Secrets to High-Converting Email Funnels with Melissa Esmeralda
Your email list is more than just names in a database—it’s the foundation of your marketing strategy. But if your emails aren’t converting, you’re leaving money on the table.
In this episode, I sit down with Melissa Esmeralda, a conversion copywriter and funnel optimization strategist, to uncover what makes email marketing work. From writing lead magnet landing pages that actually attract your ideal client to setting up automation that nurtures and converts, Melissa shares insights that will help you optimize your email strategy for better engagement, more sales, and less stress.
Whether you're just getting started with email marketing or want to refine your existing funnel, this episode is packed with practical, no-fluff strategies you can implement right away.
What You’ll Learn:
- The biggest mistakes people make with email marketing and how to fix them
- How to write lead magnet landing pages that actually convert
- The secret to writing emails that feel authentic and still drive sales
- How segmentation and automation can increase your conversions
- A real-life example of an email sequence that boosted conversion rates by 15%
Hit PLAY to start crafting an email strategy that works for you!
Connect with Samantha:
Website: https://www.firestormfinance.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestormfinance/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@firestormfinance?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-e-8796b6176/
Newsletter: https://firestormfinance.myflodesk.com/ajmiv1kyt1
Connect with Melissa:
Website: https://www.meomarketinggroup.com/
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/MEOMarketingGroup
Threads: threads.com/meomarketinggroup
Freebie:: https://meomarketinggroup.thrivecart.com/subjectlineformulas/
Have a suggestion for something or someone you'd like to see on this podcast? Fill out this form here.
Transcript
Speaker: Plus, I'll be bringing in industry experts to dive into all aspects of entrepreneurship, so you can turn your passion into profit without losing your creative spark. Let's get started.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. How are you?
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Yeah, definitely. I am a conversion copywriter and funnel optimization strategist. And what that means is I write words to sell things. So it's a little bit different than content writing, which tends to be more educational, like blog posts, ghostwriting books. For example, copywriting, you want the reader to take some action, whether it's to buy a product, download, a freebie or something like that.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: And even though I do create everything in the funnel, email is something that is constantly changing and that you need to update all the time. And like, I really liked doing that for my clients because I was telling them, like, I do all the unsexy stuff that we know is important for your business, but I know you don't have the time for it and you probably don't want to do it.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Yeah, and I love your way of explaining that because I feel like a lot of us as service providers, that's exactly what we do. We take all the stuff that you consider unsexy and do our own thing with it and we make it our own thing and then you're like, whoa, how did you do that? So that's such a good point.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: That's a really good question. And I think, I know one of the biggest mistakes that I've seen, I know this is unintentional, especially if someone's newer to business, or maybe it might be like the first landing page or lead magnet, for example, it is. writing it with the assumption that people already know who you are.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: A little bit information about the products. You don't have to give the title away. From the headline, for example, you can add a little bit of eyebrow copy, which is like a sub headline or, a small subheading beneath the headline. If you want to provide more context, I think, data and stats look really well when you're describing that league magnet.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: So people are like, oh, okay, well now I know who this is. So when they do get into your funnel, they're not completely surprised to see your name in their inbox.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: They won't really have any issues with it, but that's so true because you never know where someone could be coming from. And they might not be connected with you on social media in a way that they already know you, they might be [00:05:00] coming from somewhere else. And now they're like, who? Who's this person that's suddenly in my inbox and sending me things, so?
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: So what are some of the other common mistakes that you see people making on their opt in pages that kind of hurt those conversions?
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Know all the terminology that is in your industry So just really simplifying it in a way that people know exactly what they're walking into and it's and they don't read and they're like Oh, I don't know if I need this because it's talking about like conversions and I like all these other marketing terms For example and just making it clear for them.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Right, right, and I think that's so true because I think we just have a problem converting what we're trying to say in our head in a way that makes sense to other people, which is why it doesn't hurt when you have help. Because a lot of the time someone's going to have that outside perspective and be able to actually, help you understand it in a better way than you would be able to say it.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: on something, like I think it's okay to ask AI and say like, hey, is this, simplified enough because that is like a very unbiased answer. And sometimes I think I'm doing fine. They're like, actually, you should probably adjust this. I'm like, okay, well, that makes sense. That's a fix.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: [00:07:00] Yeah, definitely.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Oh, I really like that question. I think generally I like to for either for myself or for clients, but also the way it teaches as well is before you start writing your landing page, be very clear about your ideal client and how your lead magnet can help themselves. Part of the problem, because Not everyone needs to have an Ascension model, but like I do generally like the idea of having your lead magnet point to a paid offer, whether it's like your high ticket one on one service or like a lower ticket, DIY offer, for example, they all should.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Don't just [00:08:00] list out what's inside. Talk about why it's important to know those things. But again, clarified in a way that they're not really in like Blocks of text. I always advocate for strong testimonials. So I like having research calls with, past clients because I know everybody knows the testimonials are great, but like I really love using testimonials that are specific to that specific offer or that product that naturally flow with what's being said already, rather than just kind of having a wall of text that is all just like oh this is great.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: And then, the last section I like to have on the landing page is, you're still calling out your deal clients to having a little section like this is for you if, and then having three or four bullet points that aren't quite the same as the ones from the very top and then still having the button there, the call to action button, because that's really important because you don't want people scrolling around all over the place to find the button. You do want to make it as easy as possible for them.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Yeah, and that's why it's so important to talk to your ideal buyer. Because if you have an elite manga that could theoretically work for a pretty broad audience, audience, but that's not the type of person you want to bring into your funnel. You want to keep that in mind because initially you might think like, well, that's counterintuitive.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: So I know you kind of mentioned some already, but is there any other must have elements you think that every lead magnet landing page should include to have like that maximum [00:11:00] impact?
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: So having a really strong headline that's specific to, What it solves or what the benefit is, for example, that's going to be a lot stronger than just download this free guide for X, Y, Z, for example. Cause then that adds a little bit of curiosity for someone to keep reading. And then they're like, Oh, okay.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Yes, absolutely. Now once someone opts into your landing page, how do you transition from delivering value to selling to them without feeling pushy or gross?
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Yes.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: I also have my landing page template my email sequence Templates and they're always there and people are always clicking on them. So you never know when someone is ready to buy now, rather than when you're ready to sell, if that makes sense. And the welcome email sequence is really important in building that trust and starting that relationship and setting the expectations.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Like when I was brand new, I was like, wow, like I didn't even know people could have online businesses and like work only like a handful of hours a week. So like putting yourself back into. Their shoes , is really powerful. And then of course, eventually you do want to have, talk about your offer, but again, it doesn't have to be, well, now that you know all about me, go buy this 5, 000 program or anything like that, you can be a little bit more.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: And you can still nurture that relationship with somebody. Like if you want to send a nurture email or somewhat of a sales email, like every 30 days, just checking in with them, like, Hey, do you still have a problem with email marketing, for [00:15:00] example?
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: So it's, it feels better as a business owner, but then as a subscriber too, you're like, Oh yeah, actually. I do need help with this still and you're able to build that trust in the meantime rather than like a very aggressive sales bro approach.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: That just means they weren't meant for you. They weren't your ideal person. It's nothing to get like really uptight over because I feel like If they are going to leave over you selling in an email list where that's like what it's made for, then they probably weren't really [00:16:00] there for your overall offer in the first place, which is totally okay because then you just weeded out someone who might not have been a good fit for you.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: like your inquiry forms and things like that, it's made to help you find the people who are like ready to buy from you.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: You can just be yourself and like, you'd be surprised how many people resonate with like regular everyday things. And you don't have to say anything. That's like super shocking to try to like build a brand, for example, and subscribes aren't a bad thing, especially like if you're not actually saying [00:17:00] anything offensive.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: At the most per email just because like now the people who see the value in that they're sticking around and Even though at first it might feel a little bit weird that people are unsubscribing exactly what you said You're trying to talk to your people and your people will understand that. Yes, you're a business, but yes, you provide value But yes, you're also relatable.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Oh, I really love that question. I think as long as you're I think it's really important to have a strong sense of your branding, because [00:18:00] yes, you and your business will evolve over time, and that's completely okay, but don't try to copy anybody else's brand voice, and like, I don't mean in like, Like I don't think most people are like ripping anybody off or anything like that, but we might come across somebody like, wow, this person's doing really well.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Of course, you're going to send more emails. That's It's completely normal to send at least one email a day during your open cart period. And if you're worried about unsubscribers, or even if you're not, I always recommend having the, giving your subscribers the option to opt out of your launch emails. So that really helps with unsubscribes and maybe someone on your [00:19:00] list, they either already bought your offer or they just know like they can't afford your offer yet, but they will probably, Buy into it into the future, but they don't want to receive the emails.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: So you're sending emails to less people. So it ends up helping your analytics a lot in the end because your open rates are going to be higher because they're going to people who really want to read them and your click through rates are probably going to be higher because those people are going to be checking out the sales page and you don't have to launch all the time.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Automate as much as you can, from your inquiry call and like application form, and I have a, like a secret pre call sequence. So once someone books a funnel strategy call with me, they receive an automated email sequence over [00:20:00] three days. The first one is just talking about how, I'm excited to meet them and like brand values.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: So the conversation feels a lot easier because they're not like, Oh, who's this stranger that I'm talking to on the other side of the zoom, for example. But there's so many little things that you can do like that, that really helps like with the subscriber experience and like the client experience. Cause at the end of the day, we do want to provide like a high value service.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Yeah, absolutely. And I love that you talked about like taking certain people off of like your launch emails and things like that because I think that's what we call like segmentation. And to like bounce off of that, how early should you start segmenting your audience and what's like the biggest benefit of doing it?[00:21:00]
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: So like my lead magnet, or like I spoke on a summit or on a podcast, for example, then they received the email sequence. Once they're out of the email sequence, they get a tag and the tag is MEO marketing groups, and that's the name of my business. So when I send my weekly email to my list, I only send it to people who've gone through my entire funnel because when people are still in it, I don't want to confuse them with like my weekly, I call it like MEOs, marketing memos.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: If you don't have an ESP that does that easily, or you're not quite sure how to do it yet, I would ask for replies. And one of your emails just help them just give them the options. Tell them
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: You can also have it as a poll. But yeah, if you're able to set up the link trigger, then that immediately tells your ESP, this person clicked this link. So they're in this category. So in the future, if you have two different offers, one for like a newer business owner and one for someone who's a little bit more established.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: And that again, really helps with the data of your list because everybody is. Separated and you can go really creative and crazy about it. I don't think it needs to be anything too crazy especially in the beginning but if you have a couple of offers say like your high ticket 101 services and then maybe like a low ticket offer having the segmentation email if you do want to create something like a little bit more complex and like If that's the last email in your welcome sequence, for example, and they click the low ticket or the option that would point them to the low ticket offer, you can trigger another email sequence that is a sales sequence specifically for that low ticket offer.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: It is a big job up front, but afterwards it makes things so much easier.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Yeah. And at the same time too, like when they're in the welcome email sequence, like you're still introducing yourself and like talking about your brand values and talking about like case studies and everything, but when your newsletter, you might be more open with like a, like something that happened to you the other day or something like that.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: you're further along, like you talk to your friends a little bit differently than you two, like a coworker for example.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Oh, I think that they should focus on having a lead magnet that complements whatever their paid offer is, whether it is their one on one service or if they do happen to have another like low ticket option, focus on that first and don't overthink what the lead magnet should be. I think something like a checklist tends to be a little bit too simple.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Yes, absolutely. And I love [00:26:00] that. So can you share an example of a well done automated email sequence that led to real results?
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: And the way her funnel worked is that she would have like a, I think it was like a 30 minute call with people, to see if they were a good fit for the program.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: because that way you're reminding people's inbox a little bit more often.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Okay, yeah, no, I love that because I feel like a lot of the times we don't think in that aspect of like, how do I get those conversions? How do I adjust things so that we can have a better email sequence? And I don't, I think a lot of the times too, we just have a call, like we don't have any sort of interaction before the call.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: definitely. Which is always the goal. You want someone to feel comfortable on the call and not nervous about talking to you.
-:melissa-esmeralda_1_02-18-2025_090425: Yeah, you can check out my website, emilmarketinggroup. com. I'm also on Instagram. Same handle, same thing for LinkedIn. I do have a lead magnet. It's called 10 Subject Line Formulas for Attention Grabbing Emails. So it is, of course, a Subject line formulas, but also it has some bonus sections in there like so, sales psychology aspects.
-:samantha-eck_1_02-18-2025_100425: Awesome. Well, fantastic. I'll definitely make sure to include all that in the show notes so you guys can connect with Melissa. Otherwise, Melissa, thank you so much for coming on today. I really appreciate it and I can't wait for our listeners to hear this episode.
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