This presentation provides a guide to building an effective sales funnel for digital magazines. It outlines three key stages: the top of the funnel focuses on collecting email addresses and user data from first-time visitors; the middle of the funnel aims to build trust by providing valuable free content to returning readers via newsletter and ads; the bottom of the funnel is about retaining paying subscribers by gathering feedback, offering exclusive perks, and discounts through ongoing communications.

1. A guide different from any other
Successful magazine
sales tips
BY PRESSPAD

2. We’re PressPad – the company that creates mobile
magazine apps, digital newsstands for PDF issues,
and WordPress-based news apps.
Thanks to this presentation you’ll see how the
sales funnel for digital magazines can look like
and what is important at every stage of it.
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3. How many times have you read articles
full of numbered magazine sales tips
unrelated to each other?
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4. What do publishers need to know about
selling online magazines today?
It doesn’t work that way. In today,
fast-changing world, it isn’t enough.
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5. They ought to realize the potential of their own distribution
channels (e.g. website, newsletter, news app) to build a loyal
returning audience and get paying subscribers.
Magazine sales tips shouldn’t be considered as evergreen
content. They have to be adapted to the current situation in
the publishing industry, which changes from year to year.
Publishers should understand the necessity of shift the
revenue model from paid-in-dollars to paid-in-data.
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Everything should be based on the sales funnel strategy.

6. This presentation is a journey through
magazine sales funnel.
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TOP OF THE FUNNEL (TOFU)
MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL (MOFU)
BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL (BOFU)

7. We’ll go through the most important
steps in building an online magazine
sales strategy.
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8. STEP 1
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TOP OF THE FUNNEL (TOFU)
FIRST-TIME VISITORS

9. Many people come to your website looking for something.
They explore it briefly without subscribing. The chance that
they make other, non-purchase actions is much higher.
Only if something interested them, they stay longer. They are
also more willing to click to get something for free rather
than pay for something they don’t know.
The goal is to make website visitors come back. You can
achieve it by collecting e-mail addresses or installing tracking
pixel on your website.
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10. How to collect e-mail
addresses and clicks?
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11. E-MAIL ADDRESSES CLICKS
encourage visitors to share
their e-mail addresses with you
by offering some value in return
install pixel on your website to
gather information about
visitors
put a non-aggressive,
non-invasive pop-up on your
website offering free course,
e-book, guide, tips, etc.
publish content they surely click
on; offer the visitors, 2-3 key
catchy topics
when people sign up, you get
e-mail addresses and can
create a list of e-mails
belonging to website visitors
when people click on it you
collect behavior data that helps
you send ads to these visitors
after they leave the website
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12. Now you have both an e-mail address
and tracking code. These two items will
help you profile your visitor, and
encourage them to come back to you.
How to use data you collected to make
website visitors return?
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13. STEP 2
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MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL (MOFU)
RETURNING READERS
FIRST-TIME VISITORS
TOP OF THE FUNNEL (TOFU)

14. This is not the sales stage. This is the moment when people explore
your offer. The goal is to arrange a second meeting with the
brand.
People who have already visited your website should get
something special. The natural effect of getting free value is to
return. It’s the process of habit formation.
You’ve got two lists prepared:
1. people who signed up for your newsletter,
2. people who visited your website and clicked on something.
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Use them to send the newsletter or prepare an
encouraging ads.

15. NEWSLETTER AD
prepare newsletter for people who
visited your website
make people who visited your
website see your ad
send people educational
content, interesting statistics,
etc.; you can also put some links
inside the newsletter leading to
your articles
ad may offer free content like
e-book, tutorials, etc.; every ad
can be linked with the
advertiser’s website or a specific
landing page
the good practice is to direct
one newsletter to the first-time
visitor, and another to someone
who was on the website a few
times
you’ll gain the list of people who
were on your website once and
then clicked on your ad
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16. This is a stage of building trust.
Both newsletter and ad, at the middle of
the sales funnel, should offer free,
valuable content.
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17. What does getting valuable
free content lead to?
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18. STEP 3
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PAYING SUBSCRIBERS
FIRST-TIME VISITORS
TOP OF THE FUNNEL (TOFU)
RETURNING READERS
MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL (MOFU)
BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL (BOFU)

19. Paying subscribers know the brand, are close to it, need your
content, appreciate your effort, and notice that what they get is
worth paying for.
After some time of getting valuable content and building
trust, people start pay for your hard work.
The goal is to make subscriber stays with the brand for
longer and buy a subscription more than once.
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20. How to retain subscribers?
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21. Pay attention to what they say by gathering feedback and tracking
their behavior. Then, you have to adapt your content strategy and
business practices to serve their needs as well as you can.
Give subscribers access to the extra content, a free month of
access, tickets to the event, etc. It should be something that
makes them feel special and gives a sense of belonging to an
exclusive club.
A mailing list created from the addresses of people who decided
to purchase gives you the opportunity to stay in touch: you can
send them announcements, discounts, surveys, and product
news.
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22. SUBSCRIBERS &
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBERS & AD
send to your subscribers special
discounts or participation in
special events
prepare ads informing
about sales, discounts,
products
ask what they want to get,
what kind of content should
you prepare
create a lookalike audience
from purchasers - it’ll be
your cold audience
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If you want to retain subscribers, you have to pay
attention to what they say by gathering feedback and
tracking their behavior. Then, you have to adapt your
content strategy and business practices to serve their
needs as well as you can.
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24. If you want to know more about sales funnel for
publishers, read this article on our blog.

25. If you’d like to consult any of the levels
of your sales funnel strategy, please
don’t hesitate to ask us.
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26. CONTACT PRESSPAD
PressPad LinkedIn
@presspadapp
+1 888 712 0331
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