Have you ever thought that you could be great at email marketing if only you could design a perfect template?

Well, there’s good news. That’s a myth.

And even more good news, you probably believe the other four myths that I’m covering today.

Switching your mindset and not believing these myths could go far in helping you expand and grow your reach as a small biz owner or blogger. Let’s start busting some myths.

 Myth #1 – The bigger the list – the better

Well firstly, why is this a myth? Surely that’s what people are looking for when approaching me for sponsorship or advertising dealios.

Smart question, but don’t call me Shirley (That’s for all of you Airplane fans out there). There are several reasons. Having a huge list can be expensive (part of the reason I deleted 4000 cold subscribers off of my list). It can also mean that the majority of said list aren’t actually engaged in your campaigns.

Very small lists can still be super popular and profitable if your newsletter subscribers are engaged with you. Having a bigger list could mean that more of your recipients are likely to click ‘this is spam’ – which could hinder your delivery rates.

Some advice:

Don’t buy Email lists. Ever.

That’s just a bad play. And bad for business. I hate it when I receive unsolicited newsletters and I don’t waste much time in reporting that I never signed up to their lists.

Myth #2 – Don’t use previous emails or old content from your blog

How can I do this? Repurposing old content is a great way to get new eyes to your old work.

You can update and tweak your keywords, headlines and images. Resending old emails can also get tonnes of new engagement.

Especially if it’s one of the first emails you ever wrote. You could be getting thousands of fresh eyes on it and people who will actually remember that first email you sent will be pretty small in numbers.

Don’t forget to include links to your blog posts and social media! Connect with your subscribers. Ask open-ended questions and actually be engaged.

Myth #3 – An email with an amazing design and layout is better than the content

How does that work?

When I switched from beautifully designed Email templates with MailChimp and moved over to ConvertKit*, my open rates increased.

Why is that?

Well, I’m putting it down to the fact that ConvertKit* only sends plain text emails. You can add images but mostly it’s plain text.

In 6 months I was able to grow my Email list from 100 subscribers to 12,000. Using a smart strategy that only took a few hours of work, creating beautiful opt-in boxes with Thrive Leads which then automatically added people to my ConvertKit list*.

Saying that though, you can absolutely send a plain text email from Mailchimp and still get your first 2000 subscribers for free.

Myth #4 – It’s awful when people unsubscribe

Honestly, I think this is a mindset issue.

People who Unsubscribe from your content are not your target market. They were never going to buy from you anyway, and you will save money with unsubscribes.

If I do take it a little personally, I remember both of those points.

There was an increased number of unsubscribes when I shared my personal story of being a disabled woman with chronic illnesses which meant that I work about 4x slower than any other Female Entrepreneur out there. I couldn’t help but feel like it was a slight but of course, it wasn’t.

The amount of amazing Email responses I received, outnumbered the unsubscribes by hundreds.

Myth #5 – Using words like ‘FREE’ will mark your content as spam

As someone who frequently sends out Free downloads to my Heart Handmade UK e-mail list, I can tell you that using the word ‘free’ in your subject lines does not decrease open rates or get you marked as spam.

MailChimp and Hubspot have backed this up as they both found that using words like “free” in your subject line has no effect on your email deliverability.

Remember that what qualifies as “spammy” changes often.
Whatever people mark as ‘spam’ has huge influence over that list, so you may want to check it out every so often. This could ensure that you’re deliverability and open rates remain above industry standard.

Let’s recap!

• The bigger the list – the better!
• Don’t use previous emails or old content from your blog
• An email with an amazing design and layout is better than the content
• It’s awful when people unsubscribe
• Using words like ‘FREE’ will mark your content as spam

Believing these myths can hinder your growth because if you believe them, then you may subconsciously be partaking in a form of self-sabotage. You may be spending more money than you need to on cold subscribers, you may also get really upset when people unsubscribe instead of feeling grateful.

When you feel upset it can be very difficult to continue working and you may even begin to slide down into a blogging slump. Believing that you need a perfectly designed email could also be costing you sales or potential sales.

Try working on your mindset as a female Entrepreneur and have an attitude of gratitude when it comes to your business. It can be very profitable!

More From Clarity Avenue:

As a disabled woman with chronic medical conditions who has built a successful, profitable craft blog; I want to help other women realise their potential, pursue their passions and make money doing it. Build your craft blog or optimize your selling potential by building a blog for your business! Be sure to join us in the Facebook Group