​Read in browser​

A lot of marketing jargon really irks me, but there's one word in particular that seems to be back on the rise lately. And every time I hear this damn word, I have to close my eyes and take a deep, cleansing breath through my nose.

Ready for it?

....

Funnel.

::Shudder::

I've lost count of how many people have said to me, "I need to build an email funnel."

And every time I hear that, I need to bit my tongue back from blurting out, "But whyyyyyyyyy?" 😩

This concept of a funnel - this big, open tube at the top, with lots and lots of people coming in and being pushed down through a narrower opening - assumes a very linear path to someone working with you.

They sign up for a list, you send them an automated series of email, and ca-ching! The sound of money of hitting your bank account.

Sure, there are businesses that seem to do quite well with a particular flavor of this funnel model:

Someone signs up for your lead magnet, gets redirected to a low-priced offer (always some number that ends in 7), maybe there's a countdown timer telling them they have 20 minutes to take advantage of this offer before it goes away forever. If they don't buy, you continue to sell them on that low-cost offer in the email sequence that follows. If they do, you upsell them something pricier.

Maybe you've been on the receiving end of it. Maybe you've tried it yourself. (Hi, it's me, on both counts.)

And that does work...for some business models.

If there's anything I've learned from working with my clients over the last six years, that is not, in fact, how most businesses function.

(Including my own.)

Not to mention, it generally requires a very high volume of people signing up for your list to actually make a living off of it - in which case your business shifts from doing the thing you trained to do to becoming a marketer.

(And as someone who is technically a marketer, that sounds awful.)

But that business model aside, here's what really bugs me about the funnel concept:

So many of us have been sold this lie, and wasted our time and money trying to force ourselves to use email marketing in a way that will likely not work for our businesses.

(Yes, me too.)

And that can leave you feeling deflated, thinking that there's something wrong with you because you send out emails and the clients don't come rolling in like the internet told you they would.

Could it happen? Sure.

But aside from people selling primarily courses and memberships, have many businesses do you know that have found success with this model?

The closest I've personally come is a few clients over the years who sign up for my services guide, book a call within a week or two, and go on to hire me after joining my email list after receiving my welcome sequence and maybe an newsletter or two.

But those are people who were specifically seeking someone with my expertise in Kit, and my email content did the job of affirming that I know my stuff and that my approach aligned with what they're looking for.

I'm pretty sure not a single client of mine has come in cold from a random lead magnet who wasn't already seeking the type of services I offer and was suddenly convinced they needed to hire me within a matter of days.

And generally that's not how email marketing works for my clients' businesses either.

So if you're running a business selling premium services. Heck, even if you're running a membership or selling highly specialized courses, and someone has convinced you to that you need an email funnel....

Please consider that it might not actually be what your business needs.

Take it one step at a time,​
Bev

Bev Feldman (she/her), ​Your Personal Tech Fairy​