How Do You Write an Email Funnel?

Many copywriters make the mistake of thinking of emails as single messages, shot out at their target audiences. Email funnels create a fuller conversation, taking the reader on a journey—and, ultimately, guiding them to your end result.

Sometimes, the best copywriting can be simply to explain the benefit of a product and say “Buy Now.” But often, a prospective buyer needs to be guided to come to the “I want to buy this!” conclusion on their own.

This may seem like “soft selling” and in a way it is—but it’s also some of the most effective copy you can write.

What Is an Email Funnel?

An email funnel is a series of emails that gradually guides the reader from one state, (general awareness, for example), to another state (readiness to buy). It is an automated series of emails that leads the recipient from one frame of mind to another.

For whatever reason, many large companies have not yet adopted email funnels; right now, you’ll find them most commonly used among solopreneurs and digital marketers.

Each email in an email funnel is carefully crafted to lead the reader down the desired path.

Instead of immediately asking someone to make a purchase, a funnel lets the company introduce itself to the customer, teach the customer a few things (and increase its authority), bust a few myths, and get the customer primed and excited to make the purchase.

Why Your Clients Need a Funnel Copywriter

One of the best (and easiest) ways for businesses to build relationships with their audiences is by creating an email funnel.

When a funnel is created well, the recipient should be practically clamoring to take the action the funnel leads to. But, of course, it’s not easy to create an effective funnel…which is why companies need copywriters like you.

And which kind of companies or organizations would benefit from funnels? Oh, just pretty much all of them. Small, online companies would benefit, of course, but so would large companies and nonprofit organizations.

What about brick and mortar stores or service providers? Yep, them too. In fact, one of my clients is a business coach for brick and mortar stores and service providers and one of the cornerstones of what she teaches is just how transformational emails can be for their businesses.

And this is a major opportunity, because not only do many of these businesses not have email funnels, they don’t yet even know about the positive impact they could have on their businesses. The education is pretty simple, and the outcome is huge.

Even online solopreneurs who have a much better understanding of the need for funnels don’t tend to know how to structure them, much less how to write them. And because these business’ revenues often rely very heavily on an effective email funnel, they need your help—and they know they need your help.

Learning to write effective email funnels and sales pages (as we teach in the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy) can be fun and rewarding for you and, just as excitingly, incredibly rewarding for your clients.

Already in the CCA? Check out the entire course on writing email funnels in the “Writing for Specific Mediums” section of your course dashboard! Sign in here >>

An Email Funnel Example

Let’s look at an example to help make this clear. Let’s say a business coach’s website offers a free ebook, “10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make,” and, once people sign up for it, they go into an email funnel with the end result of getting them to sign up for private coaching.

Here’s an overview of how the funnel might go:

Email 1
Purpose: Deliver ebook; begin to introduce coach and instill trust
Content: Delivery of ebook and welcome with short bio of coach

Email 2
Purpose: Convey coach’s mastery of the topic
Content: Tell coaches personal story from trouble/failure with topic to ultimate success

Email 3
Purpose: Establish that coach’s students can see similar success
Content: Tell student’s story about challenges and success

Email 4
Purpose: Overcome obstacles to purchasing
Content: Tell story/stories that illustrate how coaching pays for itself, how it leads to greater accountability and success, etc.

Email 5
Purpose: Introduce one-on-one coaching option
Content: Explain how coaching works, give benefits, offer limited-time bonus

Email 6
Purpose: Give last-minute warning with extra push to sign up
Content: Convey that chance to get in on coaching is almost up; offer extra, special bonus

Email Funnel Variables

As you can see, there are a lot of variables in an email funnel, from the messages and the methods of conveying the methods to the timing of sending the emails and requesting feedback.

There are also a lot of different ways to continue funnels or send people down new ones! For example, the people who purchase in this funnel should be added to a new funnel to help them make the most of their coaching. The people who don’t purchase might be moved into a different funnel that leads to a different kind of product—maybe a lower-priced group coaching or a an information product.

Most email funnels rely on a combination of stories and educational bonuses (useful ebooks, videos, etc.) to keep people engaged, interested, and willing to open the next email.

And, as you’d expect, it takes a lot of skill and insight to craft an effective email funnel.

But, with that skill and insight, you can help prospects make intelligent purchase they might otherwise overlook, create a steady revenue stream for your client, and earn rave client reviews that lead to plenty of referrals.

Your Turn!

Have you worked as an email funnel copywriter? What did or didn’t make a funnel effective? Let us know in the comments below!

Last Updated on June 30, 2023