The 16 Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Funnel

            I admit that many people are scared off when I first bring up marketing automation or sales funnels because they sounds technical and complicated. However, once I explain that a funnel is simply a business's customer journey or sales path, they quickly realize their importance to every business.

            People eventually admit that sales funnels are important, and that they can work for anyone, but the final question they ask me sounds something like this:

"I know they work and that they can benefit me,
but how do I bring people into my very own funnel?"

            It's a fair question, which is why I've taken the time to list 16 great traffic sources to bring people into your automated marketing funnel. The sections are separated into paid and non-paid options.

            If you can't decide where to start, you can use tools such as SimilarWeb, SEMRush, or Ahrefs to find out where your competitors are getting their traffic, and do what you will with that information.

Paid Traffic Options:

            Given we're focusing on driving prospects into your online sales funnel, most of these paid and non-paid options involve attracting online eyeballs. Paid options are a great way to do this.

            For one reason or another, some people gasp when they hear that they might want to or have to PAY to drive traffic. "I might have to invest to grow my business!?" they ask. The short story is that you will have to invest money into advertising, or time into publishing content (or preferably both).

            You absolutely do not HAVE TO pay to attract online eyeballs to your content, however, the costs are significantly outweighed by the benefits, if you do it right. Here are some of your best paid options:

            While Reddit, Pinterest, Twitter, and the like aren't exactly new companies, you'd be surprised at how many advertisers still consider these to be luxurious fads of little value. They are wrong.

            Not only are those opinions wrong, but these types of sites attracts TENS OF MILLIONS of daily eyeballs, many of which are looking for, or would be willing to buy whatever it is you sell.

            Social media platforms provide you with varied platforms that can showcase your brand's best side. Does your product look really nice? Advertise with images on Instagram or Pinterest. Does your offer look better in motion? Advertise with video on YouTube or Facebook. The options are endless.

            Similar to search engines, the great thing about social media is that people are already there. Social media also gives you the runway to tell stories, use video, hyper-target, and much more.

            Google. Bing. DuckDuckGo. Even YouTube and Amazon are all essentially search engines, which means tons of people go there specifically to research or find something to buy. Logic tells you that if you aim to sell something, go to where the buyers are looking, and search engines are where they are.

            This is why Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is an extremely useful tool. There is a very strong magic to being in the exact place and time, when and where people are looking to research and/or buy.

            While Google ads may be somewhat saturated at this point, there are still plenty of long-tail (unpopular but relevant) keywords and phrases you can target which can and will lead to sales. This applies even more if you're willing to go where most advertisers won't, which includes YouTube ads.

            Have you seen Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, or practically any other digital or physical publication recently? If you have, chances are high that you've seen sponsored content, which is when a company buys space to publish (relevant) content that will likely interest its readership.

            This is not your standard 1-page ad for cologne or something, which is clearly an ad. Instead, it is relevant content that could (and is intended to) be easily mistaken for actual journalistic content.

            Assuming you can provide relevant, useful content, you'd be surprised at how many publications and magazines accept sponsored content. Make a quality effort, and you can get placed anywhere.

            For example, I was looking through Travel & Leisure Magazine the other day and saw an article named "Explore the Wonders of China". If it wasn't for the small-print "sponsored content" on the top of the page, I wouldn't have known it was placed there (and paid for) by China's tourism board.

            This is similar to another tactic called Native Advertising, which basically means ads that look like they are organic content. In most cases, you only know the difference because of the "ad" label nearby.

            This option is a bit advanced, but it is a great option for many business. Affiliate marketing simply means giving a "cut" to those who refer business to you. There are many ways this can be done, and there are some precautions to take as well, but you can essentially make the world your salesman.

            Let's take the popular example of Amazon.com. If you send someone to Amazon through your (affiliate) link, and that person buys something, Amazon will give you a percentage of the total sale. You could do the same by giving a percentage or a flat rate to anyone who refers a buyer to your site.

            If your business deals in high-ticket transactions, or if sales are too far down your pipeline, you can also pay affiliates for anyone they send your way who fills out a form, calls to inquire, or performs any other action you want. Again, this is a bit advanced, but it works great for many businesses.

            I'm guessing this one caught you by surprise. "But isn't traditional media dead?" you might ask. 

            While traditional media's business models are scrambling to adapt to today's landscape, the truth is that media is changing more than dying. The fact that there are millions of stations and channels instead of only three, means that their ad pricing (especially locally) is increasingly advertiser-friendly.

            While it's true that viewership is down, it is definitely not gone, especially with certain age groups and other demographics. This option may not work for every business, but depending on what you sell, how locally you are focused, the media's distribution numbers, and more, there are still people starting and growing businesses, including online, by relying on traditional media advertising options.

            Similar to sponsored content, placement ads are what they sound like, and are ads where you choose exactly where they show up, and for how long. While Google and Facebook advertising offer great targeting options, they stop when your budget runs out, and you aren't sure where they'll show.

            On the other hand, you know exactly where placement ads will be and have a great idea of who will see them. For example, if you sell motorcycle gear, you can reach out to bloggers and publications about motorcycles and such, and offer to pay for a specific space on their site for a period of time.

            Similar to standard print ads, you know exactly where the ad will be, and for how long.

            Many traffic tactics overlap, and this option can be a mix of placement ads, sponsored content, and sometimes affiliate marketing. Influencer marketing involves working with specific individuals or influencers (I hate that word) and getting them to post, appear with, or associate with your brand.

            A popular modern example of this is how hotels and tourism boards offer free stays or even pay those with large followings in the travel niche, in exchange for content. This includes travel bloggers who mainly write, as well as "Instagrammers" who primarily post great travel images.

           Your payment and placement options vary widely, as you can provide a free stay, or pay a straight fee for them to mention or be seen with your product, or offer a percentage of sales they generate. They will likely care deeply about their "brand" so have a great offer or great content to present.

            This can be very cost-effective since influencers only grow in popularity, but their content with your brand will be visible on their profile somewhat "forever", and for only a one-time cost.

Non-Paid ("Free") Traffic Options:

            Now we'll focus on non-paid options, which generally don't involve money, but understandably require some time and effort instead. While paid traffic works great to get results NOW, it's a smart idea to invest in non-paid options as they are longer-lasting and work better to build crucial trust.

            Remember that the goal is to bring new prospects into your funnel and world.

            The standard (and effective) slow-and-steady option to drive traffic is SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which relates to ranking high on organic search results on Google and other search engines (which also include/overlap with Amazon, YouTube, Instagram and more).

            The algorithm for all these search engines essentially work the same. They see what people search for, engage with, and when they stop searching. If most searchers engaged with or stopped searching after visiting your content, or buying your product, then the engine points future searchers of that topic, toward your content, or wherever most searchers engaged and stopped searching.

             Google and other search engines have hundreds of factors that affect your search ranking including page load speed, mobile friendliness, and amount of external links pointing your way. While it's good to be aware of these, the best strategy is to target relevant keywords and produce content.

             While Google tends to be the main target of "SEO Experts", you can strategically create content in any format or on any platform. These include podcasting, YouTube, Instagram, blogging, and more.

            As you'd expect, this timely, valuable content can and often does lead to direct and indirect sales. Content takes a bit of time to produce, but it's probably your best "free" option to drive traffic.

            While blog (written) content is important to maintain, choose any platform or two and commit to publishing. Publishing consistent valuable content not only allows you to be found, but it also builds trust, humanizes your brand, and more, which is crucial since people buy from who they like and trust.

            This option works better when you have some traction, and is a great option for many reasons. Partnerships and joint ventures can involve anything you team up with someone else on.

            For example, if you are a business consultant, you can exchange content or co-create a product with someone in the same or a similar field. By co-creating a product or exchanging interviews on your podcasts, you are each exposed to a new (to you) audience, where "everyone wins."

            In most cases, you'd want to partner with someone on a similar "level" as you, but successful partnerships have worked in all types of ways, so consider your options.

            While this is arguably a paid option, that isn't always the case, and the new traffic itself comes mainly from your own personality and networking skills. Whether it's a professional conference or a meeting at your local Chamber of Commerce, networking works great to bring people into your world.

            Of course, I'm not advocating being "that guy" who runs around giving his business card to everyone, ignores everything they say, and is constantly "eye-darting" past you during conversations.

            For example, I attended the marketing conference Funnel Hacking Live last year (and will again this year), and saw many valuable connections being made. People who needed websites found site-builders, those who needed content writers found them as well, and the list goes on. 

            No event is perfect, and meeting new people can be intimidating, but "live" networking and events provide you a great opportunity to be found, and to find those you may need as well.

            I will mention this fact multiple times, so listen up: given 1) the modern 24-hour news cycle, and 2) the endless mountain of content produced every day, every publisher is starved for content.

            While the world as a whole certainly isn't starved of content, almost every individual publisher is. Which is why guest posts work great for everyone. For example, if you are a online business lawyer, and you want exposure to my audience, I'll probably let you guest post on my blog about something that would be useful to my audience like "10 Steps to Set Up Your Online Business Corporation". 

            It takes a load of the publisher's back for content that day/week, and the guest contributor gets exposure, and the chance to display their expert position. The most important thing is that the content be useful to the audience.

            So write a few valuable articles in your area of expertise (that you don't publish elsewhere), and offer them to relevant publishers and blogs that will likely value them. Everyone wins.