I’ve got an email list, now what?

Everyone’s telling you that you gotta have a list. I don’t know about you but I’m getting kind of tired about hearing about growing you list and look how big my list is and look how my list made me 6 figures. Puuhhlease. When you’re just getting started the idea that a list of emails can bring you loads of money is appealing and for those who are selling the secret formula to growing email list it’s lining their pockets very nicely.  Don’t get me wrong, having an email list is important for having an audience for your products and services. Having an email list is the difference between scrambling for your next client and knowing exactly when and where your next client is coming from BUT all of that depends on what you do once someone opts-in to your list. There’s not enough talk about what to do once someone hops on your list to turn them into a happy paying customer.

I’m going to answer your most burning questions about what comes after the opt-in. By the way these are real questions real people are asking online about email marketing.

I just started my website and launched my blog; while I don’t need an email list now, I know I’ll need it in the future (when I launch my products). Is it worth starting to look into setting up my email list now or should I just focus on getting traffic?

So many people put off building an email list because they think it’s just for sites that get lots of traffic but that’s not true. We all start somewhere and chances are you aren’t getting a lot of traffic in the beginning but it’s better ti have an email list set up so that those who do land on your page can sign up. Traffic of 100 people with 1 opt-in a day is better than no opt-ins at all. The way I see it, your list is your audience and if you don’t have a list you don’t have an audience and therefore you’re writing all those blog post for no one. You should begin building your list from day one. It doesn’t cost you any money to get started with Mailchimp. There’s no reason to not have an email list even if you don’t have an opt-in right now, a product or service to sell and your traffic is low.

How many emails should I send after someone opt-ins? Should I send a confirmation email + welcome email + the opt-in?

Depending on your email service provider and how you’re delivering the opt-in your initial sequence may consist of three separate emails at most, and at the very least one. If you’re using Active Campaign like me you might just send one email that includes both the welcome and the freebie. If you are using a double opt-in feature to prevent bots and fake accounts from making their way on your list your subscribers will get a confirmation email before they get your welcome email. If you’re using Leadpages and having Leadpages deliver the opt-in that will be a separate email from your email provider.  To recap the first email is confirmation, the second email is the welcome  email, and the third possible email is the opt-in from Leadpages.

Try to send as few emails as possible.

Stick to a confirmation email and a welcome email that has the opt-in. What happens next is totally up to you and consequently where most people get stuck.

What do I send my subscribers?

Every online marketing pro is going to tell you that you need to have a newsletter but lets be real your inbox is full of newsletters right now that you’re probably just going to delete. If not you’re lucky because I know mine is!

The idea of newsletter is to have some kind of plan to follow up and create a relationship. People buy from people they know, like and trust. The only way your list is going to get to know you and hopefully like you is by building a relationship with them. The first step is to engage with them via email. Note that I didn’t say email them but I said engage. Engaging with your list is the difference between a list full of strangers who delete your emails and a list of people who can’t wait to work with you one day. You don’t have to call it a newsletter. In fact I encourage you to be creative and call it something that your ideal client would love to sign up for. For example you could call it something like “weekly health hacks”.

Before diving deeper into what should be happening with your list you should first and foremost decide how often you plan to send out a “newsletter” or content via email. It doesn’t have to be daily or super complex plan just something that you commit to so that you create consistency. You can start slow and then ramp it up. The important part is that you are consistent. It is suggested that you send your leads 3-4 emails per week. But there’s no rule saying you can’t send less. I don’t aim for 3-4 emails. That feels like waayyy too much. You and I ain’t got time to be reading and sending that many emails. My rule of thumb is to only send emails when I have something important to say. Some times I might send you 3 emails in a week and other times you might only get two emails from me. I rather send you a few emails of quality that you can’t wait to open then a ton of non sense emails that you probably won’t open. Quality over quantity. So ask yourself how many quality emails do you think you can send per week?

Now that we established that the purpose of emailing you list is to stay in touch, provide value and build a relationship (the like know trust factor) lets get into what you should actually send them. Another variant on this questions I’ve seen is…

“How is email content different from a blog post? Where do you see overlap in email content vs. blog post? I don’t have anything to sell what should I send them?”

My answer in short is send value, ask questions and let them know how you can help them. Sending value is different from audience to audience. Value could be a quick actionable tip, or your most popular blog post you want them to check out. It’s ok if you repurpose some of your blog content. Truth is no one is reading all of your blog post or all of your emails so its unlikely that anyone will spot that you chopped up a blog post and turned it into an email. Ask questions to get your list engaging with you and even use it as an opportunity to get feedback. Last and certainly not least you want to make sure that you’re letting them know about your products and services. If you don’t share they might not know or remember what you do. So every few ( 6-7 emails is what I do) throw in a promotional email. Here are some other ideas of emails you can send:

• Your story as it relates to what you do and your ideal clients

• Your latest win as it relates to what you do and how you can help them win too 🙂

• Past Periscope or quick video

• Behind the scenes glimpse

• Share a client win or testimonial (one that speaks to the challenges your ideal client is facing and what they desire most)

I have a list but I can’t seem to get them to buy my products or services. What am I doing wrong?

No matter how big or small your list is there are some cardinal rules to follow if you want to be able to turn your subscribers in paying clients and customers.

1. Provide value aka don’t email them just to sell to them.

2. They are your ideal clients who need/desire what you have to offer.

You can have 10,000 people on your list but if you aren’t building a relationship with them, providing value and most importantly communicating how you can help them solve their biggest challenge you’re not going to make a single sale. This is where having a well thought out value packed email sequence comes in. An email sequence which is sometimes referred to as autoresponder series is a set of automatic emails that go out to your list based on a set schedule.

I know the idea of sending out automatic emails sounds really impersonal and like a sales-y tactic but let’s be real you can’t write effective emails on the fly. If you want your emails to be well written, thoughtful and full of value you need to plan them out. If this is where you are stuck I can help you plan out your email sequence and show you two autoresponder series that will turn your email list into paying clients and I’ll even throw in my fab swipe copy so you know exactly what to send. You can sign up for a consultation here.

Now that you’re armed with answers to your burning questions I encourage you to start planning your email sequences. I promise the planning part is not that hard and I’ll even give you a sneak peek at how I do it ( stay tuned).