How To Create A Funnel For Affiliate Marketing | Get It Right From The Start!

What Is An Affiliate Marketing Funnel and What Are Its Purposes?

A funnel is a type of strategy that helps affiliate marketers lead potential customers through a specific journey, from awareness to purchase.

The purpose of a funnel is to nurture your leads and help them move further down the sales pipeline until they eventually make a purchase. There are many different types of funnels, each with its own unique purposes.

HINT: All funnels share one common goal: to convert prospects into paying customers.

How Does An Affiliate Marketing Funnel Work?

As an affiliate marketer, you need to take your potential customers through a journey in order to make a sale.

This is known as the buyer’s journey, and it’s important to understand it so that you can create content that appeals to each stage of the journey.

The buyer’s journey through an affiliate sales funnel has several stages –

1. Awareness

The potential customer becomes aware of the problem that they have and begins to search for solutions. They may not be aware of your brand or product yet, but they are aware of the need for a solution.

2. Interest

The potential customer expresses interest in your brand or product as a possible solution to their problem. They may begin to research your offering and compare it to other options.

3. Consideration

The potential customer weighs the pros and cons of your offering and decides whether or not to take action. They may request more information from you, look for social proof or ask for a demonstration.

4. Purchase

The potential customer makes a purchase and becomes a customer. They may also take additional actions, such as leaving a review or referring friends to your product.

5. Loyalty

The customer continues to use your product and is satisfied with the results. They may become a brand ambassador or repeat customer.

Now that you know your buyer’s journey, it’s time to build an affiliate funnel system.

Steps To Create A Funnel For Affiliate Marketing

Follow this process to build a successful sales funnel:

1. Decide On The Type Of Funnel You Want To Build

The first step is to decide on the type of funnel you want to create for your affiliate marketing business.

There are two main types of funnels –

(a) The Lead Generation Funnel –

This type of funnel is designed to capture leads (i.e. contact information from potential customers). Once a lead is generated, you can then follow up with them and attempt to sell them your products or services.

(b) The Sales Funnel –

This type of funnel is designed to directly generate sales from traffic. It generally consists of a series of pages that gradually convince the visitor to buy your affiliate product or service.

The type of funnel you choose should be based on your business goals – 

• For example, if you’re looking to generate leads, then you’ll want to use a lead generation funnel. (1, 2,) 
• However, if you’re looking to increase sales, then you’ll want to use a sales page funnel.

It’s important to choose the right type of funnel for your business because if you use the wrong type of funnel, you won’t be able to achieve your desired results.

2. Choose Your Affiliate Program

The next step is finding an affiliate program that fits your niche and offers the products or services you want to promote. These could be digital or physical products or even services.

Here are a few of the top affiliate programs –

• Amazon Associates
• Clickbank
• ShareASale Program

It’s important to choose products that you believe in and that you think would be valuable to your target audience.

3. Create A Landing Page

Once you’ve chosen an affiliate program, you’ll need to create a landing page on your website where people can learn more about what you’re offering and sign up for your program.

It is the first page that visitors will see when they enter your funnel. It’s important to make a good impression here as this will be the make-or-break point for a potential customer.

Your landing page should:

• Clearly state what the visitor can expect
• Be visually appealing (include picture or video)
• Have a strong call-to-action
• Include an opt-in form to capture leads
• Include additional pages to close the sale (if you’re creating a sales funnel)

This is the page where visitors will land when they click on your affiliate link. Your landing page should be designed to convert visitors into leads.

4. Drive Traffic To Your Landing Page

Once you have created your landing page, the next step is to drive traffic to it. In order for your funnel to be successful, you’ll need to drive traffic.

There are many different ways to do this, but some of the most effective ones are –

• Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising (Links 1, 2, 3)
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Content Marketing Campaign

5. Convert Visitors Into Leads And Sales

The next step is to convert the traffic that you’re sending to your funnel into leads and sales. This is where the real work comes in, as you’ll need to use your sales skills to close the deal.

Once people have arrived at your landing page, you’ll need to convert them into leads by getting them to sign up for your program.

This can be done by offering a freebie in exchange for their contact information, providing a discount code, or running a contest.

6. Nurture Your Leads

Once you have captured the contact information of your leads, it’s time to start nurturing them until they’re ready to buy.

This can be done by –

• sending them regular emails with valuable content,
• creating helpful blog posts,
• following up with them after they purchase a product,
• and offering them exclusive deals.

These things will help them move further down the funnel.

7. Close The Sale

The next step is to close the sale and earn affiliate commissions on the product or service that you’re promoting.

This can be done by –

• sending them a series of emails that highlight the benefits of your product,
• offering a discount or bonus if they purchase within a certain timeframe,
• providing testimonials, case studies,
• offering a money-back guarantee or running a special promotion.

8. Scale Your Funnel

Once you have your funnel up and running, it’s time to start scaling it so you can make more sales.

To do this, you’ll need to add more traffic sources, improve your conversion rates, and add more products or services to your funnel.

You can also start running Facebook ads to your landing page to generate even more leads and sales.

9. Analyze Your Results And Improve Your Funnel

The final step is to analyze your results and see how well your funnel is performing. This will allow you to identify any areas that need improvement so that you can make the necessary changes.

Remember, a funnel is never truly “finished” – there’s always room for improvement.

There are a few key metrics that you’ll want to track, which include:

• Number of visitors to your landing page
• Conversion rate (i.e. the percentage of visitors who take action)
• Average order value
• Lifetime value of a customer
• Cost per lead
• Cost per sale

Once you have this data, you can then start to make changes to improve your funnel.

For example,

if you’re not getting enough visitors to your landing page, you may need to focus on driving more traffic;

if your conversion rate is low, you may need to work on making your offers more compelling.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful affiliate marketing funnel. Just remember to keep your focus on each step of the process and you’ll be sure to see success.

Funnel Vs Website

Many people confuse funnels and websites, while they are similar they serve very different purposes. A website is far more broad generally includes more information. Funnels are designed for converting prospects into sales.  

You might also like our guide on how to build an affiliate marketing website.

How To Monitor Your Affiliate Marketing Sales Funnel?

Sales funnels are an essential part of affiliate marketing, and they need to be closely monitored to ensure that they are working properly.

There are a few key things that you should look for when monitoring your sales funnel, and these include:

1. Make sure that the offers that you are promoting are converting well. If they are not, then you need to find new offers or tweak your existing offers to make them more effective.
2. Track where your traffic is coming from and whether or not it is targeted. If it is not, then you need to find a new source of traffic.
3. Optimize your landing pages and thank you pages to ensure that they are conversion friendly.
4. Monitor your mailing list and make sure that you are sending out regular emails to keep your subscribers engaged.
5. Always be testing new things to see what works best for your sales funnel. There is no one perfect way to do things, so you need to experiment until you find what works best for you.

If you are not already doing these things, then now is the time to start so that you can maximize your affiliate marketing earnings.

Best Tools To Use For Optimizing Your Funnel

There are a few different tools that you can use to help optimize your sales funnel and make sure that it’s converting as well as it possibly can.

Here are some of the best tools to use for optimizing your sales funnel for affiliate marketing:

1. A/B Testing
2. Lead capture forms
3. Landing pages
4. Email marketing
5. Re-targeting ads

A/B testing

A/B testing is a powerful tool that can help you improve your sales funnel by testing different versions of your pages and offers.

This way, you can determine which versions are more effective at converting visitors into leads and customers.

Lead capture forms

Lead capture forms are essential for turning visitors into leads. Make sure your forms are short, simple, and easy to fill out. Include a strong call to action so visitors know what to do next.

Landing pages

Landing pages are key to converting leads into a customer. Make sure your landing pages are relevant to the offer you’re promoting and include a strong call to action.

Email marketing

Online marketing strategies like emails can be used at every stage of the sales funnel to nurture leads and convert them into customers.

Use email drip campaigns to send relevant, timely messages that guide leads through the sales funnel.

Retargeting ads

Retargeting ads are a powerful way to reach leads who have shown an interest in your affiliate products or services but haven’t yet converted into customers.

These ads follow users around the web, reminding them of your brand and what you have to offer.

These are just a few of the best tools that you can use to help optimize your sales funnel for affiliate marketing.

Benefits Of Creating An Effective Sales Funnel For Affiliate Marketing

By creating a sales funnel, you can more effectively promote your affiliate products and services to potential customers, and increase the chances that they will purchase from you.

There are several benefits of creating a sales funnel for affiliate marketing, which includes:

1. Increased Brand Awareness And Reach
2. Greater ROI From Marketing Spend
3. Improved Customer Acquisition And Retention Rates
4. Enhanced Product Or Service Visibility
5. Access To New Markets And Demographics

Increased Brand Awareness And Reach

By having an affiliate marketing funnel in place, you can increase the visibility of your brand and reach a wider audience with your marketing campaigns.

This is because affiliates are often involved in various online and offline promotional activities that can help to expose your brand to a larger pool of potential customers.

Greater ROI From Marketing Spend

An affiliate marketing funnel can also lead to greater ROI from your marketing budget as it allows you to track the performance of each individual affiliate more effectively.

This data can then be used to improve your overall marketing strategy and make adjustments accordingly to maximize results.

Improved Customer Acquisition And Retention Rates

Another benefit of an effective affiliate marketing funnel is that it can help to build trust and improve your customer acquisition and retention rates. (1)

This is because affiliates who are happy with the results they are achieving are more likely to continue to promote your affiliate product or service, which can lead to long-term customer relationships.

Enhanced Product Or Service Visibility

An affiliate sales funnel can also provide enhanced visibility for your affiliate product or service as they are more likely to be featured prominently on affiliate websites and in promotional materials.

This increased exposure can help to drive product sales and encourage potential customers to try out your offerings.

Access To New Markets And Demographics

Finally, an affiliate funnel can give you access to new markets and demographics that you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to target.

By partnering with affiliate marketers who have a strong presence in these areas, you can reach out to new potential customers and expand your business.

We have a great article on the pros and cons of affiliate marketing here if you are keen to learn more advantages.

3 Mistakes To Avoid When Creating An Affiliate Marketing Funnel

Making mistakes is natural, especially when you’re just starting out.

However, there are some mistakes that you need to avoid if you want to create an effective affiliate marketing funnel.

1. Not Offering A Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is an essential ingredient of an effective affiliate marketing funnel. A lead magnet is a freebie that you offer in exchange for someone’s email address.

If you don’t offer a lead magnet, you’re not giving people a reason to give you their email addresses. And without an email list, you won’t be able to sell anything.

2. Setting Careless Campaign Goals

When you’re setting up your affiliate marketing campaign, you need to be clear about your goals. If you’re not careful, you might end up setting goals that are impossible to achieve.

Your goals must be:

• Measurable: You need to be able to track your progress and see whether you’re achieving your goals.
• Achievable: Your goals should be realistic compared to the scale of your business.
• Time-bound: Your goals should have a deadline. This will help you stay on track and not get sidetracked.

3. Not Testing Your Funnel

Before you launch your affiliate marketing funnel, you need to test it. You can’t just assume that everything will work perfectly.

You need to test every element of your funnel, from the opt-in page to the sales page. Only when you’re sure that everything is working the way it should, you can launch your funnel to the public.

Avoid these three mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to creating an effective affiliate marketing funnel.

FAQs – Create An Affiliate Marketing Sales Funnel

What is a funnel for affiliate marketing?

A funnel for affiliate marketing is a system that helps you to track and convert your leads into sales.

How do I create a marketing sales funnel?

You can create a sales funnel by using software like Clickfunnels, or by manually setting one up using a service like LeadPages.

What is the best affiliate marketing funnel?

The best affiliate marketing funnel will depend on your individual needs and goals. However, some features to look for in a good funnel include the ability to split test, segment your audience, and track conversions.

Do you need a sales funnel for affiliate marketing?

While you technically don’t need a sales funnel for affiliate marketing, it can help you to increase your conversion rate and make more money from your leads.

What are the 3 stages of a funnel?

There are generally three stages to an affiliate sales funnel: awareness, consideration, and decision.

What is a funnel example?

An example of a funnel would be something like this –

A user comes to your website > They sign up for your email list > They receive an offer from you > They purchase your affiliate product/service.

What are the 5 stages of sales funnels?

The five stages of sales funnels are generally awareness, interest, consideration, decision, and post-purchase.

How do you make a simple funnel?

To make a simple funnel, you will need to create a lead magnet, an opt-in page, and a thank-you page.

What are the three 3 best affiliate marketing?

The three best affiliate marketing programs are ShareASale, Commission Junction, and Clickbank. 

How can I make a funnel for affiliate marketing for free?

You can create a funnel for affiliate marketing for free by using a service like LeadPages or by manually setting one up.

Which affiliate niche is most profitable?

The most profitable affiliate niche depends on your goals and audience. However, some popular niches include health and fitness, make money online, and dating and relationships.

Build An Affiliate Marketing Funnel Today!

Now that you understand how an affiliate marketing funnel works, it’s time to start building your own – from choosing the right type of funnel to building a landing page and creating compelling content and blog posts for your target audience.

Make sure you offer a lead magnet, set achievable goals, and test your funnel before you launch it. And once you’ve launched it, don’t forget to monitor and optimize your funnel regularly.

By partnering with the right affiliates, you can drive more traffic and sales to your business without having to do all the work yourself.

So, what are you waiting for? Start putting together your affiliate marketing funnel today!