As a marketing coach, copywriter, and Certified Master Marketer, I live and breathe funnels every day.
I have looked at thousands of lead funnels since I started my business in 2020 and I’ve found that most coaches are making at least one, but often all three, of these mistakes when they create their first lead magnet funnels.
But first, what is a funnel?
A sales funnel is a marketing term used to describe the pathway that we lead our customers down to take them from not knowing us at all to buying something from us.
For instance; we put a post out on Instagram promoting our free lead magnet, and someone that doesn’t know us yet sees the post and clicks on it. They get added to our email list and we begin to send them a series of emails to connect with them increasing our know, like, and trust factor. At the end of the series of emails, we offer them the opportunity to buy something from us and they do.
That is an example of a very simple sales funnel, also called a lead magnet funnel.
As your business grows you might add more sales funnels to continue to move people through your offer ladder (sometimes called a value ladder).
So leading on from that, what is a lead generation funnel?
A lead funnel is a funnel that coaches typically use to grow their email list.
Back before there were millions of people online all trying to get your attention we used to just be able to ask people if they wanted to join our email list and if they wanted to hear from you they would.
Once the internet started getting a little more saturated that strategy stopped working so well. So people started to offer free gifts in exchange for email addresses instead. That is what we call a lead magnet – a free gift we offer to someone in exchange for their email address.
The lead funnel is the pathway that we lead people down to get them onto our email list.
It normally looks something like this:
Step 1: Promote your lead magnet using a social media post, a paid ad, your Instagram bio, or wherever you want to link, and talk about your free gift.
Step 2: Send them to a web page (called an opt-in page) that tells them what the free gift is and has a form for them to submit their email address in exchange for your free gift.
Here’s an example of what my opt-in page looks like for one of my lead magnet’s, the Sales Page Framework:
Step 3: After they submit the form they will be redirected to a second page (called a confirmation or a thank you page) where you can give them some more information about yourself or try and get them to take an action. Sometimes people will use this opportunity to send them to a sales page but then the funnel would normally called a tripwire funnel or an upsell funnel.
Here’s an example of what my confirmation page looks like for the Sales Page Framework:
Step 4: Deliver the lead magnet via email immediately and then send a series of follow-up emails over 5 – 7 days with information about yourself, your business, and your offers.
What is the purpose of a coaching lead funnel?
I’m a huge fan of funnels so I’m going to list out a few reasons why you should use a lead magnet funnel for your coaching business.
- It’s an automated way to build the know, like, and trust factor with someone who’s new to your world
The great thing about this whole system is that it’s completely automated. Someone signs up to your email list and a series of emails will be dripped out to them over the course of 5-7 days. In these emails, you will explain to them who you are, why you’re great at what you do, and why they should work with you.
If your emails do their job you’ll possibly sell something (which is the ultimate goal) but even if you don’t immediately you will have taken one step closer to building a relationship with your new email subscriber. Which will increase the likelihood of them buying something from you down the line.
2. It’s a great way to build your email list
Your email list is still the best way for you to grow your business and sell your coaching offers in 2022. I’ve listed the reasons why email lists still outperform social media in terms of conversions and return on investment here if you want to read more about that.
So here’s what you shouldn’t do when creating your first lead funnel in 2022
1. Use language your audience doesn’t resonate with
It’s so easy to forget that the words we use in a particular industry are not necessarily the words that everyday people would use to describe a problem.
Let’s say for instance you’re a coach, and you are trying to help people move past limiting beliefs. The term “Limiting Beliefs” is actually an example of industry jargon.
Now I know that the term itself has become pretty mainstream. So much so that most people will know what you’re talking about if you use it. But it doesn’t create the same emotional connection as using your ideal client’s exact words.
I always like to think about this when I try to write my own copy: If you were sitting talking to your friend on a Friday night over a glass of wine and you wanted to help her solve this problem, how would say it?
2. Not checking the mobile version of your landing pages
According to a 2019 survey, 53% of internet traffic comes from mobile phones. That’s pretty old data, unfortunately. If I look at the stats on my website it’s more like 75%!
If you’re sharing your lead magnets organically on Facebook and Instagram that percentage is going to be way higher.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your landing pages look just as good, if not better, on mobile as they do on a desktop computer.
3. Have distractions on your landing page
Having social media links or menus on your landing pages is going to decrease your conversion rate, full stop.
I know that it’s tempting to include a social link because we’re absolutely programmed to market ourselves EVERYWHERE, but this is the one place you don’t want to have any distractions.
People are easily distracted these days so why add a way for people to click off the page before they sign up for your lead magnet?
You only want there to be one thing for them to do on that page, and that’s give you their name and email address.
If you can’t miss the opportunity to get them to follow you on Instagram then save those for the confirmation page they hit AFTER they opt-in for your lead magnet. Also, don’t forget you can include these things in the series of emails you are going to send them once they’ve signed up for your lead magnet and are on your email list.
So there you have the top 3 mistakes in lead magnet funnel for coaches 2022. The good news is these are all easily rectified and completely avoidable.
