Before sharing my simple sales funnel, let me share what’s happening & how it relates to sales funnels.
I’m finally rested from last week’s quick SHIP trip to El Salvador to interview teachers & students. We now have a Director and 2 teachers. Now, we only need our K6 teacher.
Running our SHIP school in Salvador is a bit like running your business.
In El Salvador, we have an overall plan and a group of families to whom we offer scholarships. Similarly in your online business, you should have an overall plan, with your ideal client in mind. Today, we’re going to move forward with the most important tool in your online toolkit.
I used to post to my blog whenever I felt like it. Every once in awhile, I hosted a special or offered a new product. But that was not a system to make money with no plan, with no sales funnel.
I haphazardly ran my blog and online business.
Last year, I became very intentional with my online sales. Here’s the simple sales funnel I continue to use.
Simple Sales Funnel (SSF)
SSF #1: Giveaway Free Resource
I look at my client’s biggest problems or challenges. Then, I create a free resource that solves their problem. In other words, I go back to Step 3 of how to money with your blog and review the problems & solutions I listed. I use that list to make wise decisions about my giveaway.
The catch is this.
Although I solve their problem in the free resource, I don’t fully solve their problems. I save some of the solution for an upcoming paid resource.
Not only is Simple Sales Funnel #1 helpful to my readers, I use it to drive traffic to my site and build my email list. My email list is my #1 asset in my online business.
SSF #2: Good Content
Once your readers take you up on your free resource, you need to continue giving them good content about their problem. This content is delivered via your blog and email.
I used to only post content on my blog, but I’ve changed my strategy by sending good content via email. Many of my followers read my email, but may not make it over to my blog.
SSF #3: Promotions – Offers
After sending good content to my readers, it’s time to sell my product. I often have a promotion to get them hooked at a lower price. Again, this is all done through email.
It takes patience and planning to go through these steps, but it will be worth it when you start making money through your promotions.
Why is Email So Important to
Make Money with Your Blog?
You should now see that my email list is vital to making money online. My emails push all of my messages to my clients. Those messages include my free resource, good content about my topic and my offers.
You have more control over your email list than any other strategy, so use it well. Not only that, emails convert better than any other method of relating to your readers. Yes, it converts much better than social media.
What does this mean for you?
Spend lots of time growing your email list and sending the right types of messages. I’ve written an ebook called Email Writing Secrets that shares exactly what I do with my emails and how to be successful with email.
Do you need help driving traffic to your site to grow your email list?
Grab our Scrappy List Building Checklist below. It’s completely free. I hope this list sparks more ideas to grow your list & make more sales.
