I Hit 1000 Email Subscribers - Lessons I Learned
Today, I noticed that I hit 1000 email subscribers. This is a milestone I've been working towards for a couple months now.
Originally when I started my website, creating an email list wasn't the #1 goal. I wanted to get traffic and sales! As a result, I created content and most of the conversions were a result of direct linking from my blog post to my affiliate partners.
Over time, I decided this wasn't a good long term strategy because I've seen internet entrepreneurs who lose alot from doing that. They're affiliate partners may:
- Go out of business
- Sell their business
- Or in some way, they change the quality of the product(s) or service(s) they offer
I wanted to sustain a relationship with the people who give me their attention and trust, so I decided to make my email list my #1 conversion goal.
Did my Switch Have Negative Results?
Yes. When I first made the switch, I crushed my conversions completely. I stopped getting sales until I figured out how to optimize my funnel better.
Overall, I think going thru the experience of crushing my conversions and building it back up was a good experience. It taught me alot.
I still haven't reached my top conversion numbers again, but I know when I put more emphasis on optimizing, I'll improve my results even more.
5 Things I learned from Growing my Email List from 0 to 1000 subscribers
My list growth started out very slow. I added Convertkit to my website probably the month it started, and these are some things I learned along the way...
1. Direct Linking doesn't work for everyone
For those of us that want to build a long-term brand, creating a business without its own unique customer list and relationships may not be a good idea.
2. Emails require conversion optimization just like websites do
Emails aren't just about sending friendly messages or nonstop pitching. Email marketing requires focus on providing value. You may start out with no results via email, but once you practice and learn how to serve your audience better, you'll get better and better results.
3. Email doesn't HAVE to be a priority in the beginning
I think I could've held off on starting my email list for a couple months. I didn't have people on my list for awhile, so spending the time to write all of the emails it requires to build trust wouldn't give as high returns on my time as focusing on getting more attention and potential customers to my site.
4. Choose an email marketing platform that's easy to use
There are several email marketing platforms. Some have fancy bells and whistles and some have lots of hype. I've tried quite a few. Nowadays, I think it's important to choose the platform that makes you feel motivated to email.
5. Email marketing isn't for cold traffic
Some people think because they don't have traffic that they should get into email marketing to improve that--that's not the case. Email marketing isn't a replacement for SEO, social media marketing, or ads.
It doesn't gain attention from people that don't know you unless you're sending cold emails. Instead, email marketing is to build rapport after you've already made initial contact. It helps to handle objections and build trust with the eventual goal of a sale.
I Published a New Training with 10 Tips Learned to Get to 1000 Email Subscribers!
Of course, I have many more tips and advice about email marketing! After reaching this goal, I went back and wrote down the main things I think I learned along the way, and I recorded a training for you.
If you'd like to learn from my 10 tips, you can check out the new training I published for premium members here.
My Questions for You
- Have you grown an email list? Why or why not?
- Have you hit 1000 subscribers? How long did it take you?
- What's one lesson you've learned about email marketing that you think others should know?
Leave your comments, questions, and feedback below.
Recent Comments
90
Congrats Tiffany!!
I'm still not on board with email marketing (not because I don't realize it's value but because I'm not ready to learn about it at this point).
For now will focus on YouTube (published my very first onscreen talking video last night btw!😱) but will eventually get to email marketing as well.
I think you're doing it right. It's important to get the traffic rolling really well first. You know that already though.
Tiffany
i have read and appreciate what you discussed
the cold emailing like cold sellign never really works in my experience
working off ht back of your interested parties and visitors to me is the way to go.
1: When people want something because they are:
a familiar with you, your site or your style they are more approachable and likely to cu you some slack, listen
2: Another when you don't appear to be ONLY selling give you more credibility and inroads to later SELL
THIS HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE
chris
Thanks for sharing your experience! I agree. Cold calling or email has much lower conversion rates than doing something with permission.
Thanks, Tiffany. This post served as a good reminder about email marketing. I get why email marketing isn't a priority in the OEC training (especially when you're starting out).
I'd love to start email marketing, but I'm still a newbie five months in. Especially when my niche site doesn't have the traffic and conversions yet. But once I see a turning point and real results, then I can look into it. Someday though.
Thanks again for sharing!
-Eric
Yes. Email marketing is great for improving results but it doesn’t generate traffic, so that’s the first priority starting out.
See more comments
Thanks Tiffany for your post on Email marketing. I took out an email platform even before I got my feet wet in affiliate marketing. Of course it was all on the advice of a guru who was interested in his commission!
I had zero traffic when I started and zero traffic when I gave it up eight months later!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I hope your story can help people to avoid getting into it at the wrong time.
Oh.. thank God I hear this information now becaause I am on the way to hang myself into one of them. So I have to way and go through TDomena's previous post and chose some idea from that. Thank you all for coming in this morning. It is helpful to someone.