Want More Clients? You Need a Sales Funnel e-book!

Have you ever been up at 2:00 a.m. listening to the sounds of the night??Do you talk with other entrepreneurs for ideas on how to get more business??Are there times you feel desperate wondering how to find your next client??I have some good news for you.?I have written this blog as an introductory guide on writing a sales funnel e-book.?It is a key content marketing tool to consistently bring new clients into your business pipeline.

When you are done reading this guide, it may help eliminate or significantly reduce your worry about finding and maintaining clients from now on.

A Common Problem with Business Owners

Since leaving corporate in 2014, I have worked with many business owners as both a ghostwriter and writer/editor. I have also attended my share of networking meetings both in real life and the digital world. In all these experiences, I hear a common problem.?The pipeline for prospective clients must be constantly worked.?If you stop, your business dries up. The money slot stops feeding your bank account.

As a researcher, I wanted to find out one way business owners can keep the pipeline churning out new business.?As a writer, I already knew the answer.?I have visited many websites over the years and have noticed a consistent mistake companies make.?They do not use a key sales funnel tool - the e-book.??

Are You Part of the 30 Percent?

During my research, I came across some interesting statistics.?For companies that use a sales funnel, they achieve an average conversion rate of three percent or a little higher. The statistic that surprised me was that nearly 70 percent of companies have not identified a sales funnel.?In other words, this group of businesses do not use a sales funnel to develop leads to convert three percent of those connections to paying clients. What side of the statistics do you fall?

If you want to start enjoying a better night’s sleep, I invite you to keep reading.?Let me help you start thinking about this key tool - an e-book - to get you more leads, clients, speaking gigs, and increased credibility as an expert in your field.?Plus, you will have a winning idea to share with colleagues so they can increase their client base, too.

*Note:?If a sales funnel is a new concept to you, take a few minutes to Google some articles.?Use the keywords what is a sales funnel, how to use a sales funnel, and where to use a sales funnel to get started.

Use My 5Ws and an H Formula

I recently published my FREE e-book The Five Ws and an H: Do You Have a Book Inside You??I introduce my personal formula for evaluating a book idea and taking it to publication.?We are going to use my Ws and H formula to get you started on your sales funnel e-book.?Here is a list of the questions we will explore together.

1.???What is a sales funnel e-book?

2.???Who needs a sales funnel e-book?

3.???Why do you need a sales funnel e-book?

4.???When do you write a sales funnel e-book?

5.???How do you create a sales funnel e-book?

6.???What do you do with your sales funnel e-books?

If you are not an experienced writer, this guide may feel a little intimidating at first. Do not worry about that aspect.?Believe me, you can absolutely do this; in fact, you are going to find it an exciting new journey.?However, if you decide you need help, I will provide some approaches you can take at the end of the guide.??

1.?What is a Sales Funnel E-book?

Here is a simple definition of a sales funnel.?It is a process (series of steps) whereby you lead a prospective client to decide to purchase your service or product. As for what is a sales funnel e-book??It is one type of content you provide at the top (or beginning) of the sales funnel (or process) to grab the attention of a prospect.

Why I believe e-books make the best content to use

Some may prefer using different types of content at the top of a sales funnel other than an e-book.?These can include:?white papers, blogs, articles, videos, social media posts, and infographics.?However, as a writer who has produced all the aforementioned types of content in my career, I find FREE e-books to be the most efficient and flexible choice. Why??

1. E-books can be repurposed into many other types of content.
2. E-books are easy to produce using PowerPoint and export into a PDF file to apply security as desired.?
3. E-books can be uploaded to a third-party digital publishing and distribution platform.?Some platforms are referred to as aggregators.??These platforms distribute your e-book to literally millions of prospective readers who would never have seen your website.?Your e-book could be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 40,000 retail outlets, and the U.S. library system.
4. E-books establish you as an author even if you work with a ghostwriter.

Remember the real purpose of a sales funnel e-book is to give information a prospect wants.?The content inside your e-book is what will really sell you.

2.?Who Needs a Sales Funnel E-book?

You knew I was going to say this: EVERY business that has a website needs a sales funnel e-book.?Life coaches. Dentists. Therapists. Consultants. Everybody.??

3. Why do you Need a Sales Funnel E-book?

In the long run, focusing your resources on e-books will save you time, money, and creative energy.?Let me share three insights to help you understand why I prefer e-books as the best top of sales funnel content choice.

Insight #1:?Blogging takes a lot of time and money

The general rule is that writing a blog is the first and best way to share information with website visitors. In fact, when you upload WordPress to build a website, a blog page is automatically included in WordPress core.?However, times have changed for blogging.?Maintaining a consistent, well-written blog comes with barriers for most business owners today.?

• No time to blog
• No expertise in producing long-form blogs (2,000+ words/4 pages single spaced or 8 pages double-spaced)
• SEO-based content preferred by Google for best search results
• No financial bandwidth to hire an experienced freelance writer
• No interest in feeding the blog machine with new content on a regular basis (some experts recommend blogging daily)
• Dated blogs must be periodically updated to keep your material fresh for the search engines
• Developing a blogging strategy and schedule customized to your market

In addition to blogging, there are other types of content that could be used at the top of a sales funnel.?These include white papers, videos, social media posts, and infographics.?The problem - they all require additional specialized skills to produce them.?

Insight #2:?E-books can be shared outside your website

An e-book is a selling tool that continues to work for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.?It can be is accessible from your website’s home page; that is one outlet.?There is also another powerful option that most business owners do not know they can do.?

As I mentioned above, publish your FREE e-book on a third-party digital publishing and distribution platform. Doing so opens your brand to a massive audience that only an e-book can provide.?Think about it; you create a single piece of content - an e-book - that can then be shared in multiple outlets outside of your website. No other content type offers this option. Trust me; your competition is NOT doing this strategy.

Insight #3:?Build brand awareness and trust with prospects and clients

Writing books is truly the secret to building trust in your personal brand.??When people read what you have written, a natural feeling of trust develops.?When someone is evaluating who they want to do business with, they often choose people they know.?An e-book fosters that relationship.

4.?How do you create a sales funnel e-book?

There are three approaches to writing a sales funnel e-book:?(1) write the content and do the layout yourself, (2) work with a colleague or team of contributors for a shared project, or (3) collaborate with a professional ghostwriter or writer/editor.?Let me briefly comment on each approach.

(1)?Write the e-book yourself

If you have good writing skills, are familiar with PowerPoint, and have Adobe Acrobat to set security, you can produce an e-book by yourself. The main steps involved are:?

a)???Decide on a topic

b)???Create a detailed outline of the book's content (including photos)

c)???Write the book draft in a word processing document (Microsoft Word, for example)

d)???Review the final manuscript

e)???Do the layout in PowerPoint, which includes a cover, copyright page, manuscript, and photos

f)????Export the PowerPoint file into a PDF file

g)???Open in Adobe Acrobat, input the metadata, and set the security

(2)?Write the e-book with a co-author or team

If you like working with a partner or team, an e-book is a great content type to do.?The writing and other activities can be divided amongst you and the team.?What is more, each contributor can make the book available on their individual websites. Each of you is then serving as a brand ambassador for all of you. What a powerful and efficient way to expand your company's footprint!?

The secret to enjoying a successful project is to find a partner or team of people who complement the service or products you sell.?Each person should come with ideas, varied skills, and a commitment to being part of a team.?Also, you might consider bringing on a writer/editor (as described below) to help manage the book project and serve as a book editor.

(3) Work with a ghostwriter or writer/editor

For some people, the path of least resistance is collaborating with a professional writer.?Clearly, the key advantage to working with a ghostwriter or writer/editor is they do the heavy lifting on the writing.?What if you are lucky enough to find a writer who has experience in PowerPoint layout??You will save a lot of time, effort, and have a professionally produced e-book is ready to upload to your website and other digital outlets.?

There are several approaches you can take with this option:

• Ghostwriter.?The writer will write the entire manuscript and remain invisible.
• Writer/editor.?You or your team can write the manuscript and the writer will serve as a project manager and editor.?Another option is to have the writer interview each contributor and write the entire manuscript.?If you want to negotiate a small fee accommodation, notate the writer as edited by or compiled by with their name on the book cover.

Business owners have a variety of approaches to consider when thinking about doing a sales funnel e-book.?It all comes down to your goals, time, financial resources, and if you prefer to work with others to produce a book.

5.???How much does it cost???

The cost of writing and producing a sales funnel e-book depends on which of the above-approaches you choose. Let me break it down for you:

(1)?Write the e-book yourself.?If you write the manuscript yourself, your costs are the hours you spend writing, editing, and doing the layout.?If you are an experienced writer, efficient at PowerPoint, and have Adobe Acrobat for security, I encourage you to produce our own e-books.?I write and produce my own.?

(2) Write the e-book with a co-author or a team. The same principles apply as if you are writing the book yourself.?However, in this approach you assign different activities to members of your team or with a partner. The question to clarify is do all participants have the time and circumstance to commit to such a project. If it seems a practical idea to bring a writer/editor onto the project, the expense of bringing on a professional writer could be spread among the team. It keeps the financial investment much lower for each contributor.

(3)?Work with a ghostwriter or writer/editor. ?The fee of bringing on a ghostwriter or writer/editor will depend on if you are the only author involved or if there is a team of contributors.?The scope of the project also impacts the fee charged, i.e., working with one author or a team (multiple interviews), if the manuscript is ghostwritten or serving only as editor, etc.?

As a frame of reference, a short PDF-based sales funnel e-book could start at $2,500 and increase with the specs of the project.

6.?When should you write a sales funnel e-book???

At minimum, you should write one e-book annually. The next best option is to write a new sales funnel e-book every six months.?The first book would be released in January, the second one in June.?If you can, I strongly encourage you to expand your brand's footprint by publishing your FREE e-book on a third-party platform so it is distributed to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 40,000 retail outlets, and the U.S. library system.

7.?What else can you do with a sales funnel e-book after it is done?

Earlier I mentioned I preferred e-books to any other content type for your sales funnel. The following idea is why I really prefer them. Plus, trust me, if you do this, you will stand out among your peers.?Here is the idea:?repurpose your FREE sales funnel e-books by developing an e-library (virtual library) on your website.

Some magazines will allow nonsubscribers to access past issues of their publication.?Do the same thing.?In this way, your investment of time and money will continue to give back to you for years to come.?In addition, it is easy to keep the material fresh by periodically updating your e-book with new information and indicate it as an updated edition.

Below are some other benefits of maintaining an e-library:

(1)?Search engine optimization.?For each book, you provide a keyword driven description on the landing page of your e-book so Google and other search engines will find your content organically.

(2)?Credibility booster as an author. Only about 18 percent of people publish a book.?Can you imagine if you started now? In a matter of three years, you could be the author of six books if you wrote and published a sales funnel e-book every six months!?Can any of your competitors and colleagues say that?

(3)?Repurpose content.?You can get a lot of mileage out of an e-book by repurposing its content. Do you public speak??Refer to information in the e-book and send people to your website for a free copy.?Do you leverage LinkedIn's blog system? Write on a niche topic in a blog and send readers to your website for a copy of your e-book. Is social media like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter a part of your marketing strategy??Do a giveaway of your e-book as part of a P.R. campaign.?

The Wrap-up

Let me close my introductory guide by asking you the question:?Do you want more clients? I'm guessing your answer is, yes!?

I really encourage you to seriously think about making sales funnel e-books a part of your overall marketing and content marketing strategy.?It can be such a rewarding experience putting your ideas, stories, and experiences into the written word.?Best of all, you can use your website and a third-party publishing and distribution platforms to expand your footprint far beyond what you can imagine.

I suspect sleep may not come easily tonight.?It will NOT be because you will worry about finding and maintaining clients from now on.?Instead, your mind will be racing with ideas on what you want to include in your first sales funnel e-book!

If you are interested in jumpstarting a sales funnel e-book program but are not sure how to start, please contact me via my LinkedIn Contact Info or visit my website at MelissaNewton.com.?I'd be happy to talk with you.?Good luck!