Funnels…
What do you think of re that word? Does your mind take you to the kitchen or the office? A funnel is simply something that gathers an ingredient and helps to direct it to become a more manageable flow of something. Think liquids from a big bucket into a funnel that filters everything into a pourable jug. Simples!
But in ‘business speak’ a funnel is what all the marketing gurus talk about when anticipating loads of interested people clicking on an advertisement or some kind of call to action link, so you channel those gazillions of prospects into a place where you can manage a relationship with them all, hoping to ultimately sell something – be it a service of commodity. Again – simples!
However, it’s really not as simple as it sounds, because:
1) you need to work backwards and decide what your ultimate sales offer is going to be.
2) you then need to have various set ups of contact to ensure that you filter out the big spenders from the DIY budget conscious prospects – and that might mean several points of engagement along the way.
3) you must ensure that your call to action is ‘seriously compelling’ for all those you want to capture into your database.
4) your advertisement leading to that call to action must be utterly brilliant.
Are you exhausted yet just thinking about all those steps?
Wait, there’s only four of them, right?
Well in reality each of those four steps takes a LOT of planning, execution and follow through.
Add to that, you (like millions of entrepreneurs) might not be so good at starting with the end in mind and working backwards to where the funnel is going to be employed in your marketing strategy.
How does writing a book fit into this marketing ecosystem?
The book is either one of the end results (ie here’s a teaser advert, now click to buy my book), or a part of the book is one of the lead magnets that attract people into the funnel. Wait – what’s a lead magnet, you ask?
That’s one of the things that serve as a compelling freebie, gift, or reward for someone entering into the funnel you’re setting up. It may be a checklist, report, sample chapter of your book, or even a more valuable specialised lead magnet that becomes a well-defined whole product in its own right.
I like to suggest my authors use a system of ‘breadcrumbing’ throughout their book so that readers know what to do and where to go at the end of the book, to support an engaging ongoing relationship. It might be that they are offered the chance to download the resources featured in the book itself, or a few comprehensive checklists. This will take them to a webpage where the reader can also see the ideal ‘advertising’ the author sets up regarding their speaking, training, coaching or other services. But a lead magnet, well that’s another thing again… If you’d like to know more about how that works, why not treat yourself to a free copy of my Magnify Your Message ebook. You’ll find more information about this form of marketing over on this page: https://indieexpertspublishing.com/lead-magnets
Once you know how this works – the system of funnels and the way Lead Magnets play their role in this kind of marketing – you can start working through those four steps with a lot more clarity. It might take a while but with all forms or marketing and businss planning, you start with the end in mind, work through some powerful leading questions and this is best done with a big sheet of paper or whiteboard.
Start with these questions:
- What do I really want people to know about me/my services?
- What do I most want people to do when they read about these?
- How do I prefer to engage with prospective clients – small groups, large ones, individually, meetings, webinars…?
- What is the end-game?
- How many clients could I realistically work with at any one time?
- How much do I charge for my servces?
- Is what I do scaleble – if if I had 10x more than usual inquiry, how could I manage that?
- Do I need help with working this out and executing a plan?
If you’ve read this far, you’re off to a great start. If you answered yes or maybe to that last question – reach out for a conversation anytime.
We’re here to help.
