BTS of Online Business without the BS
BTS of Online Business without the BS is the podcast for the entrepreneur who wants real tips and strategies to grow a sustainable online business while also getting into the REALITY of being an entrepreneur and juggling everyday life.
If you have passion, drive, and a big vision but you also don't fully buy into the 'you can be overnight success and this shit is #easy', you'll love it here!
We're cutting out the BS, and getting real on the path to building successful, sustainable businesses!
BTS of Online Business without the BS
Making Funnels Make Sense: 3 SIMPLE funnels for leads and sales
Do you think "funnel" and immediately want to shut down?
That's most people I talk too. But after this episode, not any more.
I'm going to break down funnels and make them so SUPER simple to understand even your grandma could do it!
There are three types I'm going to be talking about: email builder, group builder, and the BIGGIE - sales funnel.
Do you need them all? Not necessarily.
These are only three options and once you listen, you'll get the idea of how you can apply this to your business model and really identify the funnels that would be most effective for you!
I'd love to hear your takeaways after this episode, especially if you were a funnel "hater" before!
Have I changed your mind??
Grab the Email Automation 101 Guide here:
Connect with me here:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/iamtaraleson/
Website: https://www.taraleson.com
Welcome to the Behind the Scenes of Online Business Without the BS podcast. If you're a motivated entrepreneur with a dream of building your own sustainable online business, you are in the right place. The right place. I'm Tara the systems expert, and I help online business owners put systems into your business so you can live in your life, not in your business, and still make daily sales. I also love to keep it real with what it takes to build an online business. Get ready as we go behind the scenes on this wild ride of entrepreneurship and building successful, real businesses. Welcome back to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Today, I wanted to talk about funnels. This is something everybody usually hates and I am going to break this down for you so that it makes it super simple. Am going to break this down for you so that it makes it super simple. You no longer hate it. You no longer dread it. You know exactly what a funnel is and how you can use it effectively in your business, because it is something that you need to use in your business. You're going to understand why by the end of this and how it actually applies to your business. You're probably using them right now. You just don't actually call it a funnel, so I'm going to break this down. It's going to be super simple. It's going to finally make sense Now.
Speaker 1:Anytime anyone thinks of funnels, you usually think of like the big names that you can get, like the platforms that you can get and do all of these crazy things with funnels, and like they have to have a million different steps and they have to be super complicated, and there's all of these things that go into them. And that can be true, but more often than not, that's not actually how it works. So what a funnel actually is all that it is is just the steps of where you want to guide people in your business. That's literally it. That is all that it is. So when someone comes, let's say, onto your Instagram page and they see a piece of content of yours and you have some call to action like grab my freebie, right? So you have that there, right? So you have that there. That is actually leading them into your funnel. That is the first step. So you're telling them where to go and from there, you will have built steps that is going to take them somewhere in your business. Now, where that is, that all depends. There are different things and we're going to go into that and what you can actually use them for, where you can lead people. But that's literally all that it is.
Speaker 1:And when you look at it this way, it makes it so much easier because you just have to break it down and think about okay. So the way that I like to look at it is where do you want people to end up? Because that's always the goal. So where do you want them to end up? And it's not always necessarily like, yes, it is in an offer getting a sale, but that's not always the immediate endpoint. Sometimes it can be in your Facebook group, sometimes it can be on your email list. You know there's different things that you can do. So it's really thinking about what is the intention behind this. Then it makes it so much easier to build out those steps and actually figure out okay, so what are the steps of this funnel? So three types of simple funnels that I like to think about and this is also the way that I break it down in system school, that I break it down in system school are email builder, a group builder and a sales funnel. So when you look at that, let's talk about the email builder first. This is getting people onto your email list. Now you can do this. The intention of this is to build your email list. The bigger intention behind this is obviously going to be, for, like lead for leads obviously sales down the road. You know, getting people nurtured through your emails, but eventually, you know, getting them to become clients. For right now, though, the goal is to get them on your email list, so what are the steps that we need to put in place in order to do that?
Speaker 1:You're going to want a freebie, so that's. So. That's step-ish number one, but really, step number one is actually your content that is going to let people know how to get into the funnel, and this is sometimes the part that people miss is you still have to talk about all of the systems in order to get people into them. So step number one is really your content that is going to drive people into the funnel. So it's going to be how are you going to tell people that the link is there to opt in for your freebie? That's basically step number one. Right? Then you're going to have people that the link is there to opt in for your freebie. That's basically step number one, right? Then you're going to have the freebie. You're going to have, like the landing page where they can opt in, they put in their name, their email, then they are going to be sent the email where they get the freebie and at the same time, they're added to your email list. So you have reached the goal right there, and that's a funnel. You've just created a very, very simple funnel right there.
Speaker 1:Now, in addition to this, you can also send out more automated emails, and I'm actually going to link in the show notes my email automation 101 guide that walks through all of this. It gives you prompts and everything that you can do to set up your freebie automation, because it goes through five different emails that you can set up to not only add people to your list but also sell your offer. So you add them to your list, they get the freebie. You can choose whether you want to, you know, sell your offer, and I do recommend that it does upsell to something, even if it's, you know, a low cost offer. It, you know, doesn't matter, just something, something else that gets them closer to you, something else that gives them more right and you want to send. You want to send a couple more emails. That's telling them more about you, you know, directing them back to the freebie, telling them what is really important in the freebie for them to really look out for and pay attention to. So that is your email builder funnel More. If you want more on that, more specifics on that, definitely grab the email automation guide because it goes more into the emails behind that. So make sure that you grab that. But the three basic steps are really just the content at first, directing them where the link is to actually opt in for the freebie, your landing page, and then the email that is sent and they are added to your list. That's the funnel.
Speaker 1:The second one, a group builder funnel. So if you have a Facebook group or some kind of free group it can be on WhatsApp, it can be on a different messaging type thing and you're wanting to build a group in there, you can create a funnel that funnels people into this group. So it's very similar idea. What are the steps you need to put in place in order to drive people into that group? In place in order to drive people into that group and this can be anything from again, from your content and telling people you know where it is. Go join my Facebook group. You know I have a free Facebook group that we do challenges every month or whatever, telling them a bit about it and really, you know, creating that interest for them to go there.
Speaker 1:Another thing that you can do and this kind of links with your email builder one or with a freebie is that you can also add it in to these emails and let them know you have a free Facebook group and link it in there and funnel them in also that way. Another way to do it is when new people come and follow you. That can be one of your kind of opening messages. It doesn't have to be something where it's weird that you're, you know, sending that out right away like join my Facebook group, but it can be, you know, one of the things where you start a conversation and if they are actually interested in what you are doing and need more help with whatever you do say it's fitness and you have a fitness Facebook group you can say you know you may be interested in this, I have a free Facebook group. Let me know if you would like the link. That one actually works very, very well. Actually works very, very well.
Speaker 1:That's a funnel. That is a funnel, and it's just thinking about these steps, that you are getting people into these different places in your business. So how are you directing people into these places? Another way to do this is to have it in the bottom of your emails. You can always have it linked. Have a little blurb down at the bottom. You can have it, you know, just above or just under your signature, and you can have it on all your weekly emails. You can have it on. You know all of your templates. I would recommend just having it in there and then something about if you want you know more tips and advice, make sure that you join this free group. Here is the link and you just link it in there. It's another way to funnel people into that group and just get them even closer to you and nurture them even more, so that that's a group group builder funnel.
Speaker 1:Now a sales funnel. This is the one that I think a lot of people get really freaked out by. This is the one where everyone's like fuck, no, that's what scares me, because we think sales funnel and that's where it's like it's got to be 80 steps, it's got to be all these things, and I don't want to, totally not, because it's all the same principles, all you need to think about is where are you leading these people to? And for a sales funnel, it's your offer. So if you want them to end up in your offer, what are the steps to get them there? So, let's say you have a group program. Okay, that's where you want them to end up. So you have this group program and so you start with your content and so you start with your content You're talking about. You can.
Speaker 1:You can do this one of two ways. So you can have a freebie that you talk about in your content that, like we did with the email builder, they opt in for and then they're on your email list. They're getting other emails and through these emails they're being sold your group program offer and the link to your sales page is in these emails which then sends. Like, they check out your sales page and they say, yes, that's for me, become a client. That is the funnel, that's it. It's literally just the steps of getting them there. The other option is when you talk about your actual offer in your content and you're promoting the offer itself, you can tell them you know, here is where the link to my sales page is and you can either say comment the word, if you want to do that, and you'll send it to them or head up to the link in my bio and you can check it out. That is funneling people into your offer. That, like those, still count. You can make it very, very simple.
Speaker 1:The one that I do usually like especially when we're talking in terms of launching or having something evergreen is doing the one where we start with a freebie and that obviously relates to whatever the offer is. But you start with the freebie. You get people that are opting in there and they're going through your freebie and getting a quick win, getting some kind of a result that relates to your offer. So they're already seeing, you know, some kind of result here. They're really liking that. The obvious next step of support is your offer and you're selling that to them not only on, you know, social media, where they're seeing all the things, but through your emails and you're funneling them through from your freebie. Through the emails they can go to your sales page and become a client and become a client.
Speaker 1:So those are, those are the types of funnels that I want you to think about, and you can make this so much more simple than I think a lot of people try to make it out to be in their heads, because we do see ones that are like 50 steps and you know, you go through all of these things and, yeah, you can build those out and you can do all kinds of things with them. I mean, I know how to build those kind of ones where there are exceptions and you shoot people one way and the other way and this way, depending on what they do in the funnel and all of the things you know. But it's how are they interacting within your business? What it really comes down to is, once they have opted in for something, how are they interacting with you know emails or freebies or different things within your business? That's how the rest of how the funnel operates for that specific person is determined, and then they go down different channels depending on how they interact with things. That's kind of you know the way that that works, but you don't need to make it that complicated. It never has to be that complicated. You can make it very simple so you can have.
Speaker 1:You know, if you like doing masterclasses. Say that's your freebie, you have the masterclass, you're promoting that. Then comes time you have that, you sell the offer in the masterclass you know you're. You give the link on the masterclass, some people go check it out there. But once it's done, you also send out emails afterwards, give the recording and you're selling it in like you're selling the offer in these emails afterwards and this is all a funnel. That is your funnel to your offer where you're driving people to it. Just, it's very simple and we don't need to complicate it. There's no reason it needs to be complicated. So hopefully that made things a bit easier to understand, broke it down a little bit more for you.
Speaker 1:If you have any questions, make sure that you connect with me on Instagram at I am Tara Leeson and also grab that email automation one-on-one freebie.
Speaker 1:It is so good. It's going to walk you through how to set up that email automation for your freebie and then selling your offer, which is essentially the email part of a sales funnel. So you're going to want to grab that. I also added in a bonus onboarding template with the prompts in there so that you know exactly what you need to put in for that as well. So make sure that you go grab it. Hopefully this helps you understand funnels a little bit more for yourself and for your business, and I will catch you in the next one. Thank you so much for listening, friend. I appreciate you being here and sharing in our experiences as we go behind the scenes in online business. I would love for you to hit that five stars, share with a friend that might enjoy it too, and leave a review telling me your favorite part of the show or this episode. Until next time, go, be successful, do the hard things and stay away from the BS.