Everyone online talks about a very important “list.” Having “a list” is vital to making money in online business, but what is it?
What is a list?
Well, “a list” is an email list. Ideally, it’s of your avatar – your ideal customer or client. Unfortunately, many people get caught up in vanity metrics and think it’s only the size of your list that matters. It’s not.
I recently wrote an article for Inc. Magazine about an influencer’s social media following and how it means nothing if the people behind the numbers aren’t engaged. For your list, it’s the same.
Targeted email lists
Targeted email lists are where the money is. If your email list is not targeted, then what’s the point of having one?
I will get into how to build an email list soon, but first, let me get into why you should have and why I started one.
In a word: ConvertKit.
ConvertKit
I’ve done email marketing before for my Media Maven® clients, but when I learned about ConvertKit and how easy it is to not only build a targeted email list, but to also track how the person entered the list and set up automations based on that, I was sold.
Not too long ago, I created an online course. Through business development, I learned a lot of small business owners want and need public relations services, but they can’t afford it. That’s why I decided to charge a fraction of a monthly retainer and teach them how to handle PR themselves. (Click here to read more about that.) To market my new, online business, I needed an email list.
To sell something online, you need an online presence. To communicate with those people, you need an email list.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]To sell something #online, you need an online presence. To communicate with those people, you need an #emaillist.[/Tweet]
It’s NOT social media
Yes, social media works… and it’s great. You should be on social media. The only problem? You don’t control social media. When your favorite platform makes changes, it usually hurts you.
For example, Facebook has you digging into your pockets to reach your followers. Your posts used to appear in news feeds all the time. Today, you only reach 2% of the people who like your page. TWO PERCENT! If you want to reach more, you need to pay Facebook. It’s one reason I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
You own your email list
You are in control of your email list. You own it. That’s the difference.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]You are in control of your email list. You own it. You don’t own your #socialmedia.[/Tweet]
Having an email list isn’t just for online business. It’s why mine is important, but if you have a local business, a targeted email list of current clients and customers and potential ones would also benefit you.
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Again, I like ConvertKit because,
a.) I’m not tech-savvy, so I need something easy to use.
b.) The tracking of who is signing up and where they’re coming from is amazing. It makes sending emails so much easier because I know exactly what the person is interested in.
For example, if you listened to my interview with Pat Flynn on the Smart Passive Income Podcast, you may have opted in to receive my eBook, Master your Media Relations for free. Because ConvertKit will automatically “tag” you as an SPI listener, I know what your interests are and how I can help you. Based on that, I can subscribe you to a certain email sequence and send certain email broadcasts to you in the future, while leaving others out that may not interest you.
This is also a great way to track what strategies to grow your email list are working and which ones are not working.
c.) The automation takes a lot of work off my shoulders so I can focus on other things.
At the end of the day, you want to reach your clientele and customer base. A targeted email list is the best way to do it.
