If you're still thinking about your marketing as a funnel, you're leaving money on the table.

The secret to business growth isn't at the bottom of a funnel—it's in understanding your buyer's journey.

The Funnel Fallacy

The idea of “pouring” leads into the top of your marketing funnel, and only a trickle of customers coming out the bottom is flawed.

Your business isn't a kitchen appliance, and your customers aren't ingredients to be processed.

The funnel analogy—while simple—falls woefully short of capturing the complex, and non-linear path that real people take when deciding to buy from you.

Enter the Buyer’s Journey:

A more holistic, customer-centric approach to understanding how people interact with your brand.

Unlike a funnel, the buyer’s journey:

• Acknowledges the touchpoints and interactions (which can be optimized for better conversions)
• Focuses on the customer's experience and emotions at each stage
• Extends beyond the initial awareness stage to include lead generation, sales, and retention
• Allows for a more personalized, targeted messaging

By shifting from a funnel mindset 👉to a journey mindset…

You can create more meaningful connections with your audience, address their specific needs at each stage, and ultimately drive sustainable growth to set your business apart in a crowded market.

Breaking Down the Buyer’s Journey

Before we get into the specifics of the buyer's journey, we need a framework to operate within.

Let’s cover each stage more closely with an example:

Awareness Stage:

Here, you're creating marketing messages that meet potential customers at their current level of awareness.

The idea is to create content that educates and informs.

Problem: Identify and Speak to the Key Problem Our Persona is Facing

Let’s take Steve, for example.

Steve’s a college grad who is working his first corporate job.

And he hates it.

He wants to travel and see the world. Unfortunately, he needs more money and his current job doesn’t allow him to work remotely.

He’s unhappy and feels trapped.

Solution: Present Our Product/Service as the Solution to the Problem

Let’s explore two different businesses that might target Steve’s problem and position their products and services as the solution to the problem.

Teaching English Abroad:

This would give Steve the opportunity to live in a foreign country (most likely in Asia), immerse himself in new a culture, and earn a steady income while his room and board are paid for.

Freelance Copywriting:

This would allow Steve to work remotely from anywhere in the world, (as long as he has an internet connection) and leverage his writing skills to create content for businesses.

Because Steve values his autonomy, has always had a knack for writing, and finds the thought of public speaking nerve-wracking, he decides to pursue freelance copywriting.

He starts researching different brands and courses to help him become a successful copywriter.

(The bulk of your awareness-generating marketing will be either problem or solution-focused content.)

Position: Establish Our Unique Position in the Market

Once your prospects become aware of a potential solution to their problem, they’re looking for someone to guide them toward the outcome they want.

After reading several blog posts and downloading a free ebook, titled “9 Ways to Earn Money as a Freelance Copywriter”, this is how one brand (that resonated with Steve) positioned itself:

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“Digital Nomad Writers is the launchpad for introverted wordsmiths who value freedom over the 9-to-5 grind. We focus on the specific skills and mindset needed to build a location-independent copywriting business. Our course is designed by successful digital nomad copywriters who've been in your shoes and know exactly what it takes to break free from the corporate world.”

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Offer: Introduce Our Product/Service as the Embodiment of this Transformation

Steve is already aware of the solution to his problem (he’s going to become a freelance copywriter).

He’s aware of several different brands he can buy from—but he likes Digital Nomad Writers the best, because of how they’ve positioned themselves.

At this point, Steve knows he’s going to buy, he’s just looking for the deal.

He wants to know what he gets when he buys.

Which might look something like this:

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“We teach you how to write compelling copy, and then we’ll show you how to find clients, manage your time across time zones, and balance work with play. Plus, our supportive community of like-minded nomadic writers means you'll never feel alone on your journey, even when you're working from a beach halfway across the world.”

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Lead Generation Stage:

There are two ways to go about generating leads

• Subscribe: Offer valuable content in exchange for contact information
• Try: Provide a low-risk way for leads to experience your offering

When Steve first visited Digital Nomad Writers’s website, he saw a pop-up offering a free e-book: "9 Ways to Earn Money as a Freelance Copywriter".

Intrigued, he entered his email address to download it.

Steve is now subscribed to their mailing list.

After reading the e-book (and learning about the company’s positioning), Steve receives an email sequence inviting him to a free webinar:

"How to Make Your First $1000 as a Freelance Copywriter".

Through these touchpoints, Digital Nomad Writers builds trust with Steve and demonstrates the value of their expertise.

Steve goes from a casual browser to an engaged lead, actively consuming their content and considering their paid offerings.

Sales Stage:

During the webinar, the host offers introductory pricing for their flagship course, "Copywriting for Digital Nomads".

The offer lasts 48 hours.

Steve doesn’t buy just yet, he wants to think this through before making a commitment.

Over the next 48 hours, Steve receives a 5-part email sequence linking to the sales page for the course.

It addresses his concerns about the time commitment and learning curve, reassuring him with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a flexible, self-paced learning schedule.

Impressed by the free content so far, Steve decides to purchase the course offered at $297 instead of the usual $497.

Digital Nomad Writers makes the purchasing process smooth, offering multiple payment options and instant access to the course materials.

They also send a personal welcome email, reinforcing Steve's decision and getting him excited to start his journey.

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​Retention Stage:

There are three parts to retention.

• Succeed: Ensure the customer achieves their desired outcome with your product or service.
• Ascend: Offer additional products or services that provide even more value.
• Promote: Turn satisfied customers into advocates who promote your brand to others.

Let’s take a look at how Digital Nomad Writers might do this.

Succeed: As Steve progresses through the course, Digital Nomad Writers provides regular check-ins and milestone celebrations. When he lands his first client, they feature his success story in their community forum, boosting his confidence and motivation.

Ascend: Three months into the program, Steve receives an offer to join an advanced course on "Scaling Your Copywriting Business". This course promises to help him increase his rates and find higher-paying clients.

Promote: Thrilled with his progress, Steve writes a glowing testimonial for Digital Nomad Writers. The company offers him a referral bonus for any friends he brings into the program, which Steve eagerly shares on his social media.

They continue to provide value beyond the initial course. Nurturing their relationship with Steve, celebrating his successes, offering advanced training, and turning him into a brand advocate.

By the end of his journey, Steve has transformed from a dissatisfied corporate employee to a successful freelance copywriter living his dream of traveling the world. He's not just a satisfied customer of Digital Nomad Writers – he's a success story and an active promoter of their brand.

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​Building a Buyer’s Journey For Your Business

There are 3 steps to successfully building a buyer’s journey for your business.
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1.Map Out the Journey

Using the following template, you can map out the exact journey that your customers will take:

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Here’s an example of what Digital Nomad Writer’s buyer journey might look like:

2. Measure Conversion at Each Stage

In the words of Peter Drucker, “what gets measured gets managed.”

Mapping out the journey is the first step—but just because you have a buyer’s journey doesn’t mean you’ll get it right on the first try.

We need to measure the conversion at each stage.

For example, what’s the conversion rate on the:

• Facebook ads
• Email open and click rate
• Sales page
• etc…

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3. Optimize

Now that we can see the conversion at each stage, the challenge is finding where the “bottleneck” is in the journey and optimizing it.

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Testing and trying out new things like copy, images, offers, and pain points, one at a time to see what works best.

For example:

• If the Facebook ads are doing well, but not enough people are signing up for the free report, the landing page needs to be optimized.
• Or, if the sales page isn’t converting well, but we notice that the emails that link to it are also not getting opened, we might optimize that email sequence before testing the sales page.

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This is how a marketing strategist thinks about growing your business.

Accelerate Your Business Growth with An Action Plan

The Buyer’s Journey ensures that you not only attract new customers but also retain them and turn them into valuable brand ambassadors.

Each stage of the journey is carefully crafted to address needs, concerns, and aspirations, creating a powerful and effective marketing strategy.

Here are some actionable tips that you can implement immediately:

Map Your Current Journey: Take 30 minutes to sketch out your existing customer journey. You can literally do this with a pen on the back of a napkin.

Find the Bottleneck: Where are the conversions drying up? What’s the problem in your buyer’s journey?

Optimize One Touchpoint: Choose one stage of your journey (e.g., your lead magnet) and focus on improving it. Test different headlines, images, or offers to see what resonates best with your audience.

Thanks So Much for Reading!

Want me to cover something in an upcoming newsletter?

I love seeing you guys work through your offers and thinking about how to market them.

Just hit reply and let me know!

Keep Learning,

Nicholas

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P.S. Did you find this helpful? If so, forward it to a friend who needs a sales boost—they can subscribe right here: ➡️ ​​Subscribe​

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