How to Build an Email Marketing Funnel that Works

Your business feels a little sluggish. You want to inject life into your brand’s success this coming new year.

You know you need to grow your subscribers and your list to have a broader audience that you can turn into loyal customers.

But it always goes back to this simple question: How do you increase your subscribers?

This is where the email marketing funnel comes in for many big and small businesses. Whether you’re a boutique or a B2B company, harnessing the power of an email marketing funnel strategy is key to your business’ growth.

73% of marketers credited email marketing to boost their conversion rates. We’ve all seen this because we’re all signed up for different brands that we love. We know it works because we keep on receiving packages on our doorsteps.

Email marketing strategy rakes in the ROIs that will make business owners smile.

While this sounds like music to your ears, you need to create a strategic plan that considers a shopper’s journey from beginning to end.

This is the part where we tell you about the benefits of an email marketing funnel.

What is an email marketing funnel?

An email marketing funnel is how subscribers convert from a lead to a paying customer through promotions and other forms of engagement. Generally speaking, these are the 4 cycles of consumers in a funnel.

• Engagement
• Discovery
• Purchase
• Retention

We say “generally” because companies’ businesses have different models and strategies that fit their business needs and goals.

Why do you need an email marketing funnel?

People are dead-tired from clicking on basic email marketing promotions. It’s old, and consumers are a lot smarter now than ever before. Email marketing funnels are unique because they can reach consumers at the right stage of the buying journey.

Marketers can send personalized messages that touch on their potential customers’ needs.

Subscribers are no longer treated as a mere statistic. Marketing funnels see them as people with unique needs that come in different stages. While there are many benefits to developing an email marketing funnel, consider the following points:

Your email funnel When you consistently offer customers a positive brand experience, they’ll turn into your very own super-fans to advocate for your products. An email funnel gets them there.

4 steps to create an email marketing funnel

Generate leads

Control your narrative when you generate your own leads.

Here are 2 ways to gather email addresses:

• Email opt-ins are built into your website. They are often simple fill forms that ask for a name and an email address for people to receive newsletters or promotional emails.
• Dedicated landing pages for lead generation. A landing page is a great strategy to gather email addresses while showing potential consumers what your brand is all about.

Foster subscribers

You’ve got step 1 out of the way. That’s perfect! Now, it’s time to build that relationship. An effective strategy for this is to segment your list into smaller groups based on their needs and demographics.

When you’re building a relationship with your subscribers, create personalized campaigns, and add value to prospective customers.

What you should be sending them:

• Promotions that match their browsing history
• Free resources that provide value
• User-generated content

Convert into customers

We’re moving along a successful email marketing funnel.

You generated the lead, engaged with them, and you’re now poised to convert them into a buyer.

What you need to do:

• For those with abandoned carts, develop a strategy that delivers ads based on their interests. This includes sending them a reminder about their cart or suggesting similar products they may spark their interest.
• Send out time-sensitive offers. Create a sense of urgency. Your messages should include holiday coupons, birthday specials, or exclusive offers for subscribers.

Customer retention

A customer completing the buyer journey should not be your end goal. Customer retention is also an essential part of your email marketing funnel. You want to create a pool of loyal consumers that keeps coming back for more and refers you to their friends and family.

Here’s how:

• Upsell or cross-sell products based on your shopper’s purchase history. A simple marketing formula is to not sound too salesy and pushy. Get to know their pain points and offer solutions.
• Offer loyalty programs that inspire them to shop again and to spread the word about your brand. They can earn points and get something for free. It’s just like your stamp card from your favorite boba shop.

Ready to convert leads into loyal shoppers like clockwork? Send us a message. Let’s chat about how we can build an email marketing funnel strategy that guarantees conversion and an ROI that you’ll love.