This post was most recently updated on August 6th, 2016

If you don’t understand how Your Blog Is A Sales Funnel, you are making a big blogging mistake.

Savvy bloggers design their blogs to act as a sales funnel.

We’ll talk about that in a bit.

First, though, let’s put this discussion into the context of how most bloggers get this wrong.

You see, a sales funnel is simply a strategy for drawing people into your business.

It’s function is to help you monetize your blog.

One of the biggest mistakes that bloggers make is failing to monetize their blogs the right way.

In fact, it is common for newbies and even pro bloggers to gravitate to one of two extremes.

On the one hand, they do practically nothing but sell things all the time.

On the other hand, they don’t make any effort at all to sell or promote anything.

Are you guilty of making one of these two mistakes?

The Pushy Sales Blogger

This blogger just wants to start making money.

He or she is not interested in educating or informing readers about anything other than how to click and buy.

Sometimes the pushy sales blogger is desperate to make money to pay bills or quit her job or some other reason.

This blogger might be trying to get people to join a business opportunity or buy some affiliate products.

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There’s nothing wrong with selling things on your blog, but the pushy sales blogger turns her blog into one big advertising space.

The pushy blogger appears to be desperate to make a sale because she probably is.

Her blog is not informative or interesting in any way for visitors, so they’re not likely to be back any time soon.

The Value-Only Blogger

At the other end of the spectrum is what I call the “value-only” blogger.

This blogger is often afraid to sell, and does everything possible to avoid making a pitch.

Don’t get me wrong, here.

The value-only blogger wants to make money.

But she doesn’t want to appear like she does.

Somewhere along the line, she’s probably heard that good bloggers give 100% value all the time.

So she tries to write every blog post to teach her readers something, or brand herself as an authority or expert.

She believes that somehow, all that value and branding will magically lead to profits.

Yet, she does nothing at all to try to make sales.

Maybe she’s building an email list, but she treats her email list the same way, repeating the same mistake.

Day after day she sends value-only in the form of “tips,” “how to” information or maybe an entertaining story.

If she ever does try to sell something, it seems so disconnected to everything else she’s been doing with her “value-only” style, that people don’t even pay attention.

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Your Blog Is A Sales Funnel

Your blog is not a series of advertisements.

But it’s also not an educational manual.

Your blog is a sales funnel… or at least, it ought to be if you are interested in using it to build a business.

A sales funnel is simply an entry into your business.

You need to write valuable content that will attract people to your blog.

The value you offer people will bring them into your sales funnel.

That’s the main function of each article you write when you’re doing this right.

You aren’t in business to just give people valuable information and nothing else.

Your articles should be written in ways that help people make smart buying choices.

The deeper they go into your funnel, the more they should encounter opportunities to buy things that will help them solve their problems.

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That’s your job as a blogger.

What Does A Sales Funnel Look Like?

Your dentist may offer you a great water pic to help you improve your oral health.

He/she may then recommend that you undergo a procedure to avoid other problems.

That’s what a sales funnel looks like.

You need to offer your readers things that will help them overcome their challenges that are unique to your niche.

It’s not just about sales, though.

The same dentist selling you a water pic, is also giving you valuable treatment in the form of a root canal or a tooth implant.

You don’t visit your dentist just to learn about all the great dental aides or services you could be buying.

You go to the dentist primarily to get great dental treatment… that’s the value you seek.

As a blogger, you need to give people the value they are looking for in terms of information, training or perspective.

As you do, you need to also make it your business to introduce them to those products and services that can make it easier for them to implement that valuable information.

Your blog is a sales funnel when you are balancing the two extremes that I’ve described as the pushy salesman approach vs the value-only blogger.

I’d like to hear about your blog.

Are you a pushy sales blogger?

Are you a value-only blogger?

Or have you avoided making the mistake of those two extremes?

Is your blog a sales funnel?

I look forward to your comments below, and appreciate you sharing this article on your social sites.

-Donna

• Bio
• Blogging Magic

Donna Merrill

Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.