Ever wondered whether to turn your valuable content into a blog post or a lead magnet? Today, we unravel this marketing conundrum by using Alicia S.'s question as a springboard to delve into the strategic depths of marketing funnels. We'll dissect how to effectively use free content to attract a wider audience and transform exclusive resources into potent lead magnets that convert casual visitors into loyal clients. Expect practical tips that will help you nurture your audience and create a seamless journey from first encounter to customer conversion.
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Ask Me Anything: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1R0DmOLEQ8xjWf98Xcf7K9YBhhaXRiIkuoOTqirVHlRk/prefill
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Let's Work Together:
The Focused Photographer Lab (marketing membership): www.girlmeansbusiness.com/lab
Ever wondered whether to turn your valuable content into a blog post or a lead magnet? Today, we unravel this marketing conundrum by using Alicia S.'s question as a springboard to delve into the strategic depths of marketing funnels. We'll dissect how to effectively use free content to attract a wider audience and transform exclusive resources into potent lead magnets that convert casual visitors into loyal clients. Expect practical tips that will help you nurture your audience and create a seamless journey from first encounter to customer conversion.
_______________________________________
Ask Me Anything: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1R0DmOLEQ8xjWf98Xcf7K9YBhhaXRiIkuoOTqirVHlRk/prefill
_______________________________________
Let's Work Together:
The Focused Photographer Lab (marketing membership): www.girlmeansbusiness.com/lab
Know Your Niche Workbook- https://spring-feather-348.myflodesk.com/
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Instagram: www.instagram.com/girlmeansbusiness
Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlmeansbusiness
Speaker 1:
Hey there and welcome to the Girl Means Business podcast, the show where we're all about helping you feel confident both as a mom and a business owner. I'm your host, kendra Swalls, mom of two, former teacher and full-time photographer and business coach. Each week we'll discuss the challenges, success and secrets that make you say I can do this, because you absolutely can. So pop in those earbuds, grab your favorite snack and let's dive in, because this girl means business. Hey there and welcome back to the Girl Means Business podcast. I hope you are having a wonderful week and a wonderful, wonderful summer. We are past the halfway mark for summer vacation, summer break. If your schools or anything like the ones we have here, our kids go back in like two or three weeks, it's gone by so fast. It's crazy how fast the summers are going by. But it's also one of those moments where it's like I love having my kids home for the summer. I love all the fun things we get to go do going to the water park and family vacations and summer fun camps for the kids but at the same time, trying to get things done when my kids are home all day just reminds me of how much I value and appreciate my daytimes during the school year when they are in school, but we are having a really really fun summer. I hope you are as well.
Speaker 1:
Okay, this week's episode is another listener question episode. I have said this every single time and I know you're probably like eye-rolling at me when I say it, but I truly mean it. I love these questions and these episodes so, so much. I really, really would love for you to send in your questions so that I can do more of these episodes. I feel like it allows us to personalize the podcast a little bit, and I know that if you have a question for your business, somebody else out there has the same or a very similar question. So by submitting your questions, not only are you helping yourself by getting the question answered, but you are also helping others who are listening who have a very similar problem or question or thought about their own business. So it is a very selfless act when you think of it that way. You're helping me create episodes. You're helping yourself, but you're also helping hundreds or maybe even thousands of other people who are listening who might have the exact same question.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so let's get to this week's question. It is a really, really good one, and it's one I really hadn't thought about until she sent me this question. So this comes from Alicia S and she says my question for you how do you decide whether to create a resource as a public blog post versus creating a resource as a lead magnet for email opt-ins? I often create resources, guides and helpful how-tos as my blog posts and then share it with my email list subscribers. I do often share the posts on social media and Pinterest pins as well, but I'm not usually requiring an email opt-in to get it For reference. My email list is primarily locals. As I'm a photographer trying to serve local clients, is there any specific rule of thumb that helps you decide how exclusive you want the resources to be?
Speaker 1:
Okay, this is a really interesting topic. I have, again, like I said, never really given a whole lot of thought to like when do I create a lead magnet versus a blog post, versus like a free, versus kind of a I wouldn't say paywall, because you're not asking them to pay for the resources when they opt in, but kind of behind this paywall, if you will. And so I really kind of thought about it and I was like okay, there are two ways of looking at this if you're looking at it from a funnel perspective. So a funnel perspective means that you are looking at, let's say, there's three phases. So the top of the funnel is the widest and that is where you're trying to, like, draw people in with kind of this more generic or broad or precursor to when they actually need to be working with you. And I'm going to get into all the specifics of this in just a minute. I'm just going to giving you a visual of what I'm walking through.
Speaker 1:
So top funnel phase one is like the broad, bigger section. Then you narrow it down a little bit more and this is where you build that know, like and trust. This is where you build connection. This is where you build relationships. That ultimately and you nurture those relationships that ultimately leads to the third piece of the funnel, the smallest, which is where they become a paying client. And so, when it comes to your lead magnet versus your free content, those are going to be one of the top two pieces of the funnel. Now there's two ways of looking at this and where they go in the funnel. So I want to give you both examples and ultimately it kind of comes down to who your audience is and how you're serving them, and so I'm going to give you several examples throughout this episode and, alicia, hopefully you're listening to this that the one I want you to focus on is going to be the first one I share, which is specific to kind of photography and like service based um, I don't want to say service, but like, maybe, local based businesses. Okay, so the first one and I'm going to use Alicia's kind of photography business here the family photographer business.
Speaker 1:
So if you are someone who is trying to attract people in and then nurture them and then sell to them, you could have your lead magnet be the top of the funnel. So your lead magnet is I'm drawing them in with this free thing and then I'm going to nurture them with more free content. So I'm going to draw them in with. The lead magnet is I'm drawing them in with this free thing and then I'm going to nurture them with more free content. So I'm going to draw them in with the lead magnet. They're going to get on my email list. I'm going to send them links to blog posts, to social posts. I'm going to communicate with them through email. I'm going to build that know, like and trust and then move them into being a paying client.
Speaker 1:
So the way that this works best is for you to go okay, what is something that, as a family photographer, my clients are looking for before they ever decide that they need to hire a photographer? This is really easy to do with, like brides, because you're like, okay, there's a very specific time frame of like they're either engaged to get about to get engaged or planning a wedding. So you want to attract them right before that so you could have a lead magnet that is like date night ideas or five fun ways to announce your engagement. Or you want to give them something for free to get them on your email list that hits them where they are, before they're ready to look for a wedding photographer. Same thing with, like maternity newborns you don't want to start a free lead magnet or free content that is appealing to them after the baby's already here or after they're already super close to having the baby. You want to catch them really early on.
Speaker 1:
So for the family photographer, it might be something like a fun like around town guide. Or if you know that your ideal clients are more of like the homeschool moms, then maybe you create some kind of free guide like that, or maybe it's iPhone photography tips. It's going to be something that just draws them in as a parent, as a mom, as a family member, because ultimately, what you want to do is you want to draw them out on this thing that you know they're going to be interested in, and then you want to nurture them, because in your question you did mention that you typically will send out the blog post to your email list. So one I love that you're already using your email list. I think that's awesome. You know how much I love email marketing, so kudos to you for doing that.
Speaker 1:
So let's get really specific here. Let's say, you create your free guide and it is how to take better photos of your kids with just your iPhone. That is your free guide. It is a PDF or maybe it's a quick little video training and something easy, but they are walking away with a win, because it is something moms want to know how to do. How do I take better photos of my kids? Because we can't have a photographer following us around 24, seven, and there's all these great moments I want to capture. How do I do that best on my iPhone with what the resources I have? So you're giving them something they already need. It is closely related to photography. Obviously, if they are interested in learning about how to take better photos of their own kids on a daily basis, they're probably going to be interested in actually hiring a photographer at some point to get photos of all of them together. So that could be your lead magnet.
Speaker 1:
That is your top of funnel. That is your like phase one broad piece, and so that is where you are going to draw people in. You're going to share about it on your social media. You might run ads to it, you can post it in mom's groups. You can do all the things to get people in.
Speaker 1:
Then your phase two of your funnel is where you're nurturing those people. So, once they've come into your like sphere of existence, they know who you are. You've introduced yourself to them. They're getting your emails. You've introduced yourself to them. They're getting your emails. You are sending them to your blog post. That is where you're going to add in all that free value, because you brought them in and now you're going to nurture them. Now you're going to say I'm going to show you all the ways that I can help provide value to you as a mom, as you know. Uh, whatever you know as your photographer, potential photographer, how can I share tips, ideas, guides, resources, all the things? And then hopefully it moves them into becoming a paying client.
Speaker 1:
So in that sense, you're starting with your freebie. You're then directing them to all of the other free content. It's almost like they they don't have to get on your email list to get the free content. Someone could almost like they don't have to get on your email list to get the free content. Someone could just stumble across it on your website, on your blog. But in your perfect world they're coming onto your email list first, then you're providing them all the free content to build that trust and that authority, and then you're moving them in even further to paying client. Now the other option is you can flip those first two phases of your funnel so you can make the phase one be all your free content and then you get them onto your email list and that is where you move them into like you're more selling to them, and then you move them into paying client. This works if your primary source of like, like your top of funnel, is something you offer for free. That is something you're willing to kind of promote on a regular basis.
Speaker 1:
So I'll give you the example of this podcast. So for me, my top of funnel is this podcast. It is a free resource that is easily accessible to a large group of people, that is easy for people to find. It is a free resource that is easily accessible to a large group of people, that is easy for people to find, it's easy for me to promote and talk about and it gets people in and builds that know, like and trust. And then I get them onto my email list where I really go even deeper and those emails are kind of more of like my VIP people and then moving them into purchasing with me, working with me, joining one of my memberships, one of those things. So for me it's kind of flipped and the way that I made that decision was that I have a ton of things I like to talk about. I have lots of things that I'm focusing on, whether it's email marketing, social media talk about. I have lots of things that I'm focusing on, whether it's email marketing, social media, networking, creating courses, podcasts. There's so many different topics I can talk about that.
Speaker 1:
In order for me to start my funnel with a lead magnet, I was going to have to have like a whole bunch of lead magnets and I didn't really want to do that. I wanted to have like a handful of really like specific lead magnets that lead them into specific purchases. And so for me it made more sense to start my wider top of funnel with my free content, with the podcast, with my blog content, which ultimately all comes from the podcast. I mean, everything I offer for free essentially comes from the podcast, and then that leads people into the lead magnet. So if I'm on the podcast talking about email marketing, I can say go download the free email marketing starter kit that's down in the show notes which side note it is, if you want it, and then I get them onto my email list, then I get them into my communities and then we go from there.
Speaker 1:
So you can do it either way and ultimately, when it comes to deciding like what's free and what's an email opt-in, it's going to be the thing that, like, the opt-in needs to be the thing that you are comfortable really kind of being, not necessarily what you're known for, but something that you think is going to really draw people in and is going to be exciting for them to want to get on your email list. Not every single piece of content you create is going to be, like, opt-in worthy. So, for example, if I create a podcast episode where I am talking about imposter syndrome and the mindset around imposter syndrome, like that may not be something that people are so interested in that they're willing to opt into with their email address in order to listen to it or read it or look at it. It's more just there to help them gain confidence or to inform them on something or to answer a frequently asked question, or that is what your free content is there for. It is there to kind of fill in the gaps between the things that are like the cornerstone pieces that your audience is looking for. So for a photography business, it could be like the example I gave of they want to know how to take better pictures on their iPhone in between the times they hire a photographer to come take photos for them. So if you can teach them how to do that and that is a corner, so you are solving a problem for them then you can fill in everything else with this free content that might be interesting but not interesting enough or not enticing enough for them to actually opt in to receive it.
Speaker 1:
Put yourself in these consumers shoes. If you were scrolling through social media or you're on Pinterest and you see a post that's like um, let's use the photography example. So if you're scrolling and you see someone who has shared a pen on Pinterest and it is like five outfits to wear for your next photo shoot. But you have to give your email address to opt in and you don't have a photo shoot really booked or you don't have one scheduled, it's summer and you're not doing your session till fall, you're probably not going to be super interested in opting into that. But if you came across one and it was five tips for taking better iPhone photos of your kids, then that's an immediate problem that can be solved and they're more likely to say, yeah, I'm going to enter my information because this is something I really want and I want to know how to do and it's going to fix a problem for me.
Speaker 1:
So that is the ultimate delineation between your lead magnets and your content. Your free content is what is the thing that they are going to be willing to give their email address over for and what are the things that they're just going to find interesting enough to like read about when they it's there right in front of them. Now, the other thing I want to say before we wrap up this episode is it is always this kind of back and forth dance between your free content and your lead magnet content. Everything should be working kind of double duty. So your free content should be leading to either your sale or building up that trust for your sales, or it's leading to your lead magnet.
Speaker 1:
So, depending on which type of funnel you have set up, if your free content is top of your funnel, then every piece of free content or not every piece, most pieces need to lead to your lead magnet. So if you're creating blog posts about you know all these frequently asked questions or what to wear or favorite locations or things like that, then have it where at the bottom of every blog post or on a sidebar or in a pop-up, it directs them to go download your free thing and then vice versa, if you have the free thing and they opt into your email list, well then now you need to be sending them from your emails to your free content to build that trust, or you can put it in the email as well, but it's also good for SEO if you send them back to your website to read the full blog or look at the gallery or watch the video or whatever you're asking them to do. So they need to work in tandem so that you're kind of bouncing them back and forth between if they get the free thing first, you're sending them to the lead magnet. If they get the lead magnet first, you're sending them to the free content. All in all, both working together are going to create authority and it's going to create trust with your audience and it's going to ultimately hopefully lead to more sales. So I hope that answered your question.
Speaker 1:
I feel like I did it in a kind of a roundabout way. I had lots of sort of thoughts running through my brain as I was recording this episode. I'm like OK, how do I get this in out of my head in a way that makes sense? Because it makes sense in my brain. So hopefully it came out in a way that makes sense to you listening as well.
Speaker 1:
Once again, if you have questions that you would like me to answer here on the podcast, please fill out the Ask me anything form down below. Now, I know for a little while that form was not working. It was sending you to an error page. If that happens again which it should be fixed by now, but if it does, for whatever happened again, you can always send me your questions over on the DMs on Instagram at girl means business, or you can click that little button that says send me a message and that will open up a text message where you can send me a question. Through the text message it just goes straight to my podcast platform where I can read them there.
Speaker 1:
So there's multiple ways. You can send me your questions, either through the ask me anything form down below on Instagram at girl means business, or click them send me a message button and send me a text message that way. So I look forward to hearing your questions. I look forward to answering them more here on the show. I hope you all have a wonderful week. I hope you are enjoying your summer, I hope you have some fun plans in place and I will see you back here next week. Same time, same place. Thank you so much for tuning in this week. If you enjoyed this episode, I would love for you to take a screenshot, share it to social media and don't forget to tag girl means business and, as always, we greatly appreciate any reviews you leave for this podcast. Thank you so much for being here and we'll see you next week.
