6 cost-effective ways to channel more people into your sales funnel

As a business owner, you’re likely always looking for ways to make more sales. This means that you need to funnel as many relevant people into your sales funnel as possible. In this article, we’re going to outline some cost-effective ways to do just that. 

Let’s get started.

Create lead magnets that will provide real value for your audience#

A lead magnet is a free item or service that is given away in order to gather contact information, like email addresses or phone numbers, of prospective customers. Essentially, if you offer something in return, people will be more willing to give you their contact information. This means that you can better attract the right customers and channel them into your sales funnel. 

Think about what you could offer your customers for free in order to get their contact information. Online tools, eBook samples, templates, and webinars are all great places to start!

Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses with excellent lead magnets for inspiration.

FreshBooks, an online accounting software company, has a series of free invoice templates that work well as lead magnets. In order to access these templates, a user has to plug in their contact information. Because these templates are geared toward freelancers and small business owners, this is a great way for FreshBooks to attract their target audience, gather their contact information, and channel more people into their sales funnel. People who enjoy these templates might be more willing to pay for FreshBooks’ paid services. 

If you have any templates that you use or your customers would find helpful, consider offering them on your website for free. Requiring contact information to access them can get you quality leads and generate more sales!

Victoria University Online does something similar on the web page for their online MBA program. As you can see in the image above, there is a place for prospective students to plug in their information and, in return, they’ll receive a free brochure that includes information about the entry requirements, fees, classes, and more. This information is necessary for anyone interested in the program, making it an excellent lead magnet.

On your website, think about what helpful content you could offer in exchange for visitors’ contact information. Most people will be more than happy to hand over their email address for valuable information, and this will then give you a chance to stay in touch and gradually convert them into customers. 

BrandYourself, a reputation management and online privacy software company, does something similar with their lead magnet. On their homepage, a website visitor can simply input their name and email address, and then they’ll get a free risk scan — the software program Googles the user’s name and basic information, and they get an idea of what people see about them online. It’s a very useful lead magnet!

On your website, think about how your lead magnet can draw people into your business. Providing something of real value like BrandYourself can do wonders for your lead generation, as it will earn prospective customers’ trust and give them a glimpse of what you’re able to do for them. 

Lastly, Search Engine Journal, another digital marketing expert, has a series of eBooks that work well as lead magnets. On their page for their keyword research and SEO eBook, they outline the benefits and general information about the book. Additionally, they have a place for the website visitor to submit their information to get access to the book.

Could you create eBooks or guides that would be helpful to your target audience? Consider offering this type of content as a lead magnet. It will help build trust and get you the contact information of high-quality leads that could well be interested in your products or services. 

Publish content that your ideal customers are looking for #

Content marketing is a vital part of attracting more people to the top of your sales funnel. You can’t just create content for the sake of it, though — you need to ensure that you’re putting together content that your ideal customers actually need, as this will improve your customer relations and drive the right people to your site. 

One way you can ensure that you’re creating helpful content is by conducting keyword research. Head to a tool like Answer the Public with different words and topics related to your business. You’ll then be provided with a list of related questions that people are typing into search engines — this is a great way to come up with content ideas that your customers are looking for!

Let’s take a look at some businesses that are already creating high-quality and relevant content to give you some inspiration.

For instance, Musician Authority, a website focused on music education, has a variety of helpful articles on their website. Their guide to easy guitar songs for beginners is a great example. In it, they list a variet of songs that are great for trying out if you’re only just starting to learn how to play the guitar. 

It’s a helpful article that gets website visitors excited about learning the instrument and builds trust with them. This will also attract a lot of people who are researching this topic through search engines like Google. As a result, it's a great tool for leading more relevant people to the company’s website. 

On your own website, think about what types of listicles you could create that will build trust with your website visitors, and genuinely provide value for them. It’s a great tactic for channeling the right people into your sales funnel.

PTPioneer, a website that focuses on personal training certifications, also has several articles that aim to answer common questions their ideal audience is likely to have. 

For example, in their article on certified personal trainer salaries, they cover certifications, 1099 payments, hourly structures, and more. Because this website is built for those interested in personal training as a career, it’s great for drawing in the right customers. People who come across this article are likely to be very interested in PTPioneer’s other articles and services.

On your website, think about what types of articles you could write in order to show that you know a lot about your niche. This will convince readers that you’re an authority in your field and will increase the chances of them wanting to do business with you.

Finally, My Canada Payday, a financial services company, is another business that does a great job of publishing high-quality content that will attract their ideal customers.

For example, they have a guide on how Canadians should file taxes during the pandemic. The article notes that 2020 was a complicated year for a lot of people where money is concerned. It also covers emergency COVID-19 benefits, the impact of working from home, and more. The article is great for individuals who aren’t totally sure about how to deal with their taxes for 2020 or 2021. And, people who are looking for this information might also need financial support, which My Canada Payday can provide. 

On your website, be sure to publish timely content that your audience will find helpful. It will help draw in the right people and ultimately earn you more sales. 

Keep engaging with your target customers on social media #

Social media is one of the most powerful tools that you have at your disposal for generating leads. The more active you are on social media, the more people will hear about your business. And, if someone sees your business on social media frequently, you’ll be top of mind when they next need your products or services.

Keep in mind that different types of businesses will do better with different platforms. Instagram and Pinterest, for instance, are best paired with image-friendly companies, like restaurants or salons. LinkedIn is best for those marketing to other professionals and Facebook has, by far, the largest user base, so is great for businesses that will appeal to a wide range of people. Then, Twitter is great for broadcasting valuable snippets of information to a large audience.

If you need help staying on top of your social media posts, consider investing in a bulk scheduling tool. This will allow you to create your content in advance so you don’t have to worry about it every day.

Guest post for high-quality websites in your field #

Guest posting is the process of creating content or blog articles for a website other than your own. This is a great tactic for channeling more relevant people into your sales funnel! 

If you have some websites in mind that you would like to write for, look into whether they have any posting rules or submission guidelines that you can follow to ensure they’ll accept your content. 

If you don’t have any specific platforms in mind, you could also consider reaching out to your network to see whether anyone is interested in collaborating with you. 

Once you’ve found a guest posting opportunity, you’ll want to choose a topic that’s relevant to your business and the site you’re writing for. The post you put together should be genuinely helpful and of a very high quality. You can also use this as a chance to talk about your products or services, but don’t push a hard sell — the focus should be on providing value so people want to visit your website of their own accord. This will earn their trust and ultimately lead to more sales. 

Offer referral incentives for your existing customers #

You can help turn your existing customers into brand ambassadors (and thus generate more leads and sales) by providing referral incentives. This means that, when someone recommends your services to a friend or colleague and this leads to a sale, the referrer will receive something in return. You could offer discounts, affiliate bonuses, cash, and more. 

Let’s take a look at a business that implements a referral incentive strategy well for inspiration.

Lifewit, a retailer of pillows, hampers, doormats, and more aims to make life more comfortable. And they regularly partner with influencers to boost their sales. 

For instance, they recently offered Hammy and Olivia, a pair of comedic corgi influencers, a referral incentive on their Instagram page. In the image above, you can see that Hammy and Olivia are promoting one of the company’s products with a specialized referral code. It is likely that the pair of corgis (or rather, their owner) get a kickback for promoting Lifewit’s services, and will receive commission every time someone makes a purchase with their code.

Consider reaching out to your followers or customers that have a large audience base. If you can offer them a referral incentive for promoting your products, you can help channel more people into your sales funnel. And, because you’ll only pay out when someone actually makes a purchase, it’s a very cost-effective strategy. 

Cold email those who are likely to be interested in what you offer#

Cold emailing people can still be a very effective way to channel more people into your sales funnel! In order to do this correctly, you want to cold email people that you think would be very interested in your services. 

Try to personalize your cold emails by selecting products that you think they would be interested in. You should also aim to always include the recipient’s name to show that you aren’t just sending them a random spam email. 

There are a lot of different ways you can harvest email addresses for cold emailing. LinkedIn searches, newsletter subscriptions, competitor information, and the like can all get you the data you need to start a cold email campaign. If you think you’ve found the email address of someone who would be interested in your products, write it down and get in touch!

Summary#

There are a lot of ways that you can channel more people into your sales funnel without breaking the bank. In this article, we outlined how cold email campaigns, content marketing, and more can get you more conversions in a cost-effective manner.

Take these tips on board and it won’t be long before you’re seeing some great results. 

Adam Steele is COO and co-founder of Loganix, which is an SEO fulfillment partner for digital marketing agencies and professionals. The company provides the SEO services that businesses need to grow and achieve their goals. If you enjoyed this article, you can find more SEO guides and templates on the Loganix blog.**