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marketing funnels are silly: introduction
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Welcome to the first newsletter series of 2026: marketing funnels are silly! Ok, but, not to be click-baity about it, we don't think they are super dumb and totally unhelpful and a scam. We DO think they can hinder more than help. And that's what this whole series is about, Reader. Let's start with some 101: what is a marketing funnel? It is a "formula for people’s path to purchase." While I like this word "formula," I would push back on it. It's more like a nifty visualization tool to help make sure you are nurturing a broader audience through to purchase. It seems simple! If you deploy smart tactics at each stage, you funnel people along from WOW YOU EXIST (awareness) to I NEED TO BUY YOUR STUFF (purchase). Cha-ching. There's no denying that visualizing and mapping out marketing efforts like this is helpful. You need to figure out how to simplify the complex in order to move forward. If you didn't have something like a marketing funnel to corral your efforts, you'd just be throwing marketing ploys left and right until know one knows what you sell because your whole company has just become a trend monster and meme generator. (... ahem... Duolingo??) However, the marketing funnel's version of simplifying the complex does a big disservice to you and your customers. In this series, we'll break down why. We'll be covering:
You in? We're in. We're excited. Cheers, Anna (they/them) 🏳️⚧️✊🏳️🌈✊🇵🇸 What I'm reading Automatic Noodle by Analee Newitz Cute lil cozy book for a snowy cold season. I started it last night and I'll probably finish it today. Short read about robots working together to make their own restaurant. Because why not. A podcast about rethinking how business works - and who it should work for. We’re Janel and Anna, small business owners learning in public as we turn our company into a worker-owned co-op. |
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💌Sign up for Tuesday emails 💌 ✔️ business insights inspired by how moss grows ✔️lessons pulled from fantastical stories about magic in space ✔️metaphors that connect ultimate frisbee to being a business owner
Flying the Coop: EMMA Technology Cooperative "When you take infinite growth off the table, this entire world of possibilities opens up." — Ramsey Nassar, EMMA Technology Cooperative We make this show to learn things, ask good questions, and let really cool people shine (and maybe occasionally get a little clever ourselves). This conversation did something different: it reminded us that what we're building isn't just a business model. It can be radical. And maybe it should be. 📖👀 Prefer...
Part five: conclusion Y’all ready for the final installment of marketing funnels are silly? I am! This one has been fun to write. I do apologize for it coming out with long breaks between installments. Life got in the way, but that happens! And ironically, something a lot of funnel tactics don’t account for. (I’m looking at you, countdown timers) What we’ve learned so far: Balancing company- and customer-centered needs when you make sales and marketing decisions is critically important...
Part four: creating a system that works for you Cool. So. So! So far in this series, you have seen the light about marketing funnels. They are nice and pretty BUT they are a failed attempt to simplify something deeply complex. They force organizations to make company-centered instead of customer-centered decisions. They create tunnel vision, causing people to miss or flat-out ignore signals customers are sending that say WE WANT THIS. All of this is because humans are chaotic. Your job in all...