So I’m heading of to Austin Texas next week to mastermind with 5 other girlbosses – in fact, I’m probably there at the time this episode goes live. It’s going to be an awesome weekend of planning and goal setting and big dreams and probably big glasses of wine too!
In preparation for this retreat, the six of us met on a Zoom call to talk about our goals and some things that are holding us back from reaching them and a few of the girls mentioned funnels as the thing that they need to pay attention to and figure out in their business.
And I hear this a lot, especially in online entrepreneur/blogger space. I need to set up my sales funnel.
The people that sell funnel software and teach about funnels make some big claims about them, specifically that “the right sales funnel, configured the proper way, can automate your marketing and help you scale your income on autopilot.”
Sounds great, right? Like, you want one of those too, right?
Well, whether you’re aware of it or not, you already have one.
Because a sales funnel isn’t just software, it’s the process your customer goes through to buy something from you.
From knowing that you even exist, to becoming a customer.
And the most successful side hustlers do this very intentionally.
They have a specific plan for every step of the sales process.
The side hustlers that struggle to get customers consistently are the ones that aren’t intentionally guiding their customers to a sale.
I think of it like the different between between shopping at say, Old Navy vs. shopping at TJ Maxx.
I walk into Old Navy and while it seems like I’m roaming free, I’m really not. I walk in, I have to go to the right and walk past the newest items that are all grouped together, and then I’m weaved in and out of these areas of pants and jackets and sweaters and yoga pants grouped by color and all the sizes together, right there, until I end up in the fitting area and then sent out to shoes and accessories and then to the cash register. They planned that whole thing out – my whole journey through the store and subsconsciously helped me buy my outfit by guiding me to the things I needed in order.
Nine times out of ten when I walk into Old Navy, I walk out having bought something.
But when I walk into TJMaxx, I’m immediately overwhelmed. Like, I can tell one side is mens and the other is womens and those are pants and those are shirts but beyond that? It’s just a sea of clothes, I can’t tell what any of it is, and the money I might save is just not worth the hassle of digging through rack after rack after rack…
Nine times out of 10, when I walk into TJMaxx, I walk out with nothing.
Those of you that are bargain hunters right now are like, “What??? You’re crazy.”
But hear me out. It’s not like Old Navy Has a sales funnel and TJMaxx doesn’t – it’s that Old Navy’s sales funnel is intentionally designed for people just like me – someone who needs a lot of hand holding when it comes to making shopping decisions but doesn’t really want anyone holding my hand – and TJMaxx’s sales funnel is designed for the bargain hunter, the person who loves to dig deep into racks of clothing and come up with a $10 calvin klein sweater.
So that’s all a sales funnel is – a process designed around your ideal client to lead them to a purchase.
There’s a pretty common formula for this process – and its AIDA – or Awareness – meaning, knowing that you even exist. With my Old Navy/TJMaxx example, this is as simple as me driving by their big signs, or as complex as a retargeting ad that follows me around the internet because I happened to go to their website one day.
Interest – knowing that you exist plus being interested in what you have to offer. In this example – interest can be created in a lot of ways. Do your clothes match the style that I’m going for? Is there a sale advertised in the window that’s going to entice me to walk in? What’s my experience like as I’m in the store? Am I hassled by salespeople or do I feel really comfortable? And it goes even deeper, like, do I identify with the type of person that wears clothes from Old Navy? If I only wear designer clothes, I don’t care what kinds of sales you have going on, I’m not going to be caught dead in Old Navy, right?
Decision – making a decision whether to purchase or not to take an action. That action could be making a purchase, but it could also be a series of micro-commitments all along the way. Like, get me to try on the clothes I’ve got in my hand. Make the mirror in the dressing room one of those ones that makes me look thinner, and make the lighting good. At that point I’m like, yep, I’m buying this.
Action – is actually doing it. Like completing the transaction. Because just because I’ve made the decision that I’m going to buy something doesn’t mean I will actually follow through. Maybe I start to feel guilty about how much it costs, or I’ve decided that I know I’m buy A jacket, but maybe I need to look around for a better jacket. So what can Old Navy do to make sure I take ACTION after I’d made a decision? Put the cash register right outside the dressing room. Give me double Old Navy cash when I buy the jacket today. Remind me I can return it if I get home and I don’t like it.
This process, this Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action process is happening with your side hustle whether you’re aware of it or not.
So do you want to be TJMaxx, where people come in and are completely overwhelmed and unsure of what to do so they do nothing and walk out, or do you want to be Old Navy where you’re subtly guiding people through the decision you want them to make and giving them all the info they need to confidently make the decision along the way?
Unless your site is designed for bargain hunters – you know, like zulily.com is totally designed for bargain hunters – you don’t want it to be a free-for-all when people find you.
So over the next four pep talks, I’m going to break down each stage of the sales funnel, how much time each stage could take, how to move people between stages and share with you what that strategy could look like for you and what what tools or software you can use to intentionally create a sales funnel for your side hustle.
And today we’re going to start off with Awareness.
And I’m going to be talking about this from the perspective of an online business because well, that’s my expertise. But even if you’re a consultant or a brick and mortar, these strategies can totally apply to you.
So how do we create awareness for our business? Meaning, how do we let people know that it even exists?
There are 8 key tactics I’m about to share with you are in no particular order of ease or importance, just FYI:
#1 – Search Engine Optimization: When people are doing a Google search, the end result of that is awareness, right? They got a page of websites back and are seeing websites that perhaps they’ve never seen before. Now they are aware you exist. So making sure that you’re creating searchable content on the topics that your customer is looking to be made aware of is crucial. And when I say searchable content, I mean blog posts on specific topics related to what your customer is searching for. You know where else people are actively searching for awareness? Pinterest and YouTube. Yep, those are search engines. So creating searchable content for Pinterest and YouTube also falls into Search Engine Optimization.
#2 – Social Media: Unlike doing a Google search, scrolling a social media feed is a pretty passive activity. You’re not really searching for anything, it’s like watching TV. Whatever comes by comes by and every so often something piques your interest. So with social media first you have to get people to actually follow your feed – become aware of your profile, and then you need them to see your posts to become aware of what is it you actually do. There are tons of ways to do this, from following your ideal customer to using hashtags to running paid ads to generate awareness for your profiles, to tagging influencers in your posts.
#3 Guest Posting: Creating content for other people’s websites who serve your same audience is a great way to generate awareness for your business.
#4 Interviews – this is both interviewing other people and pitching yourself for interviews – for articles, for podcasts, for live broadcasts. The opportunities are endless.
#5 Paid Advertising – Running ads on social media that target your ideal client. Running Google ads to get one of those top spots on the pages or dynamic ads on others’ websites. Even paying for ads on niche blogs that serve your audience. A note about paid advertising – unless you have the rest of the sales funnel really dialed in, I wouldn’t invest money here because if you don’t do anything with the awareness you get, then you’re just wasting money.
#6 – Affiliates – more and more companies have affiliate programs where they pay people a commission to sell their product for them. I generate awareness for Bluehost because I get a commission from them for everyone that buys through my link. Anyone can create an affiliate program – it’s not just for big companies.
#7 – Podcasting – also a way to generate awareness to people that listen to podcasts and are searching for new podcasts to listen to.
#8 – Alexa Flash Briefings – how some of you listen to Pep Talks for Side Hustlers – for the bajillion people that own an Alexa or other voice-activated device.
So even though Awareness is the first stage of the funnel for your buyer, it’s actually the LAST thing you focus on as a business owner, and it’s the place that you spend MOST of your time.
And tomorrow we’re going to go deep into what it takes to turn awareness into Interest.
Today’s pep talk is brought to you by Bluehost. Go to www.shannonmattern.com/bluehost and get 36 months of web hosting for just $2.95 a month. That’s less than one trip to Starbucks a month – and if you’re anything like me, you’re at Starbucks more than that!
Then you can sign up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge at www.shannonmattern.com/5day and I’ll show you step by step how to get started building your new website for your side hustle.
