Do you ever feel disappointed with how well your newsletter or email list ‘performs’ for you?
Do you long to get these kinds of responses from the emails you send…
- inquiries for your coaching?
- more people passing your emails along to others?
- more sign-ups for teleclasses you offer?
- people actually buying whatever you might be selling?
Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘The money is in the list’? I’ve heard it plenty of times.
And…
It’s absolutely true that when you have a big email list you can make a lot of money without working very hard.
But…
Does that mean you can’t make a lot of money with a small email list? It may surprise you to know that you can make a great living as a professional coach with a small list or even…
No list at all!
One of my past clients, George, took his coaching business from zero to 6 figures in less than 90 days with an email list of under 100 people and then took his business to $300K 1 year after that.
He didn’t use his email list much at all. And get this…
When my list was under 1000, I was earning 6 figures.
No matter what size your email list is, you could be getting a lot better results, and here are 5 things that you can change for dramatically better results.
When you read these 5 points that I’m about to share with you and **apply them**, let me know what you think in the comments below when you start seeing the nearly instant results.
Seriously, no matter how big your list is, you can make the most of it by eliminating these very common, and very costly mistakes.
5 BIG Email List Mistakes
Mistake #1: Not having a clear focus for your newsletters/articles.
If you have 1 very specific thing you focus on, you’ll have a better quality email list. You’ll be able to speak the language of the people reading your emails.
This ties back to having a niche or target market. But, even without one, you can do well by having a very specific voice. My friend Mary (also a 6 figure coach) doesn’t have a niche for her coaching, but she has a specific voice: ‘Success and Inner Peace’ and does very well. (But a target market is still king).
=> Have a clear focus!
Mistake #2: Emailing your subscribers too infrequently.
A lot of coaches only send out their newsletters once a month. There are 2 reasons why coaches do this.
First, they don’t want to overload their subscriber's inbox. I understand this. But can you really solve your subscriber's email overload problem all by yourself? Of course not. Another part of this is the thought that your email is bothersome to people. Not true! They wouldn’t have subscribed in the first place and they can always unsubscribe if they don’t get what they need from you.
Second, some coaches don’t send more often because it takes time to write. I used to hate writing. In fact, I never used to write articles like this one at all. I can relate to the work that goes into your newsletters. But…
If you’re not writing and sending more, it’s probably because you aren’t seeing the correlation between what you write and your income. Pay attention to the next few points to remedy the situation.
Email your list more because it helps speed up your relationship with potential clients. They get to know you, your philosophy, and ‘get’ that you understand them and what they are going through.
And if you have something to sell, your ‘stuff’ gets more exposure and you’re more likely to make more sales!
I aim to email my list multiple times per week. That’s a lot of writing and I don’t expect you to write this much. Whatever amount you’re currently sending emails, try to double it.
=> Email your list more!
Mistake #3: ‘Overstuffing’ each email.
One of the reasons writing a newsletter can take a long time could be that you’re ‘overstuffing’ it. Do you put several different articles in your newsletters? If so, that’s too many.
Stick with one article per newsletter for 2 reasons:
First, most readers won’t spend much time reading what you write. But, if you write one good, catchy, thing, you’re more likely to get someone to read all the way to the end.
Second, if you have 2 articles, it’s better to send 2 emails so you can stay connected to your subscribers more often and give more exposure to anything you might want to promote.
NOTE: Don’t worry about the length of your articles. If you write a great article, people will read it. The length of each article isn’t ‘overstuffing’ your newsletter. Sending too many things at once is.
=> Keep it simple!
Mistake #4: Not interacting with your list.
Many coaches write their newsletters in a vacuum. They write what is on their mind. Mistake! Write about what is on the minds of your prospective clients and readers.
How can you find out? Ask. Do surveys from time to time.
Ask them things like:
What’s your biggest challenge in XYZ (your relationship, your business, your health, your work, etc. The ‘XYZ’ is based on what you coach people on).
You can also find out what is on their minds by having teleclasses and paying attention to the questions people ask (and the topics that they are most interested in).
=> Interact with your list!
Mistake #5: Not making offers to your list
This is the #1 mistake. Why? The only way you can make money from your email list is by making offers. Here are a few different offers you can make to your email list:
- A Product Offer (to sell a product you have)
- A teleclass offer (even if it’s free, it will help you build a relationship with your list, and to better understand them)
- An intro session offer (many people have an idea that they want your help but haven’t gotten to the point where they’re ready to reach out to you. Offering an intro session is like making a personal invitation and can often lead to new clients.
You should make an offer to your list almost every time you send an email. Sometimes you can even send out a standalone ‘offer email’.
=> Make offers to your list!
Don't get me wrong – having a big email list is an incredible asset to your business and if you aren't working on that yet, I'd recommend it.
But…
You don’t need a big list to make a great living.
If you eliminate these 5 mistakes, I KNOW you’ll see an immediate improvement in your results.
Plus, when you see things happening (like making sales, getting more intro. sessions, etc.) you’ll be more excited to keep writing!
Remember:
- Have a clear focus
- Email your list more often.
- Keep it simple!
- Interact with your list!
- Make offers to your list!
‘Let’s get people coached!’
Big Love,
Christian
