Success Advice

4 Lessons I’ve Learned From Sending 3 Million Emails

Published

2 years ago

Jan 16, 2022

Elna Cain

Image Credit: Unsplash

As an entrepreneur, the heart of your business lies in your email marketing efforts. Sixty-four percent of small businesses use email marketing to reach their customers. Each year this percent will grow because email marketing can turn a fledgling business into the leader of the pack. What you do with those emails matters. Whether you’re a branding coach that helps newly service-based women or you’re like me – an expert content freelancer helping others learn to make a business online –at the end of your email marketing efforts, you’ll hopefully come away with lessons for improvement. I learned these lessons from sending three million emails.

Why Email Matters

There are 36% of small businesses worldwide that aren’t using email marketing tactics to grow their business. With 59% Millennials and 67% Gen Z checking their emails on mobile, this means people of all ages are still reading emails and still using emails to make informed decisions. With a welcome email followed by a targeted funnel, your email marketing plan begins to shape. Learn from my lessons on nurture tactics you can use for your email marketing.

1. It Doesn’t Matter When You Send Your Emails

Send too many emails and ruin the chance of creating brand ambassadors. Send too few emails and your brand won’t exist in the eyes of your subscribers. What I learned from sending my emails every week at 11 am or doing A/B testing on whether to send it at 10 or 11 am., is that it doesn’t matter when you send your emails. Your open and click through rates should be relatively stable any time of the week.

If you’ve spent the time delivering valuable emails, when doesn’t matter. I often take a few weeks off during the summer and winter holidays. This hasn’t hurt my open rates when I email them four weeks later. Why? Because I provide value. This year I offered a 15-page free Business Plan template. After a four week hiatus, I had a 33% open rate and a 4.4% Click-through rate for 24,000 subscribers. If you have any number of subscribers on our list, treat them with value, and they will be excitedly waiting for your next newsletter.

“Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches – at scale.” – David Newman

2. There is No Need For “Bro” Marketing Tactics

There could be a “bro” hiding in your business, and you wouldn’t even realize it! Bro marketing is a coined term that describes sleazy, manipulative, over-the-top marketing tactics. It’s the pop-ups everywhere on your website, the every hour email you send, the hyped-up scarcity tactics you use all the time, and more. Many entrepreneurs had a bro hiding and didn’t realize how toxic this strategy is for them and their business. Listen to me: No More Bros!

Fortunately, I did not use “bro marketing” tactics or any email templates you see online that screamed dude marketing. While everyone was throwing this down my throat in Facebook groups, I chose a very different approach: The Human Approach. I shared snippets of my life in my email (for example, this past summer there was a wasp that got stuck in between my 1940’s window panes – twice! It was a scary sitch) and then provided action tips that my subscribers could use that day to propel their freelance business even more. I also used simple language (what my subscribers say to me in replies), and I was tactful when it came to promoting my products. The Human Approach helped me build a six-figure business.

3. One Newsletter Can Change Everything

An unexpected business lesson I discovered was on how an email could change everything. There are a few lesson-generated emails that I can remember. The first one was an accendial $1k email. I used the AIDA (attention-interest-desire-action) principle without realizing it, and within hours I earned $1k. This shows how to cultivate a raving fan base that will patiently wait for your emails.

The second business-changing email was when I opened up and told my subscribers a personal story about my health and stress. Any marketer would advise you not to get too personal, but that email generated hundreds of replies. I started to develop a closer connection with my subscribers simply from letting my guard down and taking it all in.

The final email that changed my viewpoint on business was a promotional deal outside of my standard promotional campaigns. This email tanked and made me realize that too many deals hurts your overall conversion rates. My subscribers waited for my yearly deal and did not take my out of season deal. With your email, condition your subscribers to wait for your amazing deals. In your entrepreneurial journey, you may find that your emails aren’t connecting or that one line you mentioned in your Instagram Reel generated a hundred new followers. Take these little bits of highs and lows and use them to make better decisions next time around.

4. Your True Subscribers Only Want You

I thought my subscribers only wanted the latest tips and resources to help them find clients for years. I also thought they didn’t care about my twins or what I do behind the scenes of my business. I was wrong! When I started sharing tidbits about my life, my subscribers suddenly became actual people and not random people on my list. This human element is missing in a lot of business emails I receive. Storytelling is a solid copywriting skill and by tapping into the emotions of your subscribers, you are better able to provide what they need the most. Don’t hide, just share your experiences and watch your conversions improve.

As an entrepreneur, it’s a standard practice to cultivate a strong email readership with raving fans. Traditional marketing tactics aren’t doing it anymore. Don’t waste your time on print media, or trying to serve en masse instead of your core avatar. Instead, focus on what will bring in the most significant ROI for your business. And, that one thing is email marketing. Luckily, 59% of B2B marketers know that email is the most effective revenue generator. What are you waiting for? Develop an email marketing campaign that is filled with intense value and storytelling that will make all your subscribers wait for your next newsletter.

Up Next

3 Ways to Overcome Impostor Syndrome

Don't Miss

3 Investments That Are Better Than a College Degree

Elna Cain

Elna Cain writes insanely useful and valuable guides on content marketing and entrepreneurship. With two businesses under her belt, it's her passion to help people learn how to turn their writing into a profitable business. For more help grab her free Business Plan for freelancers.

Click to comment

Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

Published

3 days ago

Dec 4, 2023

M.S. Rao

Image Credit: Midjourney

What is it that makes some people great leaders while others remain followers? What magic do they have that others don’t? What special blessing gives them the power to bring significant change? (more…)

Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

2 weeks ago

Nov 20, 2023

Jane Frankel

Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)

Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.