3 ways to grow and engage an email list
Here’s a little secret about my business…
I’ve created a steady six-figure income with a really small email list. In fact, my email list currently stands at only 2,994 contacts.
Having a small email list and creating a successful health coaching practice is very contrary to what you might hear out there in the marketing world. There’s so much chatter about how important it is to build your email list and all the ways to do it.
In my experience, success isn’t built upon quantity, it depends on quality.
Having a large email list doesn’t matter if it’s full of poor quality contacts who don’t engage with you.
Engagement is how you build rapport and trust with a person which gives them the confidence to invest in the services and unique gifts you have to offer.
This is why I emphasize the importance of creating a first-class client experience that sells itself in business training programs, because when you do, it automatically engages people making it easy (and not salesly) to enroll them.
So here are the top 3 ways I’ve grown and engaged a quality email list…
#1 – Tap Your Network
Your next 5 clients are likely within 10 degrees of separation from you; all you have to do is get your message to them. According to the law of attraction, when you surround yourself with similar people and if you’re passionate about the work you’re doing, those around you will find it intriguing as well.
Everyone’s email list starts at zero. To initially get mine started, I tapped my network by exporting all of the contacts from my phone to my email marketing system. I then crafted a business announcement email centered around sharing my personal health story and the transformation I had experienced from doing the work I do – this established rapport and trust immediately.
From this initial single email, I instantly enrolled two clients, each paying me $3,000.
Around this same time, I also reached out to a few old personal training friends to let them know what I was up to and to see how we could partner to help them get better results for their clients. All it took was one trainer friend taking me up on the offer for another client to come rolling in, who then referred a friend to me, who then referred his sister to me – and the referral train was rolling!
Don’t underestimate the power of your immediate network. This is the low-hanging fruit in your business and in order to make lemonade with it, you’ve got to let them know what you’re up to.
#2 – Commit to Consistency
Growing up my dad always enforced the importance of follow through…if you’re going to commit to something you’ve got to follow through.
This is true for your business too. If you’re going to have a business, you’ve got to follow through. Otherwise, it will never become a business, only a hobby.
If you’re going to grow and engage an email list, you’ve got to follow through. Otherwise it will never grow or be engaged.
Right from the beginning, I set an intention to email my list weekly with tips, information and motivation to help them reach their health goals too. This gives them the opportunity to opt out at any time and to also invite others who might benefit from the info to join the email list
The key to engaging your email list is committing to consistency. Statistics show it can take an average of 5 to 20 touch points before someone reaches out or becomes a client. If you only email your list once a month, that means it could take someone 5 to 20 months to become a client!
The more touch points you create, the more rapport and trust you’ll build with your list, increasing your chances of enrolling them as a client or having them refer someone to you.
Pause right now, pull up your calendar or project planner and plug in consistent weekly or bi-monthly times to email your list. It’s time to commit to consistency.
#3 – Share Your Story
As motivational speaker and coach, Bo Eason said, “people follow your story, not your resume.” As health professionals, we tend to nerd out about all of the cool science stuff and our credentials – the “resume.” But that’s not what your potential clients really care about. They want transformation and social proof that you can help them – your “story.”
By sharing your personal story you are:
- Showing them what is possible for them
- Providing social proof that what you do works
- Being personable and creating a connection
Storytelling is the marketing technique that draws people in and encourages them to engage with you. When they hear your story they think, “That sounds like me! She/he gets me.” And they will want to read on, learn more and eventually schedule a call or enroll in a program with you.
Now you might be thinking, “but I haven’t healed myself yet so I’m not confident in sharing my story or my ability to help others.”
It’s cool. We all deal with imposter syndrome sometimes and here’s the awesome part…
By sharing your story you’ll never attract anyone who is more advanced than you that you can’t help because why would that person resonate with your story if they were beyond what you could help them with?
Sharing your story will ensure that you are always two steps ahead of the clients you attract since they are looking for the specific transformation that only you can provide.
You’re on my email list so watch how I implement these 3 strategies to grow and engage it not only here, but also on my social media channels and other places where I might speak or appear. These strategies are the foundation for your success.
If you want more tips like this for how to build a successful business as a functional health professional, join my Holistic Hustler’s club on Clubhouse and hang out with us every Wednesday at 3pm PST!
To join the club…
- Follow me on Clubhouse (@healthboss)
- Click on the bell at the top of my profile
- Click on the H2O logo at the bottom of my profile
Need a Clubhouse invite? Message me if you’re NOT in the Practitioners’ Business Essentials (PBE) OR post about it in the PBE Facebook group to get one!