4 Reasons I Love My Email List That Have Nothing To Do With Money

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It seems these days everyone has an email list and a newsletter. Regardless of the field or industry, everyone is hungry for emails. I get it, 10/10 online business owners will tell you that it’s important to have an email list. (Okay, I totally made that statistic up and haven’t done any studies but I bet it’s true.)
Not to be redundant but these are the reasons you typically see:

• You don’t control your follower’s information on social media; it can get taken away without notice.
• People buy from people they trust, having a newsletter builds a relationship.
• It takes X amount of touches before someone will become a customer.

While I agree that if you ever want to make your website a business, you should have a newsletter I’m guessing when you decided to start your website your thought process wasn’t, “I’m going to build a website, start a newsletter and quit my day job. ”
Money is necessary, it’s needed if we want to pay for things like a roof over your head or food, but I wanted to take a second and talk about some of the great benefits of having an email list that have nothing to do with money.

It Helps Me Learn More About My Readers

When I send a newsletter and ask them to reply, I never know if I’ll hear crickets or get an email that brings a tear to my eye. When you send out an email to your list, it gives readers the opportunity to respond privately and honestly. Sure I have a comment section on my blog posts but if I’m talking about a heavy subject like depression or anxiety, it may be intimidating to log into your Disqus account and talk about your struggles with depression for just anyone to see. By sending an email and welcoming them to reply directly to me, I offer them a safe space to build a stronger connection. Also knowing what they respond to helps me know what content speaks to them.

It Helps Them Learn More About Me

You have to be an open book to some extent when you decide to be a blogger but even some stuff you may not want on the internet. When I write an email, I have a lot more leeway just to open up. One of my favorite things each week is writing my newsletter because it reminds me of when I first started blogging and didn’t have an insane content calendar, I could just write about whatever was on my mind. I mean sure, I could go back to that but I am trying to build something, so it’s important to be strategic in what I post. I generally write my emails the night before they go out, while I sometimes write my blog posts weeks in advance. When I sit down to write my newsletter I can update them on what’s going on with me and real time behind the scenes info.

It’s Less Formal

While I never claim to be the queen of grammar, I know that even as a blogger a certain level of formal is expected from the internet. Is the keyword used enough? Is it SEO friendly? Is it at least 300 words? “Insert a piece of advice for a successful and shareable blog post.” In my email, I don’t have to worry about “alt titles” or if I’ve managed to get a green light on my Yoast plugin. I can occasionally go on a rant about what’s happening in my life.

I Can Be Sure They See What’s Going On

As mentioned above (and all over the internet) sharing a blog post on social media doesn’t guarantee anyone will see it. If I share my blog post in my newsletter, I can be sure the people who love me and my work will see it. If I’m launching a new service or program, they know first. If I’m hosting a webinar, I can be sure my top supporters know about it. If I’m featured on another site or do a guest post I share it with my email list. If someone just regularly visits my website without being on the list, they may miss an interview or guest post on another site they might love. I always try to share any off-site posts in my monthly recap/goals post but if there is a limited time bonus, they may miss out.

Remember that while an email list is a huge part of your business, it is so important to build real connections and not generic, superficial ones. Your email list is essentially the VIP area of your online club. You make sure they have ice and limes before anyone else and they get the first shot at meeting any special guests. Here are three ideas of things you can share with your email lists.

3 Things To Send Your Email List

Your highs and your lows.

I follow many online business owners, be it in their newsletter, on social media or just routinely checking their website. I often think with people online they can develop this celebrity, through no fault of their own they seem like they are “better” or just couldn’t understand where you may be coming from with your struggles. I remember a few months ago Melyssa Griffin did a webinar about mindset shifts and talking about her struggles with depression and I had to reach out to her. I had always respected the million dollar business she built but I also had this view of her as a happy sunshine and rainbow type of woman, who couldn’t understand certain struggles. For example the struggle of not wanting to get out of bed when your cortisone levels take a major roller coaster ride because of your anxiety and overthinking. Learning that side of her made me respect her even more.

Expanded text on blog posts.

Many people who have an information based business struggle with how much content to give. If you’re giving it away for free, why would they purchase it? You want to give away amazing content to build your trust but also hold a little something back. You also want to reward your VIP’s. If you publish a post called “5 ways to grow more potatoes” in your email announcing the post hook your readers up with a 6th way to grow more potatoes.

Printables, worksheets and downloads. (Oh My!) 

I feel like it would be safe to say at least 80 percent of the bloggers I subscribe to is the result of a wanting to get my hands on some content upgrade they shared. That being said that is probably why your subscribers signed up for your list. So keep them by continuing to send that added value. Don’t make them sign up again to get the freebie, sent them a link in your newsletter with the option to snag it. If you want to track the interest of particular offerings, you can set up link triggers in most email service providers.

I try my best to email my list every week so I can stay on their minds without being too annoying. I also feel like unless you are promoting an event, product or offering it can seem like you’re just emailing to email and no one wants that. We all have enough emails we don’t need filler emails. I am able to stay in constant contact with my readers in a personal way using MailerLite. It’s super easy to use and one of the leading email service providers in the industry for bloggers and online business owners.
Do you have an email list? If so, what do you like to send them? How often do you email? Let me know in the comments!