Email funnels are essential to your digital marketing strategy. And, they can be among the most effective tools for converting your branding efforts into new sales and retaining clients.
- What Is an Email Funnel and How Do You Build One?
Put very simply, an email funnel is a chain of automated email messages designed to help you convert leads into clients, and clients into loyal supporters.
There are plenty of email marketing platforms available, such as MailChimp or ConvertKit, and each will guide you through the set-up process – so we won’t discuss the technical side here. Instead, let’s focus on the content and sequencing of your mailers. As a guideline, consider the following five levels in your email funnel, through which your audience filters from the first contact to the brand advocate.
- High-Level Branding
The first stage is the initial communication with the client. You want to provide general brand awareness without pushing for a sale. Offer information about who you are, what you do and the value of your product. Keep it brief and general and, most importantly, do not push for a sale.
- Personalisation and Targeting
The readers that make it through to this level want to know more about what your product can do for them, but still, aren’t quite ready to make a purchase. Accordingly, your communications at this point should provide specific information tailored to their interests. However, you still should not push for the sale.
- Closing
If the prospect has come this far, he or she is more than likely ready to buy. Now you can take their interest and convert it into a sale. Try to pre-empt any questions they may have and insert call-to-action buttons in the mail that will take them to your site and help them complete the purchase.
- Retention
So now you’ve made the sale but you want your clients to come back and buy more. You need content that nurtures your relationship with them, reminds them of the value of your products and fosters a sense of loyalty.
- Secondary Marketing
You can turn your customers into secondary brand marketers by delivering consistent value, offering recommendations, specials, discounts and incentives, and inviting them to write reviews. This deepens your customers’ relationship with you and gives them the platform and the motivation to get the word out, starting the cycle anew.
Need help with your email marketing? Then contact WSI OMS today.