How to Write a Sales Funnel Email Sequence That Converts

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Have you ever been on a website and exchanged your email address for a 10% coupon code? 

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Did you notice that you then started getting emails from that site? And not just one email, but one email every day for a month? 

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When this happens, you have officially entered the sales funnel email sequence. 

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One of the most important aspects of running a successful business is keeping your customers engaged. That's where an email sales funnel comes in.

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The sales funnel is a process that leads your customers to make a purchase by following a sequence of steps. 

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To create an effective sales funnel, you need to know how to craft emails that will get your customers to take action. To do that, you need to know how to connect with them by understanding who they are and what they want.

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In this post, you’ll learn how to create your own sales funnel email sequence and get your customers to start taking action.

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What is a sales funnel email sequence??

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A sales funnel email sequence is a series of emails your potential customers receive after they opt-in on your website. 

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This funnel aims to move these potential customers through the sales process and convert them into paying customers.

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There are several interchangeable terms used to refer to the sequence of emails sent in a campaign. They include:

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• Email funnel
• Marketing funnel
• Sales funnel

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How to establish an email list

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Now that you know what an email marketing funnel is, it's time to start applying your knowledge to get results. 

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An email funnel needs traffic to work. With a little bit of time and effort, two main strategies can drive traffic to your funnel.

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Newsletter opt-in forms

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The most straightforward approach to establishing an email list is to create an email newsletter sign-up form on your website. 

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Visitors can join your list of subscribers and receive updates about:

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• New products or sales
• Event invitations
• Blog post notifications
• Anything relevant to them

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Take a look at the example below from Home & Jet. 

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They added a newsletter sign-up form to the blog's sidebar. This ensures each post automatically includes a CTA to help grow their email list.

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Lead magnets

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Another great way to build an email list is by offering something of value in exchange for your potential customer’s email address. This is called a lead magnet.It's a smart strategy for building trust and authority with your readers while getting them excited about your offer.

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In the example above, uSERP uses a pop-up lead magnet. 

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If a visitor provides their email address, they gain free access to an SEO For Startups guide. That is a valuable offer that is hard to pass up. 

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Don't forget to promote your lead magnet on:

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• Social media channels
• Guest posts
• Other websites where people can find it 

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The more places you promote this freebie, the more traffic will come through your funnel. Then you can sit back, relax, and watch your email list grow. 

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How to write a sales funnel email sequence

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Once you have a sizable email list, it’s time to start writing your sales funnel email sequence. 

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Writing an email sequence is challenging because you want to stand out from the crowd and leverage email copy that engages and converts. 

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You can always check out some B2B examples from SaaS companies for inspiration. 

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While the process may seem daunting, don't fret! You only need three emails to convert leads into sales. 

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1. Value

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Your first email shouldn’t go directly for the sale. After all, your leads just joined the top of the funnel by opting into your newsletter or downloading your lead magnet offer. 

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Be aware of your target audience and how you want to engage with them. 

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Your email sequence should be conversational and draw the reader's attention. The last thing these leads want is to receive sales pitches immediately.

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Give your readers value right away. Offer them recent blog posts or a short burst of information they can use immediately. This will help gain their trust. 

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If they want what you have to offer, they'll be more likely to purchase from you later on in the sales funnel.

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Remember, you want to provide enough value in each email that it convinces the reader to click through to the next one. 

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Then, once they've clicked through two or three times, let them know about your fantastic product.

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KOA's emails are a perfect example of utilizing a variety of content to add value for the consumer. The email provides a quick fact to inform subscribers that there are three KOA campsites in Alaska. 

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The screenshot above is a shortened version of the original email. The full-length version also includes valuable resources for planning an Alaskan itinerary and a blog post about campsite cooking hacks. 

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KOA hits the nail on the head by providing helpful information to their new subscribers without any pushy sales lingo. 

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2. Authority

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We all know what it's like to be an outsider. For example, maybe you’ve been the new kid at school or the new person at work. 

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You want to make friends, but you don't know what to say. Or maybe you do, but you're not sure how to say it without sounding pretentious.

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The same goes for your email subscribers. They may be getting emails from you for the first time or just getting to know you better. You want them to trust you, but they need a reason to. 

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That's where social proof comes in.

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Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that states we're more likely to trust a decision if others have made it. It lowers the perceived risk of a choice because we have a better idea of what to expect.

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For the second email in your sales funnel email sequence, provide social proof to help establish authority. 

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Fi leverages testimonials in the email campaign above to display their social proof by showing genuine customer feedback for their smart dog collar. 

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Testimonials are worth their weight in gold. This is because they're the best way to convince a prospective customer that your product is:

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• Effective
• Practical
• Just plain awesome  

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3. Call to action

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In the first email of the sales funnel sequence, you provided value to your subscribers to build trust. In the second email, you established authority in the market by leveraging social proof. 

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Now, it’s finally time to sell. 

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Email number three should drive it home. It’s time for the subscriber to take action. 

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Plain and simple, you must include a powerful call-to-action button in this email. 

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Make it clear and easy to execute. You don't want to lose out on a lead this far down in the email sequence.

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Worried that your CTAs aren't strong enough to convert? 

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Don't worry! CopyAI can help you create a powerful CTA in under 30 seconds.

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With the right CTA, you’ll see the sales come pouring in. 

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Final thoughts

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A sales funnel email sequence sounds daunting. However, you don't need dozens of flashy emails. It all comes down to three things: 

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• Value
• Authority
• A powerful call to action 

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The goal of your email sequence is to create engagement with your subscribers and drive them to take action. You want your subscribers to be interested in your offer so they can become paying customers.

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Remember, don’t just bring people to the top of your funnel. 

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Keep them engaged until they are ready to buy.

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More reading:

4 Ways To Use Generative AI for Email Marketing

9 Generative AI Prompts for Email Marketers

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