The Best Way to Build a Content Marketing Funnel

It's no secret that content marketing is the future of business. If you want to make it big online, you need to build a content marketing funnel. But what exactly is a content marketing funnel?

It's basically a series of steps that lead your audience from one point to another. You start by attracting them with valuable blog posts, then nurture their interest through email newsletters and social media posts—and eventually convert them into customers or leads who are ready to buy something from you.

Building your own content marketing funnel is all about putting the pieces in place and working toward the bigger picture.

One of the most important pieces of any marketing strategy is your funnel. A funnel is a series of steps that help you convert prospects into customers, and it’s something you should put a lot of thought into before you get started.

Start by planning ahead and doing your research. You want to make sure that you are putting yourself in a position where people can easily find out more about what it is that you do, who you are as an individual or company, and—most importantly—why they should choose to do business with you. This will help them understand how what they offer fits into their lives or businesses better than anyone else out there does at this point in time (and if not now, potentially later).

You also need to build up some sort of audience base so that when new people come along looking for information about what type service/product/etc., they'll be able to connect with others who may have similar interests or needs as well! This ensures maximum engagement while also building trust between both parties involved.

Build a lead-generation funnel.

A lead-generation funnel is a strategic content marketing process designed to capture potential customers and nurture them through the sales funnel. Lead generation funnels are made up of multiple touchpoints, which can be thought of as stages or steps in the buyer's journey to purchase.

These funnels can be segmented by buyer personas and workflows, so you can tailor your messaging accordingly. A lead-generation lifecycle outlines the different stages that a prospect goes through from first contact with your brand through conversion into a loyal customer.

The different phases of your funnel a prospect goes through.

We're going to talk about the marketing funnel, which is a model for understanding how customers interact with your brand.

The marketing funnel has five phases: awareness, evaluation, conversion, delight, and referral.

Awareness is when you're educating your audience on the value of your product or service. This phase is all about creating content that educates customers about the problem you solve and why they should care about it (and you). It's also about building trust so that customers want to learn more about your product or service.

Evaluation is when customers determine whether they need your product or service in their lives at this time. They ask themselves questions like "How much does this cost?" "Do I have time to use it?" "Do I have other solutions already?" And they answer them honestly!

Conversion is when potential customers decide whether your solution is right for them right now. They compare your offering with other options (your competitors), consider their budgets and needs, and decide whether they want yours enough to purchase it—or not.

Delight happens when customers use your product or service and love it! It's important because if they don't enjoy using it, those same customers will likely tell their friends. If they do enjoy it and continue to engage with your brand, this is where phase 5 comes to play-the referral phase.

When designing your content marketing funnel, remember to:

Build a blog to share your story.

Your blog is the centerpiece of your content marketing funnel. It’s where you can share your story and connect with readers in a way that other types of content simply can’t.

Your blog should be set up with one goal in mind: to build trust and authority with your audience so they know they can trust you when it comes time for them to buy from you.

The best way to do this is by being consistent and publishing valuable content on a regular basis (at least once per week). Here are some key things I recommend doing for each post:

• Make sure it adds value for readers by solving their problems or helping them achieve their goals — not just promoting something you’re selling (even if the product or service is part of the solution)

• Use writing tools like Grammarly to make sure everything looks professional before you publish

• Include images (and video if possible) because they make things more interesting, easier to read and understand — plus people love visuals!

Build valuable content.

When we think of content marketing, we usually think of a "funnel" that leads readers from an unbranded landing page through to a conversion. There's a lot more to it than that, though—and the most important part isn't what happens at the end, but what happens in between. In fact, it's not even about conversions!

The best way to build a content marketing funnel is to focus on building value with your audience at each stage of their journey and creating something that excites them enough so they'll keep coming back for more. When all those elements are working together seamlessly, there's no stopping you!

Build an email list.

Email is the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal, and it's one of the most effective ways to communicate with your audience. It's also a great way to build relationships, trust, and community.

• Email is the number-one communication channel out there—and for good reason! If you're not using email as part of your marketing funnel, now would be an excellent time to start.

• I'm going to assume that at least some of you are familiar with what an email list is (if not ... well ... go read this article first). For those who do know what an email list is: congratulations! You're ready for the next step. For everyone else, here's a quick primer on email lists: They're groups of people who have opted into receiving communications from you via email (or any other form of digital communication).

Conclusion

Content marketing is a long game, and it takes time to build up an audience. You can’t expect immediate results, but if you keep putting out new content and improving on what you already have (and do it consistently), you’ll see the results eventually. The key point here is not just to give up if it doesn’t work right away—keep going until your efforts bear fruit!

If you'd like to learn how to create a successful content marketing funnel for your business, check out the deets on our content marketing class!