I’ve received so many messages from you guys saying things like, “My list isn’t growing, people don’t open my emails, and I have a high unsubscribe rate. How do I fix these things?” So today I'm talking about common email marketing mistakes AND I have a bonus workbook for you!
““My list isn’t growing, people don’t open my emails, and I have a high unsubscribe rate. How do I fix these things?””
It’s from my ConvertKit Essentials course and it’s got some questions that you can answer to get the brainstorming and have an organized game plan for your email marketing.
Ready to talk about the 5 mistakes I see people make with their email list? Let's go! Click to watch the video below or scroll down for the text version of this post.
Mistake #1: You were too shy to ask people to join.
There’s no shame in asking people to join your list. Ask your friends, family, co-workers, and Facebook friends to hop on board!
Let people know why they should be on your list and how it will benefit them. So make sure you have something awesome to offer.
Mistake #2: You weren’t connecting often enough.
This is a common situation where we see a very high unsubscribe rate. If you don't connect often enough, your subscribers are likely to forget your name or that they even signed up for your list. Let's say they sign up for your list, get their subscriber incentive the same day, and then don't hear from you again for 3 months. When you finally send out that next email, they (along with many others on your list) will unsubscribe because they have no real attachment or connection to your content/personality anymore.
So how often should you email them? Think back to when you invited them in the first place. What kind of content did you promise them? My personal recommendation is to connect at least once every three weeks, but try to do it more often if you can swing it.
Mistake #3: You were connecting too often.
On the flip side of things, maybe you were connecting too often! Were you emailing them every week but didn't really have anything to share? Don't reach out just because you feel like "it's time." Send them something that will brighten their day or add a little sparkle to their lives.
Some companies or blogs need to reach out every day because that's the content they've promised their readers. Only you can tell if this rule applies to you. In most cases, bloggers and online entrepreneurs don't need to reach out every single day.
Mistake #4: You were sending the wrong content.
Unless you’re changing your niche, you should really try to stay consistent with your content. I really love fashion but I know my subscribers aren’t on my site for that kind of content so I won’t be sending any emails exclusively about the clothes that I wear.
If you have dual niches, then you definitely need to make it a practice that you only send relevant content to each of those niches.
“If you have dual niches, then you definitely need to make it a practice that you only send relevant content to each of those niches. ”
For example: If you write about parenting and personal finance, you need to separate those email lists so that you only send relevant content to the right lists. People who are interested in personal finance aren't necessarily interested in parenting. You don't want to lose subscribers by sending them the wrong content!
I personally use ConvertKit (<-- affiliate link, but girl I only recommend stuff I love!) to handle segmenting my list into different sections so I can keep everyone organized. It doesn’t make any sense for me to send a sales email encouraging someone to buy a course if they've already purchased it. Can you imagine how annoying that would be?
Mistake #5: You made your emails about you, not them
Would you invite someone into your home and say, "Let's talk about me and only me, okay?" No!
Always remember that while they certainly want to get to know you on a personal level, your readers are busy people. You need to show them that subscribing to your list is worth their time because you're sharing content that will help or inspire their lives in some way.
Alrightly, that wraps it up for this post! If you struggled this year working on your email list, hopefully one of the issues or tips I mentioned will help you create a game plan. And don’t forget to grab your free workbook!
