🍿People aren’t buying the way they used to

The funnel hasn’t changed. The way people move through it has.

Hey, it’s Kathryn here!

Last week we looked at a list of different types of sales funnels, organized by goal and use case, to help you scale your current or future digital products, courses, and programs.

This week we’re talking about how sales funnels are evolving for the new generation of customers.

They’re not just following the step-by-step funnel you set up.
They’re exploring.
Clicking.
Watching.
Comparing.

They jump from your freebie to your YouTube videos, over to your blog, back to your Instagram, and then into your emails.

They’re not lost or distracted. They’re curious and following what interests them in the moment.

And if your funnel is built like a straight line (without the right touch points), you’re probably missing some opportunities to connect.

This week, we’re diving into what’s changed, what still works, and how to create a buying experience that actually supports the way your customer shops today.

👀 Best Finds This Week:

  • How to build better habits, without burning out (KM Blog)

  • How to create an upsell offer to increase revenue (Our Blog Post)

  • How to craft an impactful Instagram bio for business (+ 80 examples) (Sprout Social)

🍭 Strategy of the Week:

Funnels aren’t broken, the customer journey has just changed.

Let’s clear something up:
Sales funnels still work. They’re not outdated. They’re not dead.
In case you’ve also been hearing this on LinkedIn recently.

But the way your customer moves through your funnel?
That has changed.

It used to look more like a smooth, guided tour:
→ Find a freebie
→ Land on a thank-you page with an intro offer
→ Get some welcome emails
→ Buy the offer
→ Eventually purchase the main thing you’re selling

Now? It’s more like a choose-your-own-adventure.

Someone might:
→ Sign up for your freebie
→ In your welcome email they click on a blog post
→ From that blog you share a YouTube video they watch
→ Buy your low-ticket product from that video
→ Open your other welcome sequence emails a week later
→ Head to an Instagram carousel you shared in your welcome sequence
→ Watch your stories
→ Then buy your signature offer during launch because they saw it everywhere

It’s not a straight funnel for them. It’s a web of touchpoints.

And the wild part? This has always been true for some buyers.
But now, it’s true for more of them.

People are bouncing between platforms, consuming content in different ways, and choosing how they engage.
Your job is to give them intentional ways to do that.

Your funnel still matters but now you need content and systems that meet your customer where they are and gently guide them toward your offer, no matter which door they walk through.

That smooth guided tour is still how you setup your sales funnel.

The only difference now is being intentional about creating multiple touchpoints so they can choose their own adventure.

🍬 Turning Your Web into a Path:

A funnel moves someone from A to Z.
Today’s buyer might go A → D → G → Instagram → Z.

Your job?
Turn those bounce-around moments into a deeper brand experience.

Here’s how to start:

  1. Pick your primary discovery channel and do it well
    Maybe that’s Pinterest or Instagram or TikTok. Pick one place to show up consistently and optimize it to lead people back to your email list, product, or deeper content. Over time, expand to other channels your audience uses and leverage content repurposing.

  2. Link your content like a spider web with purpose 🕸️
    I hate spiders. But I can’t deny their webs are amazing.
    Inside your freebie, add a link to a highly related blog post and your intro offer product.
    In your welcome sequence, don’t just introduce yourself, send them to your best stuff.
    Make it easy for someone to binge your brilliance. You’re still focused on one clear next step but you’re giving them more ways to go deeper than before.

  3. Build natural bridges between platforms
    Your blog should point to your YouTube.
    Your Instagram should nudge people to your email list.
    Your emails should guide people to your product.
    No dead ends. Always show them what’s next.

  4. Use engagement to deepen the relationship
    You don’t need viral content.
    You need responsive content.
    Encourage comments, DMs, replies.
    Use automations (like “DM ROBOT for my ChatGPT prompts”) and send people to your YouTube video where you share those prompts and extra details to help them use them well.

  5. Ask for the sale more often
    Not every post needs to pitch, but every funnel needs to sell.
    Give people chances to buy early, often, and clearly.

When you create thoughtful touchpoints across platforms, your audience doesn’t just stumble through your content.
They stay.
They click.
They buy.
But most importantly, they engage and connect with you.

🎯 This Week’s Action: Build Strategic Touchpoints

Here’s how to rethink your funnel with today’s buyer in mind:

  1. Pick one offer to focus on
    Start with the offer you want more people to buy.
    Everything else builds from there.

  2. Map the journey
    List out every way someone might find your brand and interact with your content:

  • Blog

  • Freebie

  • Podcast or YouTube

  • Instagram

  • Emails

  • Sales page

    Now ask: Are those touchpoints connected? Do they guide people forward?

  1. Create content with a purpose
    Every piece of content should have a job.
    A blog post might guide someone to a freebie.
    A freebie might guide them to a product.
    A product might guide them to a signature program.
    This is what your regular funnel did but often people left their customers with no next step if they didn’t buy or if they did buy.

    Now ask: When someone doesn’t buy, am I giving them a next step that takes them deeper into my web of content?

  2. Make it easy to go deeper
    If someone loves your YouTube video, what’s the next step?
    If they read your blog, how can they get on your list?
    Make sure there’s always a clear next move.

  3. Need help planning your next move?
    Book a Your Next 90 session with me. We’ll build a 90-day plan that maps this out based on your goals, your offers, and your business model. We can look at your sales funnels and create this web together OR start from scratch and build a connected web!
    > Book it here!

Showing up everywhere isn’t the goal. That would be way too exhausting.
Showing up strategically is. Using what you already have is!

Your Next 90: a private strategy session with me

Let’s simplify your next season in business.
In this 2-hour session, we’ll create a personalized 90-day plan tailored to your goals, business model, and working style.

Use it to:

→ Restructure for more time freedom
→ Map out a launch or marketing plan
→ Streamline systems or workflows
→ Reset your mindset and get clear on your next move

You don’t have to figure it out alone.
Let’s focus on what really moves you forward.

🦄 In Your Corner:

Here is your permission to PIVOT (in Ross Geller fashion🛋️)
Your business can evolve as you do. If something no longer fits your goals, you have permission to change course.

Whether it’s changing elements of your offers, sales funnels, systems, or niche, don’t hold onto things that no longer fit your vision. Pivot and go all-in on your changes. Trust yourself, your data, and your business.

🫡 KM Tip of the Week:

Repurpose Your Content
Turn your top-performing blog post or webinar into a mini-course or paid template. It’s a quick way to monetize your expertise.

We usually think of repurposing content for social media or other marketing channels.

But what if we looked at how to turn content we’ve already created into paid digital products?

Here are some examples:

  1. Your highest traffic blog post > a template that helps them do what the blog post showed them how to do.

  2. Choose 10 of your best carousel educational posts > 1 digital download in Google Docs that combines that info and lays it out in a step-by-step action guide.

  3. Turn your webinar into > a 7 day email course with a companion template.

  4. Take your top performing Instagram caption hooks > turn it into a Google doc that shows the hook used, the engagement numbers, and sales from that post (it becomes a behind the scenes paid doc to help creators use profitable hooks).

🫠 Where my time goes

When I’m not focused or intentional, this may or may not be where my time goes 👀🫣

A pie chart showing were my time goes. 10% doing actual work. 30% finding the perfect Canva template. 60% wondering if I should change my niche.

That’s it for this week.

Keep showing up, keep refining what you’ve already got, and as always, have a bit of fun in the process! 💛

-KM

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