As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Not all sales funnels are created equally; likewise, you may want to rebuild the success of an existing funnel but have no idea how to emulate it.

Chances are you can find out how using just three steps.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of competition.

In fact, it’s fair to say that competition is the catalyst of modern Internet marketing, as businesses constantly strive to test, tinker and try out new strategies as a means to dominating their respective niches.

A successful sales funnel is a prime example of trying something new to drive new sales and figure out what speaks most to our base of hungry users looking for real solutions in a marketing world often full of white noise.

Now, let’s say that you find a killer sales funnel that hits all the right buttons regarding design, content, and reach.

The design is crisp, the call-to-action is clear, and the offer is dynamite.

Let’s say you want to try and recreate the same marketing principles and points for your own funnel.

Well, what happens when that perfect funnel is in your niche?

What if the funnel belongs to a direct competitor?

That’s a problem, right?

Not necessarily.

The beauty of sales funnels comes in the fact that they are flexible regarding customization.

You can easily adjust your marketing language and offers.

For example, a site selling home dumbbell routines for men and a site selling yoga accessories to expectant mothers have two completely different audiences; however, the tone of their frontend pitches and execution of their backend funnel strategies may be identical.

We’re not suggesting that you undercut your competition, not by a long shot.

Any successful means of marketing, a sales funnel or otherwise, depends on a trustworthy brand with a sound product.

If you’re unable to provide such value to your users, you may find your efforts dead before they hit the ground.

If you are instead looking to see how competing funnels are performing and whether or not you can crack the code to their success, keep reading.

Truly understanding the in’s and out’s of your competition is perhaps one of the best weapons in your marketing arsenal.

It’s not always about you; instead, it’s about your customer and what products and services are currently being marketed to them.

Where does your funnel stack up?

What does your funnel do for them and how can you improve it?

How can you figure out what really works?

To rebuild a top performing sales funnel, you must first research and understand exactly how the funnel works.

Easier said than done, right?

Enter Their Funnel

Understanding the success of a competing funnel is akin to performing some in-depth detective work.

Perhaps the most effective way of gathering information is by going through the buying process yourself (sometimes known as “the buyer’s journey”), serving almost as an undercover agent for the product in the question.

Exploring this process is advantageous for multiple reasons, including:

You get to put yourself in the customer’s shoes – It’s not difficult for businesses to lose touch with their base from time to time.

Often, sales teams fail to map out what makes a successful sale.

This includes metrics such as click-through rates, drop off points and other milestones which measure customer engagement.

By playing the role of customer, ask yourself: how engaged are you with your competitors funnel?

What about your own  By putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes, we get to see the “gotcha” moments of a sales funnel and the calls-to-action in a real-time setting.

You see firsthand what works (and what doesn’t) – We can go on and on about market research and A/B testing; however, it’s all meaningless until it’s actually put into action.

By seeing how competing funnels operate, you provide yourself an opportunity to gather meaningful data on competitors regarding how they’re writing their content, presenting their deals and so on.

Are they using percentages or statistics?

Infographics?

Are the offers time sensitive?

How are they opting in?

The answers to these questions can help you craft your own killer funnel.

You get to see the backend firsthand – Marketers tend to obsess over the frontend and neglect arguably the most important aspect of a sales funnel: the backend.

However, the backend provides more opportunities to upsell customers and turn them into repeat buyers.

By seeing a competing funnel’s backend firsthand, you better understand what types of services you could eventually push to your own list over time.

Spy Games

Rebuilding a successful sales funnel also requires a keen understanding of competing for traffic sources.

Let’s face it: the traffic for your niche is probably spread across a network of sites.

How are you supposed to dominate a niche when there are so many moving pieces to ranking in Google or getting users into your funnel?

Many marketers have no idea where to begin with driving traffic away from competitors and back to their own sites, especially when keyword competition is so fierce.

To push the detective allegory a bit further, one of the best ways to learn from your competitors is to do a bit of spying.

It is very much possible to play some spy games with your competitors to see where their traffic comes from.

Depending on the tools you have in your marketing tool belt, this can be a relatively simple process.

Is this so-called spying underhanded or “unfair?” Absolutely not.

Such tools are completely by-the-book and can be accessed by any marketer.

Don’t think of “spying” as sneaking around; think of it as using what’s available to you to stay competitive in your industry.

There are some free tools available to help keep an eye on your competition and understand their traffic.

Such tools often have their limitations (especially when using the unpaid versions); however, there are plenty of free tools out there which work to…

Keep you updated whenever your competitor is mentioned online (via social media or otherwise)

• Monitor to the competitiveness of keywords in your niche, including keywords your competitors are targeting
• Analyze your competitor’s traffic regarding what keywords they are ranking for organically

In short, there’s plenty you can do to analyze your competitor’s traffic without spending a penny (Google’s Keyword Planner, for example, should already be a staple of your marketing efforts).

What if you’re willing to spend a bit more to learn the in’s and out’s of your competitor’s traffic?

There are plenty of paid tools out there (perhaps to the point of being overwhelming), but what’s worth its salt for marketers looking to get the best bang for their buck?

In the past, we’ve discussed the benefit of sales funnel tools such as AdBeat, which allows you to see the biggest advertisers in your space, what publishers their using and what messages they’re using to generate leads.

Of course, such tools do not come without their price tags, yet provide options for those looking for an in-depth competitive analysis.

Such analysis may be the key to rebuilding your next sales funnel.

Ask the Right Questions (to the Right People)

Conventional wisdom tells us that if you want something (or in this case, want to know something), it’s best just to ask.

When it comes to building an effective sales funnel, it’s all about understanding the niche behind that funnel alongside the most popular products and services being offered within that niche.

As niche marketing continues to thrive, affiliate managers are in a unique position when it comes to businesses trying to break through their markets.

If you’re looking to understand a competing funnel’s success better, asking an affiliate manager where they’re having the most success.

This is less “spying” and more “canvassing” when it comes to gathering intelligence on your competitors; however, sometimes the direct approach is the best approach.

Affiliate managers can provide unique insight to marketers and shouldn’t be left out as part of your strategy to rebuild a successful sales funnel.

Bringing it All Together

To put it all together, the keys to rebuilding a successful sales funnel include…

• Going through the funnel process as a buyer, understanding the allure of the competitor’s frontend and investigating the intricacies of their backend
• Spying on your competitor’s traffic sources, establishing an understanding of where their buyers come from and how you can attract the same crowd
• Asking affiliate managers to insight as to what’s working and what isn’t within your niche, further refining your approach to rebuilding your funnel

Rebuilding a successful funnel doesn’t have to be rocket science.

In fact, following through with the steps above is a great way to ensure that you’re following the best practices within your industry while also beefing up your marketing strategy.

Which of the above strategies do you feel is most beneficial to building out a successful sales funnel?

Thanks for reading How to Rebuild Top Performing Sales Funnels in Any Niche which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

In the modern age of marketing, sometimes an old-school approach can take our digital products to the next level.

If you’re fumbling for conversions, consider how you can leverage the sales tactics of classic print ads to give your sales funnel a fresh face and convert more traffic.

When it comes to modern marketing, old-school is still cool.

Think about it.

The Richest Man in Babylon, Think and Grow Rich, How to Win Friends and Influence People…

What do these books have in common beyond being considered three of the most important business and marketing books of all time?

They’re each over 75 years old yet sell thousands of hundreds of thousands of copies per year.

Why?

Because the methods detailed in these books work.

They’ve worked for decades, and they’ll continue to work for marketers hungry for advice years from now.

What does this have to do with your sales funnel today?

Although we live in an age where technology is constantly changing, and algorithms are always evolving, sometimes taking an “old school” approach to marketing is the best route for cracking the code of what makes our users tick.

For example, conversions may very well be the most frustrating aspect of any given sales funnel.

We think that we have the perfect design, killer copy and a deal that slays the competition; however, what are we to do when our traffic seems to bounce in droves?

Back to the drawing board, right?

You’re not alone if you’re facing conversion woes, especially considering how fickle buyers can potentially be.

For example, think about the following conversion optimization stats for a moment:

• You have less than eight seconds to grab your visitors’ attention via your landing page before they’re more than likely going to bounce.
• Depending on your traffic, up to 96% of your users aren’t ready to buy upon landing on your page; therefore, you need to warm your leads as much as possible at first glance.
• A/B testing is arguably the most important component of conversion optimization: using multiple landing pages and approaches to sealing the deal may represent a recipe for success.

If you’re struggling with conversions, perhaps it’s time to take an old school approach and learn a thing or two from the world of print advertising.

Now, you’re probably thinking something along the lines of “Print is dead!

What could I possibly learn from a dying medium?”

Everything.

If you want to understand where the world of advertising is going, you also need to understand where it’s been.

It’s time to step back from the keyboard and consider how beautifully print ads can sum up what piques a person’s interest, drives them emotionally and eventually influences them to buy.

These tactics could become integral to your next funnel. No joke.

So kick back, pretend you’re sitting in an episode of Mad Men and pay close attention.

Personalization and Storytelling

Personalization and storytelling are perhaps the easiest aspects of conversion optimization to overlook, but perhaps arguably represent the most powerful means of marketing your product.

This ad for Scrabble tells a story, an unlikely tactic for advertising a board game; however, this approach is more emotional and memorable versus a typical ad showing a family sitting around a table.

The subtext of the ad is that Scrabble is more than just a game: it’s an opportunity for people to connect and let their personalities shine.

Likewise, you should advertise the products for your funnel in a similar manner.

That is, ask yourself: what’s the story behind your product?

How could it impact or transform someone’s life on an emotional level?

Let’s say you’re selling SEO software.

Sure, the software could result in more leads and save you time, but isn’t that what every other software claims?

What if I told you to have that same software transformed my business and my life?

What if I detailed how that software kept me from losing sleep at night, worrying about whether or not I could pay my bills?

What if I painted the picture of how I spend my summers on the beach in Cozumel instead of slaving away in an office, miserable and exhausted, all because of this killer software?

If you’re still not sold on the business of emotion, consider how emotion impacts buyer behavior: emotional response for a product’s advertising has a greater influence on a consumer versus the content of the ad itself.

Your products and funnels alike should strive to make an emotional impact on your users.

Sure, we’re proud of what we’re selling; however, what matters is the what the products means for your audience on an emotional level.

In short, don’t just be a salesman: tell a story, too.

You don’t have to be a pro writer or a copywriter to create winning copy for your marketing. Check out Funnel Scripts if you’re looking to create effective ad copy for your funnels.

Urgency and Scarcity 

Urgency has long been documented as the psychological “push” which drives users to buy.

By establishing the notion that they’re going to miss potentially out if they don’t act now, users will naturally come through your funnel rather than bounce.

Creating a sense of urgency is easier said than done; however, funnel-hackers have a myriad of options at their fingertips (especially if they’re using ClickFunnels).

On a similar note, scarcity also represents the notion of potential loss on behalf of that user: that is, their precious offer may slip away from them if they don’t buy sooner rather than later.

Scarcity represents the ultimate way to appeal to pensive or fickle buyers and is often coupled with scarcity to seal the deal.

Print ads have taken advantage of both for decades, and why not?

This old-school Wal-Mart ad ticks the traditional boxes of urgency and scarcity to encourage attendance, and then some:

• The “Grand Opening” headline signals that this is a one-time event: this is a one-time-only event, but thankfully you have six days to attend (urgency).
• Wal-Mart presents the opening as an event to behold, including free prizes and access to brand-spanking news products and name brands that you can’t get anywhere else (scarcity).
• The ad also builds trust by offering a money-saving guarantee and presenting itself as an invitation.

Urgency and scarcity can be likewise we applied to just about any funnel, regardless of your product or niche.

Through features such as progress bars and countdown timers, you can easily establish a notion that time is running out.

In short, hammer the point that if your visitors aren’t on board with their product, they’re going to be missing out on something big.

Which the perfect segue for our final and last conversion tactic..

Exclusivity

The beauty of using exclusivity to drive conversions is the fact that you can get incredibly creative.

Case in point, perhaps one of the most infamous advertising campaigns of all-time for Lucky Strike cigarettes in 1917.

The “It’s toasted” tag-line launched the brand into superstar status over the course of a decade, eventually leading the brand to sell 30 billion cigarettes in 1930.

How?

Exclusivity.

Lucky Strike managed to differentiate their cigarettes from the competition by noting that the tobacco for their product was toasted rather than sun-dried, therefore signaling themselves as distinct versus their competitors.

The notion of a “toasted” cigarette was seen as an indicator of high-quality.

With two simple words, Lucky Strike was able to transform their sales and leave a lasting impression on millions of buyers.

Now do you understand why we constantly stress the need for a killer copy for your sales funnels?

The principles of exclusivity can be applied to any product with a bit of creativity.

For example, you could employ the following tactics on your next funnel:

• Market your product as a “members only” club, open only to insiders who know what they’re doing
• Note what sets you apart from the competition, such as price point or features
• Explain how your product represents something fresh and cutting edge versus the boring, old-hat products of the past.

Exclusivity is the ultimate way to set your product apart from your neighbors and can easily be combined with each of the conversion above tactics to take your funnel to the next level.

Which Conversion Tactics do You Find Most Effective?

To recap, the best possibly funnel combines the following four conversion tactics which can easily be stacked on top of each other:

• Personalization and storytelling to strike an emotional chord with visitors and to see your funnel as something more than a sales pitch (think: video sales letters are perfect for this).
• Urgency to light a fire under your visitors and scarcity to push them to act in a time-sensitive manner (using features in ClickFunnels, for example).
• Exclusivity to highlight the positive qualities of your product and how it ultimately stands tall above the competition (which can be outlined in your sales copy).

When in doubt, consider an old-school approach to optimizing your next funnel.

These tactics are tried and tested, representing cornerstones of marketing that still incentivize today’s digital natives.

Which conversion tactics do you find most effective for today’s users?

Any examples from old-school ads that ring a bell?

ClickFunnels Action Steps

Earlier, I discussed how adding a sense of urgency and scarcity is a top conversion tactic. Here’s how you can do it with ClickFunnels.

Add a Timer

Step 1: Log in to ClickFunnels

Step 2: Head on to the funnel where the landing page is

Step 3: Open the editor by clicking the Edit Page

Step 4: Hover over to any area you want to place the timer in until you see a “+” button

Step 5: Select the number of rows. Afterwards, click Add New Element.

Step 6: Scroll down the menu to choose the Timer Evergreen element. Now, you’re ready to edit the timer.

Step 7: Hover over the timer area and click for the settings menu to appear. From here, you can set the details. Save when you are done

Try ClickFunnels FREE Today!

Add a Call-to-Action (CTA) Button

Emphasise your CTA further by adding a button. Here’s how:

Step 1: Log in to ClickFunnels

Step 2: Head on to the funnel where the landing page is

Step 3: Open the editor by clicking the Edit Page button

Step 4: Hover over to any area you want to place the timer in until you see a “+” button

Step 5: Select the number of rows. Afterwards, click the Add New Element button.

Step 6: Scroll down the menu to choose the Button element.

Step 7: Hover over the button area and click for the settings menu to appear. From here, you can set the details from colour, button URL, button text, etc.

Try ClickFunnels FREE Today!

Thanks for reading Learning Sales Funnel Conversion Tactics From 3 Print Ads 2024 which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Every day, roughly 250 billion emails are sent worldwide.

Yes, that’s billion with a “b.”

Can you imagine for a moment all those millions and millions of words floating around out there: personal messages, requests to schedule meetings, reminders, and countless calls-to-action?

In the age of information, it’s almost enough to feel like we’re drowning in messages.

As a matter of fact, of the 4.3 billion email users across the globe, each office worker gets 121 emails per day.

Think about that: how are you supposed to make your autoresponder stand out from 120 other emails someone gets during their typical day?

It’s almost too much!

We can even see it now… another person is ignoring another boring email for the hundredth time today.

When will it ever end?

Yet, there’s so much more to creating autoresponders for your business.

While there are an almost limitless amount of industries in the world, there are also some tried-and-true rules for creating messages your subscribers actually want to read.

Imagine that!

With that in mind, we’re going to look at these methods step-by-step.

From getting started and gaining perspective to signing off and understanding those open rates, you’ll be a pro at sending your subscribers your autoresponders.

And your open rates and click-throughs will show it.

But the part you’ll love most is that you’ll be generating brand loyalty, getting more responses, and using autoresponders to build your business one message at a time.

Let’s get started!

Where Should You Start?

Even if you’re pretty experienced with autoresponders and email marketing, you may have noticed that things have changed drastically in recent years.

For example, increasingly, users are checking and responding to emails via growing mobile options (seriously, check out the numbers; from 8% to 48% in less than 5 years).

But it goes far beyond simply understanding how email habits are changing.

The way you can incorporate email into your marketing plan is also becoming more complex, more subtle, and better in tune with users’ needs.

Take, for instance, the amazing ability to use email content to push your audience to a Youtube tutorial about your product or service and through that video, push them toward your blog and once they’re on your site again, back into an upsell.

These sorts of complex experiences (and it can be even more refined depending on your business and level of expertise) can really increase loyalty to your brand.

But whether you’re a seasoned pro, or you’re totally new to autoresponders (and you’ve come to the right guide either way), starting is pretty simple.

If you haven’t yet chosen a service for sending your emails, check out this list of popular email marketing to get a sense of what might work for you.

Every business, small and large, has its own needs and goals. So take the time to research as many of these services as you like to decide which will be best for you.

Grab an account and then we’re ready to dive into creating your content!

Protip: While some services offer free content creation for your autoresponders, we recommend designing (or hiring someone to design) your campaign. This way, it will better represent your brand in a unique way.

Segmenting Your Leads

First, let’s tackle a vital part of your autoresponder campaign: segmenting your leads.

When it comes to your potential customers, they’re not all the same, right? Why would you want to serve up the same message to every single one of them?

And in actuality, research presented by Bigcommerce.com and Forrester have concluded that dividing up your leads into segments can overcome the fact that 42% of email users skip ever even opening an email. So how do you segment your leads?

Every business is going to be a little different, but let’s take a simple example: a small educational business that markets to both parents and teachers.

You can immediately see that the messages targeted at teachers might be very different than the messages for parents.

Though there is overlap between these two audiences, they might keep different schedules or purchase during different parts of the year.

In reality, they’re two different audiences with diverging concerns, needs, and sales potential.

But you don’t have to stop there.

While you don’t want to overcomplicate your database, consider other factors that your sub-audiences use to define themselves such as age, gender, purchasing habits, a region of the country, or even how long they’ve been customers.

You don’t have to create a new experience for every single group (and there will be overlap, of course), but making a list of these factors helps you see which audiences might need their own journey to your product or service.

Protip: Segmenting is a very powerful tool, but it can also be tempting to neglect a customer database once it’s been divided up. For several reasons (see here and here), you might want to consider having a dedicated team member or content professional keep an eye on yours throughout a campaign.

Mapping Their Journey

Probably the best metaphor to use when thinking about autoresponders is the metaphor of traveling.

Not all of your customers are headed to the same place at the same time.

But in the end, you’d like to keep them coming back in your direction.

Creating a visual content map of where you’d like to take them as they experience your brand is absolutely key to a successful autoresponder campaign.

You can grab anything from a piece of paper and a pencil to a more sophisticated piece of mapping software.

However, the point remains the same: creating a content plan.

You’ll want to create a map of what you’d like to present to them, but also what action you’d like them to take.

Let’s go back to our hypothetical educational business.

A simple map for our teachers might look something like this:

Thank you for a purchase → Reminder that you’re happy to answer questions → Sharing an interesting tip for the profession → Asking how their year is going → Highlighting a relevant testimonial with an included promotion → Asking for opinions (and comments) on a new blog article aimed at their demographic

Each of these steps serves its own purpose, but you’ll notice that this sequence is not set up like this:

Call-to-action → Call-to-action → Call-to-action → Call-to-action → Call-to-action.

By creating a more nuanced content map, you’re seeking to enhance your customer’s’ relationship with your brand.

Every step of that journey is filled with actions that grow that relationships in a different meaningful way, while keeping the conversation focused on what you can provide your customers.

This way, your audience looks forward to that next email from you because it connects with their lives.

Protip: Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Every autoresponder campaign can have completely different steps based on where you want to take that segment of your database.

Writing the Content & Understanding Open Rates

Let’s talk about open rates. It seems that there isn’t any more misunderstood topic in the industry of marketing.

You’ll find content services that promise incredibly high open rates, or we’ve even seen promises of up to 50% response rates.

But when it comes to data, it’s best to get the facts.

Because there is a contrast for open rates between industries, we recommend taking a look at MailChimp’s benchmark list to get a better perspective on what might be standard in your industry.

But, once you’ve segmented your list and mapped out your audience’s journey, there’re a few more tricks of the trade to getting your subscribers to look forward to opening your emails.

Let’s look at subject lines and sender information first. According to Impact Branding, 33% of email users open a message based solely on the subject line.

At the same time, it’s also rather obvious that many email recipients also check to see whether they know the sender or not.

For these reasons, we recommend taking the extra time to craft an email title that is compelling and generates a response.

This is, admittedly, a little more art than science, but like with other email factors, common sense goes a long way.

For example, we’ve seen higher open rates for titles that contain the word “you” in them and more responses to emails that are composed by a singular person as opposed to a team.

It’s best to ask yourself what would compel you to open an email if you were in your customer’s shoes.

But really, in today’s marketplace, most businesses and industries will benefit from writing autoresponder content that engages their customers.

Through your content, you have a chance to build a sense of trust between you and your audience.

Then when they see your name pop up in their email, they’re far more likely to open that email from the get-go.

Focus on writing content that is compelling, that serves a purpose and adds value to their experience of your product or service.

You’ll notice more and more brands are going this route today, skipping over calls-to-action that screams “buy here now!”

Instead, brands are engaging with their customers in the same way a person would connect with another person.

By doing this, and by using our guide here, you’ll be on your way to creating an autoresponder campaign that your customers love to open and enjoy reading.

And in turn, you’ll be creating a real audience for your brand.

Protip: One of the best ways to get ideas for your autoresponders is to take a look at your own inbox. You can even sign up for your competitor’s emails to understand what messages they’re sending!

But we love to hear about your experiences: which emails have you gotten that really “wowed” you and what was it about them that caught your eye?

Thanks for reading Creating an Autoresponder That Subscribers Look Forward To Opening which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Clicks and conversions are the bread and butter of every funnel-builder; however, how do we ensure that our traffic converts now instead of later?

We’ve outlined fifteen must do’s based on the best practices of funnel-hacking that can be applied to just about any site looking to fly visitors through their funnels.

Some say that bigger isn’t always better; however, when it comes to clicks and conversions, we’re always looking for our numbers to go up.

From disappointing design to flaky marketing, there are many reasons why users bounce off the page and ultimately fail to convert.

Such mistakes are especially unfortunate considering the blood, sweat, and tears that go into our sites and sales funnels.

On the flip side, it’s not uncommon for success to slip through our fingers due to the slightest bit of carelessness (think: the 80/20 rule).

How do we know if we’re making the same sorts of mistakes?

What if we’re squandering sales through a poorly optimized funnel?

Fear not.

By sticking to the following facts, you can plug up the holes in your sales funnels and optimize your site for more conversions now.

In short, some small tweaks can go a long way toward transforming your sales strategy.

Now, where do you start?

1. Know Your Numbers (the One’s That Matter)

First and foremost, make sure that any decisions regarding your site or sales funnel are driven by data versus your gut. The numbers that arguably matter the most to your next sales campaign include:

• The amount of traffic your site is currently pulling in (both organically and through ads).
• Conversion rates of prior marketing campaigns (to determine what works best regarding deals and copy, including past email marketing blasts or social media ads).
• The size of your email list (and the percentage of that list which is either warm, cold or hot).

Don’t solely rely on intuition when it comes to your sales funnel; instead, make sure you have the math on your side before you roll out something new.

2. Rely On Quality Traffic

On the same note, take a close look at the traffic of your funnel and ensure that such visitors aren’t simply junked traffic.

For example, unwanted visitors such as crawlers and content scrapers are going to skew your numbers.

Keep a close eye on your analytics (both on-site, through email marketing and on your ad campaigns) to ensure that you’re actually on target regarding your traffic.

3. Congruent Upsells

If someone asked if you’d like to boost your revenues instantly by up to 30%, you’d probably jump on the opportunity, right?

Therefore, embrace the upsell. By having consistent opportunities for users to spend more throughout your funnel, you increase opportunities to build your revenue stream.

On the same note, make sure that your upsells are congruent in the sense that they align with your sales funnel and work to benefit rather than interrupt your users.

4. Re-Targeting

We don’t expect to hit all of our targets the first time.

Funnel-hackers understand the benefits of retargeting and why it’s necessary to your marketing efforts, including conversion rates that may be ten times higher than our initial campaign.

Re-targeting users don’t have to be rocket science; for example, many marketers are seeing big returns by re-targeting leads through Facebook.

By going after the same users multiple times, we increase our exposure to such users, therefore building trust and improving our conversions.

5. Split Testing

When it comes to building a successful funnel, the name of the game is more trials and fewer errors.

Whether you’re launching a new funnel or rebuilding an underperforming one, it’s crucial that you understand what works and what doesn’t regarding your funnel’s design, marketing language and an initial deal that grabs your visitors’ attention.

If you’ve never launched a funnel before, you can use prior marketing campaigns to gather such information and potential inspiration for your funnel.

In short, if you’re not testing, you’re probably guessing.

6. When in Doubt, Downsell

Don’t fear the downsell.

If users are finicky about your funnel and want to bounce, consider the fact that a smaller sale is better than no sale at all, right?

If you offer a high-ticket product or suspect that price point may be the biggest barrier to entry to your traffic, include a downsell as part of your funnel or re-targeting strategy to help seal the deal for skeptics.

7. Crystal Clear CTAs

Your calls-to-action are arguably the most important parts of your sales funnel and site.

You can’t expect a single conversion if you aren’t asking visitors to do something.

Users should feel compelled to click with loud, specific calls-to-action that they simply can’t afford to miss.

Consider urgency, scarcity and mind-blowing statistics concerning your product as inspiration for driving users to click through.

8. CTAs Above the Fold

Likewise, you can’t afford to allow your users to miss your CTAs.

Therefore, make sure to keep them above the fold so that your visitors know exactly where to go rather than spending too much time scanning the page, potentially leading them to bounce.

9. Speed Up Your Page

Site slowdown can kill your conversion rate.

Consider the fact that nearly half of today’s users expect pages to load within two seconds.

The clock is ticking when it comes to conversions: every second your site isn’t loading, the more likely visitors are going to bounce.

Keep an eye on your site’s speed and make sure that you’ve run through your own funnel to make sure that nothing’s slowing you or your users down.

10. Engage Your Audience

“Engagement” is much more than a buzzword. After all, with users’ attention spans so short, we’re constantly fighting to keep our audience engaged.

Consider including some sort of quiz or comment box to allow users to speak their minds and remove the “salesman” vibe from your funnel.

Small touches to hold your audience’s attention can pay off in the long-run.

11. Beef Up Your Autoresponder (and Follow Up!)

Autoresponders have the potential to make or break your marketing campaigns.

By crafting an autoresponder that works, you can expect to see a spike in your conversion rates and bring more users back into your funnel where they belong.

Remember: segment your leads, map their journey, remind them who you are seal with deal with a killer call to action.

12. Use Order Bumps Religiously (They Work!)

If you’re looking for ways to boost your sales, invest in order bumps to drawn attention to additional products and offers alongside your initial deal. The inclusion of such bumps is a win-win for you and your users as you’re able to.

13. Craft Killer Headlines

Killer copy and higher conversions go hand-in-hand.

While we can use imagery and our funnel’s design to catch our visitor’s eyes, language goes a long way when it comes to sealing the deal.

The hard and fast rules of writing headlines include…

• Getting ultra-specific to grab users’ attention rather than being vague (“The High Ticket Coaching Funnel That Generated a 4,034% ROI).
• Create a sense of urgency surrounding your headline by reminders users that they need your product (“The $7,500 Blogging Mistake that Every Blogger Needs to Avoid”).

Additionally, make your product sound like a resource versus a sales pitch by ensuring users that you’ll solve their problems and give them exactly what they need.

14. Move Forward With Progress Bars

Urgency can be your secret weapon regarding marketing your funnel.

Likewise, you can utilize a progress bar to push users through your funnel and ensure that they complete the journey.

Whether you’re enticing users to get to the next step of the funnel “(You’re 33% closer to TRANSFORMING your business!”) or simply want to reassure them that the process is only one or two steps, progress bars are a subtle way of getting users to convert.

15. Give Them Options (When it Comes to Payment)

Plain and simple, users love having options versus feeling constrained or restricted.

Likewise, your funnel should allow users to pay in whatever way they see fit.

Not only will this give users a sense of security and reassure them that you’re trying to make the buying process more convenient for them, but also keep users from dropping off who may not use PayPal, for example. The more options, the better.

Anything Else?

These fifteen facts can be used across just about any funnel in any industry as a checklist to ensure that your funnel is running at full-steam.

While it may seem like there are a million moving pieces to a successful sales funnel, keep in mind that your attention to detail will ultimately set you apart from the competition.

If you had to pick one of the previous elements as being the most important for your funnel, what would you choose?

Visit the ClickFunnels website today to sign up for a free trial!

Thanks for reading 15 Freaky Funnel Facts To Follow For Faster Conversions which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

What do you do after you have published a blog post?

Do you simply move onto your next blog?

Here are 6 steps you need to take after publishing your blog posts to really give the post the impact that it needs.

I bet you have worked hard on your blog posts, so why would you leave them to sit and do nothing but wait for people to find them.

This is all very sad and lonely so it is time you start taking action and take certain steps to make sure all that hard work you put into your blog posts is being rewarded.

Content marketing isn’t just about writing blog posts and publishing them, it is so much more.

Yes, the bulk of it is to write content however you must also do other things that I have listed in this guide to create a true content marketing strategy.

If you want your blog to really grow and gain readers then you’re going to need to do more than just hit the “publish” button. Don’t worry though; I will help you transform your blog into a hub of activity.

Here are 6 action steps you must take after you publish a blog post:

1. Follow Up Answering all Comments

Image Source: Heide Cohen

First things first is to follow up on all comments your readers are leaving on your blog posts.

It is surprising to me when I come across a blog where the author does not engage in the conversation in the comments area.

This is a great place for you to really connect with your audience, answer their questions and interact with them.

Comments on blog posts however can be extremely hard to get and can even take years for a blog to start seeing good activity in the comments section.

In order to help the process along, make sure to respond to those who do leave a comment.

Replying to comments can help to increase the amount of comments on that blog post and others as your audience will be more likely to engage if they see there is someone to engage with.

If your audience have questions and ask them in the comments but don’t get a response, they won’t be likely to leave a comment again and may even leave your blog to find their answers elsewhere.

[bctt tweet=”Encourage those who have questions to ask them by responding to all comments.”]

2. Create A Content Upgrade

Image Source: Backlinko

I believe it is absolutely important to explain everything about the topic that you’re blogging about.

There is no point in half answering things as they might go and find the rest of the information at a competitor’s blog.

As well as that, you want them to continue to come back to you for information which they will do if they know they can get detailed guides on your blog.

However sometimes you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with lengthy blog posts as a lot of people like to find information that is easily digestible.

[bctt tweet=”If you don’t want to overwhelm your audience then you can offer content upgrades.”]

Content upgrades will give your audience the option to find out more information or whether they’re happy with the information provided in the blog post.

For example, if I was doing a blog post on how to optimize the sidebar of a blog then I might add a content upgrade offering readers a downloadable guide to the top 10 plugins for their blog.

Not only would this help to offer my audience more information on the topic but it will also help to build my contact list as the content upgrade would be gated.

3. Email Your List

One of the most important things you should do after publishing a blog post is to send it to your email list.

The contacts you have in your email list are already interested in what you have to offer as they wouldn’t have signed up to your email list.

This is your most loyal audience so are the perfect audience to get your content in front of.

The design of this email doesn’t have to be anything complex; it can be a very simple text email with a couple of links directing your email list to your latest blog post.

Include the following in the email:

• The first sentence should explain why you’re emailing and contain an anchor text link to your blog post.
• The title of the blog post should be the next sentence and standalone so as to stand out to recipients. If you stay consistent with the structure of your emails then your contacts will begin to learn where to click without thinking.
• You can then include a couple of very short paragraphs to explain what the blog post is about and why it will benefit them if they read it.
• At the end of the second paragraph, you can include another anchor text such as “click to read more”.

4. Outreach to People Who Have Been Mentioned In The Post

Image Source: Neil Patel

You may naturally link to other websites and blogs if you’re talking about their stats or products.

It is all very well and good to assume that they will see that you have linked to them but not everyone monitors who is mentioning them or linking to them.

You’re doing them a favour by helping to build their authority as well as send quality traffic to them.

Since you’re doing them a favour, why not contact them and tell them that you have linked to them.

This doesn’t mean that you should email them and ask that they link to your blog post or share it on their social media just because you have linked to them.

Instead, why not email them and tell them that you loved their product or blog post so much so that you have mentioned it on your own blog.

This type of email will be more likely to get a positive reaction.

5. Discuss In Forums and Facebook Groups

Before you start posting your blog post links in forums, it is important to be naturally active in forums before stating to post links.

If you try and post links and promote your own agenda before being an active member then you could possibly be banned from the forum.

To avoid being banned, find some relevant forums and start joining in on discussing without posting links or promoting yourself.

Once you have established yourself on the forum, then you can start sharing the links to your blog posts when it is relevant.

[bctt tweet=”Another great place to share your blog posts is in Facebook groups.”]

The best groups tend to be private so you will have to ask to join, which you may not be accepted.

There is no quality in sharing your blog post links to spammy Facebook groups though so find some highly relevant Facebook groups and request to join.

As with the forums, it is important not to dive right in and post your links.

It is important to get to know the group and also let the group get to know you before you share any links as you don’t want to get booted out.

6. Monitor Keyword Rankings

Image Source: Rank Tracker

Last but certainly not least, once you have published a blog post you should be monitoring keyword rankings.

While the long-tail keywords you’ve been targeting in your blog posts won’t have an effect on rankings instantly, it is important to track and monitor them.

There are some very good tools online that you can use to monitor keywords such as Pro Rank Tracker.

All you need to do is add the URL of your blog post as well as the long-tail keyword you have used in the blog post.

You can leave this to track and monitor and revisit how it’s performing in a few weeks… not a few days.

If after a month or so, if your blog post isn’t on the third page or higher in the search rankings then it is a sign that you targeted a keyword that is too difficult for you to rank for yet.

If this is the case, you can simply go back to that blog post and edit it to use another less competitive keyword and check back again in a few weeks.

Conclusion

If you follow these 6 steps after a publishing every blog post, you will start to see a lot more traffic heading your way as well as increased engagement.

Here is a quick roundup of the 6 steps:

1. Make sure to respond to all comments made on your blog posts.
2. Offer your audience content upgrades to capture their interest.
3. Share your blog posts with your email list who may share on their social media for greater reach.
4. Contact those who you have mentioned in your blog posts to say that you have mentioned them.
5. Share your blog posts in forums and in Facebook groups when it is relevant and natural.
6. Keep track of the keywords you are targeting in your blog posts.

What do you do after you publish a blog post?

Let me know by leaving your comments below.

Thanks for reading 6 Action Steps To Take After You Publish A Blog Post which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

You’ve prepared your brand, designed your sales funnel, and now, you’re ready to launch.

Whether you’re on your first business, or you’re an established player bringing a new idea to market, this step can be full of anticipation.

What more could there possibly be to do, but sit back and enjoy the ride, watching the leads (and the sales) roll in?

Not so fast!

What you do before your launch can be just as important as how your funnel is designed or what your logo looks like.

In fact, according to a recent analysis, people are pretty skeptical of brands and the tactics they use to engage customers through the sales pipeline.

But don’t lose hope!

By driving traffic to your funnel before you even launch it, you have a chance to define the direction.

With these strategies, you’ll be able to develop higher-quality leads that have more trust in your brand and your funnel.

Each step we’ve included for you serves its own purpose, but in complementing each other, they’ll also solidify the overall experience your customers enjoy.

And in part, that’s the key to this guide: creating an experience for your audience before they even arrive.

Recent analysis by the Washington Post shows that Millennials, more than any other generation before them, want experiences more than products.

And today, we’re going to look at how to create that experience.

With more, higher-quality traffic, you’ll be more confident in the results and get a better return on investment.

Make Appearances on Lots of Podcasts

Image Source: Blogging.Org

This year is turning out to be the rise of the podcast.

Every year, the data shows an increase in podcast listeners, with 33% of Americans saying they listened to at least 1 podcast episode in 2015.

And with services like Pandora introducing podcasts such as Serial, more and more people are being exposed to this medium.

As a marketing tool, it makes perfect sense: podcasts are a low-cost way to have your own radio show.

So when you make appearances on them, you get to grab some of this limelight for your funnel.

But most importantly, you’re able to show your potential audience that you’re a real person with real ideas, not just a brand with a product.

1. Create a list of podcasts that might be relevant to your customers

To find podcasts, turn to sites like iTunes, but apps like Stitcher also remain a popular choice. The simplest method is to use Google or Bing to search for shows in your niche. You can also reach out to friends in your industry who have started podcasts. The longer the list, the better.

2. Listen to at least 1 episode of each podcast

By getting a feel for each podcast, you’ll have a better idea of whether it matches your brand voice and your goals. Also, you’ll also be able to connect what you hear to your pitch when you get in touch with the host.

3. Reach out to the host and pitch an appearance

We recommend contacting via email. Go beyond simply telling them that you love their show, and you’d like to be on it. Instead, compose a short email that distinctly shows what you can offer. If you’re able to connect yourself (not just your brand) to a specific show idea, you’re much more likely to be offered a slot.

4. Prepare your space and your ideas

You’ll want to be prepared. Check the space you intend to conduct the interview at ahead of time. Ensuring that, for example, your mic works guarantees a smooth appearance. But also prepare a list of ideas that you plan to bring to the table, so you’re ready to be relevant to the host’s audience.

5. Act natural and enjoy the spotlight

Remember how we’re creating an experience instead of simply pitching a product? Your funnel will benefit when listeners hear a genuine person getting in touch with what matters most to them. While it’s perfectly okay to do a short pitch, stay relevant and give back value to the community you’re interacting with.

6. Thank everyone involved

Before you close your appearance, thank the host, but also thank the audience. Invite them to visit your website or get in touch with you for questions on social media. You’ll also want to send a thank you email to the host afterward, letting them know you enjoyed it, and you’d love to be back at anytime.

7. Share, share, share

Once you’ve made your podcast appearance, share that episode! Sharing a link on your personal social media is totally allowed and gives your brand that authentic feel we’re looking for.

Protip: You might be tempted only to target podcasts with the biggest audiences.

But remember, while spreading your brand as far and wide as possible is important, sometimes those smaller audiences can be a better match for your brand, especially if they’re strong enthusiasts in your niche.

Guest Post on People’s Websites

There’s plenty of research out there that shows that blogging increases traffic to your brand’s website and your funnel.

But guest blogging goes a few steps further than simply writing a blog article and calling it a day.

Instead, you’re tapping into a whole new community of people.

Think about sites that feature multiple authors like the popular Lifehacker.

In fact, take a few minutes to browse articles on their site.

Notice anything interesting? Sites like these are really entire communities commenting and sharing content in a niche.

By guest posting, you’re presenting your brand as an authority in the industry to these real people.

1. Visit some of the popular sites in your niche

Just like with appearing on podcasts, you’ll want to create a list of popular sites. If you’re already a frequent commenter on another site, it’s even better, since you’ve already established yourself in the community.

2. Browse past articles to find a topic that fits, but might be missing

Keep a list of ideas as you browse the site’s past articles. Once you’ve made a shortlist, search the site to see if they’ve written on these topics before. This way, you’ll be bringing the community something new.

3. Reach out to the blog or website owners.

Let them know what your idea is, how it can benefit them, and why you and your brand are the right fit for a guest article.

4. Motivate, inspire, challenge, connect

Captivate your audience and look to move them really. Whether it’s giving them tips or presenting a novel perspective, skip directly pitching your brand and seek to get them engaged. But don’t be afraid to link back to your own site when appropriate.

5. Answer comments and questions on your article

Once you have their attention, don’t just skip town! After your guest post is published, be sure to return and regularly answer questions or thank people for their input. Continue to be part of the community.

6. Get the data

Can you imagine knowing how many people were already aware of your sales funnel before you even contacted them? Data from your guest post gives you a great perspective.

Protip: Include a photo of yourself that’s relevant to the topic of your article. This adds a human touch to your post and further connects the audience to you and the experience you’re writing about.

Use Content Marketing on Your Blog

Image Source: Ben Wheeler

Chances are, you’ve probably heard of search engine optimization, and the phrase, “content is king.” But in reality, content marketing on your own blog serves several functions for your sale funnel. First, it allows your brand to be found more easily on sites like Google and Bing. It also draws potential customers to your website and increases the chance they’ll be exposed to your sales funnel, increasing the possibility of a positive ROI by as much as 13 times.

1. Select your keywords

Choosing the keywords for your blog can be a challenge (and one we’ll address on another day). But selecting the right keywords makes it easier for people to find your site when searching.

2. But write with natural-language in mind

While many people have their own best recipe for how to write blogs, your readers will appreciate it more when you develop your own voice, free of stringent SEO gimmicks. This creates a better overall experience.

3. Choose a posting schedule you can keep

It’s true that blogging more increases traffic. But keep your efforts in perspective and commit to a schedule that makes the most sense of your sales funnel.

4. Keep an eye on your stats

Just like with any marketing effort, you’ll want to watch your data so that you can change what isn’t working and keep what is.

5. Be patient

At the same time, building a blog audience doesn’t happen overnight. Patience and regular posting are the keys to drawing in those readers.

Protip: Instead of closing with a traditional call-to-action, ask your readers to share with you by getting in touch directly. It’s friendly and offers a more one-to-one custom experience for them.

Engage Your Email List to Build Up Your Click-Through Rate

Image Source: Merrie Marketing

It seems that every year, someone declares that email marketing is dead. While it may be true that “content is still king” in the case of blogging, email remains at the top of the list for driving traffic to your funnel. It may surprise you to find out that, according to Entrepreneur and Direct Marketing Association, email increases return on investment by thousands of percentage points.

And yet, it is consistently one of the most misunderstood ways to drive traffic to a sales funnel. You’ve probably gotten your own fair share of bulk-sent emails you’ve ignored over the years. Isn’t there a better way? Yes!

1. Forget the newsletter templates

Most people’s inboxes are flooded with newsletters that they don’t have time to read. Instead, opt for a more organic feel by using a standard email.

2. Send your email from a singular person instead of a brand

You may have noticed recently that big brands aren’t sending emails from info@bigbrand.com. Instead, they use individual people with real names to send communications, even to bulk lists. This helps give a more one-to-one connection to the message, increasing open rates.

3. Start a conversation

In today’s day and age, we’ve learned that people want to share their stories and conversations. Why not use email as a vehicle to create a conversation about your product or service… and ask them to share their own thoughts?

4. Include a link

Don’t forget those links! By sharing relevant links, you drive that high-quality traffic back to your funnel.

Protip: Personalizing content with the day of the week or a regional reference point helps link your audience to the message by making it immediately relevant to their own lives.

Find Affiliates for Your Upcoming Launch who can Drive Organic and Paid Traffic

Image Source: USANFRAONLINE

If you’re new to marketing, you might be wondering how affiliate marketing works. Think of it as a way to get your brand out there through 3rd parties that take a small commission. Google Adwords and Amazon’s affiliate network are two popular choices, but there are many other networks out there. Bottomline: you take advantage of lower costs and broader penetration of your market. The real selling point here, however, is that you often only pay when you see results.

But how do you use it to create a genuine experience for your customers and drive traffic? Really affiliate marketing shines most when you’re able to get honest, real reviews of your brand across the web. Sites like Yelp have programs that can truly benefit your funnel with genuine reviews. And with as many as 90% of consumers trusting reviews to help make up their mind, you can see how important this strategy is.

1. Clear message that taps into their need

When you’re able to craft or approve the message that will be used for your affiliate marketing, make sure that the message is simple and straightforward and appeals to your customers’ needs.

2. Provide excellent customer service

Whenever you have an affiliate review, take the opportunity to address any concerns or issues the reviewer had. By publically doing so, you’re showing off just how awesome your customer service really is.

3. Update content regularly

In today’s world, it seems that ads get stale in a heartbeat. Regularly changing out your ad means that new traffic is constantly seeing fresh content to entice them your way.

4. Follow your data closely

Always be on top of your affiliate data so you can make any changes. You’ll also know when an affiliate network is working toward your advantage and when it’s not.

Protip: When using affiliate marketing reviews, consider “doubling up” your marketing by putting positive reviews on your website as testimonials, another strong marketing tactic.

You’re the expert in your industry: what strategies have given you the best return on investment?

Thanks for reading 5 Strategies To Build Traffic Before You Launch Your Funnel which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Not wanting to waste time and money having to fix errors in your sales funnel after building it?

There are some common mistakes that businesses and marketers suffer from that can be easily avoided.

There is nothing worse than shooting yourself in the foot after working so hard to build a sales funnel or anything else for that matter.

Having to spend time redoing factors or wasting money can be painful for any business or marketer.

The aim of the game, I’m sure you’ll agree, is to avoid as many mistakes as possible which are what I am going to help you do.

Here are a few tips to make sure you don’t shoot yourself in the foot when building your next sales funnel.

Not Knowing Your Target Market

One of the most important aspects of a sales funnel is knowing the target market.

It would be very hard if not impossible to build a successful sales funnel without knowing exactly who your target market is.

[bctt tweet=”Knowing your target market when building a funnel is critical.” username=”clickfunnels”]

You will shoot yourself in the foot very early on if you fail to take the time to research and understand who you target market is.

When I say to know your target market, this does not mean to know whether they are mainly men or mainly women. You need to be as detailed as possible about who they are such as:

• Age Group
• Job Titles
• Average Salary
• Marriage Status
• Their Interests
• Their Pain Points
• Their Goals

And so on. Knowing exactly who your target market is will help you better plan how you will attract them to your landing pages, how you will convert them and how you will close deals.

Not Having A Strategy To Capture And Entice

Your sales funnel will fail right from the get-go if you don’t strategize how you will drive traffic to it.

It is all very well and good saying that you will use social media and paid search to drive traffic but how are you going to use them to drive traffic?

[bctt tweet=”Because of how many ads people see nowadays, they have almost become blind to them.” username=”clickfunnels”]

You need to have a clear plan as to how your ads are going to stand out from the rest and stop that user from scrolling past your ad.

Not only do you need to have a clear strategy as to how you are going to catch the eye of users, you will also need a clear plan as to how you are going to make them click on your ad.

If you have done your target market research thoroughly, you will have more of an idea as to what pain points to trigger.

Giving Away Junk As Freebies

The one thing that will kill your sales funnel before it even gets started is giving away junk for free to try and generate leads.

People don’t give up their details easily and will certainly not give up their details for anything that they won’t have a use for… even if it is free.

Throwing a few quotes together and calling it a ‘special report’ that your visitors can download if they submit their email address is not going to fool anyone.

To generate leads with freebies, you need to give away some valuable such as an in-depth guide on how to do something specific to your niche or a free trial of your product.

Forget Or Ignoring Your Prospects

Many businesses when building their sales funnel pay most of their attention on how they are going to generate traffic and leads.

These two things are important and do need focus however so does what happens after you have generated leads.

A properly built sales funnel does not stop at generating leads; it will also have an equal amount of focus on lead nurturing.

Think about how you are going to continue communications with leads and prospects when building your sales funnel. Will you invest in auto-responders? Which email software will you invest in?

These are questions you need to answer to have a clear plan on how you will nurture leads into paying customers.

Giving Visitors Too Many Choices

The landing page is the heart and soul of the sales funnel process as it will see visitors coming in and leads going out… hopefully!

When building your sales funnel, think about the design of your landing page and what it will need to convert users into leads.

Some businesses can get a bit over eager when designing their landing page and try to fit all of their best bits in one space.

Offering visitors too many things can deter them from taking action because they will not know which action to take.

[bctt tweet=”Don’t clutter your page with choices, have clear call to actions with clear results” username=”clickfunnels”]

Having one goal and one goal only will make sure that users aren’t confused about what your product is, how it can help then and how they proceed to sign up or buy.

Not Knowing Your Most Valuable Product

You may believe that your most expensive product is the most valuable however it is commonly the middle priced product that is more valuable.

It is important to split your products into different levels so you can use your sales funnel to cross-sell and upsell.

If this is your first attempt at building a sales funnel, then I wouldn’t recommend focusing too much on cross-sells and upsells as it can get a bit complicated however it doesn’t hurt to know which products lead to more lifetime value.

Not Sharing Your Expertise And Know-How

What is one way to short yourself in the foot when building a sales funnel?

Not creating a plan on how you will share your expertise and know-how with your target audience.

What do you do when you need a solution to a problem you’re having?

You ‘Google’ it and find an interesting article that will help solve your problem.

You need to understand what your target audience is having problems with and what questions they have and offer them solutions and answers via your blog.

The more you are blogging and sharing valuable tips, the more you will establish yourself as an influencer in your industry and gain trust from your target audience.

Having Too Many Steps In Your Sales Funnel

Another one of the most common mistakes businesses and marketers make when building their sales funnel is to add too many steps.

This is especially true you’re new or even fairly new to building sales funnels.

Some of the best sales funnels are very simplistic such as CrazyEgg’s sales funnel which comprises of:

• Attract visitors from paid social ads
• Convert visitors into leads using one clear CTA on the homepage
• Nurture leads into paying customers using emails.

Once you have built your basic sales funnel and have mastered it, you can then build on it with cross-sells and upsells.

I just wouldn’t add too many steps to your sales funnel to begin with as it will become hard to focus when it starts to see activity.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

To get the most of your sales funnel, you need to have more than one campaign to drive traffic to it.

Even if you have found one channel or one campaign that works well for you now, if that channel or campaign goes under, you will be left with nothing.

Even when you have good performing campaigns, it is important to work still on creating and building others so that you don’t have all your eggs in one basket and never suffer from a dramatic drop in traffic to your sales funnel.

You can plan for this when building your sales funnel.

Being Too Scared To Sell

There has been the talk of inbound marketing for so long now that businesses are almost scared to sell.

Selling is a big part of your sales funnel, but it should be used in the right place which is always towards the last stage of the sales funnel.

Starting a sales pitch to strangers will never result in good performance however after leads have found their way to you and have successfully been nurtured, they will be more ready to hear your sales pitch.

Selling is not a bad thing; it just needs to be used in the right places to help close those deals.

Conclusion

There you have it, everything you need to know not to shoot yourself in the foot when building your next sales funnel.

In general, I would say the two most important things to take away from this is to plan carefully and research each step of the sales funnel and also to keep your sales funnel simply.

Building your sales funnel should be exciting as it can lead to bigger and better things so get your whiteboard out and start planning.

What mistakes have you suffered when building sales funnels in the past?

What do you find the most challenging when building sales funnels?

Let me know by leaving your comments below.

Thanks for reading Avoid mistakes building your next sales funnel which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Is your email open rates low?

Are you looking for ways to improve your email open rates?

There are some easy things you can do to boost your email open rates without sounding spammy.

The open rate is the most important metric when it comes to email marketing.

It determines whether your emails are useful or whether contacts stop opening them after receiving so many or even one.

If your open rate is low, then it is a clear indication that you need to change something to improve it.

Getting your contacts actually to open your emails can be a very frustrating mission, but once you have done it, you will be more than happy that you persevered.

To make it a bit easier for you, though, I have added 8 ways in which you can improve your email open rates.

Improve The Deliverability

I’m sure you will agree that if your contacts aren’t receiving your emails, then they’re not going to be able to open them. This is a very common cause of low open rates that many businesses overlook.

I recommend that improving your deliverability should be the first thing you should do to boost our email open rates.

Here are a few ways in which you can improve the overall deliverability of your emails:

1. Check Your Spam Score

Image Source: MOZ

The first thing you need to check is your email spam score.

There are some tools online you can use to check whether your emails are considered as spam such as Active Campaign.

You want to aim for your spam score to be 0 out of 8. If it is above 0, then you need to work on your email messaging to reduce the spam score.

2. Ask Contacts To Add You To Their Address Books

If there is one way to make sure your emails are getting delivered, it is to ask your contacts to add your email address to their address book.

To do this, you must make sure that all your emails are being sent from the same email address which is best practice anyway.

All you need to do it add a line of text at the top of your emails asking contacts to add you to their address book.

3. Make Sure Your Emails Are Of Quality

Image Source: Hubspot

You may be surprised at this, but an indication of a non-spammy email is one that contains a good ratio of text and images.

Sending emails that are made up of just one big image can be an indication of spam.

Most times, emails won’t automatically show images and recipients have to click to display the images in the email.

If your emails are made up of up one big image, then it can appear that you’re sending blank emails.

Your contacts will be unlikely to open another email that you send after this.

As well as using both text and images in your emails, be sure that the text in the email isn’t just filler text but is content that offers value.

Only Send Emails To Those Who Will Want To See Them

After you have worked on making changes to improve the deliverability of your emails, you can then start working on who you’re sending your emails to.

Those who are not interested in what you have to say or the offers that you are giving them will simply not open your emails.

There has to come to a point where you need to stop sending emails to those who don’t want to receive them.

If you continue to do this, you will only generate spam signals.

Sending emails to those who want to see them will boost your email open rates massively.

Here are a few ways in which you can determine who does and doesn’t wish to receive your emails:

4. Segment Your Contacts

Image Source: Exact Target

One of the most important factors in email marketing is to segment your email list so that you aren’t sending the same message to all contacts.

Not all of your contacts will be at the same stage of the sales funnel, have the same pain points, have the same goals or have the same interests.

For this reason, it is important that you send different messages to different groups of contacts.

One of the greatest mistakes marketers and businesses make is to send an email to as many contacts in their list as possible because they believe this will lead to higher response rates.

This is not true.

Sending the right emails to the right people at the right time means that contacts will be a lot more engaged than if you were to send it to the majority.

Segmenting your email list will mean that you aren’t irritating your contact by sending them irrelevant emails because as soon as you send one irrelevant email, they may never open any more of your emails and may unsubscribe.

5. Implement A Double Opt-In Strategy

Image Source: BounceCreative

Nothing good will ever come from tricking people into submitting their email address because as soon as you send them an email, they will either flag as junk, unsubscribe or do both.

To avoid this from happening, make sure contacts know that they are opting in to receive emails from you by adding an opt-in check on your contact forms.

You can also go one step further and send an email to newly subscribed contacts asking them to confirm their subscription via a clickable button.

This gives you reassurance that contacts want to receive your emails and will be highly likely to open and engage with them.

6. Let Your Contacts Decide How Often They Want To Receive Emails

Image Source: InboundMartech

Image Source: BestHosting

If there is one way to please contacts, it is to let them have control over how often they receive emails from you and what they want to see in those emails.

This is a strategy that smart marketers use and swear by.

Letting contact have this level control will certainly boost open rates.

Letting contacts have this level of control means they will never view your emails as spam or irrelevant.

You can add two fields to your subscription forms that ask how often they would like to receive emails and what information they would like to receive.

You can use these responses to segment your contacts as mentioned above.

Optimize Your Subject Lines

After you have improved your deliverability and have worked on who you’re sending your emails to, you can work on the subject lines of your emails.

The subject line is the most important content of your email.

If it isn’t enticing enough, contacts won’t open the email to see even the rest of the content you have put together.

The aim is to create enticing subject lines that will pique their interest.

Avoid using any spammy overly promotional words in your subject lines though as is this could do the opposite.

Here are a couple of things you can do to improve your subject lines:

7. Create A Sense Of Urgency

Image Source: ConversionXL

A great way to get contacts to open your emails is to make them feel like they will miss out on something if they don’t open it.

I wouldn’t use this with every email though as it will cancel out the sense of urgency.

An example of an urgent subject line could something along the lines of “webinar registration ends soon” or “last day to sign up for our 21-day free trial”.

8. Split Test Your Subject Lines

Image Source: MailChimp

The only way you will be able to determine which subject lines actually work, is to split test them.

You can do this by splitting a segmented group of contacts in two and sending them the same email, at the same time with the only difference being that the subject lines.

You can then determine which subject line results in the higher open rate so you can implement it into all future emails.

You can continue to split test your email subject lines to find which words and tactics are most effective.

Conclusion

These are just 8 ways to boost your email open rates.

There are more things you can do to improve your open rates however the factors in this blog post tend to get the best results.

Other factors you can try are:

• Ask contacts who have unsubscribed why they have unsubscribed so you can work on correcting issues to reduce the amount of unsubscribes and increase open rates moving forward.
• Use correct spelling and grammar in subject lines as poor spelling and grammar will not give the best first impression, could come across as spam and will deter contacts from opening your emails.
• Personalize your email subject lines so they include the contacts name, location, past purchases, Contacts are more likely to open and respond to emails that are tailored to them.

How many of these factors have you tried and tested to improve your email open rates?

Let me know by leaving your comments below.

Thanks for reading 8 Email Marketing Tips to Increase Open Rates which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Increasingly, brands are turning to the broad reach of the Internet to sell their physical products, marrying the digital and material into one experience for customers.

In our tech-fueled world, entire online marketplaces now exist for buying and selling products of almost every kind.

As a matter of fact, you may have noticed… Amazon and Etsy have become household names, and these sites are empowering small startups and titans of industry in taking their product from creation to delivery.

Today, no matter what size business you run, you can have your brand on the doorsteps of customers anywhere in the world.

And with all the many online tools, you have the chance to hook into this powerful reach yourself to get your physical product into your customer’s hands quickly.

So what’s most important to harnessing these options, building a sales funnel for your physical product, and creating an experience your customers are sure to love?

Great question! Let these 6 points become your mantra as you launch your funnel, and you’ll be on the path to an award-winning sales process in no time.

Reviewing the Entire Fulfilment Process

Physical products need to get from Point A to Point B, but on the way, there’re several steps to consider.

Take refunds for example.

Did you know, on average, up to one in three online sales is returned, and this trend is increasing? (Don’t let that number scare you, though; they can be lower depending on your industry).

Shipping and handling, updating customer billing, costs related to returns… you get the idea.

As you build your funnel, keep the fulfilment process (and its necessary components in mind).

This will give you the chance to keep track of associated expenses, but there’s another amazing benefit.

You’ll also be able to catch any part of the process that might need tweaking to make sure that your physical product isn’t tied up on its way to the customer or worse, never even gets out the front door of your business.

This part of the customer experience is just as much a part of your sales funnel as anything else.

Protip: for a real nitty-gritty look at your fulfillment process and how it factors into your sales funnel, map out each piece as the steps in a flow chart. You’ll have a visual perspective that will let you know where you can trim steps and costs or consider alternatives.

Borrowing the Competition’s Playbook

Depending on your industry, your competitors might inspire a range of emotions in you. And the competition today seems like it’s never been greater.

Data presented by Edward Lowe even shows that, in many industries, 80% of revenues go to 20% of the brands.

Why not take a play from the competition, especially if they’re part of that 20%?

By putting together an analysis on your competitors, you’ll be getting insight on where and how to modify your funnel.

(Check out sneaky tools like these to start getting an idea of their online strategies).

You can also use this snapshot of the competition to simplify your sales funnel and focus on what works.

Less complex funnels, especially for physical products, have less moving pieces, and so, are less prone to hiccups and holdups.

That’s good for your sales and your customers.

Protip: Stay on top of your market. A yearly update of your competitor analysis will allow you to get a look at the evolving landscape of your industry and get ahead of trends.

Providing More to Your Customers… and Increasing Sales

Let’s circle back around and take a look at one of the largest and most successful brands delivering physical products to customers… Amazon.

Even though Amazon is a marketplace that you can use for your physical products, it also provides good lessons in increasing sales potential.

One way that Amazon does this is through cross-selling, presenting related products to capture more average cart value.

When you present your customers with items related to their current purchase, you’re taking advantage of the valuable information you’ve learned about their preferences.

In fact, 35% of Amazon’s entire revenue comes from using cross-selling.

Think of all that sales potential for your funnel!

You’ve probably also heard of upselling, but it’s not some out-dated sales technique.

Research also has shown that it remains a good tactic for increasing average cart sizes.

And like with cross-selling, you have the chance to take advantage of your fulfillment process to deliver more and enhance your customer’s experience.

Protip: Drill down on the reasoning for your upsells and cross-sales. Presenting a lamp to a customer who just bought a book doesn’t make as much sense as giving them the option also to purchase a magazine related to their interests.

Entrusting Your Staff with Your Brand

Factoring in support service for your sales funnel is a certain way to strengthen the funnel for your physical product.

Customers often have questions about warranties or product materials.

They also might have to deal with a lost or stolen package, and they’ll want to turn to someone they can trust.

In that sense, you’ll be entrusting your brand, and your sales funnel to your staff.

And when you choose the right staff, you’ll be boosting customer retention by 5% and profits beyond 25%.

Hire support staff who are knowledgeable about your industry and can learn everything about your product there is to learn.

By having a strong hiring process, you’ll have staff that can best serve your customers by knowing what they’re talking about.

And because it costs, on average, $3,500 to replace even minimum wage employees, your funnel will benefit in more ways than one by having a loyal, well-chosen team.

Protip: Skip micromanaging your support team. When interacting with customers, they’re sure to face many unique situations requiring them to make independent decisions. Be confident in your hiring process and follow up with them on any issues you see.

Engineering the Logistical Side of Delivery

Another factor to remember when building your funnel is how much of the fulfilment process you’ll do yourself.

Major fulfillment houses are popping up left and right, and this industry is expected to have big growth in the coming years.

These companies specialize in warehousing items and packing them for delivery.

There’re a few factors to consider here. It might be easier and more cost-effective for you to go to a fulfillment house, but it also might mean better service for your customers.

For example, with 50% of retailers now offering free return shipping to customers, a fulfilment house that can help you make this a reality for your business can greatly improve your customer’s experience.

(Amazon’s same-day delivery through company-owned fulfillment centres have improved their funnel conversions up to 25%).

These logistical benefits are worth thinking about if you have the option to outsource your fulfilment.

Protip: Working with a fulfilment house shouldn’t just be a grab and go affair. Take time to learn as much as you can about the company, including its ability to handle issues and meet targets.

Finding Opportunities for Future Products

Once you’ve built your funnel, there’s still work to be done.

For physical products, you’ll also want to use your email sequence to expose your customers further to your brand.

Once you’ve captured their information like their name and email, you can combine this with their existing purchase preferences to provide interesting followup emails.

Picture it for a second: if you’re in the fashion industry, three weeks after purchasing a brand new, hip t-shirt, your customer gets a follow-up email.

And in that email, you share some fun clothing trends you’ve seen taking hold across the country.

Before you close out your email, you remind your customer that you’re about to release a new pair of jeans to your site that will surely sell out fast.

By connecting with your customers on this more personal level, you’re also creating space to showcase future products and keep them in your funnel.

Protip: Check out our step-by-step guide to creating an autoresponder that your customers will love to incorporate well-written emails into your sales funnel.

Taking Your Funnel to the Next Level

Selling a physical product comes with its set of unique challenges and hurdles.

But in reality, designing your funnel can be as creative a process as designing the funnel for any product or service.

There’s so many avenues and resources available today, and within the limit, be willing to take a chance with an innovative idea for your sales funnel.

And Josh Felber gave some great examples of doing exactly that for his physical product over at our podcast on re-targeting secrets.

A free, but limited ebook can lead to a webinar session, which can then lead to a chance to purchase your physical product.

Or a flash sale on Instagram can have your customers emailing you for an exclusive coupon before heading to your site.

The possibilities are endless, but the core idea remains the same: your sales funnel is yours to unleash for the benefit of your brand. Remember our points here, and get creative with it!

What would you say are the biggest challenges when creating a sales funnel for a physical product?

Thanks for reading Building A Sales Funnel For Physical Products which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Many of us crowd around the television during the Olympics, in awe as we think “Man, I wish I could be that good at, well, just about anything!”

Why not take the motivation and drive of elite athletes and apply that passion to your marketing strategy?

With enough focus and intensity, you can make your next sales funnel worthy of a gold medal.

The Olympics represent the pinnacle of spectacle and athletic performance, with millions around the world tuning in to see the best of the best compete for the glory and the gold.

The blood, sweat, and tears that go into the training regimen of the most Olympic athletes is difficult for the average person to wrap their head around.

From training for six hours a day, six days a week year-round to insanely strict diets that we could never stomach ourselves, the dedication and intensity of those competing in the Olympics are absolutely staggering.

Okay, so what the heck does this have to do with building a sales funnel?

More than you might think.

While comparing your sales funnel to pole-vaulting or the 200-meter dash may seem like apples and oranges, consider the struggles that marketers face:

• Some days it just feels like we’re going nowhere, essentially spinning our wheels trying to support an underperforming sales funnel.
• Throwing in the towel can be incredibly tempting when we’re not seeing an ROI for our hard work and research.
• Overcoming that final financial hurdle into profitability can be like staring up at a giant, seemingly impossible to overcome.

Likewise, athletes face similar challenges in the midst physical and mental roadblocks as they spend four years preparing for events that could last mere seconds.

But do they give up?

No.

And neither should you.

It’s time to take your funnel out of the kiddie pool and get on Michael Phelps’ level.

How?

Practice Makes Perfect

Olympic athletes aren’t simply born: they’re made as a result of their years of fierce training and focus.

Likewise, killer sales funnels don’t fall from the sky: they’re created as a result of intense research and a fool-proof sales strategy.

If your first funnel falls flat, does that mean you should give up altogether?

Of course not. Instead, learn from the mistakes of your first funnel and understand what not to do the next time around.

Some common pitfalls that even seasoned funnel-builders make include:

• Ignoring the elements of conversion focused design, ultimately resulting in a funnel that fails to convert.
• Relying on a cheap or inexperienced team as a means of cutting corners which therefore cuts sales.
• Focusing too much on the front-end instead of implementing a back-end that grows the profit.

Think of fine-tuning your funnel as simply part of the process, much like athletes have to train for hours on end to recreate their best performances.

The more time you spend building and launching new funnels, the more opportunities you have to grow as a successful funnel-hacker.

Split Test Strategies

Dozens of world records have already been broken at the Rio Olympics.

In fact, it seems like records are constantly being broken the Olympics, year after year.

Why?

Athletes evolve. As researchers and trainers uncover new ways to train, athletes adapt accordingly to raise their own standards to match their competition.

On a similar note, you should constantly work to evolve your marketing and funnel-building to meet the expectations and best practices of your niche.

Funnel-builders should always be split testing to optimize the potential of their marketing strategy.

From the color scheme to copywriting, there are always tweaks that can be made to make your funnel smarter and stronger.

Sure, you can let your funnel sit in autopilot mode; however, that’s no way to grow your network for future funnels and stand toe-to-toe with your competition.

If you hope for your funnel to stay competitive, you can’t afford to test.

Play the Long-Game

It can take some athletes years of rigorous training before they make it to the Olympics: earning a medal requires extreme patience and perseverance.

You can’t always expect your funnels to kill it from the word “go.”

Remember: funnel-hacking represents a marathon and not a sprint.

Think about how long-distance runners kick it into high gear at the end of the race: they fact that were ever “behind” becomes irrelevant as long as they cross the finish line first.

For example, it’s okay to sacrifice some conversions on the front-end to create life-long customers on the back-end.

Many funnel-hackers get laser-focused on their launches that they ignore essential elements of their back-end such as retargeting and segmenting their lists.

In reality, ensuring that you build a base of customers and employ a strategy to turn them into life-long advocates of your business represents the difference between a killer and average funnel.

By focusing on the back-end of your funnel, you play the long-game to ensure more revenue for your business with less legwork.

There are No Shortcuts

Building.

Writing.

Testing.

Funnels represent a lot of hard work, and there are no shortcuts.

Similarly, Olympians train their entire lives to relish a few moments of glory; however, such glory can easily be stripped away from those caught cheating or attempting to undermine the integrity of the games.

On a similar note, funnel-builders attempting to rely on black-hat techniques can lose their funnels and organic search presence at little more than a moment’s notice.

Google is more than happy to punish any business looking to game their system, whether through duplicate content or black-hat link building.

Sure, it may take a while to get caught; however, punishment is usually always swift, sudden and severe.

When it comes to funnel-building, you’re on a relatively even playing field. In other words, there’s no need to “cheat.”

Therefore, use the best tools in your toolbox to outdo your competition rather than looking for the easy way out.

The risk simply isn’t worth it: plus, the energy spent digging for a shortcut could be spent optimizing your next funnel.

Knowing the in’s and out’s of your competition can take you much further than trying to undermine them.

Remain Consistent

Many Olympians live by the mantra of “never give up.”

You should treat your funnels the same way.

If you’re persistent, your funnel has nowhere to go but “up” over time.

Perhaps the biggest mistake a funnel-builder could make is dropping what they’re doing and simply giving up when the going gets tough.

Yes, it can be frustrating to see our traffic drop.

Yes, it sucks when we don’t see the conversion we want.

But that doesn’t mean you should let your funnel fail out of frustration.

Don’t expect your sales funnel to start turning a profit overnight.

Sure, we’re always hoping to become the next big success story; however, realistic expectations will keep you grounded and focused.

Keep going and keep testing. If something’s broken, figure out why and do what you can to fix it.

There’s No Single “Key” to Success

From optimal training and immaculate diet, there are many variables to an Olympian’s success one the day of an event.

There are so many pieces to what makes a successful sales funnel. For starters, let’s think about:

1. The design of your sales funnels, professional in appearance and pleasing to the eye.
2. The copywriting and marketing message of your funnel, designed to encourage visitors to click through rather than bounce.
3. The management of your various traffic streams, from paid ads to organic search and beyond, and how you continue to bring new visitors into your funnel.
4. The performance of your affiliates and referrals optimized to help you build new leads.
5. The strength of your back-end, including your email autoresponders that will help bring back any users who may have fallen out of your funnel.

Here’s a not-so-secret secret:

The success of your funnel doesn’t lie within one single element.

It’s the elements combined that determine the potential of your funnel.

Unfortunately, one weakness can hinder your funnel’s potential.

Similarly, many Olympic athletes train their entire lives for an event just to slip in a split-second of weakness and essentially lose their shot at glory.

Fortunately, you always have the opportunity to bounce back.

Stay organized. Stay diligent. Stay hungry.

Your efforts will pay off.

What Separates a Golden Funnel from the Rest of the Pack?

While funnel-hacking isn’t exactly an Olympic sport (yet), there are some parallels between the struggles of star athletes and the challenges faced by modern marketers.

The marketing world moves fast and is difficult to maneuver in the wake of evolving technologies, new faces and the promise of “the next big thing.”

Much like Olympians, funnel-builders should consider patience, focus and consistency as key virtues to help ensure their success.

So, what do you think separates a star funnel from the rest of the pack?

Thanks for reading Launching A High Converting Sales Funnel Out Of The Box which appeared first on ClickFunnels.

Have you ever wondered why you have a sidebar on your blog?

Do you want to make the most out of this space?

In this guide, I will give you some valuable tips to help you optimize your blog sidebar.

Most businesses have a sidebar on their blog because it seems to be the standard especially with the likes of WordPress adding this sidebar as default.

It is surprising how many businesses just go with this and not realize the importance of it or how to turn it into a powerful conversion opportunity.

If you’re reading this now then you have probably already thought to yourself “is there something I can do with this sidebar to help generate more leads.”

That is the first step so well done you.

The next step is understanding sidebar opportunities and what changes you can make to it to improve your opt-ins.

Since there is no time like the present, let me get started on explaining all of this.

Decide What Goal You Want to Achieve

Before you start making changes to the sidebar on your blog, it is important to determine what your goal is.

Once you have determined your goal, you will be able to make more educated on what features to add to your sidebar to help you achieve this goal.

One of the most common goals for the blog is to build your email list by encouraging subscribers.

As you build your email list, you can get continue to send contacts content from your blog so as to nurture them into paying customers.

You will also be able to learn a lot about which content generates more interest than others so as also continuously to improve your content marketing strategy.

If building your email list for nurturing is your main goal then there are plenty of ideas in this guide that will help you reach that goal.

Create a Mini Bio to Build Rapport

Image Source: Hongkiat

It is well known that people connect with people who are why putting a face to the blog will help build rapport with your readers.

There are many businesses who have a blog, but they seem very cold and not personable.

This is because they don’t have real people as authors, and they use wording such as “we” instead of “I”.

People can engage better with other people than with corporate feel blogs which are why adding a mini bio to your sidebar will help your readers engage more with your content.

Include a happy looking photo of yourself and a few short lines about you and why your blog is going to help readers.

If you want to explain your story further then you can link to the “About” page from the mini bio in the sidebar.

Add a Compelling Opt in Lead Magnet

Image Source: Neil Patel

If your main goal is to build your email list, then the sidebar of your blog is the perfect place to position an opt-in lead magnet.

Make sure that you place the opt-in form at a point on the sidebar where it can easily be seen when a user first lands on your blog and also as they begin to read a post.

If users aren’t able to see the opt-in form, then they won’t convert.

As well as making your opt-in lead magnet easily visible on the sidebar of your blog, it is also important to make sure the offer is something that will be of value to your readers.

If the offer is vague, isn’t relevant or isn’t of value then your readers aren’t going to opt in.

You can find some great lead magnet ideas by looking at competitor websites as well using tools such as BuzzSumo to see what content your target audience most engages with.

Add Social Media Snippets to Build Trust

Image Source: MOZ

Going back to the point that people connect people, it is also a good idea to display a snippet of your Twitter feed so readers can see that others are interacting with you on social media.

Knowing that other trust you will help to establish trust with new visitors.

Marketers always talk about how it is important to add trust signals to your landing pages to improve conversion rates but never really talk about adding trust signals to your blog which is where a lot of organic traffic can land.

Adding a snippet of your social feeds will act as a trust signal.

You can also add social follow buttons to the sidebar of your blog so encourage this level of interaction with readers.

Add a Clear Search Box So that Content Can be Easily Found

A lot of people want to find information quickly and don’t want to waste time having to browse through hundreds or thousands of blog posts to do so.

If a user can’t find the information they are looking for quickly, they are more than likely to click from your blog to find an alternative blog which is more than likely going to be a competitor of yours.

After you have worked hard to get users on your blog, you want to keep them there by offering great usability.

You can give your users great usability by adding a clearly visible search box.

Do not blend this into the background or have it too low down so users have to scroll to find it.

Make the experience easy for your users by adding the search box towards the top of the blog sidebar and making it clearly visible.

Display Your Most Popular/Relevant Blog Posts to Entice Users to Stay

After working hard on your content and getting people to land on your blog, you want them to stay and carry on reading.

You can so this adding both a most popular blog post list and a relevant blog post list to the sidebar of your blog.

If a user sees a list of your most popular blog posts, it will pique their interest and wonder what it is that has made it so popular.

If a user wants to learn all, there is to know about a certain topic then having a most relevant section in your sidebar will help keep them on your blog as they will want to keep gathering information.

If you don’t promote any of your popular or relevant blog posts, then you aren’t giving them enough of a reason to stay on your blog.

Add Images for Your Offers

If you have any special offers for your products or service that you would like to promote then creating an ad style image on the sidebar of your blog is a great way to do this.

This will help improve conversions from your blog especially if the product or service offer is relevant to the blog post the user is reading. You can do this by creating dynamic images for your blog sidebar.

You can also use space on the sidebar to create an ad style image if you have an upcoming event or podcast you would like to promote.

Whatever valuable offer you have to promote, promoting it on the sidebar of your blog is a great place to do so.

Do Not Add Too Many Ads

While it is recommended that you use the sidebar of your blog to promote any offers or upcoming events you have, it is important not to have too many promotions as it can look spammy.

The same goes for if you use your blog to place ads from other websites.

Having too many ads on the sidebar of your blog can not only make your blog look spammy and discourage users from fully trusting you, but it can also lead to distractions from your main goal which is to build your email list.

High Contrasting Call Too Actions

Image Source: Smashing Magazine

If you have any actions on the sidebar of your blog that you wish users to take then make sure they see it by adding a high contrasting call to actions.

If you want users to subscribe to your newsletter, then make sure they can see the call to action by making the color of the button contrasting to the background it sits on.

There is no point in having a great call to action and a great offer if your users can’t clearly see it or draw their eye. If your main goal is to build your email list, then this should be a priority change for your blog sidebar call to actions.

Conclusion

When reviewing what should and shouldn’t be in the sidebar of your blog, think about what will be beneficial to the user and what will improve their experience.

Thinking like this will help build trust with users and will also keep them coming back.

Have you ever thought about the sidebar on your blog being a converting tool?

Let me know by leaving your comments below.

Visit the ClickFunnels site today to start your free trial!

Thanks for reading Optimize Your Blog Sidebar To Boost Conversions which appeared first on ClickFunnels.