issue you're planning to resolve for them.

Email 2.Now you know that your potential client is pondering the issue, share some valuable insights with them to help them to take the first step towards finding a solution.

Email 3.It's time to present your program. Outline what your course offers and why it could be an ideal solution for them.

E-mail 4:You've made your first pitch, but your potential client may have concerns. Be prepared to answer some of the most important concerns they may have regarding your course.

Email 5:Make one final pitch. Explain to them the reasons they should take action now, and encourage them to reach out to you for any further questions.

Each email serves a specific reason. After we've gotten into emails four and five, leads are in the stage of decision making, but the selling process doesn't begin until the fifth and final email. Your goal is to gently lead your lead toward converting -- not shove them into the deep end.

The middle part of the funnel is a good time to share social proof with your leads.

Coined by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his famous work Influence  The idea of social proof is "we consider a behaviour to be acceptable in a context if people around us are doing the behavior".

Also, if customers see that people who are like them are buying and seeing results from your product, they'll be enticed to get in on this action.

In the case of marketers, using social proof is about including reviews and feedback throughout the sales funnel particularly during the decision stage. Here's why:

90% of customers review online and read customer testimonials or reviews when they're considering buying.

88% of customers consider online reviews to be in the same way as personal recommendations.

72% of people believe that testimonials and reviews make them trust the business more.

Okay, you've have made it to the contemplation phase, and now the purchase is so close you can feel it. Let's cross that finish line.

Decision: Convert leads with Retargeting and deals

The decision stage is the final stretch of your marketing funnel. In this stage, your marketing efforts should result in conversion a no-brainer for your audience.

But how do you get you to the final hurdle?

One of the most effective BOFU tools for marketing is retargeting.

Have you ever been looking at shoes on an ecommerce site and then hopped over to Facebook, just to see the same pair of shoes on your newsfeed? That's retargeting.

The retargeting method works via the Facebook Pixel , "a piece of code for your website that helps you analyze, improve and create the audiences you need for your ads". It allows you to target those who've already visited your website and have been engaged by your posts.

Here's how the Facebook Pixel works:

The pixel is added to your web page's code.

The pixel tracks which products customers are most interested in.

Pixels are used to retarget and target these users through Facebook ads.

Visitors click the ads, return to your website, where they can complete their purchase.

Concerning the content of those retargeting ads, the decision phase is the right time to ramp up urgency and highlight any offers that are special.

Obe Fitness did the second through serving this retargeted advertisement on my Facebook feed:

I've been to Obe Fitness' site before I even began to fill out their signup forms. Since I was near to making the switch, they targeted me with a discount promo code as well as a CTA to sign-up.

In terms of adding urgency, a limited-time offer could encourage customers to purchase -in the present. 89% of Americans say that an offer of exclusivity would increase their likelihood of shopping with a brand, while 48% believe that they would be more likely to purchase if an exclusive offer made customers buy earlier.

Here are a few ideas to include that urgency in your BOFU marketing

Set up a sale that is valid for a short period, then add a countdown timer on your product page. It might even lead to an 147% increase in sales .

In the end, if you're offering a sale that is limited in time Make it clear to those who are at the bottom of the sales funnel. This could be just the motivation they need to make the purchase.

Customers should be given the highest priority for retention and not only acquisition.

It can cost more than seven times more to acquire an entirely new client than for keeping one you already have.

52% buyers go the extra mile to purchase from companies they've been loyal to for years.

Customers who have been customers for a long time are nine times more likely to be converted as compared to a first-time buyer.

Many marketers view loyalty and retention as the fourth stage of the marketing funnel. Your customers have a stellar service, they share the message about your company or product, those referrals come into your funnel for marketing, and so on.

Add a funnel to your marketing toolkit

Every business, product and customer is unique. There's no universal marketing strategy that can magically cause your conversions spike and your funnel grow overnight.

However, if you ensure that you keep the marketing funnel in the forefront of your mind, you will gain a better understanding of the buyer's journey from awareness through buying. When you know the process, you'll be able to put the right messaging to your prospects when they need it.

For a recap, here are the most effective marketing strategies for each stage of the marketing funnel:

Awareness:Focus on providing high-quality material that addresses the needs of your target audience's problems and sets you up as an expert within your industry. Lead magnets and Facebook advertisements are a great way to go at this stage.

Consideration:Nurture your leads with an email sequence and social evidence. Help them feel confident that your product meets their needs.

Choice:Go for the hard pitch. Retargeting, discounts, and a sense of urgency to push your prospects over the finishing line.

Here's the bottom line: Keep the customer journey throughout your way and you'll be well on the way to creating a funnel for marketing that can make the sales of your business skyrocket.