From Email Subscriber to Customer: Building a Simple Sales Funnel

What should happen after someone joins your email list? Learn how to turn a simple lead capture funnel into a system that builds relationships and introduces people to your offers.

Getting someone onto your email list is a great first step.

But what happens next?

If you've already read my article about building a lead capture funnel, you'll know why I believe getting your social media audience onto an email list is so important.

But capturing an email address isn't the end of the process.

In many ways, it's the beginning.

What Happens After Someone Joins Your List?

Imagine someone sees one of your social media posts.

They're interested in what you're talking about, so they click through to your funnel and download your free guide, checklist, mini-course or other lead magnet.

They've now become an email subscriber.

But they probably aren't ready to buy something from you immediately.

A Simple Customer Journey

Getting the Email Address Is Only the Beginning

It's easy to think that the main goal of a lead capture funnel is simply to collect email addresses.

And technically, that's what the first part of the funnel is doing.

But your real opportunity starts once someone has subscribed.

You now have permission to communicate with that person through email, assuming you've collected their details appropriately and they have consented to receive your marketing.

That gives you an opportunity that you don't have in quite the same way with a social media follower.

Start With a Simple Welcome Sequence

One of the easiest ways to start developing your funnel beyond the lead magnet is with a simple welcome email sequence.

You don't need to write 30 emails.

You don't need complicated automation.

And you certainly don't need to bombard new subscribers with sales messages.

Start with a small sequence that introduces you, delivers the promised resource and gives people a reason to continue listening.

Don't Make Every Email a Sales Pitch

This is something I think beginners can easily get wrong.

You build a funnel, someone subscribes and suddenly every email becomes:

That's not really building a relationship. Your subscribers should get value from being on your list even when they aren't buying anything from you.

Think About Nurturing, Not Just Selling

Nurturing simply means continuing to communicate with your audience in a useful and relevant way.

You might share tips, explain something you've learned, answer common questions, point people towards useful resources or talk about problems that your products can help solve.

Over time, this can help people understand what you know, what you offer and why your business might be relevant to them.

Then, when you make an offer, it doesn't necessarily feel like it has appeared from nowhere.

A Simple Beginner Funnel

Building This in systeme.io

This is one of the reasons I like using systeme.io for building online business funnels.

Instead of trying to stitch together lots of different services, you can build your funnel, collect leads and manage your email marketing from within the same platform.

For a beginner, keeping things in one place can make the whole process much easier to understand.

You can create your landing page, connect your form, collect subscribers and then use email automation to follow up with them.

Your First Simple Setup

If you're completely new to funnels, don't try to build a huge automated sales machine on day one.

You Don't Need a Complicated Funnel

When you start learning about funnels, it's very easy to come across complicated diagrams showing dozens of pages, automations, upsells, downsells, webinars and different customer journeys.

There is a place for more advanced funnels.

But if you're just starting your online business, I'd suggest getting the basics working first.

A simple funnel that actually works is far more useful than a complicated funnel that you never finish building.

The Goal Isn't to Sell to Everyone

This is perhaps the biggest thing I'd keep in mind when you're building your first funnel.

You don't need every subscriber to become a customer.

You need to give the right people a reason to stay connected with you.

Some people will join your list and never buy anything.

Others might read your emails for weeks or months before they're ready to take the next step.

That's okay.

Your job isn't to force everyone through the funnel as quickly as possible.

It's to create a useful journey that allows people to learn about you, understand what you offer and decide for themselves whether your product or service is right for them.

If you're looking for a platform that can help you build your funnel, capture leads and manage your email marketing, take a look at systeme.io.