If you’ve ever wondered “What’s a funnel?” and how it can help you grow your online sales, you’re in the right place! Funnels are a crucial piece of building a successful online business, especially for teacherpreneurs and homeschool parents who sell digital products.
In this post, I’ll explain what a funnel is, why you need one, how to create one, and how to get people into it!
1. What is a Funnel?
In simple terms, a funnel is the journey someone takes from being a non-customer to becoming a paying customer. Imagine a real funnel—wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Lots of people enter at the top, but only some will make it to the bottom and buy from you.
Funnels are not complicated! In fact, once set up properly, they can run almost on autopilot, helping you make sales every single day.
2. When Should You Start Using Funnels?
If you’re just starting out on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT), focus first on creating quality resources and optimizing your listings. Funnels become important after you have an established store—around 50 products or more—and you’re ready to expand your business through an email list.
If you’re creating digital products beyond TPT (like eBooks, mini-courses, or templates), funnels are essential from the beginning. Unlike TPT, where the platform brings traffic to you, selling other digital products means you need your own system to attract and convert customers.
3. Key Parts of a Funnel
Here are the main parts you’ll need when setting up a funnel:
- Lead Magnet (Freebie): A valuable free resource that solves a specific problem for your audience.
- Landing Page: A simple page where people can sign up for your freebie.
- Thank You Page with an Upsell: After someone signs up, offer them a related low-cost product immediately.
- Email Sequence: A series of emails that nurture your audience, build trust, and promote your paid offers.
Some examples of great lead magnets include:
- A week’s worth of free geometry worksheets for math teachers.
- A free guide to morning meeting routines for elementary teachers.
- 50 free Instagram templates for teacherpreneurs growing their brand.
The key is to make your freebie valuable, actionable, and aligned with the product you want to sell.
4. How to Get People into Your Funnel
Once your funnel is set up, you need to drive traffic to it. Here are several ways to do that:
- Instagram: Share valuable content and promote your freebie through posts and DMs.
- Pinterest: Create pins linking directly to your freebie landing page.
- Facebook Groups: With permission, share your freebie inside relevant groups.
- YouTube: Teach, nurture, and link your audience to your freebie.
- Blog Posts: Write SEO-optimized blog posts (just like this one!) that link to your freebie.
- Facebook Ads: Paid ads can quickly grow your email list and funnel traffic.
- Collaborations: Partner with others through bundles, podcasts, or guest posts.
Start with just one traffic method, get consistent, and then expand.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about growing your online business, understanding whats-a-funnel is the first step to consistent sales and long-term success. Whether you’re selling teacher resources, homeschool materials, or digital products, building a funnel allows you to attract, nurture, and convert customers automatically.
Ready to dive deeper into building your email list and setting up funnels that work? Grab my Free Teacher Resource Training and start building your profitable online business today!
Click here to watch my free training and make a teacher resource!
Click here to watch my free training and make a digital product!
Let’s make your teacher business dreams a reality!
