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:
Great tips here. I’m with Mailerlite and I’m a bit disappointed that my e-mails are ending up in Gmail’s Promotions folder. I verified my domain with them but apparently they will still go to Promotions no matter what. Not sure if that’s the case with Mailchimp or ConvertKit. My list is small so I really want to stay with free service for now but definitely look into ConvertKit at some point.
Of course, you’re free with Mailchimp up to 2000 subscribers. Using Leadpages and ConvertKit I managed to increase my email list on Heart Handmade UK by 1200% in 6 months and I took 2 months off in the summer months. It kept ticking over. I decided to make the jump from mailchimp when I had 1000 subscribers and it was the best decision I could have made. I make sure I delete cold subscribers regularly to keep my open rates high and my emails don’t end up in the promotions folder in gmail – I always send test emails to myself 🙂
hello, some great advice here as I moving more into email marketing, just putting together a free ( oh I won’t use this spammy word now) opt in ! lol thank you so much, great content!
I don’t mind the word ‘opt-in’ I prefer it over ‘ethical bribe’! I like to call it a freebie though 😉 good luck with email marketing efforts. If you need any help Meera Kothand is an incredible resource 🙂
I’m glad you mentioned unsubscribes…you made me feel better. The people on my list are so awesome, and many of them actually reply. I need to count those blessings instead of the few that unsubscribe, because you’re right-they probably only signed up for my launch party giveaway.
I was taking it so personal, like, “what did I say wrong?”, or “was that too pushy?” I needed that little piece of reassurance today, as I’m working on a new funnel.
Thanks!
Absolutely. Of course you can take it personally at times but a lot of times people are just on too many lists. I know I am. I’m genuinely grateful and I make a habit of going in and deleting Cold Subscribers. My open rate went from 5% to 35% after I deleted half of my mailing list. The list of the email list doens’t really matter, it’s the engagement that matters. It’s so nice when you get email replies, treasure those folks!
I need to start using Mailchimp for my blog soon and this really helps. Thanks for sharing.
amazing tips , I’ll be following them 🙂 thanks for sharing
Lots of luck to you Syrine 🙂
Great to read these tips – an email list isn’t something I’ve done yet but I’m bookmarking this in case I ever do!
you should! As they say ‘the money’s in the list!’
Nice post, very informative. I am yet to get a mailing list, so I kinda still have a long way to go.
The mailing list is a perfect way to connect to your ideal readers so definitely do it!
I have just started a blog and stil not on the move to the email marketing. I’ll use your advice soon!
The unsubscribe section is so very true. You only want people who open and read your emails. If they are too lazy to unsubscribe themselves, just do it yourself in periodic purges.
absolutely! You’ve reminded me that I’m due a cull 🙂 especially when open rates get lower. I don’t mind if people grab a freebie and unsubscribe but hanging around and ghosting my list is a bit annoying.