How many emails do you ignore every day?

Why are you ignoring them?

Is it because you don't care about what they say?

Why don't you care?

I know I don't care because 9 times out of 10 … the content of the email doesn't pertain to me.

So, it gets ignored.

What if …

What if every email you received pertained to your particular interests, desires, and goals?

Wouldn't you be more inclined to read them … or at least click a link or two to see what they're all about?

I know if I had X problem and someone sent me a solution for dealing with X problem … I'd at least check it out.

Wouldn't you?

And it's proven …

And it's proven … tailored content converts better than non-tailored content.

Just checkout some of the results from MailChimp's most recent study on how segmentation affects opens, clicks, bounces, abuse reports, and unsubscribers:

  • Opens: 14.96% higher than non-segmented campaigns
  • Clicks: 72.37% higher than non-segmented campaigns (huge!)
  • Abuse Reports: 20.39% lower than non-segmented campaigns
  • Unsubscribes: 22.09% lower than non-segmented campaigns

The big number I want to point out here is “Clicks”  because you need people to click-through your emails to land on your sales pages and checkout pages … no one can purchase anything straight from an email … you need clicks.

By sending tailored content to individuals, the click-through-rate almost doubles (72.37% higher) … and that's insane.

Alas, most businesses don't …

Alas, most businesses don't segment their list and they don't send out tailored content.

Why not?

Most small businesses think it's beyond their capabilities to do something like this.

They're seeing massive corporations like Amazon do it … if you even think about a product on Amazon they'll start showing you ads everywhere you go for that same product and of course, they'll start sending you emails about that product.

But, most businesses can …

The good news is that most businesses can setup something that automatically segments their list and sends out tailored content to individual subscribers.

Thanks to advances in email marketing automation this type of system is very possible to setup for most small businesses … as I'm about to explain …

Segment Based On Interests

Earlier we talked about why we're personally ignoring most emails (because they don't pertain to us).

So, if we're ignoring emails because they don't pertain to us, we have to expect our subscribers to ignore our emails if the content doesn't pertain to them, right?

How do we make sure we're sending emails that pertain to the particular subscriber?

My suggestion is to segment based on interests … let the subscriber show you what they're interested in based on the links they're clicking, the pages they're viewing, and the stuff they're buying. Then, tailor emails to fit those interests.

For example:

If a subscriber shows they're interested in X, send them more content about X, and recommend products and services that help with X.

If they're interested in Y, send more content about Y, and recommend products and services that help with Y.

The Interest Driven Sales Funnel

You need to develop a sales funnel that's driven by each subscriber's particular interest(s).

Stop sending the same thing to everyone … it's neither effective nor efficient.

You've seen the results from MailChimp's study – tailored content gets nearly twice as many click-throughs as non-tailored content.

Instead of 100 click-throughs, you'd get 172 click-throughs … insane.

Interest Driven Sales Funnel

Interesting, eh?

Overall Concept (Macro Level)

Think of it like this – an Interest Driven Sales Funnel is your business, it encompasses everything … all of your products, services, offerings, etc.

An Interest Driven Sales Funnel is made up of many small or “micro” sales funnels.

Being made up of many micro sales funnels makes it modular in nature – which makes it easy to add to and remove from.

One of the micro sales funnels is a Straight Line Sales Funnel which we'll call your “Main Series”. The Main Series is your way to maintain a relationship with your leads while gauging interest (more on it later).

The other micro sales funnels are for your individual products, services, and offerings. Some products, especially those that are expensive and/or complicated, are likely to need more explanation than various one-off emails can provide, which is why they need their own sales funnel.

Straight Line Sales Funnel (Main Series)

The Main Series is the “backbone” of your Interest Driven Sales Funnel.

It's responsible for building and maintaining the relationship with your subscribers, while simultaneously gauging interest.

This is accomplished through the sending of 3 E Emails:

  • Entertain: These emails are meant to entertain. Videos, pictures, stories, etc provide great entertainment.
  • Educate: Helpful emails that solve problems, answer questions, and provide guidance. How-to tutorials, white papers, case studies, etc provide great educational material.
  • Earn: These emails drive sales by bringing customers back to your business. Coupons, discounts, bonuses, etc provide extra incentive to shop.

People enter your Main Series when they opt-in for a General Lead Magnet (one that doesn't show intent) or after an individual completes a Product/Service Sales Funnel.

You can learn more about Straight Lines Sales Funnels here.

Product/Service Sales Funnels (Micro Sales Funnels)

Product/Service Sales Funnels are your “money makers”.

Their sole purpose is to sell a product or service that your business offers.

These funnels have the ability to stand on their own (ie. you can send paid traffic to them) and can look very different based upon what you're trying to sell.

For example, they can have 1-100 emails, offer webinars, product launches, 3 video funnels, up-sells, down-sells, cross-sells … basically any “guru” funnel you want to follow can be plugged in here.

The ability to plug & play with these various type of Product/Service Sales Funnels is what makes the Interest Driven Sales Funnel so powerful!

You're not limited in what you can do and people will always come back to your Main Series where the relationship will be maintained, other interests gauged, and other Product/Service Sales Funnels triggered!

For Example …

Product Service Funnel

The above is just a taste of a Product/Service Sales Funnel.

The Start

No matter what “guru” funnel you follow (or you can always do your own thing 😉 ) the start will most likely be based on 1 of 4 things:

  • Click (Interest Shown) – Someone clicks a link in one of your emails showing they're interested in a certain topic, product, service, etc.
  • Specific Lead Magnet – Someone opts in to receive a Lead Magnet for something related to what you want to sell. For example, a mini-guide called “5 ways we decreased Facebook Ad spending by 89%” could lead to a Facebook Ads course.
  • Page View – Similar to the “click” mentioned above; however, in this instance the individual may navigate to a particular page on their own without going through a link provided in an email.
  • Points (CRM) – More “advanced”; however, if you're using a CRM tool you can use points to gauge interest and trigger Product/Service Sales Funnels based on points. For example, if someone looks at your sales page 5 times, you know they're highly interested … they may just need a tad more persuasion … exactly what a Product/Service Sales Funnel will provide.

After The Start (The Funnel Part)

After the Start, you have the “funnel part.” Again, this can look like pretty much anything; however, in the example above we use an Action Series and an Upsell Series.

  • Action Series – This is a series of emails that addresses the subscriber from different angles in order to try and “connect” with them and drive them to take action (make a purchase). For example, one email could be very logical and explain, by-the-numbers, why your deal is great. One email could be a story about someone who found success with your product. One email could be very benefits driven and explain the results one can expect.
  • Upsell Series – This is a series of emails that triggers after an action (purchase) is taken and attempts to move them to the next logical step. For example, they purchase a $7 guide to solve a problem and the upsell is a step-by-step video course that's $97.

The Finish

Just like the Start, the Finish will be the same no matter what the “funnel part” looks like.

If the individual entered into your Product/Service Sales Funnel from your Main Series – they'll re-enter the Main Series and pick up where they left off.

If the individual entered into your Product/Service Sales Funnel via another source, ie. Facebook Ad to a Specific Lead Magnet – they'll start the Main Series from the top.

Let's Piece It Together

This is what an Interest Driven Sales Funnel can, hypothetically, look like: (remember, an Interest Driven Sales Funnel is modular in nature. Interest(s) can be shown at any time which means Product/Service (Micro) Sales Funnels can be triggered at any time!)

Interest Driven Sales Funnels

Simple Explanation

When a new subscriber joins your list, they're “welcomed” to your list and your business via a Welcome Series.

From there, interest(s) is/are gauged based upon general emails that are entertaining, educational, and/or sell (earn) (3 E Emails).

For example, if I run a fitness center and I send out an email with a link to an article titled, “7 steps to lose 7 pounds in 7 days” and a subscriber clicks the link to that article, I can tell they're interested in weight loss.

Or, if I send out an email with a link to video called, “3 biceps exercises that'll add 3 inches to your biceps in 3 weeks” and a subscriber clicks the link to that video, I can tell they're interested in building muscle.

From there, I'll launch my “Action Series” that sends content pertaining to each specific interest and that also sells related products and services to help individuals reach their goals.

For example, if the individual shows they're interested in weight loss, I'll send more helpful content about weight loss in the form of articles and videos, as well as links to sales pages and offers for things like courses, diet books, exercise plans, supplements, etc.

And, I'll do something similar for the person interested in building muscle.

When the individual purchases a product or service from me, I'll recommend complementary products/services or even “bigger” products/services. (Upsell Series)

For example, the individual buys a $7 eBook that contains recipes for healthy meals to lose weight. I then know they're interested in eating healthy and can recommend various meal delivery services to them, for which I'll earn a referral commission.

And it goes on, and on from there …

Gauge interest, send relevant content, recommend relevant products and services, repeat.

Businesses That Need An Interest Driven Sales Funnel

Really, the only “requirement” is that you have the ability to cater to various interests – ie. you have multiple products/services. Of course, these don't need to be your own products/services – you can recommend partner products as an affiliate in order to best serve  your customers.

Digital Businesses

Businesses that sell digital products like courses, resources, guides, ebooks, etc can greatly benefit from implementing an Interest Driven Sales Funnel!

Since everything is performed online, you're able to “watch” everything your subscribers and customers do within your business – making it incredibly easy to gauge interest, setup and implement product/services (micro) sales funnels, and measure/test everything!

An Interest Driven Sales Funnel is what drives Crazy Eye Marketing!

Ecommerce Businesses

Ecommerce businesses can benefit tremendously from implementing an Interest Driven Sales Funnel!

In a similar fashion to the Digital Businesses I mentioned above, ecommerce businesses are able to track how individuals interact with their store, the products people are viewing, the products that are purchased (upsell series!), the words they're searching for, and even if products have been added to a shopping cart … but not purchased! (hint: send a cart abandonment series)

The options and possibilities are seemingly endless when it comes to ecommerce businesses!

Brick & Mortar Businesses

Believe it or not – brick & mortar businesses can also benefit from implementing an Interest Driven Sales Funnel!

Sure, the tracking won't be as precise as it'll be harder to track which part(s) of your sales funnel results in “actual” action – ie. a purchase; however, most everything else will be the same! You are still able to gauge interest based on clicks and pages viewed, you are able to send tailored content, and you still strive to drive action (a shopping trip to your business)!

Don't count yourself out of this goodness, just because you're not based primarily online!

Summary

Sending emails that contain content people care about will always convert better than generic emails.

The best way to figure out what someone cares about is to see what links they click on, pages they view, and products they buy.

From there you're able to send relevant content, products, and services and then rinse and repeat the process.

How To Get Started

I know this post was more high level strategy than actual tactics you can apply today.

But, don't worry! I've got something for ya … the The ActiveCampaign & Interest Driven Sales Funnels Course.