While sales funnels are far from being a new concept, adapting them to suit an online economy is relatively recent. Having an in-depth understanding of how the blog sales funnel works can help you increase your reach and monetize your website.
The blog sales funnel follows the traditional sales funnel format with a few modern twists. Here are the five stages and how you can use them to attract and convert customers.
Stage One: Awareness
The awareness stage of the blog sales funnel is when people learn that you exist. The focus during this stage is expanding your reach to find your ideal audience. Regardless of if you’re a company selling products or monetizing your blog via reviews and ads, you can’t make a profit without an audience.
For bloggers, there are two activities to focus on during this stage: SEO and social media. Work on building SEO through guest posting, keyword research, and backlinks. Consider working with an outreach specialist to accomplish this work-heavy task. Create high-quality content that people will want to read.
Social media is also vital for bloggers during this phase of the funnel. Use it to craft engaging content and connect with your audience.
Stage Two: Interest
After people find you, you need to get them engaged. During the interest phase, your audience decides that you’re worth a second look. The focus here will be relationship building.
While continuing to deliver high-quality content plays a role in the interest phase, you will also want to capture their information for email marketing. Develop a compelling lead magnet or opt-in that gives your audience a taste of what you have to offer in exchange for an email address. This could be anything from an eBook to a checklist to a mini-course.
When crafting a lead magnet, it should provide value to the prospect without using too many resources to develop. Look for something simple-yet-effective that you can release right away while you work on something that’s more motivating.
Stage Three: Evaluation
Once you’ve captured your audience’s information, it’s time to develop a relationship and educate them on your offerings. During stage three of the blogging sales funnel, your prospects will be sorting through information and determining how it relates to them.
Create a compelling email marketing strategy that builds trust and loyalty while educating recipients about who you are, what you do, and why you’re an expert in your field. Balance your approach with 80% of your emails being conversational and informative, and 20% pushing a sale.
Stage Four: Transaction
Stage four of the sales funnel is the transaction. This is when someone finally clicks that “buy now” button and provides their payment information.
During this phase of the funnel, your job is to remove friction and make it as easy as possible for your prospect to finish a transaction. Remove distractions and use AI email software to send out reminders for browse and cart abandonment. Don’t hesitate to use psychological sales techniques, like scarcity, time limits, and value-adds.
Stage Five: Retention
While acquiring new customers is essential for growth, don’t forget about those who have already converted. During this stage of the sales funnel, your focus should be delivering on the promises you made leading up to a conversion and providing exceptional service.
The retention phase is essential for collecting customer feedback and testimonials that will help new prospects convert to paying customers. It can also be used to shape future offerings and cater your content to improve your value.
Doing well in each step of the sales funnel will turn your blog into a bustling business. Break your actions into steps and set up the framework for an effective funnel that converts.
