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3 Elements of a Healthy Email List

Business Resources

7/22/2022

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Jenna 

If I were asked to give you ONE piece of advice as a business owner, here’s what it would be: Focus on the importance of a healthy email list.

Email lists are crucial to any type of business because email marketing is the best way to connect with customers vs. social media. Yep! I said it.

I say it’s more important than Instagram and even networking events.

In fact, you are 6x more likely to get higher click-through rates through emails instead of posts on Instagram. And according to McKinsey & Co. a  global management consulting firm who serves the world's leading businesses, governments, and institutions, “Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter.”

With over 4.3 billion email accounts 90% of your emails are seen vs. the 2% of your posts that are seen on Facebook and Instagram, due to pesky algorithms! I could go on and on, but I won’t bore you with more data and statistics. Email is more relevant and reliable than ever, can we all agree? And it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Related: The Importance of an Email List

It’s one thing to have an email list and send emails *once in a blue moon,* but the power of email marketing lies in consistent communication and strategies for building a HEALTHY email list. So, how do we do this?

 

The Elements of a Healthy Email List

According to Campaign Monitor, “Email list building is the act of getting more people to subscribe to your emails. If you have a CTA on your homepage, that would act as a source to build up your email list. The more ways you can encourage visitors to subscribe to your email, the stronger your email list will be.”

But, it’s not just about creating some sign up forms and sending an email or two here and there. In fact, emailing your list sporadically will just lead to more unsubscribes! 

Think about your own activity as a subscriber to someone’s email list. If someone is sending you valuable information at the right time, you’re more likely to stay engaged. But how often do you receive a newsletter from a brand from out of the blue and go “wait, when did I sign up for this?? UNSUBSCRIBE!”

There’s a balance of finding the right content to write about, not always selling to your list and committing to a regular, expected amount of frequency to end up in people’s inboxes.

 

Element #1 of a Healthy Email List

Consistency is KEY!

Let’s talk about email frequency. I’m not talking about how often you should email your people when you’re in the middle of a launch or promotion. I’m talking about how frequently you email your list in order to stay in touch!

This would be called a broadcast or newsletter email.

For the last 2ish years, I’ve been writing and sending weekly emails. Every Monday morning I send a useful tip, or a story about something I’ve learned that I know my audience would like to hear from me. This is a way for me to stay front-of-mind for my subscribers, it builds my reputation and relationship with them as an expert in my industry, and leads to more customer retention and revenue, because most people want to buy things from people they trust! 

But just because I send an email once a week to my subscribers, doesn’t mean this is the right frequency for you and your business.

So, how frequently should YOU email your list?

My Tips:

  • Start with sending 2 emails a month
  • After a few months, split test it! Segment half of your list to be the group that continues to receive 2 emails a month, while the other half starts to receive weekly emails. 
  • Track open rates, click-through rates and unsubscribes for a few months!

Keep in mind that these metrics could be altered due to the content you’re sending, so it’s super crucial that you’re sending relevant content to your subscribers.

 

Element #2 of a Healthy Email List

Keep it RELEVANT!

Nothing leads to more unsubscribes than emails that don’t resonate or apply to your readers. This is why I’m a HUGE fan of tagging, segmenting and tracking subscribers interests, clicks and opens rates.

The data you receive on each subscriber, should inform you on what type of content your people are liking! Once you get a pulse on that, it’s time to write more of that type of content. 

Related: BTS of a Six-Figure Launch (I talk more about tagging and segmenting your list here)

Remember, your weekly or bi-monthly emails should be about adding VALUE to your subscribers lives. This builds trust and when it comes time to sell to them, they are more ready to purchase from you because of it!

 

Element #3 of a Healthy Email List

Quality over Quantity

So many entrepreneurs, especially when they FIRST start an email list, get consumed by the SIZE of their list, vs. the health of their list. I get it. But, I want to say something that might shock you: SMALLER is actually better! Why?

Having a larger list increases the amount  of subscribers who aren’t really interested in your content. This will sway your metrics and data and won’t allow you to get a pulse on what your audience actually wants from you!!

So, in this case, bigger is not necessarily better, my friends. It’s about going deeper with your community, so you can provide them with relevant, valuable information that you know is going to make them stay engaged and wanting more from you!

 

 

References

  1. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/why-marketers-should-keep-sending-you-emails#
  2. https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/
  3. https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2019/04/importance-building-email-list/

 

 

 

by Jenna Rainey 

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