I see this pattern constantly. Companies burn cash on ads to grow their list. They write beautiful newsletters. Then they scratch their heads when nobody buys. The problem isn't your emails. You're just sending the right message at the wrong time to the wrong people.
Think about your last online purchase - you didn't jump from "who's this company?" straight to buying, did you? You browsed, compared and probably abandoned your cart at some point. Maybe you signed up for their emails to get a discount, then ignored them for weeks until something clicked. It's the journey 95% to 97% of prospects go through who don't buy immediately.
That journey is what email funnels manage. Not the theoretical flowchart you sketched once, I mean the actual system that knows when someone's ready to buy versus when they need more information. The one that catches people before they leave and brings them back.
Many companies have a welcome email and then they blast the same weekly newsletter to everyone. It's like having the same conversation with someone you just met and your spouse of ten years - awkward, and it doesn't work.
Marketing and sales funnels convert the 3% to 5% of people who are ready to buy right now. Email funnels convert everyone else, when they are ready to buy.
TL;DR: Email Funnel Quick Reference
SaaS companies:
Starts at account creation. If you have a free plan or free trial, the goal is to get them to upgrade to paid. You'll do this via your in-app onboarding flow and onboarding emails sequence - this is what we do at Bento.
If you don't have a free plan or free trial, your final will start at the “abandoned card” stage where many people drop off after account creation.
Ecommerce stores:
Starts when they opt-in to your newsletter and maybe you made them a special offer like a discount or free shipping. The goal is to get them to make their first purchase as soon as possible.
The funnel can also start when they abandon checkout after you've captured their email address. Your abandoned checkout sequence needs to remove all objections so they can complete their purchase.
Course creators:
Starts most often with an opt-in for a free resource. Subscribers will go through a welcome or nurture sequence during which you'll pitch your core offer.
Can also start with a sign-up for a webinar or some other live event. Here the goal is to first get them to shop up to the live event, then to get them to watch the replay (if they didn't show up live), then to pitch the offer.
For some high-ticket courses (and coaching) the funnel starts when they book a sales call. Here the goal is to get them to show up to the call. After the call, if they don't buy, they'll be put in different follow-up sequences manually based on their needs or objections.
B2B companies:
Starts with booking a sales call or requesting a demo. Again, make the goal to simply have the call, and afterwards make follow-up sequences if they don't buy.
If the company offers free resources, the funnel starts with a form submission. The goals are to deliver the resource, encourage consumption, and to get them to book a call.
What to watch out for:
Email funnels fail because they don't have enough emails. Intermediate steps in the funnel where prospects can drop off need their own email sequences. In eCommerce, for example, you'll need:
- Site abandonment
- Browse abandonment
- Cart abandonment
- Checkout abandonment
You don't just set up checkout abandonment and leave it at that.
A B2B prospect opts-in to a VSL funnel where they must fill out an application, then book a call. This needs three email sequences.
- The first sequence after they opt in, to get them to consume the information in the VSL and fill out an application
- The second sequence if they fill out an application but don't book a call
- The third sequence after they book the call, to get them to show up
I'm simplifying the process here as there are more sequences we could include. For example, a sequence for rejected applications.
Here's What Actually Works
After building funnels for solo creators to enterprise SaaS, I've learned the theory is simple. Execution is where everyone messes up. Forget the textbook definitions, here's what moves the needle.
Getting people in the door: Your welcome sequence sets the tone. If you mess this up, nothing else matters. Everyone tries to sell immediately, but keep in mind your new subscriber just met you. Relax, deliver what you promised and make them feel smart for joining. Then ease into the relationship.
Building the relationship: This is where funnels often die. Companies go silent after the welcome series or they spam daily product emails. Both approaches are bound to fail. You need to educate without preaching. Show value without pushing. Pay attention to what clicks and opens tell you.
Making the sale: Timing is everything. Offer too early? You're the pushy salesperson everyone avoids. Too late? Someone else solved their problem. The secret is behavior triggers, not arbitrary timelines. Someone opening every email and clicking links is ready, while someone barely engaged needs nurturing.
Keeping them around: The sale starts the real relationship. But most companies treat customers worse than prospects. They stop emailing or only reach out only for more money. Your best customers deserve your best content.
Making it work together: Good tools matter here. Marketing emails, app notifications, transactional messages, they all need to talk. When someone does something important, every system should know instantly. That's what Bento does. But whatever you use, avoid duct tape solutions.
What a Funnel Actually Is
Forget fancy diagrams. An email funnel sends different emails based on where someone is with you.
Remember choose-your-own-adventure books? That's what we're building. Someone clicks your pricing page? One path. They ignore three emails? Different path. They buy? New adventure!
The old approach was "spray and pray." Set up 10 emails, space them three days apart and send to everyone, hoping for the best. That worked in 2010 when people got 20 emails daily - now they get 120. Your generic drip campaign drowns.
Modern funnels know when someone's engaged versus checked out. They spot the difference between researchers and ready buyers, and connect email to actual behavior in your app or website.
I worked with a SaaS company sending identical onboarding to solo freelancers and enterprise teams. Nobody was happy. Freelancers felt overwhelmed, while enterprise felt underwhelmed. Also, activation rates sucked. This is why we built behavior-based paths instead and activation jumped 40% in six weeks. Same product, same features, just emails that matched what people needed.
Stage 1: The First Impression That Actually Matters
You've got 3 seconds. That's how long someone decides if your welcome email is worth reading or just clutter.
Most companies blow this by sending corporate "Welcome to our newsletter!" messages that sound like legal documents. Even worse, they wait days to send anything and by then, subscribers forgot who you are.
Here's what works:
Speed beats perfection. Get that first email out within 5 minutes. Not hours, not tomorrow - now. While they remember subscribing, while they're still on your site and while they care.
Yet speed without value is fast spam. That lead magnet they wanted? Put it in the email. Sure, you showed it on the thank you page, but half your subscribers bounced before it loaded and the other half forgot to download. Email it amd make life easy.
Now the interesting part. That first email teaches you something crucial: why they're here. Do not do this with a 20-question survey, but ask one simple question: "What's your biggest challenge with (your topic)?" Three options to click. That click determines their path.
Stage 2: The Education Game (Without Being a Boring Professor)
This is where 90% of funnels die. Companies give up and go sales-heavy or they become that droning professor putting everyone to sleep.
The consideration stage is tricky. People are interested but not convinced. They're shopping around, comparing options, figuring out if you're real or just another disappointment.
Here's the secret: stop talking about yourself.
Seriously. Subscribers don't care about features, company history or mission statements. They care about their problems and if you solve them.
So tell stories - but not your stories. Their stories.
I helped an accounting software rebuild their nurture sequence. Version one was "Our software does this, our software does that." Boring. Dead.
Version two? Customer stories. "How Sarah saved 10 hours weekly on invoicing." "Why Mike fired his bookkeeper (positively)." "The $30K tax deduction Jennifer almost missed." Same software and features, but wrapped in relatable stories.
Stories alone aren't enough though - you need smart targeting. This is why behavioral triggers are your friend.
Someone reading every email but not clicking needs different nudging than someone who clicks but doesn't buy. Someone hitting your pricing page three times needs different content than someone reading beginner guides.
Stage 3: Actually Asking for the Sale
The obsession with lead nurturing has led some experts to call it lead “nursing.” Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to wait to sell. You can sell from the very first email. If they didn't want to buy from you, why are they on your list? And if they don't want to buy, the best thing for both your sakes is for them to unsubscribe.
However, this doesn't mean you can skip educating your prospects. Your subscribers need a certain amount of belief-shifting, objection-handling, and consumption of sales material before they are ready to buy. How much consumption will vary by prospect -some need a lot of education, others are comfortable making decisions based on limited information.
Congruence between email and landing page is important. If your email promises one thing and your landing page shows another, you'll confuse the reader. And confused readers don't buy.
The Abandoned Cart Gold Mine
Abandoned cart sequences aren't just for eCommerce businesses. They can be used for any step a subscriber abandons.
- Abandoned card: For SaaS users who create an account but don't enter their card details. Or for users whose free trial has ended.
- Abandoned booking: For high-ticket or B2B leads who have filled out an application but haven't booked a call.
- Webinar no-show: For course leads who registered for a webinar but didn't attend live.
"You forgot something!" No, they didn't forget - they chose not to buy. Good emails address why someone left: price concerns, shipping costs, just browsing. Each reason needs different handling.
And if you care about recovering abandoned carts, the more emails in your sequence, the better. 10 email beat three, 30 emails beat 10, and so on.
Stage 4: After the Sale (Where the Real Money Is)
Here's something depressing: most companies spend 80% of email effort on prospects, 20% on customers. That's completely backwards.
Customers already trust you with their money. They're 60-70% more likely to buy again versus the 5-20% chance with new prospects. Yet, despite this, most companies treat customers like the relationship ends after payment.
Treat your customers better than you treat your prospects. Give them early product access, exclusive content and similar bonuses. Provide them with real perks, not "exclusive opportunities to spend more."
The Referral Request Everyone Gets Wrong
Most companies ask for referrals immediately after purchase (too soon) or never (too late).
The right time? After a win. When someone hits their goal with your product or when they leave a glowing review. Therefore, they've been a happy customer for months.
Winning Back Lapsed Customers / Re-activating Prospects
Sometimes customers leave - it's not best, but it happens. Most companies either chase desperately (creepy) or let go without trying (wasteful).
The sweet spot is the breakup email. "We notice you haven't been around. We get it. Here's a no-strings way back if you want."
Timing is everything. Too soon? Clingy. Too late? They've moved on. Here are some estimates:
- SaaS: 14-30 days inactive
- eCommerce: 60-90 days since purchase
- Content: 45-60 days without engagement
Please don't just offer discounts. Ask why they left, fix the actual problem and then maybe offer discount.
Actually Building This Thing (Without Losing Your Mind)
You're sold on the concept. Now comes the part where people get overwhelmed and quit. Building a funnel sounds simple until you're staring at a blank automation canvas.
Here's how I actually do it. Not the textbook way:
Start with the ending and figure out the one action you want. Buy your product? Book a demo? Build that sequence first. Get clear on "success" before worrying about getting there.
Then work backwards. What happens right before someone buys? They need trust. Case studies, social proof, risk reversal build trust. Before that, they need to understand what you do. Before that, they need to know you exist.
See how this beats starting with "okay, so someone subscribes, and then..."
The Content Audit Nobody Wants to Do
Before building anything, face the truth about your content. Most companies think they have more than they do.
"We have case studies!" Great, show me. "Well, there's one from 2019, and this testimonial that's kind of like a case study..."
You need:
- At least 5 educational pieces that actually teach something
- 3-5 case studies or success stories from last year
- Clear product descriptions (not feature lists)
- Landing pages matching your email campaigns
- Thank you pages that work
Missing these? Fine. But build content before building the funnel. Automation sending to dead landing pages is worse than no automation.
The Bento Way
In Bento, you prompt your funnel with our new AI Mode, called Tanuki AI.
AI Mode is a conversational interface that lets you describe what you want, and watch it come to life in real-time. Whether you're building a complex automation workflow from scratch or fine-tuning the copy in an email, Tanuki AI understands your intent and executes changes instantly.
If you're comfortable building email funnels yourself, our drag and drop flow builder is available. Even experienced automation specialists can save time by getting Tanuki to build their flows and then adjusting where necessary.
No more context-switching between documentation and your editor. No more hunting for the right setting. Just tell Tanuki what you need.
The Part Where You Actually Measure Results
Fun fact: most companies have no idea if their funnels work. They know emails are sent and they see sales. But connecting dots? That's where things get fuzzy.
"Our funnel works great!" "Cool, what's your conversion rate from subscriber to customer?" "..." "Average time from signup to purchase?" "..." "Which email drives most sales?" "The welcome email?" "You're guessing." "Yes."
This conversation happens weekly.
What to Actually Track
Forget vanity metrics. Track money and momentum:
Money metrics:
- Revenue per subscriber (lifetime, not per email)
- Conversion rate at each stage (not just final)
- Time to first purchase (know this even if faster isn't better)
- Customer lifetime value by source
Momentum metrics:
- Where people get stuck (usually between education and sales)
- What content gets engagement (shows what people care about)
- When people unsubscribe (the previous email is probably why)
The Testing Trap
Everyone wants to A/B test everything. Subject lines! Send times! Button colors! Emoji or no emoji!
Meanwhile, their funnel has a hole where 80% of people vanish. And they're testing whether 🎉 or 🚀 gets more opens.
Test big stuff first:
- Different angles (fear vs. aspiration, logic vs. emotion)
- Major sequence changes (3 emails vs. 7)
- Core offers (free trial vs. freemium vs. demo)
Once big stuff works, then you can obsess over subject lines. But testing "You're invited" vs. "You're invited!" when your funnel is broken? That's rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Why Most Funnels Fail (And How to Not Be Most)
I've seen funnels die. Not slow deaths, but spectacular, expensive, embarrassing deaths...
The Frankenstein Funnel
Marketing owns the top and sales owns the middle. Customer success owns the bottom. Nobody talks with each other.
Result? Subscribers get educational emails from marketing while sales calls about discounts while success sends onboarding for products they haven't bought.
I've seen this at 100+ employee companies. The fix? Use one source of truth - whether Bento or another tool, everyone sees the same data. Sales marks someone "in negotiation"? Marketing stops "why you need us" emails immediately.
The Set-It-and-Forget-It Disaster
Company builds beautiful funnel and launches it with fanfare - and then never looks again. Six months later? Sending Black Friday promos in March. Case studies about clients who switched to competitors.
Funnels are gardens. Ignore them, they become weeds. Monthly reviews minimum. What works? What's broken? What's outdated? One client discovered they'd sent people to a deleted landing page for three months. Three months of confused subscribers hitting 404s.
The Complexity Trap
"We need 47 different paths based on industry, company size, job title, favorite color, astrological sign!"
No you don't.
Complexity kills funnels fastest. Start simple:
- One path for engaged people
- One path for unengaged people
- One path for customers
Get those working and then add complexity. Most companies never need more than 5-7 paths total. If you can't draw your funnel on a napkin it is likely too complex.
Real Funnels That Actually Work (Steal These)
Enough theory - here's what works in reality.
The SaaS Trial Funnel New Users Love
Here's our onboarding sequence for new users. If you're currently on a trial, you've seen these.
Day 0 - Email 1: "Are you a DIY or DWY?"
Objective: To introduce the new user to the three different account setup options available: "Do it yourself" (DIY) with a checklist, "Do it yourself with walkthrough" (personalized instructions via survey), and "Done with you" (DWY) with a booked onboarding call.
Day 1 - Email 2: "Stalk them but in a good way"
Objective: To guide the user through the first technical step, which is installing the tracking script to connect their tech stack and track user events. It also mentions inviting team members.
Day 2 - Email 3: "What’s an ESP without subscribers?"
Objective: To instruct the user on how to import their subscribers, offering two methods: manually adding up to 200 emails or importing a CSV file (with the added bonus of list cleaning). It also mentions an optional list re-activation/scrubbing campaign.
Day 3 - Email 4: "Come flow with me, let's flow, let's flow away"
Objective: To teach the user how to create their first "Flow" (automation) by building a simple welcome email sequence using the drag-and-drop canvas.
Day 4 - Email 5: "You’re good at this (email)"
Objective: To walk the user through the six steps required to send their first "Email broadcast," including setting the send time, choosing the audience, setting batch sending, writing the email, reviewing, and finally sending.
Day 5 - Email 6: "Website chat, sms, WhatsApp and more"
Objective: To guide the user in activating and installing the Bento Chat widget on their website, which allows them to manage conversations across multiple channels (website, Messenger, SMS, WhatsApp) in one place.
Day 6 - Email 7: "Can you DM ConvertKit’s founder…"
Objective: To emphasize the personalized and quick customer support provided by the company founder, Jesse Hanley, and to encourage the user to reach out on Discord. It also offers a 1-on-1 onboarding session for users migrating complex operations.
Day 7 - Email 8: "Tools you didn’t know you needed"
Objective: To highlight the free, included tools and features in Bento, such as real-time analytics, audience surveys, live chat/chatbots, and a kanban board, and to invite users to suggest new features that could benefit the community.
The Ecommerce Funnel That Prints Money
There isn't one specific funnel for eCommerce but rather a combination of funnels that work together to maximize revenue.
- Welcome (after opt-in) - If there's an offer, deliver the coupon, promote your best-sellers, highlight most powerful selling points
- Site abandonment - Views a page on your site that's not a product page, send an email promoting your best-sellers
- Browse abandonedment - Views a product page but doesn't add to cart; send educational emails about the product
- Cart abandonment - Adds to cart but doesn't start checkout; send reminders and objection-handling emails
- Checkout abandonment - Starts but doesn't complete checkout; send reminders and objection-handling emails
- Post-purchase - Thank new and returning customers differently; send order status updates
- Replenishment reminder - Reminder to stock up if the product is a consumable
- Cross-sell / upsell - Promote other products to customers
- Review request - Ask customers for a review after they've had enough time to use the product
- Anniversary - Send a special offer to customers on the anniversary of their first purchase; birthday emails count too if you have that info
- Customer winback - Try to re-activate customers who haven't bought in a while
- Sunset unengaged - Try to re-activate leads who haven't engaged with your emails in a while
- Back in stock - If you ran out of stock, let subscribers know who are on your waitlist
The New Course Creator Funnel Everyone Ought to Copy
This is the perfect evergreen funnel:
- Offer: Email mini-course
- Form: Survey before or after opt-in to gather subscriber information
- Delivery: Email sequence personalized based on survey responses using Bento's liquid templating
- Pitch: If multiple available offers, pitch a personalized offer; if one offer, pitch using personalizations
- Bonus: Personalize landing pages with our RightMessage integration
Your 30-Day Funnel Fix
You have enough checklists. Here's exactly what to do over 30 days for a working funnel:
Week 1: Face Reality Stop and audit what you actually have. Not what you think. What actually exists. Working landing pages. Recent case studies. Email sequences that work. Most companies discover they need content before building anything.
Week 2: Build One Path Just one. Pick your most common customer journey. For most: Subscribe → Learn → Try → Buy → Succeed. Don't get fancy, but make one path work.
Week 3: Test With Real Humans
Send yourself through. Send your mom through. Send that brutally honest friend. Find broken links, confusing messages, sticking points. Fix them.
Week 4: Launch Small Don't flip the switch for everyone. Start with new subscribers only and watch carefully. See where they engage, drop off, convert. Adjust based on reality, not hopes.
Day 30: Expand Carefully Once one path works, add another. Only after the first generates results. Most funnels fail from trying to build everything simultaneously. Don't do that.
Common Funnel Types by Industry
Before we wrap up, here are the most common funnel types that actually generate revenue:
B2B Lead Nurture Funnel
The classic B2B sequence focuses on education before sales. You're dealing with longer sales cycles, multiple decision makers, and bigger budgets. Start with problem awareness content. Move to solution comparisons. Then case studies and ROI data. Finally, demo offers and consultations. Most B2B funnels take 30-90 days from signup to sale.
Ecommerce Product Launch Funnel
Build anticipation before launch. Tease features, share behind-the-scenes content and open early access for subscribers. Create urgency with limited quantities or time. Then follow up with customer testimonials and user-generated content. This works for both new products and restocks of popular items.
Webinar Registration Funnel
Drive registrations with value-focused messaging. Send reminder emails as the date approaches and then follow up with replay access for no-shows. Present your offer to attendees with time-limited bonuses. Continue nurturing non-buyers with additional value content. Webinar funnels typically convert 5-15% of attendees.
Free Trial Conversion Funnel
Focus on activation, not selling. Help users experience value quickly, while celebrating milestones and progress. Address common objections before they arise. Show ROI through usage data. Time upgrade prompts based on behavior, not calendar days.
Membership Retention Funnel
Onboard new members properly. Highlight exclusive benefits regularly. Create community engagement opportunities. Send renewal reminders with achievement summaries. Win back cancellations with special offers or feedback requests. Good retention funnels reduce churn by 20-30%.
Ready to Build Your Email Funnel?
You probably knew most of this as the concepts aren't revolutionary. Bit what is the difference between companies that succeed with email and those that don't? It's not knowledge - it's execution.
You can keep reading funnel posts and keep planning perfect sequences, waiting for the ideal moment.
Or build something imperfect and improve it with real data from real subscribers.
If you want to build in Bento, we've made it painless. Visual workflow builder. Deliverability handled. All email types in one place. No duct tape needed. Start a trial and see if it fits.
But the tool matters less than commitment to doing this. Pick something, build something, launch something - your perfect funnel doesn't exist. Your good-enough funnel that improves monthly? That transforms businesses.
Your subscribers are waiting. Send them something.
