If you read my book about how to bring in more 1:1 clients with a newsletter (out later this year, hopefully!), you'll notice that it doesn't include anything about creating a complex "funnel" to use when someone signs up for your newsletter.
If you don't know what a funnel is in this context - lucky you! - it's a series of automated emails sent out to try to encourage new subscribers to "convert" into customers/buy a specific product. Often, readers can't tell it's a sales sequence until a few messages in, when they realize the emails you've been sending are designed to promote an offer.
I don't find these types of funnels necessary or important for people building a 1:1 practice because:
- People usually need quite a lot of time to get to know you and your work before they're ready to make an appointment. Pushing new subscribers to schedule too quickly can make them feel pressured, which isn't how most of us want to start off a relationship.
- There's a certain "puppet master" feel to pretending that you're getting to know each other with a series of welcome emails when in fact you are guiding the reader down a specific pathway that they can't escape from (short of unsubscribing) with the intent to promote something. Again, this probably isn't how you want to start off building a connection with folks who are new to your work.
Not everyone agrees with me here. There are plenty of experts who use and recommend funnels as part of marketing your business.
What seals the deal for me is thinking about how I feel when I sign up for someone else's list and then get unwittingly added to a funnel. It becomes apparent pretty quickly when this happens.
On one hand, sometimes I do want to know more about what they offer, and I may be interested in buying it. On the other hand, particularly if I don't know in advance that I'll be getting a sequence of sales emails and particularly if they feel manipulative or "salesy," I wind up feeling like a number or a sales prospect rather than a person. It's clear that the main intent of the newsletter-writer is to get me to buy something. If you're selling products, this may not be a bad thing. If you're offering long-term 1:1 work, think carefully about whether it makes sense to jump in like this.
I've found that it's enough to simply show up regularly by sharing things that are helpful in my newsletter and to periodically remind readers what I do and how to work with me. This method really, truly works, and you can skip the complex sales funnel altogether.
Take care,
Camille
p.s. This email was inspired by a podcast episode that one of my teachers, George Kao, re-released this week. You can listen to the episode here.
