All the social media networks are great, and you can build a huge following, but what would happen if that social media suddenly went bust, or out of favour? Or the rules changed which meant you couldn’t earn from them. You would lose all those followers. Similarly, say you’re earning a lot with a certain affiliate, but then they stop their programme, or people find a better alternative. Or your sponsored posts dry up and you’re no longer getting work. If you’ve diversified your income like we have talked about before, you’ll be feeling less panicky now, but there’s another way to have a backup. Your e-mail list.
Your list of subscriber e-mails is yours alone and you will always have them until they unsubscribe. As a blogger, you should have a way of collecting emails from day 1, and not WordPress subscribers, that is something different. You need an email programme like Mailchimp, Convertkit, Mailerlite, and Mad Mimi. I have tried Mailchimp, Convertkit and Mailerlite. I have to say I prefer Mailerlite. You can put people into segments, and offer freebies, content upgrades and offer email courses, plus it’s free for the first 1000 subscribers. I find it a lot more intuitive to use. My email list grew from 300 (which took me 2 years to get) to 700 within 4 months of signing up for Mailerlite. I did get to over 1000, but I still didn’t fancy paying for a subscription so I decided to get rid of a few subscribers who never open my emails. It’s better to have subscribers who actually like your content rather than paying for ‘dead’ subscribers. You’re also more likely to get your email sent to the spam folder with Mailchimp. You can sign up to Mailerlite here (my affiliate link).
Where to promote your email list
You can get a sign-up form that you place on your website which can go in the sidebar, below the post, and your footer is a great place to put your email sign-up form. It can be a simple box asking for an email address, or a more elaborate form. I’m sure you have seen them on other blogs and websites. Have a look at some for inspiration and design yours. Your email provider will also have some templates you can use. You can also get a link to insert into your website.
How to get people to sign up for your email list
Of course, you hope that your content is so amazing that people will sign up just to hear what you will post about next and be the first to know, but usually, they need a little more incentive. The most popular way to get people to sign up is by offering some sort of freebie. This should be related to your content, and offer something to the reader. Here are some suggestions:
- Toolkit, eg the busy mama’s organisation for school toolkit
- Cheatsheet
- Webinar
- PrintableChecklist
- eBook
- Mini-course
- Video
- Access to a private group
- Voucher
- Discount
- Physical freebie
When they sign up to your email list, they get a welcome email and a link to the download. You can then make a Thank you page they are redirected to before they get the download, which upsells them a related product you have for sale or an affiliate product. This can be a page on your website you make or a dedicated landing page from Mailerlite. The other alternative is to put the subscriber into a sequence of emails where the end goal is to get them to sign up for your paid product. Or you can simply add them to your list.
Another method is to write a post and have the main meat of the information needing a sign up to access the information, so they sign up to your list to read the full article. A popular way that readers like is to create a resource library. You create a collection of free items that they get access to when they sign up.
You can run a giveaway and ask people to sign up for your list to gain entry. This can work well to gain numbers, but a lot of people who enter competitions frequently will have a compers email specifically for that or will unsubscribe straight afterwards. Make the prize related to your blog or business to make the most of it.
What to put in your emails
So now you have an email list. But what can we send in them, and how do we make money from an email list? Some bloggers just have a weekly newsletter with an RSS feed of their latest posts. This is fine, and can get you some traffic. You may have heard the saying, “The money is in the list.” How you access the money is another matter. I became a bit stuck with my emails, who I was targeting and how to make money out of them. Yes, you can put in some affiliate links and links to your posts, products and courses, but how do you do that without becoming too salesy? I discovered The Email Marketing Fairy (Kate Doster), who has a very reasonably priced set of templates you can send when you don’t know what to write. I managed to target my list further and make it work for me. I highly recommend getting her templates if you’re looking to make the most out of your email list, particularly if you’re not sure what to send. It helped me out so much. It is my affiliate referral link, but I honestly think it’s the best one to get and it’s a great price point.
When you’re ready, you can write a weekly, fortnightly or however often you like email digest. Make some exclusive content for them, and you can put in your affiliate links, your product or a particular post to promote. If you’ve offered them a freebie in return for signing up, you will already know what area they are interested in and you can nurture that interest with what is known as a nurture sequence. This nurture sequence is part of an email funnel.
An email funnel sequence, also known as an email marketing funnel, is a series of automated email messages that are sent to a specific audience over a period of time with the goal of guiding them towards a particular action or conversion, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or scheduling a consultation.
The sequence typically begins with an initial email or offer, often called a lead magnet (your freebie for example), which offers something of value to the recipient in exchange for their contact information. Once the contact information is obtained, the sequence continues with a series of emails that provide more information about the product or service, build trust and rapport with the recipient, and offer additional incentives to encourage them to take the desired action.
The number of emails in the sequence can vary, depending on the goal and complexity of the conversion. For example, a simple lead magnet may only require a few follow-up emails, while a more complex sales funnel may include dozens of emails over several weeks or months.
Email funnel sequences are a common marketing strategy used by businesses to nurture leads and increase conversions. By providing valuable content and building a relationship with the recipient, you can improve the chances of turning leads into paying customers, traffic or whatever your end goal is. It’s important to know what your end goal is before you start planning it all out.
Mailerlite helps you make and design your funnel with an easy-to-use flow chart to plan it out and write it. Can you tell I like Mailerlite?
I know it can be hard to get your head around email marketing, but these are the basics for you. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll help you out. Start small and see how you get on. Have a think about what you can offer as a lead magnet, what your end goal is and how you can get there with an email sequence. Have a play around in Mailerlite or whichever email delivery provider you choose so you are familiar with the tools. Then, go for it!
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