Have you ever thought…
“You know what would be awesome? If I could make money 24/7 – and not have to, yennow, work so damn hard to do it.”
Well… secret’s out.
That fantasy CAN be your reality when you have a high-performing marketing funnel.
Don’t worry, we’re gonna get into exactly what that means here in a minute.
No need to be scared off or slightly overwhelmed by marketing speak. I promise you, this is actually easy.
First I wanna let you know about my super comprehensive guide that walks you through every single step of starting a side hustle, biz, or money-making passion project…
From scratch.
This guide is called Build Your Own Biz Online – and right now I’m making it FREE.
It’s normally $79 – and it was so popular last month that I’m extending the offer.
So if you haven’t snagged it yet, now’s your chance.
Or just comment the word BIZ (B-I-Z) on any of my socials.
So let’s say you’ve been carrying around an idea for a little side hustle… one you’re really passionate about.
You would enjoy doing it AND you think it would bring in a bit of extra cash monthly.
I gotta tell ya… now is the exact right time to lean in and DO IT.
Or at least start taking action – imperfect action that is – toward making that idea a reality.
Because a recession is the best time to start a new biz.
And yes, we are officially in one ‘cause a recession is defined as 2 back-to-back quarters of decreasing GDP.
The reason a recession is a great time to start your own biz or side hustle is that people are looking for NEW solutions to OLD problems.
I mean, Uber was started in the last recession. And think of how it completely revolutionized how we get around.
Now, normal people like you and me can bring in a bit more cash, whenever we want, using a resource we already have access to (AKA: our cars).
Anyway, I tell you this story because I KNOW you have an idea inside you.
And you’re probably been telling yourself stories about WHY you haven’t taken action.
Stories like:
- I’m not a business person.
- Or, I don’t know what I’m doing.
- Or, I have no idea where to start, so why bother?
Friends, the BYOB guide – yes that’s my fun little nickname for it LOL – helps you overcome those stories your brain is telling you.
AND gives you the complete roadmap of how to get clear on your intention for your biz idea – why you’re passionate about it.
And what kind of impact you want to make with all the prosperity waiting for you.
It also helps you come up with a super clear picture of WHO your side hustle is for.
Is it the busy stressed out mom who doesn’t create the time to take care of herself?
The retiree with a lot of time on her hands but isn’t connecting with her real purpose anymore?
You get to decide this.
Knowing WHO you wish to help makes the actual creation of your side hustle way easier.
And we also get into the important step of marketing your idea online.
- Even if you’re not techy.
- Even if you think Facebook is the devil. LOL
- Even if you’ve never done anything online other than surf the web or use the apps on your phone.
It has literally NEVER been easier to put your own product, service, or offer online.
Especially when you have use an automated marketing funnel I’m going to teach you about today.
I promise it’s not scary or overwhelming or expensive.
So first off, what IS a funnel?
It’s simply the process of introducing someone to your biz… warming up that new relationship…
And then having that person start buying from or working with you.
With a funnel, you get to automate this entire relationship-building process.
AKA: set it up ONE TIME.
And let technology do ALLLLLLLL the rest.
The fact is… most people WANT to do this… but they don’t take the time to.
So it’s practically impossible to measure whether you ARE relationship-building or not.
Without a marketing funnel, you’re dropping your prospective buyers (AKA: relationships) at the point where they’re actually the MOST interested in working with you.
It’s the same as asking someone to call you… and they do… and you don’t answer or call them back.
Not gonna help you get where you wanna go, right? Not gonna build the kind of prosperous relationship where you BOTH win.
IRL, I often see biz owners do things like:
- Throwing a story up on IG.
- Posting on Facebook.
- Or yeah, collecting an email address….
And that’s it.
One email is NOT enough to build a relationships.
That’s why a marketing funnel is so imporant. It attracts the person you wanna work with… nurtures that relationship with MULTIPLE points of contact over time… at which time you are QUALIFIED to ask for a sale.
And this entire process is AUTOMATED.
There are only 3 parts to a marketing funnel: the top, the middle, and the bottom.
At the top – your focus is trying to get in front as many of the RIGHT people as possible.
I’ll explain what I mean by the RIGHT people here in a minute.
Tactics associated with the top of your funnel include things like:
- Social media.
- Having a blog.
- Maybe attending a networking event, being on someone else’s podcast, or speaking at their event.
- Or maybe you decide to try out paid advertising online.
At the top of the funnel, you’re focused on creating awareness.
About who you are. What your offer is. And why it’s perfect for the exact kind of person you wish to work with.
You’re not focused on selling here.
That comes later.
I learned this the hard way when I first started.
I was sooooo stoked about my holistic wellness biz that I was like “Open for business please!”
Finally someone told me, “Hey Hayley, slow your roll. You need to build a relationship.”
I mean, I had NO idea – but it totally makes sense.
When you try to sell immediately, you’re essentially being like “Hey, wanna get married?” before you’ve even met.
Think about the times someone has come at you hard about buying something the second you walk in the door.
You’re totally turned off, right? So keep your own reaction in mind.
At the top of the funnel, you’re introducing yourself.
Letting people know you exist. What you’re all about. And how you can help them.
It’s like a handshake. Or a first date.
A swipe right. I think that’s what happens on a dating app when you like someone. LOL
Anyway, so your goal at the top of funnel stage is to get someone to like you… and to take action.
Usually to slide into your DMs – in a profesh way, obviously. LOL
Or join your email list via a simple webpage and form.
Now before your brain throws up a red flag at hearing this, I wanna let you in on something.
There are plenty of low-cost, super user-friendly software options, like my preferred platform Wavoto.
Which starts at just $17 per month. I’ll throw the link to check it out in the show notes.
There are even free options, like Mailchimp, but those DO have greater limits on what you can do with a free plan.
OH – and while we’re talking about free plans… you absolutely CANNOT send out marketing messages from your google or yahoo email account.
There are many laws in place now – the biggest of which is you must give them a way to opt out from receiving messages from you.
Your personal or biz gmail account does NOT have this option.
So if you are still sending emails this way, it’s illegal. And it CAN come back to bite ya in the butt.
In the form of getting blacklisted and unable to email anyone at ALL… or even to the tune of THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in fines – PER violating email! So just don’t do it, my friends.
Not only that, but it’s actually more work to send emails out from a personal google or yahoo account vs using a legit, automated provider.
So yeah, it IS critical to get professional email marketing software – even if you start off with the free level.
PLUS, it will help you will make automating this entire process super easy for you.
Especially if you don’t consider yourself to be techy. These systems are drag and drop easy. And will do all the work for you once set up.
The reason you want to set up a system like this is because it’s how you deepen your relationship. And start a 1:1 conversation.
Which, depending on your biz, is pretty much a required step.
Because it’s super rare that someone’s gonna hand you money when they just meet you.
Although I have been listening to all these podcasts about scammers lately and WOW – you’d be shocked at how many people do exactly that.
Fear is a serious motivator.
But you don’t wanna go that route in your biz – it’s not healthy and it’s not sustainable.
That’s why I personally prefer to lead with creating a vision of what’s possible.
Vs. scare tactics or massive unfounded claims.
Oh and one more thing about this whole automated funnel process.
Not everyone is gonna move to the next stage.
And that’s ok. Good even.
You only want to invest your time and energy into the people who are IN with you.
If someone hits your social account or website and decides to bounce out – you WANT that.
So you don’t spend your energy trying to convince them how awesome you are.
It’s a waste of time.
You aren’t for everyone. IRL or in the biz world. You don’t wanna be.
Trying to appeal to everyone makes you average. And average is NOT gonna get you where you wanna go.
Ok, so that said… let’s move on to what happens in the middle of the funnel.
Middle of the funnel is what happens after someone has said yes, in some way, to getting to know more about you and what you have to offer.
Which usually is something like sliding into your DMs. Or giving you their email address.
Middle of the funnel is where you nurture and warm up a relationship.
By connecting authentically. Sharing more about your story.
And what you do – specifically from the perspective of how you can help THEM achieve THEIR goals and desires.
In terms of tactics, this is where you have an automated email series. That you write and set up ONCE.
And use an email software system to send out the emails for you.
“How many emails?” I hear you asking.
Well, it really depends. I know, lame answer. But a realistic one.
You get to test out what works for you.
Best practice says between 1 and 10. So I’d suggest starting with somewhere between 3 and 5 – and pay attention to how they perform.
Right now in my biz, I have 4 automated emails set up to go out anytime someone downloads a free guide. They also receive my weekly newsletter.
Once you choose an email software, you’ll have access to an easy-to-understand visual dashboard that shows you which emails are being opened and clicked… and which ones aren’t.
So you can optimize this whole automated email series. Tweaking the ones that aren’t working and testing new ideas out.
A lot of people don’t bother to look at this information. Which means you actually have no idea what’s working. Or what your actual results are. But when you DO make this part of your process, you’ll quickly see areas for opportunity and improvement. As well as what’s driving results – and how you can double down on that.
Warming up a relationship takes time. And consistency.
Once you do this well, you arrive at the bottom of the funnel.
This is where you have finally earned the right to ask for a sale.
A lot of people get the ICKS when it comes to thinking about sales.
So instead, I’d like for you to think about this as what you can GIVE instead of what you can GET.
It helps take the ick factor out of the idea of sales.
Making sales isn’t bad.
Think about all the wonderful things you have no problem buying. It’s about value.
What if your fav coffee shop had a hangup about selling you your spicy cacao latte?
You’d be deprived of caffeine. And that’s no way to live, my friends. LOL
Anyway, bottom of the funnel is where you’ve warmed up the relationship and you’re like, “Hey let’s work together!”
NOW is when you can put a paid offer in front of them.
It could be something simple and no brainer-ish, like an affiliate link you’ve got to your fav wellness company.
I do this all the time with the offers I put in front of people for lifestyle, personal care, and essential oil products.
It could be something big – like getting a ticket to your weekend in-person retreat. Worth thousands of dollars.
Or even something small – like a $20 mini product. Or something in the middle. Obviously.
So remember how we started off today’s episode with the dream of “It would be so awesome to make money 24/7 – and not have to, yennow, work so damn hard to do it”?
I hope you see now how a marketing funnel helps you do that.
If you don’t have an automated funnel, you’re trying to build these relationships one at a time.
Which is working pretty damn hard in my book.
It’s not scalable.
Because A) your growth is limited by YOU. And B) it’s even MORE limited to the time you’re awake and actually working on your biz.
So let’s say you’re amped and wanna practice creating a funnel that works for you and YOUR dream biz idea.
That’s what you get to do with my BYOB guide – Build Your Own Biz Online. LOL
Because there’s an entire section in there guiding you through how to map out YOUR ideal funnel.
And plenty of space to brainstorm, workshop, and jot down ideas of how you’ll introduce yourself to your would-be customers or clients…
Warm up those relationships in a way that feels good to you AND is strategic.
And then, come up with ideas for your offer.
Putting pen to paper helps get that idea out of your head… and toward reality.
It’s a huge momentum builder. Or at least it was for me.
Back in the day, I went through an exercise like this with my holistic wellness + lifestyle biz.
And once I dropped all my ideas down on paper… it was like the blueprint magically appeared. It was so clear.
Then I just had to get the right tech for me – and trust me, I’d be one of those people the IT department is super annoyed by. ‘Cause I’m not super techy.
I’m perfectly capable of learning – and spoiler alert, so are you – but it’s not like I’m passionate about tech.
However… the idea that I get to create + setup this content once – and let it build my biz FOR me 24/7/365?
Yeah, that’s damn appealing.
So quick reminder about how to get the BYOB guide.
Or comment the word BIZ on any of my Facebook or Instagram posts. I’ll see it and shoot it over that way, ok?
I’d love to hear any questions you have about marketing funnels.
Shoot me a DM… or pop into one of my weekly FB Lives… let me know what you’d like more info on.
That’s it for me this week… have a good one friends. And I’ll see ya online.