Marketing funnels
Adult marketing funnels, from first click to repeat order
An adult marketing funnel is the full route a customer takes, from the first visit to the second and third order, and the messages that carry them between stops. We map it for your business, put a number on every stop, and build the automated emails that do most of the carrying.
- First clickLanding page view rate
- Sign-upVisitors who join the list
- First orderSign-ups who buy
- Second orderBuyers who return
- RegularOrders per customer per year
Why automated emails carry the load
Klaviyo's benchmark data shows automated flows can earn up to 30 times more revenue per recipient than one-off campaigns, with abandoned cart flows averaging $3.65 per recipient against $0.11 for a standard campaign.
The reason is timing: an automated email reaches someone at the moment they signed up or nearly bought. For adult businesses those messages also have to be discreet, since the recipient may not be the only person who sees their inbox. Getting people onto the list in the first place is covered on lead generation.
The five services we build first
| Flow | Departs when | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome series | Right after sign-up | Introduce the brand, deliver the offer, answer privacy questions |
| Abandoned cart | Checkout started, no order | Reminder, reassurance on billing and packaging, one nudge |
| Post-purchase | Order placed | Care and use guides, delivery updates, how to get help |
| Replenishment | When a consumable runs low | A timely reorder reminder |
| Win-back | No order for a long spell | A reason to come back, or an easy unsubscribe |
Every flow is written safe for work, with neutral subject lines, and follows the labeling and consent rules summarized on lead generation.
Finding the leaks
A funnel map shows where people drop off between stops. The biggest drop is often where the next hour of work pays back most.
- Many visitors, few sign-ups: the offer or the page needs work, covered on conversion optimization.
- Many sign-ups, few first orders: the welcome series is not doing its job.
- Many first orders, few second orders: post-purchase and replenishment need attention.
- Everything fine but too few visitors: the problem is upstream, in customer acquisition.
Where texts fit in the funnel
Text messages are read quickly and are the most personal channel a brand can use, which is why they need the most care. We use them for a few moments that matter to the customer, such as an order shipped or a cart left with a time-limited offer, and only for people who gave separate written consent. Every message names the brand, says how to stop, and contains nothing that would embarrass someone if it appeared on a locked screen. The consent rules are summarized on lead generation.
Discreet emails, before and after
| Moment | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned cart subject | Your naughty basket is waiting | Still thinking it over? |
| Shipping text | Your toys are on the way | [Brand]: your order has shipped. Track it here. |
| Welcome preview | Get ready for a wild ride | Your welcome offer and a quick guide inside |
Illustrative examples. The after versions are still warm and on-brand; they simply let the reader decide when and where to open the message.
The second order is the one that matters
A customer who orders twice is far more likely to keep ordering than one who orders once, so the funnel is built around the gap between first and second purchase. Post-purchase emails teach care and use, which reduces returns and builds trust. Replenishment reminders arrive when a consumable such as a lubricant or cleaner is likely to run out, timed from your own reorder data rather than a guess. Where a subscription makes sense, the sign-up states the renewal price and how to cancel as clearly as the first price. Customers acquired through partners and search are covered on customer acquisition, so the second-order work starts with them too.
Measuring the funnel in a patchy cookie world
Google decided in April 2025 to keep third-party cookies in Chrome and retired most of its Privacy Sandbox tools that October, while Safari and Firefox continue to block third-party cookies by default. The result is a measurement picture with gaps that differ by browser. We build funnel tracking on first-party data instead: consistent campaign tags on every link, events recorded on your own site, and email and order data joined by customer rather than by cookie. That is steadier than any third-party method and keeps working when browsers change their rules again.
Win-back without nagging
Customers who have not ordered in a long while are worth one honest attempt, not a dozen. A short win-back sequence offers a reason to return, such as a new product in a range they bought from, and then asks plainly whether they still want to hear from you. People who say no, or say nothing after a few weeks, are removed from marketing sends. That keeps the list healthy for the inbox providers, and it treats the customer with the same discretion they were promised at sign-up.
The funnel numbers worth watching
| Number | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Visit to sign-up | Whether the offer and form are doing their job |
| Sign-up to first order | Whether the welcome series turns interest into a purchase |
| Cart to order | How much checkout, payment and privacy doubts cost you |
| First to second order | Whether customers liked what they bought enough to return |
| Revenue per email recipient | Which flows and campaigns earn their place in the inbox |
We report these monthly, each with the number of people behind it, so a change in a small sample is not mistaken for a trend. Where a number stays stubbornly low for three months, it becomes the next thing we fix.
Who looks after each flow
Automated flows are easy to switch on and easy to forget. A welcome series written for last year's offer, or a cart email pointing to a product that is out of stock, quietly costs sales for months. We give every flow an owner on your team and a date to review it each quarter: the offer still stands, the links work, the products exist, the wording still matches your brand and the consent rules. We also check the numbers behind each flow against the table above, so a flow that has stopped earning is rewritten or retired rather than left running.
When your platform, payment provider or product range changes, the flows are the first thing we recheck, since they are the parts of the funnel that run without anyone watching.
Building your funnel map
- List every stop, from first visit to regular customer, with the event that marks each one.
- Record the conversion rate between each pair of stops for the last 90 days.
- Find the stop with the largest drop relative to its traffic, and fix that first.
- Build or repair the automated flow that serves that stop, then measure again.
The method for finding the drop is set out in our guide to funnel leak analysis, and the pages each stop depends on are tuned on conversion optimization.
Questions
- 01What is the first automation an adult store should set up?
- Usually a welcome series, then an abandoned cart flow. Both reach people while their interest is high, and both can be written to be completely safe for work.
- 02Can automated emails mention the products people browsed?
- Yes, with care. Use product names and safe-for-work images, keep subject lines neutral, and remember the recipient may share their inbox or screen with someone else.
- 03How soon can a new funnel be running?
- The core flows can be live within weeks. Tuning them takes longer, because each change needs enough sends to judge.
- 04Which email platform do you work with?
- Whichever you use, provided it accepts adult businesses under its terms. Some mainstream platforms restrict adult products, so we check that first.
- 05How do we track the funnel without relying on cookies?
- Use first-party data: consistent campaign tags, events on your own site, and email and order data joined by customer. It is steadier than third-party methods and unaffected by browser cookie rules.
Find where your funnel loses people
Share your site and your numbers. We trace a visitor from first click to paying customer and send back the three leaks worth fixing first.
Request a free funnel audit