Sales funnel copywriting is written with the purpose of moving your prospect through the conversion steps of your funnel. First, to share an email address and eventually become a paying customer. A well-executed sales funnel creates loyal customers who buy again.
The different stages of the sales funnel represent the stages your prospect’s mindset goes through as they consume your offer. The intent of each stage is specific and therefore requires a unique approach to ensure the copy speaks to each section’s individual objective.
Successful copywriting is incredibly specific. How well you understand your audience and connect with their journey will greatly impact the effectiveness of your sales funnel. The more targeted your messaging, the more conversions you will gain and the lifetime value of your customer (LVC) increases.
It is imperative to map out the mindset journey of your ideal customer so you can identify how your message should be targeted at every turn.
Whether you’re an aspiring copywriter who has just started taking copywriting courses or you're a business owner who’s hired a copywriting agency, it’s still important for you to understand what copy techniques are implemented in each stage of the sales funnel.
Let’s take a deep dive into each individual section and how you can craft your copy to match.
1. Awareness Stage
This is the moment where you catch a prospect’s attention for the first time. They’re now aware of your business and what you offer.
Messaging at this stage will be broader and more focused on education. Speak to more general matters that are still relevant to your niche or customer avatar. Your content needs to give value to the reader, we want them to come back or look for more. Position yourself as the expert and show them you know what you’re talking about.
One way to look at this stage, in conjunction with the next, is to remember “KLT: Know, Like Trust”.
- Know - This is the awareness element, they know who you are.
- Like - If they like what they see, if they engage with the content, they’ll stick around.
- Trust - Trust will continue to develop in the following stages of the sales funnel but it begins here.
Don’t push for the sale at this stage of the journey. Give them time to warm up to you and your brand. When the stars align and the coffee is just right, a few prospects will buy immediately. Especially if they’ve already done their research or are already past the decision barrier. But more often, this stage is a slow burn. You’re still building a relationship.
Examples Of Awareness Mechanisms:
- A Facebook ad campaign
- Informative, SEO optimized blog posts
- An optimized company website
- Engaging social media posts
- Infographics or relevant charts
For a funnel entry point that is a social media post or ad, make it compelling! Speak to pain points right away-- show your audience that you know them. You will be able to retarget and test your ads as you receive the data on what works and what doesn’t.
If you’re promoting a blog post as the doorway to your funnel, the copy needs to incorporate solid SEO principles. Pay close attention to the intent of the prospect, what led them here? Make sure the copy of the funnel itself flows well from one mindset to the next so the prospect doesn’t feel disconnected.
2. Interest / Hook Stage
This is where your copy should move people into the meat of your sales funnel. The writer’s focus shifts from getting attention to nurturing the visitor. All the while continuing to build interest and trust.
The copywriting on your landing page should reestablish why they clicked in the first place, why they chose to take the next step. There should be no surprises, other than the incredible value they see.
Take the time to develop a strong “HSO”. This stands for “Hook, Story, Offer.”
Hook
This is an attention-grabbing headline, challenge, or question. A solid hook is crucial. It should grab their attention immediately. The faster you can make an emotional connection in the hook itself, the better. This makes them curious and they read on.
Story
Make a deeper emotional connection with a well-crafted story. Show them a before and after victory. This keeps their interest and engages them long enough to get to the next stage of the funnel.
Offer
The official buying offer comes in the next stage, but this is where you set it up. Show them the outcome they desire, how they’re feeling now versus how they could be feeling if they take advantage of your item or service. You want them to envision themselves having already made the buying decision and what that reality could look like. What are the tools or processes you can provide that will help them achieve the outcome they crave?
HubSpot says 96 percent of site visitors aren’t ready to buy right away or on their first visit. Harness that interest by offering something of value in exchange for their name and email. These are called lead magnets.
Lead magnets are your opportunity to show off your exclusive techniques or story. Establish your expertise and give away (some of) the goods to garner the trust of your prospect.
Common formats for lead magnets include:
- Tips and Tricks
- Cheat Sheets
- Checklists
- Shortcuts
- Favorite Tools
- Mini Strategies
- Mindmaps
In HubSpot’s “State of Inbound” research conducted in 2018, they reported that a well-developed quiz can also be an effective lead magnet. Remember, successful copywriting is incredibly specific. Your quiz should be laser-focused on the interests and goals of your target market, make it feel personal. Develop quiz topics that will yield relevant results, not just a fluff piece. This will establish a memorable connection over a niche interest and piques their curiosity.
When developing a lead magnet or any other opt-in offer, focus on the overall value it will provide. What will this tool accomplish? What do they get out of it? What is the outcome the prospect is after? By spotlighting those benefits, you will automatically enhance the perceived value of your offer.
3. Decision / Call to Action Stage
This is where you bring it home. We have taken this visitor from being a total stranger to becoming an interesting prospect. Now we turn them into paying customers.
Here, your sales funnel copywriting should inform your audience and prepare them for a purchase. Reinforce the interest of your hook and the pain points of your story. Reiterate the benefits of your offer.
At this phase of your funnel, prospects are looking for social proof:
- Case studies
- Clear benefits of your offer
- Awards/Industry recognition
- A powerful value proposition
- Testimonials
- Video demonstrations
If you’ve crafted your sales funnel copywriting correctly, your potential buyer is aware they have a problem that they want to solve and they’re looking directly at your solution.
Now is the time to present your best offer.
Your best offer should be your most expensive option, offer that one first. This establishes a baseline and will inform how they perceive your lower-level offers. Give them options but spotlight the one you actually want them to choose. Employ a decoy offer by presenting a package or model that’s less expensive. Then make your middle or next offer so much more valuable that the choice is made for them.
CTA
Your call to action should be highly focused, still addressing the same family of pain points and speaking directly to their needs. Offer promotions, discount codes, and limited-time bonuses.
It should be personal, using words like “your” and “my”. Write with action verbs and power phrases. Buffer says the 5 most powerful words in the English language are:
- You
- Free
- Because
- Instantly
- New
The copywriting in this phase of the sales funnel should communicate some level of scarcity or urgency. When does the offer expire? When does your cart close? Is this a limited access program where only the first 50 get in? Use this to compel the reader to immediate action.
Test your CTA landing pages, get comfortable with your numbers, and reassess regularly. Drop-in another element of social proof or provide a return policy or trial period to alleviate any last remaining objections.
They’re here-- you have their attention. Your job now is to get them to pay.
4. Action / Sale Stage
If your prospect has made it to the bottom of your sales funnel, you have surpassed the moment of truth. All your incredible copywriting has paid off, literally! The sale has been made and the money is on its way.
Now the real work starts.
The copywriting at this stage of the sales funnel should be written to start establishing customer retention. Someone who will buy from you over and over again. Alleviate any concerns of regret, reiterate those benefits. Reinforce the bonus they received by having taken advantage of this offer NOW.
Thank them for their purchase and welcome them into your community. Keep your new customer engaged by including them in your email campaigns with value-driven content and eventually, more offers. They are still a prospect for all the offers they haven’t purchased yet.
You have already paid the customer acquisition costs for this prospect. It’s far more cost-effective to market to and retarget someone who is already buying what you’re selling.
Sales Funnel Copywriting: Worth the Effort
Sales funnel copywriting cannot be compared to any other form of copywriting. Each stage presents its own distinct challenges and the writer must consider the mindset of the buyer at each checkpoint. By writing your copy or working with a copywriting agency to communicate a specific message at each individual phase, you will have the best chance of achieving the greatest level of impact.