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

Are you looking to increase the conversion rate of your business and make more digital products? Marketing funnels can be your best weapon. This is how it works.

You've created a digital item that you know your audience will enjoy. The product is packed with practical guidance and expertise, and it could make a an impact on the lives of your clients.

So why isn't it flying across on the (virtual) stores?

Your marketing strategy could be the culprit -in particular if you do not have a plan to get your customers from point A (discovering the products) from point A (thinking about purchasing it) up to the point of C (becoming happy and loyal customers).

Marketing funnels are where they come in.

In this piece we'll discuss how marketing funnels are an absolute must-have for creators. We'll also discuss the best marketing tactics to employ in each step within the funnel.

First, let's take a step back and answer the question on everyone's minds what is the definition of a funnel for marketing?

What exactly is a funnel for marketing?

A marketing funnel maps the process that a potential buyer (or "lead") takes starting with your business until they buy.

How a lead will be placed within the funnel is based on their familiarity with your product or brand and how close they are to making a decision.

Different marketers break their marketing funnels into different steps. This one will be easy with three stages of the funnel that maps the buyers' journey from awareness to the final decision.

awareness:They're just starting to learn about your company or brand. The leads are aware of a pain point, but don't know what alternatives are readily available.

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

The decision:These leads are ready to purchase They just require an extra push to become customers.

It is also common to see the stages of the marketing funnel divided into MOFU, TOFU and BOFU. These are the top of funnel, middle of funnel, and bottom of funnel. The higher up the funnel that a lead falls and the nearer they will be to making a conversion.

Now that you know what a funnel does and what it is, how can you tell it's a marketing must-have?

Why do you need the funnel for your marketing?

A funnel for marketing will help make your marketing more effective and effective.

Let me explain: As a creator, your time is among your most valuable assets.

A majority of small companies are able to spend less than five hours a week in marketing. When you have limited time and resources to spend in marketing your business online, you can't afford to speculate on what content might appeal to your target audience.

This way, you won'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: Copyblogger, explains :

"We do not go into direct advertising to each person who interacts with our content. Instead, we employ a variety of strategies -including indirect as well as direct in order to present an argument for our offer at the right time."

Plus, customers expect relevant content:

91% of shoppers are more likely to shop with brands which offer offers that are relevant.

60% of users will be more positive of a brand if it provided them with more useful, interesting, or relevant information.

When you show your leads the right messaging at the right time, it pays off targeting users with relevant specific content that matches where they are at in their buying process could result in an increase of 72% in conversion rates .

Ready to turn more cold leads into paying customers? Let's dive into the best strategies for marketing at each step in the funnel.

How to market your digital goods at every stage of the funnel

Attract leads through lead magnets, as well as with advertisements on social media.

When they are in the stage of awareness the majority of people don't even think about making a purchase. They're looking to find out more about their pain points and what solutions might be out there for them.

Provide these leads with the data they're searching for through sharing quality content that addresses their pain points. The valuable content will help to promote your brand and establish you as an authority in your niche.

Take Ryan of Signature Edits , for example. Signature Edits provides templates, presets, as well as training to their group of photographers.

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

When someone downloads one of these lead magnets Ryan will send them follow-up messages informing them of his brand and products. And offering two different lead magnets helps Ryan make those follow-ups more specific and pertinent.

For example, if someone decides to join the editing tools for photos, Ryan knows that editing is a point of interest -- or maybe even a problem- for that person. With that info on hand, Ryan can confidently promote his editing products to that lead.

Author Minessa Konecky of Direct to Success uses interactive quizzes to bring new leads into her marketing funnel and offer them a personalized customer experience.

Utilizing the quiz tool Interact , Minessa created an online lead generation game for discovering your business's biggest blocking factor to attract and learn more about potential prospects.

When someone has completed her test, Minessa segments them into three categories:

In a state of overwhelm:Small business owners with many things to accomplish and aren't certain how to spend their time each day.

Professional midlife:Entrepreneurs who have learned what they need to know, but haven't figured out how to integrate the action items into a strategy.

Perpetual Procrastinators:People who know what they need to do yet aren't able to start on their own.

Based on the group that each lead is a part of, Minessa moves them through the funnel, sharing one of three free mini-courses.

Once they are at the bottom of the funnel, she introduces leads to her two main items and invites them purchase one of her products or to join her club, The Squad Academy .

Another thing to consider prior to moving on to the middle of our funnel: How do you get these lead magnets in front of your target clients?

Advertising on social media is the most effective method to market your lead magnets -- particularly on Facebook.

This is why: Facebook ads generally have an lower price and better return on investment than other channels, so it's one of the most effective social media channels for small-sized businesses.

Furthermore, Facebook has some of the most targeted audience-targeting options available. As an example, Lookalike Audiences allow you to target users who are similar to your existing customers.

Take one of your existing audiences, like your blog subscribers or students in online courses and tell Facebook to search for more like that one.

To learn more about how Facebook advertisements can assist you to fill your marketing funnel take a look at these tools:

If you've got the high point of the funnel covered, you're now ready to move on to the next step: considering.

Be aware of the need to nurture leads through emails for marketing

At the point of consideration the potential customers are looking up and comparing a handful of items. They understand what the issue is, and they know there are a myriad of solutions available to address it.

Your job is to make them realize that your product is the best option. It's time to nurture those prospects.

I can't stress enough how essential lead nurture is. In an age where 80percent of all new leads do not convert into sales, taking care of your leads may be the difference between rocketing profits and low sales.

Are you still not you are convinced? Nurtured leads have 47% larger purchases and produce 20 percent more the number of sales prospects than those who aren't nurtured.

and a return on investment of $42 for each one dollar invested  Email is among of the most affordable and scalable marketing tools available particularly if you're a small business proprietor with a budget to match.

So, now that your prospects have signed up to your email list, you're ready to enter your leads into a nurturing sequence.

Email 1:Introduce yourself, and encourage your readers to think about the issue you're planning to solve for them.

Email 2:Now that your prospect is thinking about the problem and has some ideas, you can share them with them to help them to take the first step towards finding a solution.

Email 3.It's time to introduce your course. Explain what you offer and how it can be the perfect solution for them.

E-mail 4.You've made your first presentation, but the potential buyer may still have concerns. Respond to some of the important concerns they may have regarding your program.

5. Email:Make one final pitch. Explain to them the reasons they should take action now, and encourage them to reach out to us with any concerns.

Every email has a distinct function. When we reach email four and five leads are in the process of making a decision, but the actual selling doesn't occur until the sixth and last email. It is important to guide your leads to convert -rather than shoving them into the depths of.

The middle of your funnel can also be a great moment to discuss the social proof you have with your leads.

The concept was coined by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his famed work Influence , the concept for social proof is "we view a behavior as acceptable in a context if people around us are doing the behavior".

That is, if leads see that people just like them are experiencing results using your product, they'll desire to get in on the excitement.

For marketers, leveraging social proof can mean including comments and reviews throughout the sales funnel and especially in the decision phase. Here's why:

92% of buyers look up testimonials and reviews prior to making purchasing.

88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal advice.

72% of customers affirm that positive reviews and reviews make them trust a business more.

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

Decision: Convert leads with the use of retargeting as well as special offers

The stage where you decide to make a decision is the end of your funnel for marketing. At this point, your marketing should make converting a no-brainer for your audience.

How do you get you to the finish line?

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

Have you ever looked at shoes on an online retailer, then clicked over to Facebook and saw identical shoes being advertised in your feed? That's retargeting.

That specific type of retargeting works via the Facebook Pixel , "a piece of code on your website that allows you to measure, optimize and build the audiences you need for your ads". It helps you retarget people who've been to your site and are were engaged by your website's content.

This is how Facebook Pixel works: Facebook Pixel is working:

You add the pixel to your web page's code.

It tracks what products customers are most interested in.

The pixel is used for remarketing and targeting those visitors via Facebook advertisements.

When people click on the advertisements, they return to your site's landing page and make their purchase.

Concerning the content for 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 latter by serving this retargeted ad on my Facebook feed:

I've visited Obe Fitness' site before, and even started to fill out their signup forms. Knowing I was close to making the switch, they targeted me with a coupon offer and CTA to sign up.

If you want to create the urgency of a sale, an offer that is limited in time can make customers more likely to purchase -in the present. Eighty-nine percent of Americans believe that a special offer will encourage them to shop with a brand, while 48% of them say that an exclusive offer would make buyers buy more quickly.

Here are a few ideas to integrate that urgency into your BOFU marketing

Create a deal that lasts for a specific period of time you can then include the countdown on your page for products. The result could be an rise of 147% in the number of conversions .

In the end, if you're running a special-occasion sale be sure to inform the leads at the bottom the funnel. This might be that push they require to complete their purchase.

Customers should be given the highest priority for retention over acquisition.

It may cost more than seven times more to get an additional customer than it does keeping an existing customer.

52% of buyers will go over and above to buy from the brands they trust.

Return customers have nearly nine-times more likely to convert as compared to a first-time buyer.

In fact, many marketers consider preservation and advocacy being the fourth step in the funnel of marketing. Your customers have a stellar service, they share the news about your brand or product. Those referrals enter your marketing funnel, which continues.

Include a funnel in your marketing toolkit

Every product, company, and audience is different. There's not a universal strategy for marketing which will make your conversions spike and the funnel to overflow in a flash.

If you can keep the marketing funnel top of mind, it will help you more easily understand the journey of a customer starting with awareness and ending with purchase. Once you are aware of the process, you'll be able to put the correct message to your prospects in the appropriate time.

In case you're wondering, here's the best marketing techniques for each stage of the funnel for marketing:

awareness:Focus on providing high-quality information that addresses your customers' issues and positions you as an expert in your space. Lead magnets as well as Facebook ads work wonders in this phase.

Consideration:Nurture your leads with an email sequence as well as social proof. Help them feel confident that your product fulfills their requirements.

The decision:Go for the hard pitch. Use retargeting, special discounts and a sense urgency to propel your leads across the finish line.

Here's the bottom line: Keep the customer journey in mind every step of the way, and you'll soon be on your way to building an effective marketing funnel that will make your sales numbers soar.