A buddy of mine named Adrian is worried he’s trashed his email list: I have a quick question for you. Are you doing anything to keep your email list healthy, such as using Drip’s “Pruning” feature? My list has gotten pretty big and I’m pretty sure it’s hurting me when I do large broadcasts. Some […]
Continue readingA couple of weeks back I sent an email with the (admittedly provocative) subject line: “I don’t want your stupid product” And a few minutes later some guy named Areeb fires back: “I don’t want your stupid newsletters either!” A few years back, a reply like this would have bugged me all day. I still […]
Continue readingPretty soon after I quit my comfy software development job and hung out my shingle as a freelance copywriter, I found myself struggling with a dilemma: How should I pitch my services to my email list? I don’t care how “hypnotic” your emails are, it’s going to take more than 300 words of salesmanship to […]
Continue readingI feel a rant coming on here. First some quick background. One of my goals for this year is to finally get myself into a fitness routine that I enjoy and can stick with long term. The approach that I’m trying out right now is called “gymnastics strength training.” I’m basically following a (modified) version […]
Continue readingThe first few days with a new subscriber is such a critical time… Those early emails are how they decide whether they LOVE you and want to read everything you send… Or whether they mentally “mark as spam” every time your name pops up in their inbox. Reader Lana is acutely aware of this. She […]
Continue readingSubscriber Jason is rapidly building an audience in a hot niche: Programming for virtual reality. His email list is growing fast—and now he has a problem. He writes: I’ve been trying to follow your advice and blogging pretty consistently as well as doing some promotion for the site. Daily unique user count has gone up […]
Continue readingOne of my all-time favorite marketing sayings is: “Nobody ever buys a drill because they wanted a drill. They buy a drill because they wanted a hole.” This came up in my recent interview on the Freelancer Show. Resume coach (and up-and-coming email marketer) Jennifer caught the interview and says: I just finished listening to […]
Continue readingOn a private forum I belong to, the whole topic of “incubating” new subscribers came up recently. There are two warring schools of thought on this. One group INSISTS that you can’t just sell to your new subscribers straight out of the chute. That just turns people off. You have to “incubate” them for a […]
Continue readingGot a question from a subscriber named Jim. (OK, OK, you got me. Jim is my dad. Yes, my dad AND my mom are both on my list. Hi Mom and Dad!) ANYWAY… After a couple of decades running his business, my dad has a list of maybe 1,000 or more past and current clients, […]
Continue readingLast week an email with this bombshell subject line detonated in my inbox: That time I almost hired a Baby Snatcher…THIS is why recruiters research you I have to say, after years of following the best email marketers in the biz, I’m pretty jaded when it comes to subject lines these days. But there was […]
Continue readingAsk 10 online entrepreneurs how they build a relationship with their email list and I’ll bet you a hundred bucks the answer is: “Give VALUE.” And I can’t quibble with that. Every email you send should leave your readers feeling like they’re coming away with something they can use. The trouble is, many entrepreneurs have […]
Continue readingWhen I was 26 I got hired as a writer for the PR department at a local university. The salary was great, I was excited, and I had NO idea that I was about to walk straight into a buzzsaw. For some reason my new manager—let’s call her Jezebel—hated my guts from the moment I […]
Continue readingThe other day my business partner John said something that cracked me up. We were on a coaching call with a fellow programmer-turned-entrepreneur (aka “entreprogrammer”), and we were talking about the emails I write for our business. John said, “Josh’s job is to find out all the craziest, most embarrassing stuff I’ve ever done and […]
Continue readingSo this “build a relationship with your list” stuff is all well and good for B2C products like a learn to rock climb class or a Hollywood actor workout program… But what about so-called “boring” business-to-business products and services? That’s what subscriber Steve wants to know: Have been following you for a month, I am […]
Continue readingLong distance relationships are rough, aren’t they? When I was a senior in college I spent a semester down in Washington D.C., studying in a political science program and interning as a features writer for The Washington Times. I was excited about the program, but the timing was lousy: My future wife and I were […]
Continue readingFrom subscriber Jesus comes this excellent question: Do you do anything specific to keep your subscribers happy & your open rates high? Everyone talks about having a good relationship with your list, but I haven’t seen many examples on how to do that. Jesus is exactly right. Everyone does talk about how important it is […]
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