Ready to make more affiliate commissions and passive income? Let’s dive into the power of email marketing and how it can have a huge impact your affiliate sales. Today, we’ll cover everything you need to know about email marketing for affiliate marketers, with a special shoutout to my Four by For Footers strategy.
Understanding Email Marketing for Affiliate Marketers
Email marketing is your secret weapon in the affiliate marketing game. It’s all about engaging with your audience, building trust, sharing insights and recommendations, and ultimately making sales.
Why? Because emails land directly in your audience’s inboxes, making it a prime spot to share your affiliate products.
The benefits are huge:
Increased engagement: You’re talking directly to your audience.
Direct communication: Share your stories, tips, and product recommendations.
Higher conversion rates: Targeted emails mean more sales.
Is Affiliate Marketing Legal?
Short answer: Yes. Affiliate marketing is totally legit, but it comes with rules. The FTC requires transparency. Always disclose your affiliate relationships. It’s about trust, and being honest builds it. Plus, it keeps you out of trouble.
Building an Email List for Affiliate Marketing
A robust email list is the foundation of successful affiliate marketing. Here’s how to build one:
Offer Valuable Freebies: Create irresistible lead magnets like eBooks, checklists, or mini-courses.
Leverage Social Media: Use your platforms to promote your freebies and capture emails.
Collaborate: Partner with other marketers for list swaps or joint ventures.
Choosing the Right Email Service Provider
Your email service provider can make or break your strategy. Here’s a rundown of the top picks:
1. ConvertKit: Perfect for creators and bloggers. Easy to use and powerful automation.
2. Drip: Ideal for eCommerce businesses or those with more advanced needs. Excellent for segmenting and targeting.
3. ActiveCampaign: Best for advanced marketing automation. Tons of features to explore.
Note: Avoid MailerLite for affiliate marketing — their terms are vague on what is and isn’t allowed, and friends have lost access to their accounts in the past for sharing affiliate links.
Still trying to decide which email service provider to choose? My Email Service Matchmaker training breaks down all the options, pros, and cons. This will help you pick the best tool for your affiliate marketing needs.
Promoting Affiliate Products through Email Marketing
Now, let’s talk about the nitty-gritty of email marketing for affiliate marketers. Here are some best practices:
Compelling Subject Lines: Grab attention right away.
Value-Driven Content: Offer tips, stories, and useful info. Don’t just sell.
Clear Calls to Action: Make it easy for them to buy through your links.
Timing and Frequency: Don’t spam! Regular, consistent emails work best.
The Four by For Footers Strategy
I’m super excited about this one! My Four by For Footers strategy has had a massive positive impact ($$$) on my affiliate sales revenue. It’s all about adding a powerful footer to your emails that features four links — each serving a unique purpose.
Here’s why you’ll love it:
Boosts clicks and conversions with every email you send.
Easy to implement and takes just a few minutes to set up.
Makes selling feel less salesy.
Ready to try it and learn the strategy? Check out my Four by For Footers training and see how it can improve your email marketing & boost affiliate sales.
Make Money with Email Marketing
The goal is simple: make money by sending emails.
Here are some tips:
Consistency is key: Regular emails keep your audience engaged.
Test and Optimize: Experiment with different strategies and see what works best.
Build Trust: Be genuine and provide value.
If writing emails feels like a chore, check out Liz Wilcox’s Email Marketing Membership. She’s got tons of templates and tips to make email writing a breeze.
Final Thoughts
Email marketing is a powerful tool for affiliate marketers. By building a strong email list, choosing the right service provider, and using strategies like Four by For Footers, you can boost your affiliate commissions and grow your passive income.
Don’t wait — start building your email marketing foundation today. And don’t forget to check out my Four by For Footers strategy and Email Service Matchmaker training for more insights.
Happy emailing, and may your affiliate sales soar!
If you’re getting into affiliate marketing and want to keep your links organized while taking steps to grow your affiliate revenue, you’ve landed in the right place. Today, I’m sharing my top strategies for tracking affiliate links, keeping them organized, and ensuring you never miss out on potential earnings. So, let’s get started and make your affiliate marketing journey a whole lot smoother.
Why Tracking Affiliate Links is Crucial
First things first, let’s talk about why tracking affiliate links is so important. If you’re serious about affiliate marketing, you need to know which links are performing well and which ones need some love. Tracking your links helps you understand what’s working, where to focus your efforts, and how to optimize your strategies to boost your earnings.
Plus, it saves you from the chaos of unorganized links and missed opportunities when you need to grab an affiliate link fast.
So, how do you track affiliate links effectively? Let’s talk tools and techniques that make this easy-peasy.
Using Airtable for Affiliate Link Tracking
Airtable is my go-to tool for tracking and organizing affiliate links. It’s like a supercharged spreadsheet that’s easy to use and incredibly powerful.
Here’s how you can set up Airtable to keep your affiliate links in check:
1. Creating a Base: Start by setting up a base in Airtable specifically for your affiliate links. This will be your hub for all things affiliate.
2. Customizing Fields: Add fields for the affiliate link URLs, descriptions, performance metrics, and tags. You can customize it to track clicks, conversions, and any other data you find useful, if you wanna get super advanced.
3. Automating Updates: Use Airtable’s automation features to keep your data up-to-date. This could be setting reminders for link checks or automating data import from other sources.
I personally use Airtable for a lot of things, and using it to manage my affiliate links has been super helpful for me. It helps me stay organized and provides a clear overview of my affiliate marketing performance.
Pretty Links for WordPress Users
For my WordPress users, Pretty Links is a fantastic resource. It’s perfect for creating branded affiliate links and keeping them all in one place. While I use Airtable to keep my links organized, I still also use Pretty Links for the custom URLs, too.
1. Installation and Setup: Install the Pretty Links plugin on your WordPress site and set it up. It’s straightforward and quick.
2. Creating Branded Links: With Pretty Links, you can create easy-to-remember, branded affiliate links that look professional.
3. Organizing Links: Keep all your links organized within Pretty Links, making it simple to manage and track their performance.
Pretty Links serves as excellent affiliate tracking software, providing you with the tools you need to manage and monitor your affiliate links effectively. This is a paid tool, but I used the free version for YEARS. It may not seem terribly obvious when you sign up and install the plugin, but you don’t need to upgrade to paid. Free worked well for a long time for me.
Bookmark Affiliate Login Pages
While Thrivecart and Samcart are my favorite affiliate platforms to use, if you’re like me, you probably have a dozen different affiliate portals you log into, like GetRewardful, PartnertStack, Impact, GoAffPro, and so many more. I often forget who uses which program and how to access it. This is especially annoying when you need to know a specific url that contains the program’s name, like is true for programs hosted in GoAffPro.
Make it easy for yourself with this tip: create a folder in your bookmarks (or in your bookmark toolbar) just for affiliate program logins. I’m usually careful to rename the link with the brand AND platform, like:
Aff Portal – Tara Reid | Thrivecart
Tagging Affiliate Updates and Links in Gmail
Here’s a nifty trick for you: tag any email that has your affiliate link in Gmail so you can easily find it later. I also like to use that tag when an affiliate program manager/owner sends out updates about upcoming affiliate promotions, prizes, campaigns, or program changes.
Here’s how:
Tagging Links: Create tags in Gmail for different sellers or products.
Organizing Tags: Use a consistent tagging structure to keep everything neat and tidy.
This method helps you quickly access your affiliate links whenever you need them, without sifting through a cluttered inbox.
Tips for Effective Affiliate Link Management
Staying organized is key to successful affiliate marketing. Here are some additional tips to help you manage your links:
Consistent Naming Conventions: Use consistent names for your links to easily identify them.
Regular Updates and Checks: Regularly check your links to ensure they are working and up-to-date.
Using Analytics: Don’t skip checking your link performance data to optimize your affiliate marketing strategy. Tools like an affiliate link checker can help monitor your links and ensure they remain active.
Bonus Strategies for Boosting Affiliate Sales
While we’re on the topic of affiliate marketing, let me share a couple of bonus strategies to boost your sales:
Four by For Footers:
This is my secret weapon for making extra affiliate sales from every email I send. By adding strategic links to the footer of each email, you can drive traffic to your affiliate offers consistently. Learn more about this strategy inside Four by For Footers.
Pay Your Pals:
If you’re looking to create and set up your own affiliate program in Thrivecart, check out my Pay Your Pals program. It’s designed to make the process smooth and efficient, helping you get your affiliate program up and running in no time. Get all the details here!
Income Booster Workshop Bundle for Service Providers:
If you’re a service provider looking to add extra income streams, my Income Booster Workshop Bundle is for you. It’s packed with strategies and tips to help you boost your income without taking on more clients. Check it out here!
Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, tracking and organizing your affiliate links doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With tools like Airtable and Pretty Links, and strategies like tagging in Gmail, you can stay on top of your affiliate marketing game.
Implement these strategies to streamline your affiliate link management and boost your earnings. Start organizing your affiliate links today and maximize your affiliate marketing success!
Today, I’m sharing everything I know about the Marketing Magic App and why it’s the go-to tool for personal brands, digital product sellers, and course creators. If you’ve been on the hunt for an AI marketing tool that’s intuitive, powerful, and tailor-made for your unique needs, you’re in the right place.
We all love a bit of AI magic, but let’s be real — navigating ChatGPT can sometimes feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded. Or being read a technical manual, when all you really wanted was a rough draft of a casual email. The Marketing Magic App, on the other hand, is like having a tech-savvy bestie who just gets you, understands your content and copy needs, and makes everything easier.
In this review, I’ll break down why the Marketing Magic App outshines ChatGPT in every way that matters to us. From its user-friendly interface to its specialized features for different types of online entrepreneurs, this app is designed to make your life easier and your business more successful.
Plus, I’ve recorded a demo video showing how I created the copy for and designed a sales page in just 30 minutes using this app — trust me, you’ll want to check that out.
So, buckle up and get ready to discover how the Marketing Magic App can transform your marketing game and help you achieve your goals with less hassle and more success.
What is the Marketing Magic App?
First off, let’s get acquainted with this gem. The Marketing Magic App is an all-in-one AI platform designed to simplify and supercharge your marketing efforts. Whether you’re building a personal brand, selling digital products, or creating courses, this app has got you covered with its powerful features and intuitive design.
So, what sets the Marketing Magic App apart from other AI tools? It’s designed with you in mind, offering features that cater to the unique needs of different types of online entrepreneurs. From seamless content creation and repurposing to robust sales funnels, this app is your new best friend in the world of digital marketing.
Why It’s Better Than ChatGPT
I love ChatGPT and all, but let’s be real — ChatGPT can be a bit of a beast to tame and it never, never sounds like me. The Marketing Magic App, on the other hand, is like having a smart marketer friend who just gets you and they write. Here’s why:
User Interface:
The app is ridiculously user-friendly. No tech degree required. Everything’s laid out in a way that makes sense, so you can get straight to the good stuff without faffing around.
Imagine logging in and immediately knowing where to go and what to do. That’s the kind of intuitive design we’re talking about. The dashboard is clean, with all the essential tools accessible from the main menu. No more digging through endless options to find what you need.
Setup and Onboarding:
Quick and painless. The app walks you through everything step-by-step, so you’re not left scratching your head.
When you first sign up, you’re greeted with a friendly onboarding wizard that helps you set up your account, connect your existing tools, and start creating right away. It’s like having a personal guide that ensures you hit the ground running.
Features Tailored for You:
Unlike ChatGPT, which can feel like a one-size-fits-all solution (without a ton of customization), the Marketing Magic App has features specifically designed for personal brands, digital product sellers, and course creators. It’s like it can read our minds.
The app understands the nuances of different types of businesses and offers specialized tools for each.
Features Tailored for Personal Brands
For my personal brand builders out there, this app is a dream. It lets you easily customize (and align) your brand messaging. Need to whip up some personal bios for an upcoming speaking gig? The app’s got templates that make it a breeze.
And oh, did I mention? I recorded a demo video showing how I created copy and designed a sales page in just 30 minutes using the Marketing Magic App.
Plus, if you purchase the app through my affiliate link, you get access to a Thrivecart template I designed just for you. #Winning
The Marketing Magic App provides you with a suite of tools to make your brand shine online.
Benefits for Digital Product Sellers
Digital product sellers, this one’s for you. The app’s copy capabilities are top-notch.
The efficiency you’ll gain? Off the charts. Unlike ChatGPT, which might leave you piecing things together, the Marketing Magic App is like having your own personal marketing assistant or AI copywriter.
Creating a sales funnel can often feel like trying to navigate a maze. With the Marketing Magic App, you get pre-designed AI templates that make setting up your funnel a walk in the park. You can easily create sales page copy, email sequence copy, and promo posts in one place.
Cost and Value
Now, let’s talk dollars and sense. The Marketing Magic App offers various pricing plans that won’t break the bank. Given the range of features and ease of use, it’s a solid investment. The value it brings far surpasses the cost, especially when you consider the potential ROI.
For the price of a couple of fancy coffees a month, you get a powerful marketing tool that can significantly boost your productivity and profits. The app’s ROI is evident in the time saved and the increase in sales and engagement it brings. And remember, you get a Thrivecart template if you purchase through my affiliate link, adding even more value to your investment.
Free Resources and Goodies
Speaking of value, don’t miss out on my free Overused Words in AI Workbook. It’s packed with tips to help you avoid those repetitive AI-generated phrases and keep your content fresh.
This workbook is a must-have for anyone looking to elevate their content game. It provides actionable tips and strategies to ensure your writing stands out and remains engaging for your audience.
Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, the Marketing Magic App is hands-down the better choice for personal brands, digital product sellers, and course creators. Its user-friendly design, targeted features, and overall efficiency make it a standout in the crowded market of AI marketing tools.
Ready to make some magic? Try the Marketing Magic App today with a free trial and see the difference for yourself. Whether you’re looking to streamline your workflow, create stunning content, or boost your sales, this app has got your back.
If you’re anything like me, you probably have a love-hate relationship with tech. We adore the efficiency it promises, but when things get too complex, it can feel like the tech is running us instead of the other way around. Let’s break it down and see why simplifying your tech stack can be a total game-changer for your business.
What is a Tech Stack Anyway?
Think of your tech stack as the collection of all the digital tools and platforms you use to run your business. From your eCommerce setup to your marketing tools, it’s everything that powers your online empire.
The Beauty of Simplification
Now, I’m not saying you should ditch all your tools and go back to pen and paper (though I know that might sound tempting to those of you who don’t love tech like I do!). The goal here is to streamline.
Whether you’re running an eCommerce store or managing a B2B marketing operation, a simplified tech stack means less time wrestling with tech and more time focusing on what you do best.
Why Tech Bloat is Your Enemy
Let’s face it: too many tools can slow you down.
Here’s what happens with an overly complex tech stack:
Tech Stack Bloat: You end up paying for tools you don’t need, which means wasted resources. Plus, it’s a nightmare to manage.
Manual Processes: Too many manual tasks? That’s time you could spend on growth and innovation.
Cloud Computing Challenges: Cloud services are excellent for scalability, but they can also bring security headaches.
The Vendor Juggle
Managing multiple SaaS vendors can be a real pain. It leads to increased risks and operational burdens. The more tools you have, the harder it is to keep everything in sync and secure.
Data Security Risks
A complex tech stack is a playground for security vulnerabilities. The more integrations and third-party tools you have, the higher the risk of data breaches. Simplifying helps you keep a tighter grip on your data security.
The Perks of a Streamlined Tech Stack
So, what’s in it for you if you simplify your tech stack?
Better Website Performance: Every tool that needs access to your website can slow down your site speed. Fewer tools mean faster load times and a better user experience. Think higher engagement and conversion rates.
Lower Maintenance Costs: Less money spent on unnecessary subscriptions and less time on maintenance.
Enhanced Data Security: Fewer points of failure mean a more secure setup. Your customers will thank you for it.
How to Simplify Your Tech Stack
Here’s your action plan:
Audit Your Tools: List everything you’re currently using. Yes, all of it.
Evaluate Effectiveness: Is each tool delivering value? If not, it’s time to cut it loose.
Look for Overlaps: Are there tools with overlapping features? Consolidate where you can.
Prioritize Integrations: Choose tools that play nicely together. Seamless integration is key.
Opt for All-in-One Solutions: Whenever possible, pick platforms that do more than one thing well. Tools like Thrivecart can handle multiple tasks, reducing the need for extra software.
Regular Reviews: Your tech needs will evolve. Make it a habit to review and adjust your stack regularly.
Choosing the Right Tools
When picking new tools, consider the following:
Compatibility: Make sure they work with your existing setup.
Scalability: Choose tools that can grow with you.
Pricing and Support: Look for a good balance between cost and functionality. Reliable support is a must.
Final Thoughts
Simplifying your tech stack isn’t a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process. Keep evaluating and adjusting to ensure your tools are working for you, not the other way around.
Remember, the goal is to make your tech work smarter, not harder.
Ready to streamline and simplify your tech stack? Check out this blog post where I shared some of the tools I’m using now in my business!
And don’t forget to watch this short video to learn why Thrivecart is my #1 fave and how much this lifetime cost tool can do for my biz!
As a strategic website and email copywriter, I talk to dozens of online business owners each month.
Many of them are in the same boat and come to me for help because…
They’re making ok sales, but realize they’re leaving money on the table.
They’re sick and tired of the low engagement rate they’ve been seeing of late.
And this increasing frustration leads to procrastination.
Which means they’re NOT writing the emails, web pages and social media posts that ultimately lead to more sales!
The traps so many of them have fallen into?
These online business owners seek inspiration from other brands.
They aren’t strategic about their copy & brand messaging.
And they put themselves at the center of their copy and messaging.
Totally at no fault of their own, but simply because that’s how they’ve been taught to approach copy.
Funnily enough, the secret to their best copy yet doesn’t come down to being the loudest brand out there or tooting your own horn, it’s all about LEANing into your audience.
What is the LEAN copy method?
The signature LEAN Copy Method I teach inside my DIY audience research toolkit, The Audience Success Formula and use as the starting point for all my 1:1 client projects, comes down to one key ingredient:
Empathy.
Empathy is the mirror that allows us to see ourselves in others and shifts our focus on shared goals.
And all of a sudden, we no longer have to push a hard sell but serve & empower our audience to reach their goals instead (with us to guide them, of course!).
My circular LEAN Copy Method guides you through a repeatable copy process that makes your audience the centre of your universe for a rinse-and-repeat copy framework:
How can you tap into this process to write your best copy yet?
Everything starts with intentional conversations with your audience and a set of very strategic questions to replace assumptions with a deep first-hand understanding of:
Mental Hurdles they need to overcome
Current struggles that need fixing
The dream future they’re aspiring to
Any stigma surrounding your offer
Listening to your ideal customers is critical to copy that sells because the insights you uncover hold the key to the words, language and thought patterns they need to hear to be ready to invest in your offers.
As an online business owner, it’s your job to read between the lines, pick up patterns and extract all the goodness ready for you to repurpose the findings in your copy and messaging.
The more specific, tangible and relatable you can make your copy, the more your audience feels understood and empowered to consider you as the perfect solution.
The LEAN Copy Method is the unfair marketing advantage that helps you reframe objections, pain points, desires and false beliefs in your dream customer’s words rather than your own.
Why is this process so powerful?
LEANing into your audience allows your ideal customer to do the heavy lifting for you. And it replaces your procrastination with a ready-to-go bucket list of content ideas, expressions and messages designed to prime your audience one email, social media post or blog post at a time.
And all of a sudden, you’ve adopted a way of copywriting and marketing that:
Saves you time and headspace
Wins you more loyal customers
Allows you to show up with ease
Leads with empathy rather than pushiness
Today’s consumers are incredibly savvy and demand to feel heard, seen and truly understood. They can spot fake urgency and scarcity from a distance!
Genuine, authentic touchpoints are the empathy-led alternative to convince them to take action, whether that’s joining your mailing list, buying your course or working with you 1:1.
Not only that, empathy-driven messaging will grow brand loyalty and repeat business long-term.
Is this a once-and-done process?
Once you’ve tested your copy in the wild, it’s time to refine your messaging based on fresh insights and conversations you’re having.
Because as the world around us evolves, so do the messages your audience needs to hear.
That’s why two-way conversations with your ideal customers are a never-ending process.
LEAN into your audience whenever you consider:
Launching new offers
Refining existing offers
Changing your niche
Rebranding
Incorporating fresh insights into your ongoing business processes will become a neverending catalyst for your best copy yet.
Best of all?
The insights you gather along the way can also spark ideas for brand new services, courses or offers your audience can’t wait to get their hands on (because they told you they need them!).
The verdict?
Copy and messaging success comes down to 80% audience insights and 20% creativity.
A whole new approach to copywriting can be yours, if you’re willing to get to the bottom of the objections, pain points, desires and false beliefs standing between you and your best copy yet.
If you take away ONE thing from this post, make it this one:
Your copy success starts with your ideal customer, not your goals!
How are you going to LEAN into your audience before you write, create, launch or [insert your next bold move]?
Your FREE head-start to help you LEAN into your audience:
I’m stoked to walk you through the process of setting smart marketing goals that drive real results for your business. Defining clear, actionable goals is crucial for any successful marketing strategy, as they provide direction, focus, and measurable objectives to work towards.
Whether you’re looking to boost brand awareness, increase website traffic, or make more sales, smart marketing goals will help you stay on track and actually make your desired outcomes happen, efficiently and without stressing yourself out in the process.
In this guide, we’ll explore the basics of smart marketing goals, including what they are, why they matter, and how to create them using the SMART framework. We’ll also dive into connecting your marketing goals with your overarching business goals, ensuring alignment and maximizing impact. Plus, you’ll find practical examples and insights to help you craft marketing goals that best serve your specific needs.
What Are Marketing Goals?
Marketing goals are the broad, overarching aims that businesses set to achieve desired outcomes through their marketing efforts. They help provide direction and purpose for marketing strategies and campaigns. As an entrepreneur, I’m sure you’ve felt that “pulled in a million directions” feeling before and this sort of thing can really help with staying focused!
Some common examples of marketing goals include:
Increasing brand awareness and recognition
Bringing in more website traffic and online visibility
Getting in front of + converting more qualified leads and prospects
Improving customer engagement and retention rates
Making more sales and consistent revenue growth
Expanding market share and reaching new audiences (fancy way of saying: getting in front of new people!)
Marketing goals differ from marketing objectives, which are the specific, measurable, and time-bound targets set to accomplish those broader goals. While goals outline the general intentions, objectives define the actionable steps and metrics to track progress.
For instance, a marketing goal could be “increasing brand awareness,” while a corresponding objective might be “growing social media following by 5,000 in 5 months to coincide with a new product launch.”
Smart marketing goals guide all marketing activities, ensuring that resources and efforts are aligned toward achieving the desired results. They help businesses stay focused, prioritize initiatives, and measure success effectively.
Why Set Marketing Goals?
Setting clear marketing goals can have a huge impact on the success of any business.
Here’s why:
Marketing Goals Provide Direction and Focus:
Marketing goals serve as a roadmap, guiding your efforts toward achieving desired outcomes. They help you identify the most impactful activities to focus your resources on, maximizing your return on investment (ROI).
Aligns with Long-Term Vision:
Well-defined marketing goals keep your business aligned with its long-term vision, preventing distractions from short-term trends or irrelevant activities.
Enables Progress Tracking:
Marketing goals allow you to set specific, measurable targets, enabling you to track your progress effectively. This helps you course-correct when needed and celebrate milestones along the way.
Promotes Accountability and Motivation:
Clear goals foster accountability and motivation within your marketing team (or you, if you’re a solopreneur). They provide a shared sense of purpose and inspire everyone to work towards achieving those targets.
Resource Allocation:
By setting marketing goals, you can better coordinate and allocate resources efficiently, ensuring that everything you do is working towards the same objectives.
Demonstrates Strategic Impact:
Aligning marketing goals with overall business objectives helps demonstrate the strategic impact of your marketing efforts, empowering you and your team to deliver tangible results.
In essence, setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) marketing goals is a critical step in developing an effective marketing strategy. It provides the foundation for success, enabling you to track performance, optimize efforts, and ultimately drive growth for your business.
Make Your Goals SMART
To ensure your marketing goals are actionable and impactful, it’s crucial to make them SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Aspirational, Relevant, and Time-bound. Let’s break down each component:
Specific:
Define clear and precise goals with quantifiable metrics. Instead of “increase website traffic,” aim for “drive 50,000 monthly website visitors from organic search by Q4.”
Measurable:
Incorporate quantifiable metrics that allow you to track progress objectively.
Examples include website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, social media engagement, and revenue growth.
Achievable/Aspirational:
Set goals that are challenging yet realistic based on your current performance, resources, and capabilities. Stretch goals can motivate you, but they shouldn’t be unrealistic.
Relevant:
Ensure your marketing goals directly support your overall business strategy and objectives. They should align with your target audience, buyer personas, and long-term vision.
Time-bound:
Establish clear deadlines or timelines for achieving your goals. This adds accountability and allows you to monitor progress effectively. For example, “increase email open rates to 40% within 4 months.”
By following the SMART framework, you’ll create focused, measurable, and actionable marketing goals that align with your business priorities and drive real results.
Here are a few examples of SMART marketing goals:
Increase Website Traffic: Achieve a 25% increase in organic website traffic from the US market within 6 months by optimizing content for high-volume keywords and improving site speed.
Boost Email Engagement: Grow the email subscriber list by 10,000 and increase the average open rate to 30% by the end of Q3 through targeted lead magnets and segmented campaigns.
Enhance Social Media Presence: Double social media engagement (likes, comments, shares) across all platforms and gain 5,000 new followers in the next 5 months by implementing a consistent content calendar and influencer collaborations.
Remember, SMART goals provide clarity, focus, and measurability, enabling you to track progress, optimize strategies, and celebrate successes along the way.
Connecting Marketing Goals to Business Goals
Connecting marketing goals to overarching business objectives is important for driving meaningful impact and growth. Here’s how to ensure seamless alignment:
Understand the Bigger Picture:
As a marketer, develop a deep understanding of your key objectives, whether it’s increasing sales, expanding your reach, building brand awareness, or launching new products.
Set Meaningful Metrics:
Identify marketing goals that directly support business objectives, and establish meaningful metrics to track progress. Continuously analyze how marketing activities influence buyer behavior and revenue.
Account for Time Lags:
Recognize that marketing’s impact on revenue, especially in B2B environments with longer sales cycles, may have a time lag. Plan for this by focusing on building a healthy sales funnel today to drive future revenue.
Align Strategies and Tactics:
Carefully evaluate and challenge marketing strategies and tactics to ensure they ladder up to the overarching business strategy. Prioritize activities that drive progress towards shared goals.
By maintaining a strategic mindset, and consistently tracking meaningful metrics, marketers can ensure their efforts are tightly coupled with the broader vision and objectives of the business, amplifying the impact of their work.
Marketing Goals Examples
To illustrate the practical application of smart marketing goals, let’s explore some specific examples that businesses can implement:
1. Increase Brand Awareness:
Tell a compelling brand story that resonates with your target audience.
Identify where your ideal customers spend time online and engage with them on those platforms.
Consistently share valuable content and actively participate in conversations to build brand visibility.
2. Generate High-Quality Leads:
Utilize lead capture forms, email newsletters, and retargeting ads to capture potential leads.
Leverage content marketing and social media to attract and nurture quality leads.
Analyze trends in leads that convert to customers to refine and improve lead quality.
3. Acquire New Customers:
Implement sustainable and scalable customer acquisition tactics tailored to your business model.
Track metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC), total new customers, churn rate, and product sign-ups.
Continuously optimize acquisition strategies based on performance data.
4. Increase Website Traffic:
Invest in paid advertising campaigns to drive targeted traffic to your site.
Monitor metrics such as annual recurring revenue, average revenue per user, and conversion rate.
Continuously optimize campaigns and tactics based on revenue performance.
By setting specific, measurable, and actionable goals aligned with these examples, businesses can effectively execute their marketing strategies and drive tangible results.
Marketing Goals Aren’t Just Revenue-Driven
While revenue goals are undoubtedly crucial, successful marketing strategies encompass far more than just making sales. I believe that building a strong brand identity, fostering customer loyalty (REALLY high quality offers goes a long way for this), and establishing industry authority are equally vital objectives.
Cultivate a Strong Community:
Nurture a vibrant community of customers, clients, and industry professionals. This can lead to higher profits through repeat business, positive word-of-mouth, and a loyal customer base. Engage with your audience, provide value, and create a sense of belonging. In short, be friendly and approachable while showcasing your knowledge.
Build Brand Identity and Reputation:
Differentiate your brand by crafting a unique identity that resonates with your target audience. Consistently deliver on your brand promises, and use social media to connect with both folks who are curious about your brand and also stay top of mind with long-time fans. Initiatives like volunteering and mentoring can also enhance your brand’s reputation and authority.
Become an Industry Expert:
Position yourself as a thought leader by creating high-quality content, participating in industry forums, and offering valuable advice to customers. Collaborate with micro-influencers or other well-respected experts in your niche or adjacent niches, share insights through blogs and events, and provide exceptional customer experiences that set you apart. Personally, I like doing 1:1 collabs and guest blog posts, and soon, interviews for my upcoming YouTube channel.
By pursuing these broader marketing goals alongside revenue targets, you can build a sustainable, customer-centric business that thrives on strong relationships, industry credibility, and a distinctive brand identity.
Final Thoughts
I’ll admit that sitting down and setting big, broad smart marketing goals can feel a bit intimidating or overwhelming, but I’ve found it to be a huge help and also a way to keep me focused throughout the year. By embracing the SMART framework, you can create specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives that align seamlessly with your overarching business goals. These well-defined targets serve as guideposts, ensuring your marketing efforts remain focused, purposeful, and impactful.
Ultimately, smart marketing goals empower you to track progress, optimize strategies, and celebrate milestones along the journey. They foster accountability, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose within your team. Remember, while revenue goals are crucial, a holistic approach that encompasses brand building, customer loyalty, and industry authority is key to long-term, sustainable success.
When choosing the right email marketing platform for your business, two leading contenders are Drip and ConvertKit. ConvertKit is an email marketing platform built specifically for creators, with a focus on simplicity and ease of use. It’s designed to be powerful yet user-friendly, catering to the needs of online creators, bloggers, and content creators.
On the other hand, Drip is marketed as best suited for e-commerce and online sales, offering deep integrations with online stores and advanced behavioral tracking, I’ve found on a feature-by-feature analysis, it is really well suited to creators too.
While I personally use and love Drip for its advanced features like content snippets (check out my Four by Four Footers strategy), I’ve found that many creators aren’t even considering it, with ConvertKit being the go-to email platform for email marketing for creators. This guide will compare the key features, ease of use, deliverability, pricing, and customer support of Drip vs ConvertKit, helping you decide on the right email marketing platform for your business needs.
When it comes to key features, both Drip and ConvertKit offer robust email marketing capabilities, but with distinct strengths and approaches.
Here’s a comparison of their core features:
1. Form and Landing Page Builders
ConvertKit: Includes a simple form builder and offers 4 built-in landing page templates. It can also do pop-ups on your website if the platform is supported, like WordPress.
Drip: Integrates with third-party landing page builders like Thrivecart, Instapage, Unbounce, and Leadpages. It also has a form builder and pop-up builder. Drip calls their popup builder Onsite campaigns, which is like having a a built-in ConvertBox, with slide-ins, spin-to-win popups, opt-in forms with dropdowns and radio buttons, countdown timers, and mystery sale popups. I’ve used the spin-to-win feature and my customers LOVED it. All paid Drip users have access to Onsite campaigns.
WINNER: The advantage goes to ConvertKit if you don’t have a pagebuilder (or website, like WordPress or ShowIt) and need them to host your landing pages. If you don’t need a landing page builder for your freebie opt-ins and are happy to use your own site or a popup, then Drip’s Onsite steals the show.
2. Email Automation and Sequences
ConvertKit: Offers “Visual Automations” for automated sequences, rules, email sequences, and can send one-off emails, called broadcasts. You can do a lot with CK’s automation builder, including create a “forever funnel” or endless nurture sequence.
Drip: Offers “Workflows” for automated sequences, rules, email sequences, and can also send one-off broadcasts (also called campaigns). Can send and receive webhooks that allow you to connect to other softwares without Zapier — this feature alone is what made me choose Drip over ConvertKit. I save hundreds of dollars each year by using webhooks instead of relying on Zapier to handle all my automations from one app to another. For the super techy, one more thing to note: you can also build automations/workflows in Drip that don’t require a trigger; eg. there’s no tag or form that add a subscriber into an automation; they’re only added from another one of your workflows, something I use in my automations after the lead has gone through several steps and after I’ve had them go through a conditional/decision, like testing if they’ve been a subscriber for longer than X days, have or have not made a purchase, etc.
WINNER: While I think both are powerful and offer a lot of automation workflow options, Drip’s drag-and-drop visual automation builder and the webhook capability that ConvertKit doesn’t have makes Drip the winner here.
3. Segmentation and Tagging
ConvertKit: Can segment based on tag and also create custom segments for multiple conditions.
Drip: Can segment based on tag, custom field, lead score, and tagging features.
WINNER: they’re pretty equal
4. Testing and Reporting
Both platforms offer split testing and reporting on campaign performance.
WINNER: ConvertKit’s reporting has improved over the past few years, but Drip’s analytics still show a lot more data with easy-to-use filtering and reporting and are the winner here.
5. Integrations
ConvertKit: Integrates with a LOT of softwares natively, like WordPress, WooCommerce, and Teachable, as well as various apps like Zapier, etc. ConvertKit is often one of the first email softwares that third party companies set up as native integrations, making it super easy to connect to your tech stack.
Drip: Integrates with many third-party tools (like Thrivecart, including automatically tracking customer lifetime value which ConvertKit can’t do) and offers a few native integrations that ConvertKit doesn’t, like Facebook Custom Audiences and Facebook Lead Ads.
WINNER: Let’s call it a tie, although this one is more of a “it depends what other tech you use.”
Example: my favorite form builder software connects effortlessly with Airtable, but doesn’t have a native integration with ConvertKit or Drip yet. But, because Drip can accept inbound webhooks (see the Automation section above), I can still connect FillOut with Drip, without Zapier.
5. Email builder
ConvertKit: clean, simple builder. Perfect for folks who want simple, more plain, less designed emails. They recently added some new design blocks but for the most part, there are not a ton of templates. You may need to know some code to design your own highly-designed, attractive email template, or purchase third party templates. The “snippet” or html block can be glitchy. A plus: tagging on link click (aka link triggers) happens right inside the builder and is easy to use.
Drip: The drag and drop style visual email builder makes it easy to design attractive, colorful emails and templates. Large template library. The easy to use drag and drop email builder was one of the biggest reasons I chose Drip over ConvertKit; I felt limited by ConvertKit’s builder. I love that Drip lets you create and save blocks, even for entire sections, that you can easily drop into an email.
WINNER: for me, this is hands-down Drip. These ease of use of their builder was one of the other big reasons I chose Drip
6. Advanced field and personalization features
Both ConvertKit and Drip offer custom fields that can be set by visual automations/workflows, conditional content via liquid code, global content snippets, and trigger links (eg. apply this tag when this link is clicked). Drip also offers expiring links and inbound and outbound webhooks, a feature I absolutely love for compiling subscriber data for tracking data in my funnels.
WINNER: they’re nearly equal, with expiring links and webhooks nudging Drip ahead as a clear winner
7. Ease of Use and User Experience
When it comes to ease of use and user experience, ConvertKit and Drip take distinct approaches that cater to different user groups.
ConvertKit excels in its simplicity and intuitive design, making it an excellent choice for bloggers, content creators, and small business owners who prioritize a user-friendly interface. The platform’s clean and responsive email design and straightforward WordPress integration for opt-in forms and landing pages provide a seamless experience for those seeking an uncomplicated email marketing solution.
On the other hand, Drip’s interface is more sophisticated and feature-rich, catering to marketing professionals and data enthusiasts. While this approach offers advanced customization capabilities and unique, brand-aligned email designs, it comes with a steeper learning curve. Drip’s visual workflow builder and automation tools are powerful but may require more time and effort to make the most of, especially for those new to email marketing.
Drip vs ConvertKit: Which to Choose?
Ultimately, the choice between ConvertKit and Drip depends on your business’s needs and the level of complexity you’re comfortable with. If you value simplicity and a user-friendly experience, ConvertKit may be the better fit. However, if you are excited to make use of advanced automations, personalization, and customization features, Drip’s robust features might be a better fit for you.
6. Deliverability and Spam Handling
When it comes to email deliverability and spam handling, both Drip and ConvertKit have robust systems in place to ensure your emails reach their intended recipients. However, there are some notable differences in their approaches.
Drip is widely recognized for its excellent email deliverability and proactive spam handling. The platform employs advanced techniques to maintain high inbox placement rates, including:
Automated List Hygiene: Drip makes it easy to remove inactive subscribers from your list, improving overall deliverability [6].
Reputation Monitoring: Drip closely monitors its sending reputation and takes immediate action to address any potential issues.
Spam Filtering: Drip’s sophisticated spam filters effectively identify and prevent the delivery of potential spam emails.
ConvertKit, on the other hand, takes a more straightforward approach to deliverability. While it doesn’t offer the same level of advanced features as Drip, ConvertKit still maintains a solid reputation with email service providers. Its key deliverability features include:
Double Opt-In: ConvertKit requires subscribers to confirm their email addresses, reducing the risk of spam complaints.
Spam Monitoring: ConvertKit monitors spam complaints and automatically unsubscribes addresses with excessive complaints.
Email Authentication: ConvertKit supports email authentication protocols like SPF and DKIM to improve deliverability.
As with any email marketing platform, deliverability can be influenced by various factors, including your content, list quality, and sending practices.
7. Pricing and Value for Money
When it comes to pricing and value for money, both Drip and ConvertKit offer competitive plans tailored to different business needs.
Here’s a breakdown of their pricing structures:
ConvertKit is generally more cost-effective for smaller email lists, with plans starting at $29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers for the lower tier and a limited free plan available too. This makes it an attractive option for bloggers, content creators, and small businesses on a tight budget.
Drip, on the other hand, is slightly more expensive, with plans starting at $39/month for up to 2,500 subscribers. However, Drip offers more advanced features, such as drag-and-drop visual workflow builders with webhook capability, in-depth segmentation, and lead scoring, which can be invaluable for larger businesses or those with complex email marketing needs.
Plan
ConvertKit
Drip
Free Plan
Free plan (only includes 1 automation and 1 email sequence)
No free plan
Paid Plan
$29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, but to be comparable with Drip, would need the Pro plan at $59/mo for 1,000 subcribers
$39/month for up to 2,500 subscribers
Free Trial
14-day free trial (no credit card required)
14-day free trial (no credit card required)
While ConvertKit may be more affordable for smaller lists, Drip’s advanced capabilities and integrations can provide significant value for businesses willing to invest in a more robust email marketing solution that can scale with you as your business grows.
Ultimately, the choice between the two platforms will depend on your specific needs, budget, and the level of complexity you require.
8. Customer Support and Resources
When it comes to customer support and resources, both Drip and ConvertKit offer excellent options to assist users, albeit with slightly different approaches.
ConvertKit is widely praised for its personalized support and strong community of creators and bloggers. They provide a ‘concierge migration’ service free of charge for users with over 5,000 subscribers, ensuring a smooth transition from other platforms.
Additionally, ConvertKit offers assistance in migrating forms, automations, and subscribers, even for smaller lists. Their customer support and success teams are dedicated to helping creators succeed and fostering a supportive environment.
ConvertKit Support Highlights
Free concierge migration service (for lists over 5,000 subscribers)
Assistance with migrating forms, automations, and subscribers (for smaller lists)
Personalized support and success teams
Strong community of creators and bloggers
On the other hand, Drip shines with its excellent technical support and extensive resources, including videos to accompany their support documentation. The platform offers a wealth of webinars and detailed guides to help users navigate its advanced features. Drip also provides a concierge service specifically focused on assisting with email copywriting, a valuable resource for businesses seeking professional guidance.
Drip Support Highlights
Excellent tech support via email and chat with native English speakers in the US Central time zone — they’ve saved my bacon a few times!
Frequent live webinars and detailed resources
Concierge service for email copywriting assistance
Quick and detailed responses to customer inquiries
While both platforms excel in customer support, their strengths align with their respective target audiences. ConvertKit’s personalized approach and creator-focused community resonate well with bloggers and content creators, while Drip’s extensive resources and technical support cater to the needs of marketing professionals and data-driven businesses.
Features Drip has that ConvertKit doesn’t (and vice versa)
Only with Drip: Deep integration with Thrivecart
While both Drip and ConvertKit have a native (read: no Zaps required) integration with Thrivecart, Drip’s robust API means that Thrivecart users get a lot more data, including:
Tracking lifetime value (total $ in purchases), per subscriber
See the revenue generated by every broadcast (campaign, one-time email), email series, and workflow (automation). How would knowing exactly how much revenue a specific email or workflow generated impact you + your business?! I’m willing to bet seeing those numbers would give you a motivational boost to write + automate more 😉
Trigger an automation to run only when a customer’s lifetime value exceeds a threshold, eg. after someone has purchased more than $100 with you, start them in an automation that thanks them for their business and offers them a custom coupon, for example. See image below
Tigger automations based on events in Thrivecart. See image below
Connect your customers to the products they love with product recommendations (I’m still figuring out how to use this with Thrivecart, will update when I have more to share here!)
See some of the triggers available in Drip, specifically, the lifetime value trigger:
See some of the triggers available based on events inside Thrivecart:
NOTE: as of April 2024, these advanced triggers are not yet firing reliably due to API updates that Thrivecart needs to make on their end. As of April 12, 2024, these are planned for implementation by June or July, 2024.
Only with ConvertKit: Creator referral network
ConvertKit’s creator referral network allows its users to recommend other creators to their new subscribers, and also benefit from being recommended. For several friends of mine, this has been a really nice method for growing their list and something I wish Drip had. One more thing: while both Drip and ConvertKit can integrate with SparkLoop, ConvertKit has the integration built right into their higher tier plan.
Biggest perks and annoyances
ConvertKit:
Biggest perks: Creator referral network for list growth, Sparkloop integration for collecting data like polls, etc
Biggest annoyances: glitchiness and limitations within the email builder, no webhooks, no lifetime value tracking unless you exclusively use their Stripe integration + checkouts, not the best reporting and analytics
Drip:
Biggest perks: Lifetime value tracking for Thrivecart and Shopify, Onsite campaigns (spin-to-win popups, etc), inbound/outbound webhooks, drag-and-drop email builder and visual automation builder, deep integration with Thrivecart for customer lifetime value tracking (and also being able to see how much revenue each email or automation brought in)
Biggest annoyances: no creator referral network for list growth, no countdown timer widget that you can add to emails. I embed email countdown timers with this instead.
What’s the best email marketing software for course creators, Drip or ConvertKit?
While I personally use and love Drip for its advanced features and seamless integration with content snippets (a strategy I teach called Four by Four Footers), it might be a bit robust for beginner email marketers.
Choosing the right email marketing platform can go a long way towards the success of your business and marketing efforts, as it impacts your ability to effectively communicate with your audience, nurture leads, and make sales.
Both Drip and ConvertKit offer powerful solutions, but their strengths align with different business needs and user preferences.
Ultimately, the decision between Drip and ConvertKit should be based on factors such as the size of your email list, the complexity of your marketing goals and funnels, your budget, and your willingness to invest some time to get the most of the platform’s features.
Not sure which email marketing platform is right for you? Check out my Email Service Matchmaker training that covers all of the most popular options and who they are best for. Whichever platform you choose, ensure it aligns with your business goals, provides the necessary features, and enhances your overall email marketing efforts.
Sales funnels aren’t just for selling your own products! Affiliate marketing is a pretty awesome method for earning passive income, but affiliate funnel success isn’t just about choosing the right products to promote; it’s about how you promote them. A sales funnel, specifically designed for affiliate marketing, is a powerful tool to increase conversions and maximize earnings.
This guide will walk you through building a sales funnel for affiliate marketing success, using strategies I’ve implemented with tools like Thrivecart, to give you a leg up on your affiliate marketing.
Understanding Sales Funnels for Affiliate Marketing
A sales funnel outlines the journey a potential customer goes through, from learning about a product to making a purchase. In affiliate marketing, this journey is crucial because it helps warm up leads to a product or service you endorse but don’t own.
The essence of a successful affiliate marketing funnel is treating the promoted product as if it were your own. This approach ensures you select products with a significant commission and genuine value to your audience, much like I do with Thrivecart.
Components of an Effective Affiliate Marketing Funnel
The effectiveness of an affiliate marketing funnel lies in its components, tailored to guide potential customers through the stages of awareness, interest, decision, and action.
One of my most successful affiliate funnels is my free Thrivecart mini training funnel. I think this funnel really excels because it demonstrates thee product value through an in-depth video, making it easier for leads to understand the benefits and make a purchase decision, especially when incentives like exclusive bonuses are offered. Sidebar: check out my epic affiliate bonus for Thrivecart here.
How to Build an Affiliate Marketing Funnel
Now you know a little bit more about why and when you might want to create an affiliate marketing funnel, let’s talk about the steps:
Identifying the Right Affiliate Products
The first step is selecting products that align with your audience’s needs and offer attractive commissions. You want to choose evergreen products (so you won’t have to continuously update your funnel), that will make you enough money that it’s worth the time investment.
Choose products you’ve used and can enthusiastically vouch for, which makes promoting easier for you and brings some major realism and authenticity to your promotions.
Creating Compelling Content
Your funnel should start with content that addresses a problem your audience faces, positioning the affiliate product as the solution. This content can be a blog post, a social media update, or a webinar, like my Thrivecart example, designed to generate interest and lead viewers to the next funnel stage.
Lead Capture
Use an opt-in page to capture email addresses by offering something of value in return, such as a free guide, a discount code, or bonus content. This step is crucial for building your email list and also following up on their interest. I have the opt-in page linked all over my website, my blog sidebar, and featured in my emails using my very affiliate marketing friendly email strategy, Four by For Footers.
Nurturing Leads
With a series of automated emails, you have an easy way to remind folks about your bonus, provide additional information about the affiliate product, share testimonials, and address common objections. This stage is about building trust and demonstrating the product’s value.
Conversion
Finally, direct your nurtured leads to the affiliate product’s sales page, where they can make a purchase after clicking your affiliate link. Consider offering a bonus if they purchase through your affiliate link as it can have a huge positive impact on conversion rates. This is a bit ‘extra’ but if you have time, or if its a lucrative affiliate funnel, you can also create a landing page about the product with your affiliate link and bonus, a sort of affiliate sales page. These are great for SEO!
Leveraging Bonuses in Your Affiliate Marketing Funnel
Bonuses are a really successful strategy for me when it comes to my affiliate marketing efforts. They add value to the offer and can be the tipping point for someone on the fence about making a purchase.
For instance, with Thrivecart, I provide exclusive bonuses to those who purchase through my affiliate link, treating the promotion as diligently as I would my own product. Be sure to create or choose bonuses that complement the affiliate product and enrich the buyer’s experience, preferably something you can create once and can deliver with little extra work or fuss.
Best Practices for Affiliate Marketing Funnels
Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your funnel pages are mobile-friendly, as a significant portion of online traffic comes from mobile devices.
Track and Analyze: Use tools to track your funnel’s performance. I use Airtable to track things, for the most part, and check on it once a month or so. Analytics will help you understand where you’re losing leads and where you’re converting, allowing for optimization. Start by checking how many people opt in to your affiliate funnel and how many buy within a few weeks of opting in.
Continuous Testing: Always test different elements of your funnel, from the opt-in offer to the email copy, to find what works best for your audience.
Final Thoughts
Building a sales funnel for affiliate marketing requires careful planning, a focus on providing value, and strategic use of incentives. By treating affiliate products with the same care as your products and creating a structured funnel strategy, you can significantly increase your affiliate marketing success.
Remember, the goal is to guide potential customers through a journey that not only introduces them to a product you believe in but also shows them its value, culminating in a purchase that benefits them, the product creator, and you. That’s a win-win-win!
’ve been a funnel strategist for years and while I don’t build funnels for clients anymore, I’m still very much connected to the world of sales funnels. The one problem I see? Sometimes we are just overcomplicating the sales funnel creation process! Creating a sales funnel quickly and efficiently is essential for businesses aiming to increase their online presence and sales. Simplifying your tools can streamline this process in a major way, making it totally doaible even for beginners.
This blog post will guide you through creating a quick funnel using three powerful tools:Thrivecart, Marketing Magic App, and Drip. These tools will help you set up your offer, craft compelling copy, and automate your email sequences, ensuring a smooth journey for your potential customers from awareness to purchase.
Understanding the Basics of a Quick Sales Funnel
A sales funnel is the journey a potential customer goes through, from first learning about your business to making a purchase. It’s crucial for converting leads into customers. The right tools can make this process simpler and more effective, allowing you to focus on what you do best – growing your business.
Tool 1: Setting Up Your Offer with Thrivecart
Step 1: Start by creating a $0 product in Thrivecart for your freebie.
This could be an ebook, a mini-course, or any other digital product that provides value to your potential customers. Snag some of my templates inside the Thrivecart Template Shop to make this process even faster.
Step 2: Consider adding a bump offer or an upsell in Thrivecart.
Tool 2: Crafting Your Copy with Marketing Magic App
Step 3: Use the Marketing Magic App to generate all the copy you need for your opt-in pages, thank you pages, and emails.
Struggling with the right copy for your sales funnel? This AI-powered tool can save you hours of work and ensure your copy is optimized for conversions.
Click here to see behind the scenes of how I use it and how awesome it really is! Plus, you can grab a free trial to test it out yourself.
Tool 3: Automating Email Sequences with Drip
Okay, so you don’t have to use Drip as your email marketing provider. I do and I love it, but it’s not the right choice for everyone’s needs. Click here to check out Email Service Matchmaker if you aren’t sure about the email platform you’re currently using.
Step 4: Connect Thrivecart to Drip using Thrivecart behaviors.
This integration allows you to automate the delivery of your freebie and the follow-up communications, making your funnel run smoothly without constant supervision.
Step 5: Set up your email workflow and sequence in Drip.
This should include a series of emails that nurture your leads, provide additional value, and guide them toward making a purchase.
Optimizing and Refining Your Funnel
Anytime I talk about funnels, I can’t not talk about this: they aren’t a ‘set it and forget it’ type of thing. It’s important to monitor your funnel’s performance and make improvements based on the data you collect. Watch your stats in both Thrivecart and Drip to see where you can optimize your funnel for better conversions.
Final Thoughts
Creating a sales funnel doesn’t have to be complicated. By following these steps and leveraging the power of Thrivecart, Marketing Magic App, and Drip, you can set up a simple yet effective funnel that guides potential customers through the buying process.
Remember, the goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to learn about and purchase your products or services. With these tools, you’re well on your way to achieving that goal.
Need more clients or customers? Want to grow your email list? Let’s talk growing your email list with lead funnels and how they can have a massive impact on your business. As an entrepreneur and funnel strategist myself, I know the importance of generating quality leads — growing my network of interested folks for my offers —and converting them into loyal customers. That’s where lead funnels come into play!
In this ultimate guide, I will walk you through everything you need to know about lead funnels and how they can work for you.
Why Lead Funnels Are Important for Businesses
All businesses need a systematic approach to attract and nurture leads. For me personally, that means growing my email list as that’s the number one way I engage with folks in my community, share value, spotlight my offers, and make sales of my digital products. Lead funnels serve as a roadmap, guiding potential customers through the buying process. They allow you to build relationships, showcase your expertise, and ultimately turn leads into paying customers.
Without a well-designed lead funnel, your marketing efforts may be scattered, resulting in missed opportunities and lost revenue.
Understanding the Stages of a Marketing Funnel
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of creating an effective lead funnel, it’s crucial to understand the stages of a marketing funnel. A marketing funnel consists of three main stages: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
Marketing Funnel Stage 1 – Awareness:
At this stage, your goal is to create brand awareness and attract the attention of your target audience. You can achieve this through various channels such as social media, content marketing, and advertising. The key is to provide valuable and relevant content that resonates with your audience.
Marketing Funnel Stage 2 – Consideration:
Once you have captured the attention of potential customers, you need to nurture them and build trust. This stage is all about educating your leads and showcasing the value your product or service offers.
Email marketing, webinars, and personalized content are effective strategies to engage with your leads during this stage.
Marketing Funnel Stage 3 – Conversion:
The final stage is where the magic happens. Now that your leads are aware of your brand, and have considered your offerings, it’s time to convert them into paying customers. This is where you make your sales pitch and demonstrate why your product or service is the best solution for their needs.
Testimonials, limited-time offers, and compelling call-to-actions play a vital role in encouraging conversions.
How to Create an Effective Lead Funnel
Now that you have a solid understanding of the marketing funnel stages, let’s dive into the process of creating an effective lead funnel.
Here are the fundamental steps:
1. Define Your Target Audience:
Start by clearly defining your target audience. Who are they? What are their pain points? Understanding your audience will help you tailor your messaging and offers to resonate with them.
2. Create Compelling Lead Magnets:
A lead magnet is an irresistible free offer that entices potential customers to provide their contact information. It could be an ebook, a free course, or a helpful template. Make sure your lead magnet provides significant value and addresses a specific problem your audience faces.
3. Design Landing Pages:
A landing page is where your potential customers land after clicking on your lead magnet. It should be visually appealing, have a clear call-to-action, and capture the necessary information to follow up with the lead.
4. Implement Email Marketing:
Email marketing is a powerful tool to nurture your leads and move them through the marketing funnel. Set up automated email sequences that deliver valuable content and build a relationship with your leads.
5. Optimize Your Conversion Process:
Continuously test and optimize your lead funnel to improve conversion rates. Analyze data, track key metrics, and make data-driven decisions to enhance your funnel’s performance.
By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating an effective lead funnel that drives results for your business.
Top Lead Gen Tactics for Each Stage of the Funnel
Now that you know how to create a lead funnel, let’s explore some top lead generation tactics for each stage of the funnel.
Awareness Stage Tactics: At this stage, focus on increasing brand visibility and attracting your target audience. Leverage social media advertising, collaborations like summits and bundles, and content marketing to reach a wider audience. Engage with your audience through comments, shares, and likes to build brand awareness.
Consideration Stage Tactics: In the consideration stage, your goal is to nurture leads and establish your credibility. Folks want to know that you’re knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to your niche before they trust you with their money. Offer valuable content such as webinars, case studies, and debriefs that showcase your expertise. You can use retargeting ads to stay top of mind with your leads and encourage them to take the next step if you’d like.
Conversion Stage Tactics: When it comes to the conversion stage, personalized and time-sensitive offers work wonders. Limited-time discounts, exclusive bonuses, and free trials can help push your leads toward making a purchase. Make the buying process as smooth and frictionless as possible to maximize conversions.
By tailoring your lead generation tactics to each stage of the funnel, you’ll be able to attract, nurture, and convert leads effectively.
Tools and Software to Optimize Your Lead Funnels
Implementing lead funnels can be made a lot easier with the help of various tools and software. Here are some top recommendations:
1. Landing Page Builders: Tools like Thrivecart or Leadpages allow you to design stunning landing pages without the need for coding knowledge. These platforms offer loads of extra features and integrations with popular email marketing services.
2. Email Marketing Automation: Platforms such as Drip and ConvertKit offer robust email marketing automation features. They allow you to set up automated email sequences, segment your audience, and track the performance of your campaigns.
Not sure which email marketing platform to use for your business? Let Email Service Matchmaker help you make an informed decision!
3. Analytics and Tracking:Fathom Analytics or Google Analytics is a must-have tool for tracking the success of your lead funnels. They provide valuable insights into website traffic, conversion rates, and user behavior. However for privacy regions, especially in Europe, I don’t prefer Google Analytics/GA4. I am happy with Fathom Analytics. I also like that I can see all of my sites current traffic in one place, on one screen.
Additionally, tools like Hotjar offer heatmaps and user recordings to understand how visitors interact with your landing pages.
These are just a few examples of the many tools and software available to optimize your lead funnels. Explore different options and find the ones that best suit your business needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing Lead Funnels
While lead funnels can be highly effective, there are some common mistakes that businesses often make. Here are a few to avoid:
1. Lack of Personalization: Generic messaging and offers won’t cut it in today’s competitive landscape. Personalize your lead funnels to cater to the specific needs and pain points of your target audience. Start for sure by asking for their first name on the opt-in form when they’re signing up for their freebie, and use their name where appropriate in the follow up emails.
2. Overcomplicating the Funnel: Keep your lead funnel simple and easy to navigate. Don’t overwhelm your potential customers with too many steps or information.
3. Inconsistent Follow-Up: Consistent follow-up is crucial for nurturing leads. Make sure you have a robust email marketing strategy in place to engage with your leads regularly.
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By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll ensure that your lead funnels are optimized for success.
How to Measure and Track the Success of Your Lead Funnels
Measuring and tracking the success of your lead funnels is essential to optimize your strategies and drive better results.
Here are some key metrics to monitor:
1. Conversion Rate: This metric tells you the percentage of leads that convert into paying customers. It helps you understand the effectiveness of your lead funnel in driving conversions.
2. Cost per Lead: Calculate the average cost per lead to evaluate the efficiency of your lead generation tactics. This metric allows you to allocate your marketing budget effectively.
3. Engagement Rate: Monitor the engagement rate of your emails, landing pages, and social media posts. A higher engagement rate indicates that your content is resonating with your audience.
4. Return on Investment (ROI): Calculate the ROI of your lead funnels by comparing the revenue generated with the investment made in acquiring leads. This metric helps you determine the profitability of your marketing efforts.
By regularly analyzing these metrics and making data-driven decisions, you can continuously improve the performance of your lead funnels.
Final Thoughts
Congratulations! You’ve now reached the end of this ultimate guide to lead funnels. Now that you are armed with the knowledge and strategies shared here, you’re ready to take your business to new heights.
Remember, lead funnels are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Experiment, iterate, and tailor your lead funnels to your unique business needs. With the right tactics, tools, and a data-driven approach, lead funnels can become a powerful asset in your marketing arsenal.
If you’re ready to take the next step, click the link below to learn exactly how to set up your first tripwire funnel and set up fully automated flash sales for every single new email subscriber with Freebie to Flash Sale.
