As we dig into List Building For Bloggers together in our LBFB Series, you'll notice that the Introduction and first chapter discuss the value of your mailing list.
Phil explains why Email Marketing should be a higher priority than other marketing mediums. And I agree 100%. Both from experience, and by looking at my stats...
Seth Godin made a strong point in his Appreciation at the beginning of the guide, which is not just a random statement but based on actual stats and true comparisons from his own blog:
“Email is ten times more impactful and responsive than just about any form of media ever developed.” -Seth Godin, page viii
I'll admit it: Email Marketing has not always been MY top priority. From building my lists to nurturing my lists, even I have let it fall to the side now and then.
I'm not proud of that fact, of course. I could give you any number of reasons (um, excuses) including the fact that so many new marketing mediums are now vying for my time and attention.
Why Aren't Email Lists Extinct in the Age of Social Media?
^ This is actually the title of Chapter One in List Building for Bloggers, and Phil does a great job explaining why we should not ignore Email Marketing in favor of new mediums such as Facebook and Twitter.
We're all different in the way that we do things, but if I look at my own subscriptions and sources - and how I manage those - email definitely gets my attention over all the others.
I rarely read my Tweet stream anymore, I'm bad about keeping up with the content in my Feed Readers, and while I try to check in with my Facebook content stream a few times a day I'm still missing tons of information there.
Email, on the other hand, is there anytime I want to access it. Even offline. And I tend to give email subscriptions the most attention.
Like I said, we all operate differently, but no matter how WE do it... WE are not the majority. As marketers we have to appreciate and respect the fact that most people still place a higher priority on their email, and that it is simply the easiest and most personal place to reach someone that specifically requested updates from you.
Not to mention the fact that not everyone has a Facebook account or a Twitter account. But everyone does have an email account.
Add to those thoughts that most people have smart phones these days, so you don't just reach them - you can often reach them in their back pocket. I know for me personally, I no longer sit down to email at my desk once or a twice a day - I now check it as it comes in and keep an eye on it more closely than ever. And yes, I check my incoming email A LOT more than I check my social media channels. 😉
Is Your Mailing List Your TOP Priority?
Read through (or back through) the Appreciation, Introduction and Chapter One of List Building For Bloggers. I don't know about you, but these sections alone got me excited about Email Marketing all over again!
It's so easy to get caught up in other marketing strategies, or ignore Email Marketing because of personal blocks (what to send, when to send it, HOW to send it, etc). As we kick off this series I thought it would be fun to discuss some of our excuses reasons for NOT making our mailing lists our top priority...
Leave a comment below, and let the discussion begin!
Best,
p.s. If you don't yet have a copy of List Building For Bloggers, and you want to follow along in the series this month, grab a copy here and use the coupon code "clicknewz" for $10 off. 😉 That makes it only $14.95!
About Lynn Terry
One of my excuses is that I sometimes think that if I send too much, I might make my readers upset. Of course if I put good content out, there shouldn't be a problem and I only want people who are interested on my list anyway. But I want to also respect their email space and time.
Another excuse for me WAS the technical part of getting the list set up, putting the mailing into Aweber, etc. Then I hired a VA to do that for me. I do the writing and send the info on to her to put in Aweber and send out. I still need to learn Aweber though but for now I did that so I could get moving with list building.
Have you considered using the Blog Broadcast instead of manually sending a newsletter? You just choose a template, and it sends out the emails in your template - taking the content/excerpts from your RSS Feed.
See now, this has been worthwhile in the first hour of starting LBFB! I didn't even know that this process was possible. I'm quite new to email marketing and find Aweber knowledge base a little tricky sometimes. So Thank You Ms Terry!
Caroline
Your most welcome, Caroline! Good to hear. 🙂 The Blog Broadcast feature in Aweber is one of my favorites, and super easy to use!
I've been looking for this, in the best sense, ever since I began 'sniffing round' the internet. I bought the Phil Hollows book - how can any sane IMer resist? - I need to everyday put an hour into this enterprise.
Infact I got it. I everyday do keep-fit first thing. In my IM work I'll do list-building first, then other stuff. That's a plan.
I have both, a blog broadcast that goes out with 3 of the blog posts. Then I do the Sunday mailing which can't go in broadcast because it's different each week.
See, I need to dig into Aweber to learn more so I know what I'm talking about. I'm thankful my VA likes to do that stuff.
I'm with you here Lynn.. This is exactly what I do for my 'magazine'
Few points:
1) I plan my week ahead because the 1st post of the week is the title in my broadcast. (There might be a way to change this) but I uses aWeber and that's how it's set up. So I want the best, catchiest post to showcase in that title.
2) I spend 5-15 minutes before the broadcast changing out the 'intro' so that it's fresh and new each week.
3) My readers know they will get their Small House magazine bright and early every Sunday morning in time for their 1st cup of coffee.
Fascinating Note about #3: Two Sundays ago aWeber had a glitch and my broadcast didn't go out until 5:30 pm instead of 7:00am. My open rate was HALF of it's normal rate!! My open rate is very consistent so this was not a fluke. Consistency and doing what you say you'll do is imperative.
dee 🙂
OK just got the book and I am ready to get on this. This will be great.
Glad to join your discussion group Lynn, thanks for inviting me!I need to develop a list because more and more I believe in email marketing, but I need to get comfortable with aWeber - I seem to have a mental block about it!
Fran
That's common Fran - I get mental blocks about technical stuff too. But once you dig in, it's never as bad as it seemed. 😉
Fran.. I literally have aWeber on my 'favorites' for speeddial because I constantly called them early on.
That's one of the HUGE benefits of aWeber, so I encourage you to use it.
They will walk you thru everything AND custom tailor an email explaining anything you talk about.
They literally had to write out a step by step instruction guide just for me cuz I was getting hung up in some weird places. I printed that puppy out and used it for practically 6 months until I finally knew it.
Really! 🙂
At the moment I send out a blog broadcast on Sundays and a more personal email mid week. I was so scared when I first started utilizing my list because I really thought no-one would find what I had to say interesting, even though I knew the info I could share was valuable!
Every time I'd send out an email or broadcast I'd look to see how many people unsubscribed! But after doing it for the past couple of months I've developed more confidence because more people subscribe than unsubscribe and I've even had people reply saying 'thanks for the support' 'love getting your emails' and that sort of thing. I've also used my list to promote products and made money from it. I've definitely got a lot to learn but I just throw myself into it now and let the fears go. It's okay if some people don't want to hear what I have to say, not everyone will. That's just life! I'm looking forward to drilling down more with this series 🙂
I don't even look anymore. 😀 Congrats on just going for it! We have to keep in mind that people subscribe for a reason. Because they *want* updates from us. 😉
Just grabbed a copy of the guide and for the purposes of this exercise will be using it toward my G34 Media business site.
I've not made email marketing in the past because I could never justify the cost of the email service because the ROI was never met. Entirely my fault, I didn't (still don't know) how best to leverage.
Let's see if I can get something going this time.
Bottoms up,
Missy
It's a catch 22 - you'll never see a return on the investment, if you don't make the investment. 😉 You'll be amazed at how much it increases your traffic & engagement! Not to mention the profit potential. 🙂
This is so true, people have forgotten all about email lists just because they could connect to people via social media. What needs to remember is that having an email list and connecting to your audience via email creates a more personal connection between you and the reader. Imagine the impact of something dropping in your inbox than you having to look through a lot of social chatter.
Des anyone have any suggestions for rekindling a list - I confess that my list as about 5 messages in the bank and then zilch - I'd ave thought would have forgotten who I am now - ishiuld I just delete the old list or just go of it and see what happens?
Sorry about the iPad typos - please add an 'h' as appropriate!
This article really hit home, as I was reading it I felt different emotiinal triggers like wo I do check my email all day long, and how I do have to remind myself to check my twitter lol. So I am now really getting into email marketing and mastering aweber great article lynn I loved it.
I must admit that I never created a mailing list, but I recognize the strength and effectiveness of communication via email. I found many customers writing to them by email, while other media such as social networks have not been so effective.
I never created a mailing list either. All of my effort has been put into SEO and social bookmarking. Having a mailing list is a good idea though. It's not going to die or be replaced by anything anytime soon. Also I find it's good to get traffic from a spectrum of sources rather than just one.