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?
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Headlines #1…. maybe CTAs (They really go hand in hand) Great Stuff….