Also called conversion funnel, marketing funnel
A sales funnel is the sequence of steps between first discovering you and buying, named for the shape produced by losing people at each step.
The value of the model is diagnostic, not descriptive. Measuring each step separately tells you where people leave, and the fix for a leak at the top — nobody discovers you — has nothing in common with the fix for a leak at the bottom — everybody abandons at payment.
Real behaviour is not a tidy funnel. People enter halfway, leave and return weeks later, buy after a recommendation you never see. The model stays useful anyway, because it forces separate measurement of separate stages rather than one blended conversion number.
Most creator funnels lose the most people between "followed" and "gave an email address", which is the step where the relationship stops being the platform's.
In practice
12,000 profile views → 480 page visits → 96 email sign-ups → 11 buyers. Each arrow is a different problem with a different fix.
Common mistake
Optimising the last step first. Checkout improvements move a rate that only a small share of visitors ever reach.
Read more on this
- 12 Best Platforms for Content Creators in 2026: The Ultimate Guide Discover the 12 best platforms for content creators to grow your business. Our guide covers monetization, link-in-bio, and course tools to help you succeed.
- Find the Cheapest Online Course Platform: Best Value 2026 Uncover 2026's cheapest online course platform. We analyze true costs—subscriptions, transaction fees, and hidden charges—to find your best value.
- Free Analytics Instagram Unlock your growth with free analytics instagram. Our 2026 guide covers 10 top tools to track metrics, optimize content, and boost your creator business.
