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When I first started selling products and giving away lead magnets, I didn’t have any funnel in place. I was just cranking out content as fast as I could, relying on the Twitter algorithm to put me in front of people, and hoping they’d click their way to the one product I had mentioned.

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Here’s what my funnel looked like back then:

1. See my social post
2. Click link → landing page
3. Click CTA → checkout page
4. Click buy → thank you page
5. Done

No follow-up emails. No upsells. No directions. No post-sale message. And the copy? Pretty mediocre.

I treated the funnel like a one-time, dry transaction. I didn’t bother building any connection with my customers, didn’t guide them through each step, and didn’t offer any follow-up content for my sales. Not even for my lead magnets!

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Normally, I’d say, “I don’t know what I was thinking,” but honestly, I don’t think I was thinking…

I mean, I put in so much effort into creating these one-off posts on Twitter, and they only lasted for a few hours, maybe a day max. That’s the problem with social media posts. They’re not designed for longevity—they get buried under the 100s of millions of new posts every day.

100s of millions of new posts—every single day!

There’s no way your content is going to have a lifetime value on platforms like X, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook. They just get buried, and rarely ever resurface. That’s why creating content for these platforms feels like such a grind. It requires so much energy, and the ROI just doesn’t hold up long-term.

But what about you? Can you be honest with yourself about your funnel? Are you putting in the effort to improve each stage of it?

Don’t worry if you’re not—because I learned the hard way, and I’ve got a few ways you can improve your funnel based on my past mistakes.

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Maximize The Value of Each Stage of The Funnel

It took me a while to realize that I couldn’t just hit the gas and go every day expecting to build a 6-figure business. I’m proud of my work ethic, but it wasn’t getting me anywhere. So I stopped creating fleeting content and focused on the funnel I was pulling people into.

You can’t keep collecting leads without doing anything with them. You have to create an experience that benefits your audience as they move through your funnel. This means:

• Clear, easy-to-understand copy
• Fast webpage load times
• A simple checkout process
• Valuable content at every step
• Clear instructions on what to do next
• Follow-up emails that add more value

Each step of the funnel should feel like a smooth, enjoyable experience for your customer. You don’t want them dreading slow load times, confusing checkouts, or not knowing what to do next.

That’s why I slowed down and focused on these details—and I’ve seen more sales, better reviews, and more engagement ever since.

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Use Lead Magnets to Get People Into Your Funnel

When you make changes to your funnel, always rely on data to guide you. Run leads through the funnel and see what’s happening before you make adjustments.

For example, if you run 100 leads through your funnel and only 5 make a purchase, find out why:

• Where did the rest drop off?
• Why did they abandon their cart?
• Did they miss the CTA?
• Did they even open your DM?

There are dozens of reasons why people don’t finish the purchase—it’s up to you to dig into the data and figure it out.

This is where lead magnets come in. Instead of trying to sell products right off the bat, focus on getting people into your funnel with a valuable freebie. Paid products create resistance—especially if you’re new to selling—so just give something valuable away and get the data you need to improve your funnel.

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Improve Your Funnels Over Time

After about a year of seeing barely any traction, I went monk mode and focused on creating lead magnets that people actually wanted. I had been offering generic Notion templates—nothing special—but after a few months, I came up with seven solid lead magnets.

You really only need one solid lead magnet, but having a few more definitely helps.

Think of your lead magnets as the levers that activate your marketing funnel. Every time someone takes your lead magnet, they enter your funnel, and you get a fresh wave of data on where they drop off.

Not everyone will make it through the entire funnel, but the goal is to collect enough data so you know what to fix.

Here’s a simple breakdown of the process:

• Offer a lead magnet
• Collect at least 50+ leads
• Analyze the data
• Make improvements
• Repeat the process

This is what I do to keep improving my funnel—and it’s something I wish I had started doing sooner.

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Conclusion

Improving your funnel isn’t just about hustling harder; it’s about working smarter. By slowing down and focusing on each stage, I’ve been able to fix leaks, boost sales, and increase engagement. One of the biggest game-changers? Lead magnets.

Lead magnets give you a consistent way to bring people into your funnel and gather valuable data on what works—and what doesn’t. With every wave of new leads, you get more insight into where people are dropping off and how to fix it. More importantly, you create a process that keeps refining and improving over time.

If you’re tired of guessing why your funnel isn’t converting or just need a fresh approach to generating leads, grab my Ultimate Lead Magnet Giveaway Guide. You’ll learn how to generate hundreds of new leads every month, so you can start collecting the data you need to improve your funnel and boost your sales.

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If you have any questions you would like to ask, reply to any of my emails like this one. I read all of them and will message you back.

See you next time

Amado

The One Person Startup Founder, Amado Aguilar

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
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