The 5 Stages Of The Blog Sales Funnel And How To Use Them

Whether you aspire to be a full-time blogger or simply use your blog as a way to generate passive income while pursuing a hobby, a sales funnel will bolster your success. By setting aside some time to plan out your blog sales funnel and how your audience will move through it, you'll be able to set up automated processes that generate big results.

The first step to accomplishing your blog sales goals is to get a better understanding of the blog sales funnel. Here are the five stages of the funnel and how to use them to your advantage.

Awareness

During the awareness phase of the funnel, the focal point of your strategy will be to improve your website traffic. After all, your audience can't become customers if they don't know that you exist.

You can reach your audience via a two-pronged marketing strategy: social media and SEO. Creating a robust SEO strategy will help you drive web traffic through organic search efforts. The priorities under the SEO umbrella will be a combination of backlinking, keyword research, and technical components that make your website valuable to viewers.

The goal for social media will be extending your reach and creating engagement with your audience. During this phase, you may also wish to invest in paid advertising.

Interest

The interest phase of the funnel is when your audience starts to come back and visit more often. They convey an interest in what you have to offer.

At this point, your primary goal should be to capture their email address and start building a rapport via email marketing. You can begin this process by offering a lead magnet or opt-in, such as a course or eBook that's offered for free when an email address is provided.

Another approach to the interest phase of the funnel is to create a Facebook group, where you actively converse with your audience.

Evaluation

The evaluation phase is when your audience starts to consider what you have to offer in regards to products and services. They start to make a decision about if they want to part with their money in return for something you can offer them. This decision will be made based on their experience with your engagement efforts so far.

It's not uncommon for leads to stay in the evaluation stage for a long time. Using psychological marketing techniques at this point can help push them in the right direction. These might include:

●     Targeted email flows

●     Limited enrollment periods

●     Tripwires

●     Value-added bonuses

●     Limited quantities

●     Time-sensitive offers

Using one or more of these can help move lingerers in the evaluation phase into the next stage of the blog sales funnel.

Purchase

The purchase phase takes place after a transaction has been completed. During this phase, the focus is on proving to your customers that their purchase was worthwhile.

During this time, turn on your customer service skills and let them shine. Reach out to see how they like the product and if they have any questions. This time is also ideal for capturing feedback and reviews that you can use to shape your offerings and promote to leads that are in earlier phases of the funnel.

Loyalty

While the initial days and weeks following a sale are critical from a customer service point of view, the work doesn't end there. Now is when you start to consider the months ahead, and how you might reintroduce customers into the funnel to make another purchase.

You might not have another offering for your customers for some time. However, maintaining a rapport and continuing to prove your value will help increase your odds of success during the next sales period.

Understanding the five stages of the blog sales funnel is the key to creating a successful side-hustle. Make every customer touchpoint count, and always consider how you can bring value to their lives.