A sales funnel is your sales process, all the steps that a new lead go through until making a purchase. First, they can be called “unqualified prospects”, as you don’t know much about them, and they might never buy anything from you. And, at the end of the process (the bottom of your funnel), you will find those who actually bought something from you.
And if you got a blog, it is very likely that you are looking for ways to monetise it, maybe by selling your own products, or investing in partnerships and affiliate links. If so, you should be using your content to boost your sales funnel, using one (or more than one) of the strategies suggested below:
For starters, you need to have your sales funnel very clear in your mind and, hopefully, on paper. You will want to ensure that you know how your leads find your blog, how they meet your product for the first time, and how they see it. Then you will need to think how many steps they must take before making a purchase, and how you can guide them through the process.
It might sound a bit complicated, but it isn’t. The thing is that you are running a blog, not an e-commerce site. So very few of your visitors come across your site looking to buy anything. They were looking for free information, and that is it. So how change their minds? By taking their hands through your sales funnel – and this is the way is so important that you have it very well structured.
To boost your sales funnel, you will need to increase your traffic. More people you attract to your blog, more likely is that some of them will buy your product or click on your affiliate links. But how you can do it is the question here.
Publishing valuable content on your blog or website is the best way to increase traffic. As mentioned above, what people are mostly looking for online is information, not products or services. So if you offer to them the answers they are searching, they will come to your blog. And it will give you the opportunity to interact with them and show what you have to offer.
Another way to attract customers and speed up your sales funnel is by providing content as freebies. It can be an e-book, a video, or a course, as long it is something that your target audience see as valuable, and that is related to your product.
This method is based on the same principle that would make brands offer free samples so to convince potential clients of the quality of their products. So think about something that you have to sell that can be transformed into content or that can be used to increase your credibility and boost your sales as a consequence.
Another thing that you probably know that can increase your sales is a strong relationship with your clients. It can be kind of a challenge as running a blog means that you can’t deal face-to-face with your client – which usually make thing warmer.
But you still can build a close relationship with your clients based solely on content that you provide to them. And e-mail marketing is one of the most used techniques for it. You can create a series of e-mails, for instance, for those interested in learning more about your tips. Or you can offer a curated list with your posts or written by experts.
The point here is that your potential clients will see your name in their inboxes regularly so they will remember you and your portfolio. And it might lead to more sales in the future. Just be careful and avoid being accused of spamming by sending your e-mails only to those who have opted in.
If you are dealing with a more selective audience, you might need to give them very good reasons to buy your product. And here is where your content will help you.
You will need to create posts that will give you to them all the advantages of what you want to sell along with the disadvantages. Yes, you read it correctly. Showing only the bright side will harm your credibility and turn your blog into an e-commerce website, and this is something you shouldn’t risk.
So make sure that you write honest reviews and compare what you want to sell with their competitors. And if you think that they are much better than yours, maybe you should look for new partnerships or to improve your products in the first place.
Your content can be the best weapon you got to supercharge your sales funnel. You can use it to attract the right audience and to keep it engaged and aware of your products and services.
You also use it as a freebie or to prove that your offer is better than the competition.
But, for it happens, you will need to ensure that you know exactly how your sales funnel works and that you only publish content that your potential customers will see as valuable.
If you only follow these rules, you are bound to boost your traffic and your sales sooner than expected. So start working on it right now.
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