This episode is specifically for those who create and launch online courses but also for those who run service based businesses, are coaches or run group programs.
For as long as I’ve had my business, which is over 6 years now, I’ve been advocating for building an email list and in this episode I talk about 3 reasons why building your email list should be a priority in your business.
Building an email list is something I see as important to build a business, especially if you’re looking to sell one to many (like an online course or group program) because selling one to many often requires a large amount of traffic to your offers.
Tune in to today’s episode to learn more about list building.
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Transcript
This episode is specifically for those who create and launch online courses but also for those who run service based businesses, are coaches or run group programs.
Basically, if you offer courses, 1:1 services or digital products you need to build a list before you launch or try to sell any of your offers.
But we need to take a step back first. Let’s talk about what a list is. Especially in this context.
When I talk about lists, I talk about an email marketing list. Some people also call it a database, a distribution list or an email newsletter list.
The name doesn’t matter so much. What matters is what it stands for.
An email marketing list is essentially a list of contacts. It often has a person’s first name, sometimes their last name and most importantly their email address.
For as long as I’ve had my business, which is over 6 years now, I’ve been advocating for building an email list and today I’d like to address 3 reasons why building your email list should be a priority in your business.
Reason 1. It’s the only thing you have control over
With over 2.8 billion active Facebook users per month at the time of this recording it’s almost certain that your audience is on Facebook.
But even if they follow your Facebook business page or are a part of your Facebook group, you don’t have control over who sees your posts and who doesn’t. You don’t own social media, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or another platform and you’re basically at the mercy of their algorithm.
Any of these platforms can change in an instant and in some cases it has even shut down accounts.
Your email list subscribers are yours, in a way. They’ve given you their email address so that you can keep in touch with them.
While you obviously can’t completely control who sees your emails because sometimes there are deliverability issues and because it’s up to your subscribers to open their emails, you have a lot more chance of them seeing your emails than seeing your social media updates.
I usually refer to social media platforms as ‘rented land’ and when you rent something you’re not in control of what you can do with it. That’s why one of the main reasons to grow your email list is that you have much more control over it.
Reason 2. Email subscribers are more likely to purchase
Being invited into someone’s inbox is a huge privilege. If someone gives you their email address they’re basically inviting you into their virtual home. Most people are pretty picky about who they let into their inbox, whereas they’re usually less picky about who they follow on social media.
Treat your email list subscribers well, because they’ve invited you into their digital home. People on your email list are most likely loyal readers of your blog and newsletters, and maybe they even want what you’re selling if you engage them, provide them with value and invite them to work with you or buy from you. It doesn’t always translate into immediate sales. Sometimes people are on an email list for months or years before buying, but that’s the beautiful part of it. They will be your ideal client because they know you and your work inside out.
You might be wondering if email is still a worthwhile marketing strategy. According to Hubspot, email generates a ROI of 3,800%, which means it’s still one of the most effective sales options available. Can’t beat those statistics I reckon.
Reason 3. It’s personal
When you’re using an email marketing platform, like ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign, you have the option to personalise your email and use someone’s name when addressing them. I don’t know about you but when I receive an email that’s directed at me it feels a lot more personal even though I know it’s automated.
There are lots of methods to personalise emails so that you can completely tailor your subscribers’ experience. For example, you can add people to specific email sequences through using tags so that it delivers them a series of emails that are in line with what they opted in for.
For example, you could ask them a specific question at the start of your sequence that takes them on a more custom journey. Say, you’re a business coach or consultant you could ask the person that opts in to your sequence about the stage of business they’re at and what they’d most like to hear about from you.
Getting email is also way more personal than seeing something come past in your newsfeed as you’re scrolling. Generally we get emails in our inbox from family and friends too, and to have your email sitting beside an email from a friend is more personal than a random post in someone’s newsfeed.
Sending emails to your subscribers builds trust between you and them. When subscribers read an email from you, they do it in the privacy of their inbox. It’s not just a message displayed publicly on their social media timeline. It’s a much more intimate way to communicate and receive messages.
Building an email list is something I see as important to build a business, especially if you’re looking to sell one to many (like an online course or group program) because selling one to many often requires a large amount of traffic to your offers.
Growing an email list is part of building a successful business, as long as you deliver value to your list and nurture them and treat them like a community.
Will growing your list be a priority this year?
List building is part of my daily focus, for both myself and my clients.
The majority of the Facebook advertising campaigns that I run for clients are to grow their lists.
My multi six figure clients know that the way to scale their business and sell more of their programs is by growing their email lists and Facebook advertising helps them grow their list faster.
Of course it’s not a one way street. In episode 1 I spoke about the importance of using ads to support your organic marketing and the other way around. Facebook advertising can amplify your organic marketing activities.
Luckily Facebook ads aren’t only for people with big budgets. You can start growing your list today with Facebook ads for as little as $5 per day. A bigger budget will get you there faster but every step counts right?!
To start building and growing your email list before you launch you’ll need the following things:
An email marketing platform (like ConvertKit, Active Campaign, Mailchimp or something else)
Do some research into each platform and find what works best for you and your business.
A freebie, also called a lead magnet.
This could be a free download like a checklist, a guide, an ebook or something else. Or it could be a webinar, a series of videos, a quiz or a mini course.
There are many options, but the main thing is that it solves a direct problem for your audience and it’s created in a format that your audience will most likely consume.
A landing page to collect email addresses.
Your landing page can be created on your own website, in your email marketing platform (ConvertKit provides landing pages) or a designated landing page site like LeadPages or Instapage.
A thank you page to redirect your subscribers to.
You can set up a thank you page on your website or use a designated landing page site, but the main point is that it is a separate page with a separate URL. You don’t want a pop up box to say ‘thanks for subscribing’ because it means that you can’t track the conversions with Facebook advertising once you decide to use Facebook ads.
These four components are all you need to start building your list so that you can launch your online course, group program or 1:1 service to your audience and not rely on rented land.
I’ll link to all of the programs and software mentioned in the show notes so you can check which ones are a good fit for your business.
There is so much more to talk about in terms of list building, especially when we start thinking about using Facebook advertising to build our lists, but that will have to wait for another episode.
Right now I’d like to encourage you to think about what list building in your business would look like and start making preparations to get started if you haven’t already.
