A sales funnel describes how a client moves through the purchase process with you. This is from their first introduction to you (usually via a free or very low cost offering) through to the purchase of your star (most expensive) product or service.
As the funnel narrows, the number of people that progress towards your star offering decreases. So at the top of your funnel, where you offer free value, you will attract a large number of people. As you progress to your low cost offer, and then your star, you will notice natural attrition. Not everyone who takes up your free offer will progress to purchase your star offer. And that’s fine.
Blogs are articles, like this one, that you write and provide to your audience for free. They somehow fit into your offerings or are a piece of tangent content that would be of interest to your audience. They are an important piece in your sales process and here’s a few reasons why.
Provide credibility and expertise status
The idea of the top of your sales funnel is to attract as many people as possible. The bigger the pool, the more likely you are to be able to find your ideal client. Blogs are a great way to do this as they help build your credibility by providing your audience with important information that solves a problem that they have, helps them improve their lives or gives them knowledge to progress.
If you provide someone with continuous value through blogs, then you are building your ‘know, like and trust’ factor with them and increasing the chances that they will become a client of yours in the future.
Introduce people to you and your business
A blog is a great way to introduce yourself to your audience. And remember, a blog doesn’t have to be on your website. Consider a guest blog with someone who has a similar ideal client or even a site that publishes content from members. As an example, I have written for Girl Bosses Australia, Flying Solo and Business Business Business. These are all great ways to introduce yourself to a wider audience and capture them into your sales funnel.
Easy low cost content
The best thing about blogs, is that they are free! You can produce content, using your own knowledge and all it takes is about an hour of your time. Less time if you batch the process! You don’t need to spend a bucket load of money on a designer ebook or printable to capture your audience in the top of your sales funnel.
Feed into other parts of your sales funnel and content
Blogs are the perfect piece of content to repurpose. There is a million different things you can do with information on your blog! Think tips, infographics, podcast or video, all of which can also serve as free content. Popular blogs can be transformed into cheat sheets or checklists which can then be used as a freebie in exchange for email addresses. The options are endless!
So not only are blogs an important piece of the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), they also provide an integral piece to your sales funnel. Use them wisely and they can be a great drawcard to introduce your audience to your low cost or star offers.
Ideally blogs should be released consistently to gain credibility and momentum. If you’re struggling to find the time to produce blogs on a regular basis, I can write them for you. Drop me a line for more information. (See how I did that? Funnels in real life!)
