Here’s why this is important: If your social media account got wiped out tomorrow, how many people would you be able to reach?
Read on to find out why having a mailing list and direct access to your client’s inbox can boost your business.
Ahhhhhh mailing lists. The one thing that you know in theory you should probably have for your business, but somehow keeps getting pushed to the end of your to-do list.
I really, really want to push you over the edge with convincing you that a mailing list is a truly valuable use of your time when it comes to starting and growing your business.
Want to know how to start a mailing list?
Listen to my Just Start Now podcast episode to learn the steps you need to take:
Listen to the mailing list episode now
Here are my top 5 reasons why you need a mailing list:
1. Because social media can change or disappear at any time
I shared this graphic on my Instagram recently and the brilliant Hannah Gorvin left a great comment on it that said this: We are only renting when it comes to marketing reach on social media.
Mark Zuckerberg and his friends could pull these platforms, at any time. They also can, and do, change the algorithm regularly. Which means you might be nailing it and reaching lots of your audience one month, but then have the rug whipped from under you the next, with no warning.
Renting is precarious at the best of times, not least when dealing with a tech giant that’s constantly evolving and trying to make more money for its shareholders. For those of us using it free to reach our audience, we’re in a weak position.
What we want to do is buy space in our ideal customers lives where we can take up space and deliver the best of what we have to offer.
2. Because it’s a more personal way to communicate with people
Social media is lovely, but it really is talking to the masses.
I don’t know about you but my email inbox, by comparison, is quite a sacred space. It’s somewhere that I’ve curated what I see and only allow in the voices and information I find truly valuable.
If you have a mailing list you are getting an invite into someone’s online safe space.
It’s a direct conversation between you and them when you drop into their inbox, with no-one else privy to the words.
In a world that feels so public, email gets us back to the personal and private. And that really builds trust and feels like an intimate connection many of us crave.
3. Because it gets your amazing content seen by more people
Anyone else feel like they pour a lot of time and energy into blog posts, videos and resources, but no-one is seeing them?
SEO and building your website’s ranking on Google can take time. Having an email list, even a small one, feels like an instant win when it comes to making sure people are consuming what you’ve produced.
There is a lot about building a business that feels frustrating. But knowing that you’re delivering what you’ve produced straight to people who have actually asked to see it, feels like a micro-win in the grand scheme of things. And micro-wins are the basis for building our confidence and belief in ourselves and our business.
4. Because emails convert to paying customers much better than social media
Another reason that mailing lists rule in the online world vs social media is their conversion rates.
According to stats:
99% of consumers check their email every day
59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions
Email is nearly 40x more effective than either Facebook or Twitter at new customer acquisition
44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email
28% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails more than once per week
What’s that? People actually want to receive more promotional emails from you?
Yes, you read correctly. If you are offering exactly what people need, they want to hear about it.
That invitation to promote your products and services in people’s inboxes is open to you. But without a mailing list, you’re passing that invite up.
5. Because emails help people get to know you better (which means they’re more likely to buy from you)
If you have an automated welcome sequence that drops into your subscribers’ inboxes when they sign up to your list, you’re instantly boosting their knowledge of who you are and what you’re about.
With those automated emails (think, sending even while you snooze or work on something else in your business), you can drop straight into inboxes explaining who you are, what you offer and all the things you can do to help.
Marketing is all about building know, like and trust with your ideal customers. People who know, like and trust us, are more likely to buy from us. Mailing lists give us a way to fast-track that process.
Current data is showing that audiences need anywhere between 7-14 ‘touch points’ before they feel ready to buy from you.
Those touch points could be social media, seeing you speak on-stage or stumbling across a blog post by you online. But relying on algorithms or Google searches alone to build up that number is dangerous.
You’re much more in charge if you can drop into people’s inboxes on a regular basis with valuable content, which grows your readers’ connection and trust in you as a source of great information.
When they’re ready to buy, you’ll be first in their minds.
I know this might be difficult to embrace and believe, but people want to hear from you.
They need and want what you have to offer, and providing them with a mailing list is ensuring your valuable content gets in front of them.
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