Funnel Basics: What Are the Key Parts of a Marketing Funnel?
By Jen Adams

Welcome back!

Today, you’re going to walk away knowing the key parts of an acquisition funnel – the exact pieces that make this funnel so effective at transforming passing interest into a sale … and then turning that initial sale into major revenue for the company.

And, the great news? It’s very simple to create an acquisition funnel for your clients.

Acquisition funnels have four basic parts:

1. The lead generation piece (which we touched on yesterday)
2. The main offer
3. The add-on offers (also known as “upsells”)
4. The follow-up sequence

Each part of a funnel is designed to build on the previous piece in a way that makes moving forward feel like the easiest, smartest, or best possible choice.

The lead magnet, or bait piece, is designed to grab your prospect’s interest and get them to pay attention to your client’s company.

Once you have the prospect’s attention, you can show them the main offer.

When they take the main offer, you’ll offer a few bonus goodies to enhance their purchase.

Finally, you’ll follow-up with them, offering additional relevant items or an ongoing membership, so they’re always in touch.

Let’s look at an example of this in action, as if you were the prospect …

Say you were interested in learning Spanish, and looked online for programs that could teach you. Scanning through the results, you see one company offering you the chance to download the first lesson of their program for free.

Oh, why not? All you have to do is enter your email and it’s yours. Done and done … wait, what’s this on the “Thank You” page? Hmmm … looks like you can buy the whole program for 60% off, as a reward for downloading the sample chapter … and there’s a money-back guarantee, so what’s the harm?

Enter your credit card information and click! Now the program is yours. And right now, you can add weekly phone tutoring with one of their expert teachers for just $25 a call. But you’re not sure about that, so you pass on the offer …

The next day, you have an email from the company. They hope you’re happy with your new lessons, but they noticed you didn’t choose to try a live teacher. Would you like a second chance at that offer? Or, would you like to sign up for a guided group-study program to help you build your skills?

Spot the key parts of the funnel?

1. Lead magnet = The free chapter to download
2. Main offer = The language program itself
3. Upsell = The extra tutoring
4. Follow-up = The email with your second chance and another offer

Each piece builds on the next … taking you from being interested to becoming a buyer … and then building up the size of your order through the upsell and follow-up.

It’s exactly what a well-built funnel is supposed to do – turn a little trickle of interested people and new names into a flood of revenues.

Even if you’re just starting out, you can build a funnel like this for your clients. You just need to think of how to layer one piece into the next. So, let’s practice …

Think of a product you enjoy very much, or use a business idea you’ve been thinking about for a while.

Identify your main offer. Then step back. What one small piece – a feature, benefit, or experience – could you pull out to use as a lead magnet?

Now, step forward past the main offer. What can you offer to enhance the purchase, or add on to make using the product simpler, faster, or more fun?

Finally, how will you follow-up? What kinds of reminder emails, second chances, or new offers could you send?

Share your planned funnel in the comments … and, if you have any questions, share those, too. I’m happy to answer, especially because I know with just a little practice, you CAN do this!

Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to connect the pieces of a funnel to writing work – the kind clients will happily pay you to do for them.