Episode 40. Non-sleazy Sales Funnels

EPISODE 40: In this episode of the Creative Spark podcast, we look at ways creative business owners can build and launch a non-sleazy sales funnel.

If you’re avoiding building your first sales funnel because you think it’s sleazy, guess what? Any other sales process will feel just as uncomfortable, if not more so.

Most creatives post beautiful work on Instagram or Pinterest in the hope that clients will approach them. In some cases, this passive method works, especially if you have high profile work or an agent to sell for you, but most creatives need to talk to customers directly and persuade them to buy, one by one. Avoiding any “pushy” sales process signifies that you’re not confident in what you have to offer.

"As marketing converges with customer service and sales, marketing today is more about helping and less about hyping"—Joel Book

I used to think sales funnels were the domain of the "bro-marketer", and so I resisted using them in my business for years, but I could also see the results people around me were getting from them.

It was only after launching multiple times to my social media and running out of energy before I hit my sales targets that I conceded there had to be a better way, and I decided to build one. I made sure that I avoided any "bro-marketing" techniques.

I didn't want my sales funnel to be "icky" or "sleazy", so I designed every page, every email, and every piece of content to be in complete alignment with the rest of my brand. It felt like a natural process and that there was creative energy throughout, not sleazy marketing tactics and sales language.

I genuinely believe in the value of my products, which came through in my sales and marketing, to the point where I felt like I could be quite creative when building my funnels. They worked, and I'm hooked, and now I'm on a mission to share the sales funnel process with as many creative entrepreneurs as possible. I know it all sounds overwhelming, but don't worry; I've got you covered with a free downloadable funnel launch checklist to get started.

You might be avoiding building your first sales funnels because they sound complicated or confusing. Suppose you have an all-in-one online solution, such as Kajabi; it gets infinitely more manageable. Still, even if you use a combination of WordPress or Squarespace and MailChimp, it becomes so much easier to rinse and repeat once you have set up your first funnel. Avoiding setting up your first sales funnel because of the tech overwhelm is simply a creative block to avoid selling. Instead, decide you’re going to build one and push through the tech.

Following these simple steps will help you get started on building your first non-sleazy sales funnel.

STEP ONE: Create a lead magnet

A lead magnet, or freebie, is the first hurdle that trips up many creatives. Sleazy marketers call them opt-in bribes. Try reframing the idea as a valuable giveaway. Think of something useful you can create and give away to your fans.

STEP TWO: Create an opt-in page

The opt-in page is where you capture email addresses in exchange for your fantastic giveaway. Again, these types of pages are super simple to set up in Squarespace or MailChimp. Create a gorgeous simple landing page that matches your website branding and let your followers know how awesome your giveaway is. Get them excited to download it and start using it.

STEP THREE: Set up your email sequence

Once your followers download your awesome freebie, you should email them a few times to see how they are going with it and need any help. There's no need to be sleazy or salesy in these emails. Just be yourself. Imagine you gave a friend something, and you're just checking in to see how they're getting on with it. These automated emails can be set up in any email service provider, such as MailChimp or Convertkit.

STEP FOUR: Create an offer

This is the exciting part—creating a digital product and making it available for sale. You might create Canva templates, a font, or Procreate brushes, anything creative you can make and that someone else would find valuable enough to buy. Keep the cost between $7 and $47, so that's it's super affordable and make it related to your freebie.

STEP FIVE: Create a thank you page

Once you have an opt-in page, a freebie, and a digital product, you can make a page that thanks them for downloading the freebie and offers them your low-cost digital product. Of course, not everyone will buy it, most people are just happy to get the freebie, but you only need 20% of visitors to buy it for a funnel to be profitable. This is typically where marketers make the process feel sleazy; they call this page a tripwire page. But you are not tricking people into buying anything; you are letting them know you've made something cool that they might find helpful.

STEP SIX: Set up your onboarding sequence

Once people buy your offer from the thank you page, they need to be sent another automated email sequence. This time tell them how to download the product and offer instruction on getting the most out of it. Again, this shouldn't be sleazy; be super helpful. How annoyed would you be if you bought something and there weren't any emails or instructions?

STEP SEVEN: Develop your content strategy

So that's it for the funnel. Now you need to get people downloading your freebie and experiencing value from the creative content you have to offer. This is where a content marketing strategy comes in. But, again, it doesn't need to be sleazy—your focus is on creating valuable content that attracts people to learn more about a topic, exactly like what you're reading right now.

STEP EIGHT: Create your content

Once you've designed your content marketing strategy around your freebie and offer, it's time to create it. Unless you pay for traffic to fill your funnel, you need to start showing up regularly on your blog and social media. To fill your funnel with genuine people who are super excited to consume your content, you need to show up regularly and encourage them to download your freebie often.

STEP NINE: Test and launch your funnel

Now that you have an awesome freebie to giveaway, a super valuable offer, a sequence of web pages and email sequences, as well as content ready to publish, it's time to launch your funnel. The great news is, now that your funnel is built, you get to experiment with all the fun and creative ways to share your ideas and get people interested in what you have to offer. Then, once your funnel is converting and 20% of visitors buy your offer, start building your next funnel.

So that's it for the steps. Imagine how great it would feel to push through your fear of selling and set up your first automated, non-sleazy sales funnel? You can finally focus on creating fantastic content that attracts people into the funnel and let all your hard work automate the (previously icky) sales process. Once your funnel is set up and converting correctly, you will be excited to start building the next one!

Are you ready to build your first non-sleazy sales funnel?

Download my free funnel launch checklist and start planning your launch today

Say Hi on Instagram and Follow on Spotify or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.