Mailing List Mastery Series: Help! I Don't Know What to Send My Subscribers!
/In the first post of mailing list mastery, Kleneice told you why it’s so important to have a mailing list. Hopefully we convinced you to start building your own list to maximize the potential of your blog and business. If you’re wondering what to send your lovely subscribers, you’re in the right place.
Your newsletter is essentially another form of content for your blog and business but there are no rigid rules here. You are free to send your subscribers whatever you like (which can be both stressful and liberating). The key is that your newsletter matches your brand identity and helps humanize your brand. You want your subscribers to look forward to opening the emails from you and feel like they are truly getting the good stuff by being a part of your mailing list.
While you are free to send whatever you want, I would caution you not to send just a recap of your blog posts and updates whenever you post. People who have willingly given you their email address deserve something much more helpful than blog updates.
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Behind the Scenes
A great use of your mailing list is to show people what is going on behind the scenes of your blog and business. We are generally curious people, and have an interest in learning more about others and experiencing little sneak peeks. You could show your subscribers your systems, processes, and/or your statistics.
In our newsletter, we've shown our analytics from the blog to demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategies we use:
When you come up with new project ideas, why not see what your lovely subscribers think about your ideas? Give them a first look and ask them to share their feedback with you via a short survey or couple of questions. Your subscribers will get excited about what’s to come and help you tailor your project to be exactly what they would enjoy!
What are you trying to accomplish in your blog or business? Let’s say one of your goals is to reach 10k followers three months from now on your Instagram account and you’ve identified new strategies and methods to help you close the gap. Why not share your goal and the steps you are taking as a blueprint to also help your subscribers? This is a win because the process of you reaching your goal could easily become a mini series for your newsletter.
Promotions and deals
If you own an online store or boutique, offering promotions and deals could actually work for both building your list and serving as content to send your subscribers. Your subscribers should receive the best deals and discounts that you have because they are the most invested in your brand. You could also send your subscribers early access/pre-order priorities to new products and services.
Helpful tips
I’m subscribed to some newsletters where the blogger has themed their emails like “Top 3 tips of the week” or a roundup of their favorite tools, blog posts, courses, and much more! There are so many different possibilities under the “helpful tips” theme. While you shouldn’t assume that every subscriber has read all of your blog posts, I wouldn’t just dish out the same content found on your blog in the emails. Your subscribers should be receiving content that is a step-up from what is readily available on your blog. Therefore, if you decide to go the “helpful tips” route, it’s important to be creative and brainstorm very valuable content specifically for your subscribers.
Be transparent
In addition to sharing behind the scenes information, we also share more personal stories on the Humble List. I absolutely love using our mailing list as a way to connect with our subscribers and humanize our brand. Kleneice and I plan to continue to share our fears, goals, and dreams with our subscribers because we have received great feedback regarding our transparency. Ultimately, you have to decide how transparent you want to be.
Personally, I have connected with people who were transparent online and I usually seek to work with/purchase products from these people because it is evident that their heart is truly in their work. Your subscribers want to know the human behind the computer screen. How can you be more personal and transparent with your subscribers? Share the mistakes you’ve made. Share your victories. Let your subscribers know the lessons you’ve learned. Let them know the fears you still have. You may be surprised at how well your transparency will be received.
Podcasts
There are at least 2 mailing lists I’m apart of in which the bloggers regularly send out podcasts to their subscribers. I love this idea because it truly shows that you can be as creative as you want with your mailing list. You don’t have to limit your newsletters to just text. Audio is another great way to effectively humanize your brand.
Product/service recommendations
There are a lot of amazing products and services out here in the marketplace. When you discover something that makes a big difference in your life, do your subscribers a favor and recommend it to them. Many of us have the same ultimate goals: grow deeper in our relationship with God, get organized, be more productive, have a successful blog and business, etc. If you have found something that is helping you crush your goals, be sure to share. Not only does this help you provide amazing value to your subscribers, but it also shows that you are selfless and aren’t hoarding all the good resources for yourself.
Challenges!
Who doesn’t love a good challenge? Brainstorm potential challenges for you to partake in with your subscribers. This is a great way to build community with your mailing list. Maybe you all partake in a challenge to double your Pinterest following in 30 days or you host a no-skip workout month. As you share your experience living out the challenge and allow your subscribers to share their experiences, you will not only develop a genuine relationship with them, you will build excitement around your mailing list.
There are so many different routes you could take with your newsletter. I hope that this post has inspired you and I want you to understand that you can explore all of these methods with your mailing list. You don’t have to only send one type of content. There is nothing wrong with sending a variety of content as long as it achieves the purpose of educating and inspiring your audience and revealing the human behind the brand.
No matter what you choose to send, make sure you are consistent. Part of establishing trust with your audience means you will keep your promises. Make sure that once you choose how often you want to send your newsletter you deliver on that promise.
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