Marketing funnel trends come and go, but one thing that never changes is how easy it is to obsess over the top of the funnel. I used to think more reach meant more revenue. 

But that thinking led to bloated email lists, unqualified leads, and campaigns that looked good on paper but didn’t convert.

The real game? 

Mapping the full journey, from the moment someone discovers your content to the moment they take action.

In this blog, I’m walking you through what I do at every stage, what broke, what worked, and what I borrowed from great newsletters.

Before I understood funnel stages, I was running on instinct—just putting things out there: content, posts, newsletters. Some worked, most didn’t. But nothing felt like it was building toward something.

I realized:

Now, when I write a blog post, I know exactly where it fits. Is it meant to drive awareness? Then I pair it with a soft CTA, maybe a free newsletter signup. If it’s for consideration, I might include a lead magnet or case study. Conversion? That’s where email sequences and product CTAs come in.

That shift—from scattered content to intentional flow- is what helped me stop chasing vanity metrics and start tracking actual movement through the funnel.

It’s not about adding 10,000 leads overnight. It’s about understanding why someone moves and building for that.

This is where I spark curiosity. I’m not selling here, I’m earning attention.

Here’s what I do:

The Milk Road crushed this by using memes, simple breakdowns of crypto news, and outrageous subject lines to build brand recall. Their “stupid simple” tone made crypto digestible for everyone and wildly shareable.

Now people know me, but they’re still evaluating. This is where I build trust.

My go-to moves:

Cody Sanchez nails this phase. Her funnel often starts with a spicy Twitter thread → leads to a free downloadable → which triggers a welcome sequence packed with value. Each step deepens the relationship, no hard sell needed.

Shaan Puri uses his brand to full effect here. He sends weekly newsletters (on beehiiv) that blend ideas, offers, and insights. Here’s where people go from “interested” to “invested.”

I use:

beehiiv isn’t just an email tool—it’s my conversion engine.

And the numbers back it up:

I also love that it’s built for creators, not corporate marketers. No bloat. Just performance.

Start lean:

Then iterate.

Use tools that give you data, not guesses. beehiiv tells me which links get clicked and which emails fall flat. That’s how I improve each step.

And finally, don’t automate everything. Reply to emails. Add a personal note. That human touch is still your unfair advantage.

Funnels aren’t about force—they’re about flow.

The Milk Road didn’t “sell” crypto. They made it fun. Cody Sanchez doesn’t push products. She builds relationships. Shaan Puri doesn’t hype—he educates.

And that’s the takeaway: Great funnels feel like guidance, not pressure.

So build with intention. Start with one subscriber, one solution, and grow from there.

If you’re serious about converting traffic into action, start by switching to a platform built for exactly that.

👉 Sign up for beehiiv