Reviving your email list & your enthusiasm
Welcome to the Smart Send series, where we take your sleeping list and your sharp mind to create something glorious.
No matter how dead you think your list is, or how nervous you feel – together we are going to turn this into something you can be proud of.
Welcome to the series. I'm Natalie Phillips, your expert email guide to growth.
Step #1 Why Your Emails Feel Hard (And How to Fix It)
We’re going to start at the beginning: the blank page.
Gods, I’ve been there. I’ve set aside time in my diary, shut down all distractions and then thought; “now what?” When I started out, I put off setting up my own email list for the best part of a year, because of Blank Page Syndrome.
It’s also a recurring theme for my clients.
“Nat, what do I write?”
“How do I know they will open it?”
“What if I irritate or bore them?”
“Urgh! It sounds so salesy!”
In the end, after fixing Blank Page syndrome for dozens of people, I realised it came down to one of three things.
Problem #1: That Little Voice in Your Head Won't Shut Up
The first one is a huge dose of imposter syndrome.
Women are particularly susceptible to this because we're often told not to think about our achievements. Not to overpraise ourselves, not to pick ourselves up. But the flip side is that you now have that little annoying voice in your head going,” what do you really know about this? Are you better than so-and-so? Don't you realise that Mr T has already said this already?”
If you're an expert in your field, it becomes easier to fall into the imposter syndrome trap, because you now compare yourself to others in the field. The people with the biggest voices, glossier websites and generally look like they’ve Got It Together.
You also know what you don’t know – where the gaps in your knowledge are – in a way your audience does not. So, when you sit down to write an email, all of those insecurities rise up and you think “why should they listen to me?”
They trust YOU
I can’t say this enough. They like you for being you. Unless you are running a massive disaster PR campaign or fronting ads for an anonymous brand you are out there…being you. They want that. They signed up for it. They think you can help.
Here's How I Fixed It (And How You Can Overcome It)
The first thing you do is go back and look at your client meetings testimonials, see yourself in full flow of solving their problems.
This does two things. It gives you a big confidence boost, but it also shows you the questions they ask and the information they need to know that you can use in your email.
At the end of the day, I'm not asking you to reinvent the wheel. I'm not asking you to become world's greatest writer, or some kind of literary genius.
You just need to help the people that you're selling to. The people that really need your services.
Problem #2: You Don't Actually Know Your Audience
This brings me to problem two. When people say, “I don't know what to write about,” what they really mean is; “I don’t know whom I’m writing to.”
The key for any email is one person, one problem, one solution.
It's true for almost any form of digital marketing. It doesn't matter if you're doing a blog piece, a social media post, or any other content. You focus on just one thing.
Now, it doesn't matter if you have various tiers of your services. It doesn't matter if you serve two different audiences. When you write that email, you pick one person that you're going to be talking to.
And this is the reason why I'm a big fan of segmenting your email list. Because even if you just serve one type of customer, they won't all be at the same point of knowledge. Or in the same frame of mind to hear your message.
Keep it simple.
Pick one person – for example “Michael” Someone with a specific problem you helped to resolve in the near past. This immediate gives you a story to write about and someone to write to.
Alternatively, talk about resolving a situation for yourself (as I’ve done here, with imposter syndrome), and pretend you are writing this out for a close friend.
The Magic Formula
So, focus on your person, focus on the problem you want to solve, give them the solution.
The solution could be your landing page. It could be a blog article. It could be work with me. It depends upon what you're selling.
You always need an end point in mind. I cover this a lot in my courses. That, if you start with the end in mind, you'll know exactly what your email needs to do.
At the end of the day, you're not here to make friends (it’s a bonus). You are here to help them achieve their goals. To help them with your services. So, that's what you really need to talk about.
Be smart, be kind, be yourself. That is one of the big things that puts you apart from AI and the copywriters and all the other noise out there.
But don't forget, they signed up to listen to you because you offer a solution and that's what you want to address in your emails.
So do that. Pick one person and start with the end in mind.
Problem #3: You're Setting Yourself Up to Fail
The third problem people have when they say “I don't know what to write,” is time.
And again, I've done this so many times. You don't give yourself time to think about your email. You don't give yourself time to research. You just know you're up against deadline. You have to get something out.
This sounds counterintuitive, but you need to plan for creativity.
So that means in advance, having a structure, knowing what you want to write, knowing what you want to write about, knowing your dedicated topic.
This gives you a chance to breathe and focus on your message – because the decision has already been made.
Yes, This Means Work
But if you give yourself the padding of time and the luxury of planning, you'll be amazed how much it feels like permission.
For example, this blog post I'm writing for you now, I planned a month ago. I planned this entire series out, I gave it a name, I got really excited about it.
I thought about my ideal person (which is you!) And I thought, “what do they need to know so they can get out there doing emails? Even if they never buy from me, what can I do to help them with their business?”
This series is the result.
Your Roadmap To Great Emails
So, plan it out. Put it in ahead of time. Schedule it in your diary.
And when you get there, you don't want a blank piece of paper. You know who you're writing for. You know that you're good at what you do.
You know you're good on this topic that you're writing about because you've done it before. And most importantly, you know where your customer's going, where your reader's going and where you are going.
Suddenly, you've got the roadmap.
And that means that you no longer need to overthink every email because you've got it focused and nailed down.
Take care.
Nat
