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AMY PORTERFIELD: As an entrepreneur, it's extremely important to have absolute clarity on what your customer journey looks like. But I also know that as an entrepreneur, especially early in your journey, all you can think is, “Get them into my world. And that's all that matters.” Take it from a veteran entrepreneur, being hyper-intentional and clear about the path your customers take, from the moment they come into your world to the moment they purchase and beyond, is the best way to not only boost your conversions—did someone say make more money?—but also nurture your customers and keep them for life. After all, did you know that on average loyal customers are worth up to ten times as much as their first purchase? Honestly, I've been in this business for a while, and those customers who have already purchased from me are sacred and essential for sustained growth, and they become part of my entrepreneur family for life. So let's talk about how to craft the perfect customer journey so that you can walk away knowing exactly how to get people into your world and become lifelong customers. Let’s do this.
Let's kick this episode off with a story. In fact, it's a story about one of my fondest childhood memories. When I was a kid, my family would go on this houseboat on Lake Mead, with two other families. Our dads were all firefighters, so we all grew up together. And we would spend seven days on this boat. And it may seem kind of crazy, but I fondly remember this because it was seven days of being super-present with one another. We would all do fun things together, and it just made me feel important and loved.
So, what the heck does this have to do with a customer journey? Well, I deeply believe that when you're intentional about crafting your customer journey, it makes them feel important and loved. It cultivates fond feelings. And when you nurture them along their way, they feel like you're present with them, that they matter, and they aren't just another number or another person on your email list.
And so in today's podcast episode, we're going to walk through crafting your customer journey. There are four phases we're going to talk about. And by the end of today's episode, you'll be able to put together your very own pathway to keep your customers on track if you don't already have one. Or you'll be able to reassess your current customer journey and improve it so that it nurtures your audience members in the right way and creates those customers who are worth ten times as much as their first purchase.
All right. So here are the phases. Phase one, attraction. Phase two, nurture. Phase three, promotion. Phase four, onboarding. And don’t you worry. I’m going to give you the vehicles that you’ll use to get them into each phase of their journey. At the end of this episode, I’m going to lay out your next action steps so you can start working on this today. You know how I love a quick win, after all.
All right, my friend. Let’s go.
Moving right into phase one, attraction. Oh, the attraction phase. If you've ever been on a date, you know how this phase goes. But to get strategic, let's talk about how to perfect and be intentional about this phase on your customer journey.
So, phase one. Your attraction phase is where you’re going to connect with your audience, basically where you're going to get people into your world. In my business, our main vehicles are through this podcast, social media, ads, and lead magnets. Yours may be through your blog, a video show, or other consistent weekly content that you put out into the world, maybe even Clubhouse. While every stage is important and has a specific purpose, done right, your attraction phase ensures you attract the right people into your world, or in other words, it ensures you attract your ideal community. So with this phase and the vehicles you use within this phase, you'll want to be super-specific about your overall content, topics, and themes.
For example, I teach list building; how to create and sell digital courses, using webinars; and online-marketing strategies. So a bulk of my content on these front-facing platforms is focused on that. For example, scroll through my Online Marketing Made Easy episodes. You'll see content that falls into those categories. Scroll through my Instagram or land on one of my lead-magnet ads on Facebook, you're going to see a theme. This is intentional because I don't want someone who wants to start a brick-and-mortar business coming into my world, only to find that I can't support them in their growth or in their goals. That's a waste of their time and runs the risk of leaving a bad taste in their mouth.
On the other hand, if someone who dreams of having an online business or wants to transition from their one-on-one business into an online business with digital courses, then come on in, my friend. I want them to know right away that I'm their girl.
Now, this doesn't mean every single post or piece of content you put out there needs to be directly about your core topics or what you teach. I've talked about direct and indirect posts before, but that's what I want you to keep in mind when crafting your content for this phase.
Direct posts are 100 percent focused on driving traffic to your opt-in page. They're straightforward and completely obvious that you're promoting your lead magnet because it leads your audience directly to an opt-in page. Indirect posts are more subtle, and they help to build a relationship with your audience. They might start out with a story or a tip or some insight. You can still promote your lead magnet after you add value, or you don't have to promote it at all and just use this post instead as an opportunity to nurture your audience and build a relationship with them. For every direct post, I'll do about three indirect posts. So head to episode 353 to learn more about this strategy.
So, that’s where your customer will come into your world with phase one, attraction. Stick around until the end. I’ll give you your action steps with this phase. But here’s a hint. Start thinking about just a few ways to get people into your world, and then double down and be consistent on them.
Next phase is phase two, the nurture phase. So your ideal-community member has gone through phase one, and they've decided to sign up for your email list. Maybe they even decided to join, let's say, a free Facebook group you've got. Now you've got to build that steady relationship with them. Before we dive into the what and how, I want to point out that you might get someone to transition from phase one to phase two from just one post or one podcast or a lead magnet. Or you might pop up on someone's social feed for months or years before they bite. No matter how long it takes someone to transition to the next phase, it’s worth it. I should also add that this goes for every stage. I’ve had people on my email list or follow me on social for years before purchasing my offers. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, and your efforts are still very valid and important.
Okay. So, back to the nurturing. If you didn’t guess it already, this is the phase where you’re generous. You’re giving. And just like that childhood story I shared about our annual vacation, you are present with your customers to make them feel important. The vehicles I like to use for this phase, and you might as well, are through my weekly newsletters, every single week, rain or shine, and through lead magnets that I continually provide for them, and of course, my free Facebook groups.
I want to back up a little. When I say “my weekly newsletters,” remember, every single week I podcast, rain or shine. So what am I emailing every week? I'm emailing a link to my latest podcast. Now, in the email, I'm sharing a story with them or I'm telling them why this podcast episode this week is so important or giving them a tip. I'm adding value in the email, but the call to action every Thursday, if you're on my email list, is go listen to this week's episode; I've got something good for you. So that's how this all kind of fits together. This podcast is a way to attract, but then ongoing, it’s a way to nurture.
Now, while this phase may seem never ending and maybe even frustrating because you feel like you’re just catering to your audience for not much in return, I doubt you feel that way, but if you do, stick with it. Think of it like the dating phase of a relationship. You don’t want to rush it. And it’s totally worth it if the other person ends up being your significant other. But you don’t get there overnight. You have to invest time and energy. So use this phase to invest your time, energy, and to provide wow-worthy resources.
So again, as a reminder, when people sign up for my newsletter, I email them every Thursday about the podcast episode. This gives them an easy and quick access to something that they already know they love. And I also usually mention if I have a free resource to go along with that week's episode, and because they get that notification right into their inbox, they can head over and snag that right away. So that's nurturing them in two ways: providing them with easy access to something they love by having them on my email list, and providing them with additional free resources.
I also have a free Facebook group called Thrive, which is a list-building group for aspiring course creators. Maybe you're a member. If so, hey, high-five. Inside this group, we provide members with tips and strategies to help them where they are, support from my team, access to other like-minded aspiring course creators, and exclusive trainings and challenges, and so much more. You’re welcome to join. Just look for “Thrive, Amy Porterfield” on Facebook. You’ll find it.
Now, while they might not be paying for this group or access to my team or the content we provide, I know it's worth our time and effort because it's all part of the nurturing process. I've got to show up. I better give before I ever ask for anything in return. I got to do the work, and I really do believe that.
So how can you nurture your audience? Start thinking about it so you can get really clear by the end of this episode, and I'll give you some steps to take at the end. But really, what I want you to think about is, What would you commit to doing consistently? You know that all of the people I model, from the very beginning, one of the things—like, the best of the best—one of the things they have in common is that they show up consistently, and they do the same thing, whether it be their video show, their podcast, their blog, they’re on it. So, consistency, you’ll beat out your competition any day.
Okay. On to phase three, the promotion phase. And yes, I could pretty much hear you cringe when I said that. I know that some of you shy away from the term promotion or selling, but stick with me because this phase is just as important as the attraction phase, and the onboarding phase coming up next. So the promotion phase is where you offer your potential students or customers something that can help them get the transformation they're looking for, something that's irresistible to them, and something they just really need and want. You’re selling, though. Like, we’re not going to sugarcoat this, and there’s nothing wrong with selling. We've had podcast episodes on this show about selling and embracing that.
And here's how we do this. We promote through our pre-launch runway, which leads up to my signature program, Digital Course Academy, through intentional and thoughtful email sequences, live webinars, super-honed-in ads, which all provide my audience with the guidance they need to step closer to that transformation.
So, if you’ve been with me for a while, you’ve heard me talk about the invisible bridge. If you haven’t and if you’re multitasking, come back to me. You’re going to love this. So, the invisible bridge essentially means that before you sell to your ideal community, you're going to answer any objections they might have around investing in your program or your offer. And you guessed it. You do a lot of this during phase two, the nurture phase, and even in phase three. So by addressing these objections, you will create a bridge that they can move across through your content and be ready to get on your webinar or buy your course by the time they get to the other side, which is phase four, they become a customer.
So you'll bridge this gap from, let's say, an email subscriber or follower on social media to becoming a paying student or customer by addressing their objections, their fears, their challenges. You're helping them build their confidence. You're getting them ready. You're giving them more steady footing so that they cross the invisible bridge and they're ready to buy. Essentially, it's the invisible bridge that will take your ideal-community member from where they are now to where they need to be when they purchase your course.
So in this phase, especially during your pre-launch runway, it's just like the weeks leading up to you opening your cart, selling your course, selling your offer, and you’re going to be bringing them across that invisible bridge step by step. Again, you’ll do this through webinars and email sequences. So in your webinar, you're likely going to be talking to a warmer audience. And that means that you've already walked them through probably phase one and phase two, which means they know that you are reliable and that you've gotten results that they desire. That means that in phase three, you want to show them the how, how you’ll get them the transformation or skills they desire.
So, for example, during my pre-launch runway, I host a webinar that shows my audience how to create and launch a profitable digital course from scratch. This was my masterclass from my most recent DCA launch that showed my ideal-community members how to set themselves up to thrive by adding one profitable digital course to their business. Now, I taught them the things they need to know to get them across the bridge, like the key to getting into motion; and the 10 percent edge that they need to succeed with courses; and the simplest, most effective recording strategy; and how to get big results with a tiny email list; and a proven way to sell their online course.
Now, I often get asked, Why would someone ever pay for what I teach if I give them what I teach, or my best stuff, for free? Well, my friend, when you give away some of your best stuff in this phase, you'll find your potential customer say, “If this is what they give away for free, just imagine what their paid content is like.” And that’s exactly where you want them to be. That’s an essential part of getting them to say yes to your offer.
Okay. Beyond the webinar, we also send an email sequence that was written with their desires and objections in mind. In that email sequence, I provide them with extra tools, resources, and support to help them achieve that transformation that they’re looking for. These efforts will definitely leave your ideal-community members feeling that they're important and saying, “This is exactly what I need.” And at that point on their customer journey, they become a paying customer.
Which leads me to the final phase, phase four, onboarding. This is where you welcome your students, celebrate the decision that they made to trust you as their teacher and mentor, and walk them through the transformation you promised. It's also the phase where you elevate your offer and show them how to get the most out of your product, service, or whatever it is that you provided. If you're multitasking, come back to me because this is important. Just because your student said yes to your offer doesn't mean you get to kick back and relax. Being intentional, going above and beyond, and continuing to nurture your students continues through this phase, especially if you want to scale your business and grow what you have to offer. But we’ll revisit that in a moment.
First, let’s talk about the vehicles that I use to onboard my students. And I want you to think about how you can do the same. We have an onboarding email sequence that is triggered as soon as a student signs up for one of my programs. So it kicks off with a welcome email, which includes a little pump-up language, their login details, and then it encourages them to check out a welcome video, which I house inside of the program that they're going to log into.
Then, they get another email the next day. And this email includes the promises that I, as their teacher, make to them, as well as an invite to our private Facebook group and their login details again.
Beyond that, they receive weekly emails when each module goes live, and sometimes I'll send out an email with just a little check-in video or just a little kind of pump-up, pep-talk kind of video, reminding them why they're here and addressing some of the mindset challenges that pop up throughout the course.
Alongside this onboarding email sequence, I also provide them with tons of video trainings. My goal, as should be yours, is to leave them without any questions. Think ahead and provide them with the training and resources that they need to succeed and to continue to feel important, because they are.
So, like I said, I do a welcome video, an entire welcome to DCA module, where I walk them through a new-student orientation, and I cover how to get instant momentum. Plus I give them the DCA road map and project plan, and I also go over something we call accountability pods that I offer within my program. I also offer a resources section, a Q&A vault, and a tech library so that they have additional tools to get all their questions answered. So this is what I do inside of my courses.
So I want you to think, how can you perfect and lay out the onboarding phase for your students?
Okay. Your turn. Let's walk through each phase together. I want you to grab a pen and paper because you'll want to map this out. At the top, phase one, attraction. How are you going to attract your ideal customers? What platforms or strategies are you going to use? Start by writing those out. If you want to take this one step further, write out your main area or areas of expertise that you'll want to highlight in this phase.
Phase two, nurture. What actions are you going to take to build that relationship with your audience? Are you going to offer a weekly newsletter? more lead magnets? Or maybe start a free Facebook group. If you have the capacity to do so, I would highly recommend you do it. Remember, this is where you can make them feel so special and important, like you're reading their mind and you know exactly what they want and what they need.
Phase three, promote. How are you going to get your ideal customer to cross over that invisible bridge? How are you going to promote your offer and get them to say yes to that transformation or desire that you can provide them? Are you going to do a pre-launch runway, webinar, email sequence, ads? Maybe a few of these options?
And lastly, phase four, onboarding. How do you plan to onboard your students? What can you do to go above and beyond? Maybe you craft that onboarding email sequence with all the bells and whistles, or maybe you provide them with some introductory videos or a mix of both.
A great way to lay out your customer’s journey is to imagine what kind of path you'd like to be taken on. What things would you want or need to go from that first social post to a recurring customer? Use that to guide you as you craft the perfect customer journey for your customer.
All right, friend. You've got some work to do, so let's get to it.
Thanks for joining me today. I'll see you next week, same time, same place. Bye for now.
