How to Create an Email Marketing Funnel

Email marketing is a valuable tool for growing your business, converting subscribers into loyal customers, and sharing product and company updates. By creating an email marketing funnel, you can build your subscribers list and create valuable content for your customers. But creating an email marketing funnel is more complicated than what meets the eye. So, what is an email marketing funnel? Simply put, it’s a representation of how a subscriber goes from a prospective lead to a loyal customer by way of educational and promotional email content communication. To build an effective email marketing funnel, you need to anticipate your subscribers’s needs and send the appropriate email at the correct time to spur on action. 

Let’s look at the email marketing funnel in action.

1. Awareness

Create brand awareness by showcasing your unique value as a brand. 

2. Engagement

Engage with your customer to understand their needs and how you can help those needs. 

3. Consideration

Position yourself as the be-all-end-all solution for your customer’s needs so they will consider you when the need arises. 

4. Adoption

Now you want to provide content, resources, and education to your customers to develop a professional relationship.

5. Retention

Ensure your customer is satisfied with your product and service by continuing to build on brand loyalty. 

6. Expansion

Connect with your customers to listen to any additional needs or desires to help them achieve success.

7. Advocacy

Now that your customer is a loyal and satisfied customer, they will spread the word of your business to their wider network and community. The process begins again with the network of our loyal customers. 

Now that we’re familiar with the email marketing funnel, let’s take a look at how each step of the process works.

1. Lead Generation (step 1)

Email lists are so valuable. Your customer trusts you with their personal or professional email address to convey valuable information without spamming them. Unlike social media followers, you have direct access to your email followers.

You own the email list and have the ultimate control over the course of communication. You can acquire email addresses through a number of avenues, but the two most common ways are opt-in forms and landing pages. The opt-in forms are usually embedded through your website or blog and request the name or email address of your potential customer.

This is best for newsletters. Landing pages, on the other hand, are a focused lead magnet. In exchange for an email address, your customer might receive a free trial or some other valuable content. This is important because your subscriber is expecting you to produce value in return for their contact information. 

2. Lead Nurture Subscribers (steps 2-4)

Now that you’ve acquired the necessary information to develop your email list, the next step is to keep engaging with your subscribers. Since you’ve promised value to your subscribers, you need to keep delivering value to them. Now is the time when you want to consider investing in an email automation platform, such as MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, or Campaign Monitor.

As soon as you receive a new email lead, they should automatically receive a welcome email. This is your first impression and only chance to capture and engage their attention. These automated emails need to be targeted, valuable, and customized specifically for the subscriber according to their demographics.

Each email is an opportunity to build a lasting customer relationship. Consider adding the following to your first few emails: a brief welcome and introduction, followed by a case study or customer success story, or other related content. Next, offer other free resources like blogs or other content to keep them interested. 

3. Leads to Customers (steps 5-7)

By this stage, your subscribers have developed a trusting relationship and have looked to you for content and support. Now that they are ready to make a purchase, they will turn to you for expertise. It’s time to turn the leads into customers. Continue developing your relationship by consistently communicating personalized campaigns that more aggressively push sales.

This can look like gently reminding them of their abandoned shopping cart filled with valuable items that will address their needs, or sending time-sensitive sales offers to encourage them to go through with a purchase. Not only does this create a sense of urgency, but also gives them definite deadlines to make their decision. Now the subscribers have been converted into paying customers, it’s important to remind them to share the good news with their friend in exchange for $10 off their next purchase (this also is step 7, advocacy).

Now that we’ve broken down the email marketing funnel, it doesn’t seem so overwhelming after all. The important thing is to break it down into tangible steps that you can gently lead your subscribers to your content, provide them with value, and then create a sense of urgency to convert them into customers. With a little good-planning strategy, you can get those numbers where you want them!