Funnel
A funnel is the path a stranger takes from first hearing about you to becoming a customer, broken into steps you can look at one at a time.
In plain English
It is called a funnel because it narrows. A thousand people watch the video, two hundred visit the site, forty join the list, six buy. Every step loses people, and that is normal.
The value is not the shape, it is the visibility. Once the steps are written down you can see which one is leaking, instead of guessing that you need more traffic.
Why it matters
Most people trying to earn from a website try to fix the wrong end. They chase more visitors when the real problem is that of the visitors they already have, almost nobody joins the list.
A funnel turns a vague worry into a number you can improve. It also keeps you honest about how long the journey really is: almost nobody buys the first time they meet you.
How it works
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Someone discovers youA video, a search result, a recommendation. The top is wide and mostly out of your control.
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They arrive somewhere on purposeA landing page built for one thing, not your homepage with fourteen options.
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They give you a way to follow upAn email address, usually, in exchange for something useful.
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You earn the sale over timeA sequence of emails, more videos, more proof. The bottom of the funnel is patience.
Do not build all four steps at once
Build the leakiest step first and measure it for a fortnight. A finished funnel that nobody enters is a lot of work for nothing.