What Should Be in Your First Funnel? A Beginner Dietitian’s Guide to Getting Clients
===
[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Dietitian Boss Podcast. I'm Libby Rothchild, registered dietitian and business coach here to help you grow a flexible, client-focused practice with confidence. Today we're tackling a topic that often feels intimidating, especially for beginners. That's the word funnels. if you've heard the term before but you aren't sure where to start, then this episode will break down your very first funnel in plain English without any tech overwhelm.
if you are trying to book clients without spending your whole day on social media, then this funnel is gonna help you do just that. So let's walk through the three core parts you need and why they matter. firstly, I wanna share the role of a simple freebie or opt-in. Let's talk about the beginning of your funnel.
That's called a freebie or a lead magnet. Think of a freebie as a bite-sized sample [00:01:00] of what you offer. It gives value in advance, builds trust, and it shows somebody what it's like to learn from or work with you. It's pretty important. So for context, what this could look like is a checklist, right? Like a simple checklist, five signs your gut health needs support, or a short guide.
Like three day low bloat meal plan or a quiz or even a tracker like A-P-C-O-S symptom scorecard. Now, this lead magnet does not need to be long or fancy. In fact, it's good that you keep it bite sized, something that's more digestible. What matters is that it solves one very specific problem for your audience.
Now, if you're not sure what to create, ask yourself, what's the first question that new clients always ask me? Now, what small win could I help somebody achieve in five minutes or less? Inside the dietitian Boss library, we do give you examples, [00:02:00] templates, and titles that you can customize so you don't have to build from scratch.
But even if you're doing this on your own, start small. A one-page PDF is absolutely enough. Again, we've got done for you templates inside the library, and we have already written, PDFs and email nurture sequences, to make your process simple. And that's where we're gonna go to next.
Part two would be a simple three email welcome series. And we have those already created for you inside the library that you can plug and play. So when someone downloads your freebie. You might be wondering what happens next? And that's where your email sequence comes in. It's like the conversation that builds trust over time.
Your first email should thank them and introduce yourself. Think of it like a warm welcome. You are not selling anything yet. You're just showing your personality and helping them feel seen, which is really important.
The second email that you schedule [00:03:00] can dive into the problem that you solve. Like for example, if you specialize in PCOS, you might explain how blood sugar affects energy levels and how your approach is different. Your third email is where you add an invitation, and that's where you're gonna ask them to take action.
It could be something like, if you're ready to talk about next steps, click here to book a free call. Or if you're not offering consults yet, it might just be something like, reply and tell me what you're working on. I'd love to help. You wanna keep these emails short and write like how you talk and remember that one clear point per email is all you need.
You don't need to be long emails. Now inside the library, that's my month to month membership. I do provide copy or done for you email sequences that I'm explaining, and you can just adapt it and add your links and your business name so you're not guessing what to say, right? Have this stuff done for you quicker.
if you're just getting started, even two emails is a great start, right? Progress over perfection. If three [00:04:00] emails feels like too much, it's the concept I want you to think of more than the details. Part three would be the call to action and the booking link. So the final piece of your first funnel.
Includes a call to action. It's also called a CTA. If you've ever heard that verbiage, call to action. This is where you direct the person to take the next step. This is so important. This is probably the most misstep in many dietitians. Most beginner dietitians that either forget it or they bury it at the bottom of a huge paragraph.
Mostly you're just forgetting it. So you wanna make the CTA really clear. Alright. I want you to make it simple enough for them to click whatever you're asking them to do. For example, your CTA might be, click here to book a discovery call or reply to this email and let me know your biggest struggle or message me the word plan on Instagram for a free checklist,
Those are examples of what a call to action would be. You're moving someone from where they are now to taking action. [00:05:00] What matters here is clarity. One, clear ask and no fluff. Make things simple. Make sure that your booking link works. Sometimes, you send a broken link, so you wanna make sure everything's up to date.
You'd be surprised how often I see broken Calendly links or broken links from a call to action, or maybe even no links at all, right? Just someone forgetting that step in the email sequence. If you're using a tool like Hijabi, which is what we use, you can embed your link right in the email so you don't have to overcomplicate it, right?
And. most clients, they just need to be asked, right? Most prospective clients need, they need you to ask them to book a call. And if you're using an EMR, like practice better, you can add that link inside of your sequence. So a bonus here I wanna share with you of what your first funnel can look like.
We've broken down three steps, so let's go ahead and recap a one page freebie or a lead magnet. Keep it simple. Two to three, welcome emails. If you're overwhelmed, stick with two, [00:06:00] but we've already written them for you inside the library. If you wanna grab a copy and then a call to action with a working.
Link, whether you're using a calendar link from an EMR or you're actually using Calendly. Whatever you're using for your link, make sure that it's working, test it and that's it. You don't need 10 emails. You don't need a full website. This is more important than a website. If you don't have a website, start here.
If you're looking to start, this is what you need before a sales page. You just need a path for someone to go from learning to taking action, and do not forget that call to action. So if you wanna build your first funnel without guessing what to write, what to offer, or even how to organize it, that's exactly what I cover inside the dietitian Boss library.
That's our month to month membership. You will get done for you freebie templates, pre-written email copy workflows for how to set up your calendar tech tutorials. You'll also understand how to write a caption with [00:07:00] examples and pre-written content done for you for social media, whether you're insurance based cash or a hybrid.
if you want the exact funnel system that I just walked you through, I want you to direct message me the word funnel, and I will send you our starter checklist. If you're ready to grow with confidence this year, I would love to see you inside of our membership [email protected].
We will see you next time.
