How do you grow your email list?
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into effective email opt-in strategies, emphasizing the importance of organic list growth over buying lists. It discusses the value of a high-quality, engaged subscriber base versus a large, unengaged one, and the significance of a well-crafted welcome email series. The speakers share their insights on leveraging personal networks, other newsletters, and referral systems to grow an email list organically, highlighting the long-term benefits of nurturing genuine relationships with subscribers.
Takeaways
- π§ The importance of having an email opt-in strategy and growing your email list organically is emphasized, rather than buying or scraping lists.
- π ββοΈ Buying pre-built email lists is discouraged due to their ineffectiveness and potential legal issues.
- π± The value of an organically grown list is highlighted, as it represents subscribers who are genuinely interested in the content.
- π The joy of growing a subscriber base organically from the first few to thousands is mentioned, underscoring the personal connection to the list.
- π° The potential high value of a well-engaged email list is discussed, with examples of newsletters being sold for millions.
- π The script stresses that the number of subscribers is less important than the quality, with a focus on high engagement rates.
- π€ The power of networking and leveraging other channels, such as social media or other newsletters, to grow the email list is suggested.
- π Offering incentives like discounts or lead magnets can be effective for list growth, but the focus should be on delivering ongoing value.
- π The high open and click rates of welcome emails are noted, making them a critical component for setting the right impression.
- π‘ The idea of nurturing new subscribers with a well-crafted welcome series is presented as a way to increase retention and engagement.
- π The script touches on the importance of testing and iterating on opt-in strategies to find what works best for list growth and engagement.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video?
-The main topic discussed in the video is email opt-in strategy and list growth.
Why is buying a pre-built email list considered a bad practice?
-Buying a pre-built email list is considered a bad practice because it often leads to low engagement and high churn rates. It also lacks the personal connection and trust that comes with organically grown lists.
What is the importance of having a high-quality email list?
-A high-quality email list is important because it leads to better engagement rates, higher open rates, and more effective communication with the audience. It also impacts deliverability and the overall success of email marketing campaigns.
What is the significance of the welcome email in email marketing?
-The welcome email is significant because it has a much higher open rate compared to regular emails. It is an opportunity to make a strong first impression and set the tone for future communications.
How can leveraging other newsletters help in growing an email list?
-Leveraging other newsletters can help in growing an email list by tapping into an audience that is already engaged with similar content. This can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates as these subscribers are more likely to be interested in the content.
What is the role of referral traffic in email list growth?
-Referral traffic plays a crucial role in email list growth as it brings in subscribers who are recommended by existing subscribers. This can lead to higher engagement and quality of subscribers, as they are likely to be genuinely interested in the content.
Why is it important to deliver on the promise made during the opt-in process?
-It is important to deliver on the promise made during the opt-in process to ensure that subscribers feel valued and see the value in their subscription. This helps in reducing churn rates and maintaining a high-quality email list.
What are some common tactics used to grow an email list organically?
-Some common tactics used to grow an email list organically include offering discounts or incentives for sign-ups, creating lead magnets like white papers, leveraging social media and other channels, and asking for referrals from existing subscribers.
How can the quality of subscribers be improved through the opt-in process?
-The quality of subscribers can be improved by focusing on providing value and making the opt-in process appealing beyond just short-term incentives. This includes showcasing the benefits of subscribing and nurturing new subscribers through a well-crafted welcome series.
What is the impact of list growth on the monetization of a newsletter business?
-List growth has a significant impact on the monetization of a newsletter business. A larger, high-quality list can lead to higher advertising revenues, potential premium content sales, and increased overall value of the business.
Outlines
π§ Email Marketing: The Importance of Opt-In Strategy
The video discusses the crucial aspect of email marketing, focusing on the opt-in strategy and list growth. It emphasizes the importance of organic list growth over buying lists, which can be ineffective and unethical. The speakers share insights on personalization, testing, and the value of an organically grown list, highlighting the joy of seeing the list grow from the first subscribers. They also mention the vanity of high subscriber numbers compared to the quality of engagement, advocating for a strategy that prioritizes valuable subscribers over quantity.
π° The Value of Newsletters and Organic Growth
This paragraph delves into the profitability of well-grown newsletter businesses, mentioning recent high-value acquisitions in the industry. It underscores the potential of newsletters as a content monetization platform, especially in a world where traditional content monetization is challenging. The discussion highlights the high CPM (cost per thousand impressions) of newsletters compared to other media, and the importance of maintaining a high-quality subscriber list for better engagement and monetization potential.
π Strategies for Growing Your Email List
The speakers explore various strategies for growing an email list, starting with leveraging personal networks and existing relationships for initial subscribers. They advise against buying or scraping data, instead promoting organic growth and the building of a list that reflects genuine interest from subscribers. The paragraph also touches on the different tactics suitable for various types of newsletters, such as e-commerce, hobby, or B2B, and the importance of offering value to new subscribers.
π The Power of Incentives in Email List Growth
In this segment, the discussion centers on the use of incentives, such as discounts or lead magnets, to encourage subscriptions. The speakers express a preference for growing a list based on the merits of the content rather than short-term deals, but acknowledge the practicality of offering incentives like discounts in the competitive e-commerce space. They stress the importance of following up with a strong welcome series to nurture new subscribers and highlight the high engagement rates of welcome emails.
π Leveraging Other Channels and Networks for List Growth
The paragraph discusses the importance of integrating email marketing with other business channels to support list growth. It suggests using social media, advertising, and cross-promotions with other newsletters as effective methods. The speakers share personal experiences and the benefits of shout-outs from other newsletters, emphasizing the high engagement and quality of subscribers gained through these organic and collaborative approaches.
π€ The Benefits of Cross-Pollination and Referrals
This section highlights the benefits of cross-promotion between newsletter owners and the power of referral systems. The speakers share their positive experiences with getting shout-outs from other businesses and the high-quality traffic that results from such collaborations. They also discuss the effectiveness of referral programs, the importance of structuring rewards to prevent abuse, and the high engagement potential of subscribers acquired through referrals.
π Appreciation for Behind-the-Scenes Support
In the final paragraph, the speakers express their gratitude for the support provided during the filming of the video. They give a shout-out to Cat, who is behind the camera, for making the experience enjoyable and comfortable. They mention the technical setup, the warm atmosphere created with heaters, and the promise of lentil soup, all contributing to a positive filming experience.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Email Opt-in Strategy
π‘Inbox Club
π‘List Growth
π‘Personalization
π‘Testing
π‘Buying Lists
π‘Organically Grown List
π‘ROI (Return on Investment)
π‘Vanity Metric
π‘Lead Magnet
π‘CPM (Cost Per Thousand)
π‘Referral System
Highlights
Email opt-in strategy is crucial for effective email marketing and list growth.
Avoid buying email lists; focus on organic growth for better engagement and ownership of your list.
Paying for advertising to grow your list is different from and preferable over buying a pre-built list.
Organically grown lists are more valuable because they reflect the sender's efforts and the subscribers' genuine interest.
High-quality subscribers are more important than the number of subscribers for better open rates and engagement.
Growing a newsletter business can be incredibly profitable, with high-value lists potentially worth millions.
The monetization potential of newsletters is empowering content creators and journalists.
CPM (cost per thousand) for newsletters is significantly higher than other media, indicating high monetization potential.
Consistency in email format over the years provides a stable medium for content delivery compared to other platforms.
The first email was sent in 1979, marking the beginning of a long-standing communication method.
Personal stories of first email addresses and the evolution of personal email use.
Strategies for growing an email list include leveraging personal networks and other businesses' support.
Offering value beyond discounts, such as educational content or exclusive materials, can improve subscriber quality.
Welcome emails have exceptionally high open rates, making them a critical point for engaging new subscribers.
Referral programs can be an effective way to grow a list with high-quality subscribers.
The importance of testing and iterating referral systems to ensure quality over quantity of referrals.
Cross-promotion between newsletters can be a powerful method for mutual growth and support.
Transcripts
in this video we're going to be talking
about a really important topic your
email opt-in strategy where the inbox
Club let's get into
it okay fine or is that the clap oh I
just did it i'm The Clapper no I am now
I'm there's a new Clapper in we're all
clapping okay right okay so we've
covered subject lines we've covered
personalization we've covered testing
yeah hopefully some people stuck with us
after we B them to death on testing not
probably not uh my mom's probably even
switched off at this point yeah but in
case there are some people watching
we're going to talk about list growth a
little bit right we're going to talk
about opting in getting people to opt in
what that means how to do it effectively
and how to grow your list right because
that's a big challenge for a lot of
people and if I was to Hazard a guess
the most Googled problem for people that
are doing their own email marketing is
probably like how do I grow my list or
like ways to your list um and One
symptom is that of that is that we see
people buying lists right yeah big no no
big no no good um we didn't rehearse
that so I'm glad that he said that but
yeah big no no so if you're buying a
list like instantly you're starting off
the wrong foot right um you know some
things should be bought some things
shouldn't some things should happen
naturally right yeah um so and for me
like an organically grown list is
something that's better when it's it's
your own something that you own because
that's that's a huge plus point of email
marketing so yeah and when we say buy a
list we don't mean it's fine to pay for
advertising to get subscrib it's fine to
invest money into the growth of your
list there's a big difference between
that and buying a pre-built list yeah
buying data yeah so exactly so when I
when we talk about that we're talking
about going to a data broker uh buying
data and using that data for your email
marketing uh it just doesn't work um
it's bit of a gray area anyway when it
comes to what you can do legally But
ultimately what you're trying to achieve
here is is an Roi on your on your email
marketing and the beauty of email
marketing is that you can start it with
zero pounds in your bank right um and if
you're starting from a standpoint of
paying a chunk of money for a list
that's [Β __Β ]
anyway you know you're on off on a bad
foot and you've grown your own
newsletter you know what it's like to
grow from from when you get your first
50 subscribers and the joy that you get
from that and doing it organically
there's a journey there and you also get
to know your list as you're growing it
so to do it organically is the way to go
for me yeah definitely and that Joy is
not exponential by any means I would say
it was probably more exciting to to get
my first 50 subscribers for my my my
hobby newsletter which is about fantasy
footall than it it was to get you know
the the last 5,000 we've got it's it's
that that sounds braggy but it's only to
say that it's it's completely relative
so people often say to us what's the
point in sending emails you know I've
only got 100 subscribers I would much
rather have a 100 really good high value
subscribers than 10,000 people who never
open my emails yeah precisely so whilst
we're going to talk about list growth
and opt-in strategies we should stress
that to an extent the number of
subscribers you've got is a bit of a
vanity metric what we're looking for
is a lot of really high quality
subscribers because ultimately a really
healthy list that has a 50% open rate if
you have 10,000 of them that's 5,000
people engaging with your content every
single time you send an email that's
better than having a 50,000 strong email
list with only an 8% open rate where
you're going to actually have less than
that 5,000 so yeah and that's also going
to have implications on deliverability
and and so forth so you're absolutely
right to say that the best way to get a
high quality list is to grow it
organically yeah and to be intentional
with every subscriber that you bring on
board absolutely and I think something
that has captured my imagination from
the early days of you my marketing is
people that grow newsletter businesses
right uh you've done it yourself but
also there's there's people that have
done it uh obviously on a much larger
scale than you have as well and how dare
you you're sorry mate I mean it is good
but there are bigger um and what what I
love about that and what captures my
imagination is how much those lists are
worth if you were to sell that
newsletter business how much that list
is worth you know in Mone returns
because if you have a list of people
that that they hit a certain
demographic um the person sending the
emails really knows the list what they
the list engages with what they love to
hear about um and the and so the
engagement is really high um as well
that list can be worth like s figures
right Millions eight figures perhaps
yeah there's been some recent
acquisitions newsletter Acquisitions for
kind of 50 60 million yeah so it's yeah
it can be incredibly it can be
incredibly profitable business and also
quite a pleasant quite a pleasant
business to run yeah in that it's a
relatively simple proposition the
product is the content itself and you
know it's in a world in which content is
harder and harder to monetize
newsletters are kind of breaking forth
as this new Revolution of journalists
content creators being able to monetize
their writing again which is is
empowering individuals to to create
content and actually get compensated for
it which is is not something that the
internet is used to you know we're used
to content creators being underpaid and
under appreciated and it's fantastic
that newsletters are are creating an
outlook for for people to create great
content and actually get paid yeah so
those examples that you just that you
brought up there where you were talking
about newsletters selling for 8 figures
right what how many subscribers would
would a list like that have off the top
of your head a lot so the hustle for
example which was one of the first big
newsletter Acquisitions I think that was
the I don't think the official number
has actually been disclosed by the
founder a guy called s par but it's in
the region of 20 to $30 million that
that was acquired acquired for and I
believe at the time it had about one and
a half million subscribers so it's a
huge list and it had a it had a
monetized element called Trends which
was a a a like a yearly payment plan
that people could opt into and they
would get exclusive content kind of
loosely associated with the hustle which
was a business news newsletter and
Trends would send you more deep Dives on
specific
companies and that had about 20,000
subscribers I believe at the time it was
sold so it was a revenue gener in
machine it sold ads for for for quite a
large amount one thing we have to
remember with newsletters is that the uh
CPM on them the the cost you an
Advertiser pays to reach a thousand
subscribers is significantly higher than
it is on on nearly any other medium so
you think about a YouTube video for
example that the CPM might be somewhere
between two
and5 uh for a newsletter it's going to
be more around 15 to 20 and and that can
go up exponentially depending on the the
kind of Niche you're talking to if you
have a newsletter that's all about
investing you're going to get a much
higher CPM than the newsletter about
fantasy football yeah for sure and I
think this all then SS back to the list
that you have and making sure that it's
a high quality list right uh and that
all starts with the opin process and
rewing your list so um and when you talk
about um the newsletter selling there
for for kind of uh eight figures and it
was one and a half million subscribers
right which is a lot for a newsletter
but when you compare that to followers
and you think about what some of the
content creators have in terms of
followers you know actually that that
doesn't seem as big you know in terms of
the other ways of creating content and
getting out in the world uh and my my
what I like about newsletters is that a
lot of social media platforms are moving
towards favoring video content um hence
why we're here today filming video
content for socials uh it's labor
intensive right it's it's it's it can be
expensive yeah and uh with the beauty of
newsletters is that they're always just
newsletters right there are ways that
you can do them differently and the ways
that you can stand out but it it's a
medium that that is that is fairly
constant right it's fairly yeah con yeah
yeah absolutely there's very little that
has changed between email newsletters of
25 years ago and newsletters today when
we think about YouTube and the the
various algor algorithmic changes
they've moved the dislike button they
now do shorts the formatting has changed
know quite a lot about YouTube has
changed when we look at kind of old
incarnations of the platform it looked
very very different well actually if you
think about Gmail um it's more or less
stayed the same the way that people are
served email yes there's a little bit
more
sophistication that there are different
folders now that that that you can
automate so that certain uh emails are
put into certain folders as you receive
them but generally speaking the inbox
looks now as it as it did when it was
first invented newsletters of a as iium
I love that about them because it it
says to me okay in 20 years time it's
probably still not going to be a huge
amount of change don't fix it if it
ain't broke yeah absolutely uh first
email that was ever sent do you remember
what year that was you won't remember it
because you weren't alive no I did I'm
hoping that you do yeah I do actually
you've come prepared I have come
prepared yeah I mean we'd be Los if we
hadn't come to a podcast prepared uh
1979 okay
apparently so and my dad was 10 no my
dad was 12 my mom was 10 so you know uh
it's been around for a while yeah do you
remember your first memories of of
having your own first email address you
know what I
remember my sister my I've got two older
sisters the oldest one is seven years
older she was quite smart I was probably
10 or 11 it was Christmas time and her
Christmas present to me was an email
address okay which
retrospectively I realized was some
fantastic improvisation on her it was
totally free for her to do but as a 10
or 11 year old pretty unfamiliar with
the internet I'm 32 so yeah you know
we're talking kind of early 2000s here
10 or 11 year old I my mind was blown at
the idea of having my own inbox yeah and
the uh the handle that we decided upon
you still send an email to her now if
you want was I love christmascake at
yahoo.co.uk
working with inspiration in the room
probably a slice of Christmas cake in
front of me and uh the password was
Britney Spears okay um so feel free to
log in and take a look it's long
shutdown yes but uh but yeah so so I I
don't remember the first email that I
sent I imagine it was probably to my
sister saying something like hello yeah
but that's the story of how I I I first
got into did you AB test that first
email you sent to the sister obviously
of course like I said email say that
isn't testing is a
waste no I I didn't regretfully what
about you do you remember
yours do you know what I don't know if I
can uh I remember it was probably nor
freak at NL World yeah I mean I still
use that email it was one my dad set up
for me um I had no hand in the in the
creation of that he came to me one day
and said oh your email address is norf
freak ntl world.com oh okay
well yeah yeah exactly yeah uh so I was
like okay thanks Dad uh yeah my brother
got Lou Gunner it was all based on the
the football teams we support right um
yeah you're not just like really into
the city of nor no I mean that would
also be fine because nor is obviously
great but fine City yeah fine City uh
but no I'm an nor City supporters
unfortunately so um so yeah but I think
I must have had one before that when I
was younger and my feeling is that it
was probably on AOL yeah right because
we were you know in the DED up and you
know there are those that remember dial
up and those that don't and we're
drawing a Line in the Sand here because
they going to be those that don't
showing your age dial up and uh but um
anyway back to Growing your list and
opin right so we we went a bit on a
tangent there on your P our personal
history of our email addresses I love it
yeah um I love Christmas cake as well
yeah we know that now yeah and
potentially Britney Spears as
well so in terms of like uh so we've
talked about we've said what not to do
right so don't buy data right and I
think I would including that in in that
scraping data in organically right so
what are things that some people that
people can do to grow their list uh and
I think that let's start from people
that have either no or very little list
and then we can talk about tactics for
people that have a fairly sizable list
already and what they can do to grow
that because there are different tactics
yeah you know this the starting point to
discuss here is
what sort of list are you trying to
build because the tactics you might use
to grow a list for your e-commerce store
might be different to the tactics you'll
employ for your hobby newsletter or your
B2B newsletter if you're an agency for
example so I think it's worth bearing
that in mind however in every instance I
would say when you're starting out look
at the levers that you already have to
pull by which I mean almost everybody
watching this all three of them will
have
uh avenues that they can exploit to to
to to start building their list and
it'll be this could be something like
that LinkedIn connections for
example even their family and friends it
could be that they already have a
pre-existing relationship with uh you
know another for example for lazy FPL my
fantasy football newsletter um we asked
other newsletters in the football space
to give us a little introduction to
their audience yeah so look at your
network and don't just look at it don't
just scan it look at each uh LinkedIn
connection you have you know look at the
people that you regularly send emails to
other business owners or whoever it may
be and ask yourself will they do me a
favor here you know and that that could
be as simple as just subscribing to your
newsletter which I think is a fairly low
friction favor to ask anyone um but they
might also be happy to introduce you to
to their Network as well and just
pulling in those
favors and saying look I'm building this
it'd be great to have you on I think
you'll find it
useful I I think is a great place to
start I would I would say that first and
foremost it's really important to
remember it sounds obvious that the only
reason why anyone will ever subscribe to
your newsletter is if they feel like
it's going to be worth it for them they
need to feel like there's something in
it for them yes they might do you a
favor but you don't want to depend on
the the kindness of others you you want
them to be happy that they subscribed
yeah yeah if you're an e-commerce store
perhaps that means offering some sort of
discount uh in exchange for an email
address um if you're a business um if
you're a B2B uh Agency for example
perhaps you're you're focusing more on
educational pieces and providing value
in that way but making sure that people
don't go on to regret subscribing I
think is also really really important so
at that point of email entry show them
exactly why it's going to be worth it
for them absolutely and actually for
e-commerce and for BTC or or DTC uh
Brands uh running stores is incredibly
common for them to say well sign up to
our newsletter and you'll get 10% off
right yeah um and for B2B brands that
takes on a slightly different form where
they create some kind of lead magnet
where it's a white paper so what what
it's a very common thing to do right and
we we employ that tactic for our clients
I think in an Ideal World I would love
to have uh a scenario in which people
sign up to your email marketing on the
merits of your email marketing right so
so good so you know it's you're not
doing a deal with the devil here where
you're signing up uh you you get your
10% but oh by the way we're going to
we're going to send you some emails you
know that if for me that feels like
you're making a deal there and for I
prefer and will always push people away
from doing the discount thing if we can
because it's it's like why should I sign
up to the newsletter what can I expect
from the newsletter um why is it going
to be a good thing to for me to be
subscribed to Beyond just the shortterm
deal you're going to make with me
because that's what it is right yeah and
and when we have that transactional
element to list growth subscriber churn
tends to be a lot higher engagement
tends to be a lot lower yeah so you're
absolutely right at the same time
unfortunately whether we like it or not
top reason why someone would subscribe
to an e-commerce newsletter is the
promise of a discount so there is also
this tendency I think for some store
owners to
overestimate how much value they can
actually offer their prospective
subscribers one of the things that
really irks me about opin forms is when
a business owner or whoever is in charge
of the email marketing will say
something like sign up for company
updates and as much as we love the idea
that all of our customers are really
interested in what's going on behind the
scenes at our company and our new hires
and you know Molly and accounting doing
the tough M the the fact is that most of
our customers aren't going to care about
that what they really want to know is
what's in it for me yeah and and
unfortunately whether we like it or not
a discount can be a necessary evil in
terms of encouraging that subscriber I
think for me what's really important is
that if we if we're forced to make that
transactional
deal as soon as they're into our list we
welcome them with a proper nurturing
series that means even if they
originally came for the discount we're
quickly telling them what else they're
going to get yeah and ensuring that they
stick around for those other reasons as
well so our welcome series needs to be
awesome yeah needs to be on point that's
a good point I think yeah so I guess
then in this utopian world that I've
tried to paint a picture of for opin
that you would you would not view your
your opt-in form as something it's like
well you know give us your data and
we'll we'll do a bit of a favor we give
you discount but it's it's it's like
okay we'll sign up you'll get discount
and you'll get all this extra stuff that
we're going to be sending to you sending
you right absolutely and and the the I
think one thing that you can do to
protect your churn rate immediately is
to deliver on what you promised straight
away right so if you've promised uh like
groundbreaking um great content seem to
be delivering that straight away right
if it's just an automated welcome kind
of template email that that you've not
paid much attention to yeah you know
it's not it's not going to do you any
favors so you know deliver on that
promise straight away um because people
will remember people have got long
memories when it comes to uh receiving
[Β __Β ] emails um you got some tasty
welcome email numbers of your sleeve as
well haven't you in terms of how many
people engage in them I do yeah so uh in
terms of like I was saving this for a
bit later on so you put me on the spot a
little bit but no it's fine so uh
welcome emails get 10 times as many
opens uh four times as many clicks um
and you know roughly on average people
you know open rates for welcome emails
are about 80 to I think 86% or something
wild which is wild which is huge and you
know when you consider um you know open
rates will tend to be around if you're
doing a good job 40 to 50 right uh or 50
to 60 perhaps if you're doing a good job
yeah so
um you know when you consider
86% wow okay that's an opportunity right
that's you know people are sitting up
and listening or at least they're
opening in it so you've got to get that
right you know if you're using a
template welcome email you've not spent
much attention on it or I hate to say
tested it you know you're missing an
opportunity there yeah 100% so I would
say no matter where you are in your list
growth process whether it's right at the
start or you've already got a big list
and you want to kind of consolidate it
and build on it you're welcome series
need to be excellent because it's one
thing to get a subscriber it's much
easier for you to retain that subscriber
once you've got them you know the the
cost of of acquiring a new subscriber is
infinitely higher than the cost of of of
keeping one and so your welcome series
will be as you said the W the the open
rates are so high that if you're not
careful it might be the only email from
you that they ever open so making a
statement and making an impression as
soon as possible yeah is massively
important absolutely agree more um you
talked a little about leveraging your
network right to to grow your list in
those early stages I think I would add
to that is leveraging your other
channels right because one thing that
we've found a bit difficult in the past
is not having the support from other
channels from in the business to to
support your list grve right because if
you aren't in a position where you're um
you're shouting out um opin on your
social media for example or you're not
spending maybe if you're an e-commerce
store you're not spending on ads to get
the trff through the site so that people
opt in and then enter your flows right
so for us it's we also like to see
people leveraging the other channels uh
to support email marketing because it's
a great way but that's not necessarily
something that that a fledgling business
can can use straight away right because
certainly for for us we've started a new
business in the past uh you know just
over a year now it's not as if we've got
this Limitless Bank of money we can use
on ads right to grow our list
unfortunately not so if people want to
grow their list they need to um think
about the network that they have um
available to them if they don't have the
resources of a a highly established
business and if they do then to think
about the channels that they can
leverage to to grow their list right if
you had to pick out one uh way for you
that is your favorite way to grow your
list it doesn't necessarily have to be
like the one that gets the best results
but maybe it's the one that gets the
best results in terms of quality of
subscriber right is there one for you
that's out yeah I think other newsletter
shout outs are really really powerful
you know one of the problems with
running a
newsletter that other platforms don't
suffer from is that it's a very
privileged position to be invited into
somebody's inbox and I think it's
important to really respect the fact
that unlike watching a video on YouTube
or or Tik Tok there is more intimacy
involved with an email and that you are
being invited into their space yeah
and the great thing about using other
newsletters in order to grow your own is
that the people who are uh seeing that
advertisement or that plug or whatever
it is are already the sort of people
that are happy to subscribe to
newsletters and not everybody is as much
as I'd love to live in a Utopia where
everyone loves receiving newsletters it
is an argument that needs to be one
amongst some people some people just
consider every email they receive a Spam
more or less and don't like hanging out
in their inbox yeah so by being able to
Target specifically an audience who are
already opening newsletters and engaging
with them and see the value in them
you're already knocking down a lot of
the barriers that might stop someone
from subscribing yeah and that makes it
so much easier and what we find datawise
is that subscribers that have come from
other newsletters tend to be a lot lot
more engaged a lot more likely to
convert to premium product if you offer
one um so I would say other newsletter
shout outs are fantastic and what's
brilliant is that there is this
perception that your competitors aren't
going to shout you out for whatever
reason you know oh but what research has
showed is that people recipients are
more than happy to subscribe to several
newsletters all about the same topic you
know it's not it's not hard to just
delete an email if you're if you don't
want to see it or just read it later
it's not like you're necessarily being
bombarded you read your emails on your
own terms and it means that despite the
narrative that oh okay if I run a
football newsletter I can't possibly go
to another football newsletter and ask
them to give me a plug what you'll find
is that newsletter owners are usually
all too happy to support smaller
newsletters we certainly are and um it's
been a massive help you know helping
each other cross-pollination of
subscribers has been really really good
absolutely I think um for me it's it's
not even something that would
necessarily have to cost you money or
much money if you if you do it in the
right way there's there's ways if you
you know if you're in a networking sense
if you're building a network and you're
you're meeting people you can quite
often say we we're a new business you
want to give us a shout out you know
it's not beyond the Realms a possibility
that they could do that free of charge
or they might say to
you yeah sure we'll do it when you get
to a certain amount of subscribers would
you do it back for us you know working
out some be creative the ways are doing
it and you know if you if you're
listening to this this uh this video or
watching this podcast or
whatever you own a business or it might
be that you're that you're if you don't
own a business that you're in a a
marketing role and that you've you've
put a certain amount of work and CFT
into either starting your business
getting it to where it is or to where
you are in your career and I can promise
you the creativity and the persistence
that you need to grow your list is less
work than what you've done to get to
that position that you're in right yeah
especially if you've own a business um
that's so true so it's it's just
avoiding that that temptation to look
for shortcut yeah um I would can't
stress enough that that should be
avoided because it's um it doesn't serve
you well and if I was to add my favorite
one in not that you asked thanks a lot
uh but no if I that's right if I was to
add my my favorite one in I think it's
the referral driven traffic right yeah
um and it's not something that always um
gets you high numbers right but the
quality of the the subscribers that you
get from it so what I'm talking about
here is going to your email list and
saying look if you like this how about
you tell some mates about it um however
you might want to do that uh whether you
weave in some kind of offer for with
that as well um because I know it's
something that you did yeah for your
newsletter yeah uh I subscribe to your
newsletter I also pay for the premium
version thanks mate no mates rates there
are no mates rates I have I pay the full
price um but you did an offer where you
I'm sure it was um if you get certain
amount of people signed up you get some
bonus content right or you get a month
three a three I can't remember what was
yeah we have various incentives yeah I
think I got you three people to to not
only sign up to your newsletter but then
also pay for the premium version right
so the quality of that traffic that you
got from me and if you replicated that
across your how many is it now you've
got 45 50,000 subscribers uh not
everyone's going to do that but if a
small portion did the quality of that
traffic it's then uh it's the butterfly
effect right it's you're getting really
high engaged traffic that are willing to
then pay for premium content and by
Merit of that probably will have more
likely to then make referrals themselves
as well right yeah just a quick note on
referrals actually because there is a
bit of an art to it not to blow my I
certainly haven't mastered the art by
any means again like anything in email
marketing it requires testing and
iteration uh it is fantastic if you get
it right and you're absolutely right to
say that you know there's nothing as
powerful as word of Word of Mouth right
in in marketing and the quality of
subscriber tends to be quite High
however depending on how you structure
your rewards and by the way there
there's various software you can use in
order to create an actual referral
system so as opposed to just saying oh
if you send a screenshot of of you know
your mate subscribing then will that's
quite a hard and high friction way to do
it there are automated ways where you
can generate personalized links some
software called spark Loop that does
that but some esps also have it built in
um how you structure your rewards um
your incen for their referrals is
incredibly important because what we
found in the past for example is that if
we give something really good for one
referral people use their work email and
so then you're not getting a a quality
subscriber you're getting the same
subscriber who isn't going to open your
emails twice yeah yeah so it's very
difficult to verify that and ensure
against it unless you kind of go in
manually and have a look so we we tend
to structure our Awards such that you
need to kind of get beyond that two or
three threshold so that it's actually
your your network that you're referring
and not just your various kind of side
hustle emails that you've got you've got
in your Gmail B absolutely yeah and I
fully accept that I'm your mate so I'm
I'm automatically much more likely to
refer people to your newsletter than I
would be normally or the opposite well
maybe uh but it helps obviously the
people that I know that will play
Fantasy Football obviously interested in
your content so I'm really happy to do
that you know and I know that the
content's good so you know there is I
know I get there's an extra element
there and it probably doesn't
extrapolate very well and you you know
me as your mate versus your whole list
but you know I think there is something
to be said there for that referral
system and uh and I really like it s you
that five later yeah
exactly uh I would send everyone who
watch this podcast I'll send my referral
link and I'll get loads of money from to
change this
newsletter um okay I think we covered op
I will just quick break here I want to
give a shout out to the support that
we're getting today yeah uh from cat uh
we have no idea how to film [Β __Β ] right I
think you've got like an iPhone 2 or
something I do as you said earlier Steve
Jobs was still alive yeah when your
iPhone came out yeah so um so we we uh
we just want to shout out to cat because
the support that we have she's behind
the camera she's laughing at our jokes I
don't know if it's because we're paid
clients but um she's the the the you're
not seeing it here but there's three
cameras there's light it's on brand for
us uh she's made us herbal teas because
we've got tickly throats um you know
there's even lentil soup promised for
for lunch which I'm really looking
forward to can't wait uh and it's just
been a lovely experience so far yeah
it's been awesome I would say that as
someone who is Not By Any Means
comfortable in front of the camera one
thing that I was really apprehensive
about was kind of the vibe of the D that
sounds kind of silly to say but I was
worried and when we arrived I was
immediately put at ease i' I'd say like
you could obviously you can you can
probably recreate something like this if
you put enough spend behind it but what
you can't recreate is the the feeling
that you get with someone and and how
comfortable they make you feel ab and
like the Rapport that we have like we've
had a good laugh and stuff yeah and yeah
I don't want to make you feel awkward
cat but yeah it's uh yeah no it's it's
been good but yeah it's um it's made us
feel I think a lot more relaxed than
than we have any right to be here in
front of free cameras absolutely and
what you'll be seeing here is a finished
product uh as well after cat has done
all the editing so hopefully that's the
we felt on the day as well uh and I'm
sure it will be but uh if you if you
don't uh know cat then reach out to her
uh you can find her on LinkedIn her
name's cat K A and her surname is bat uh
BH a uh BH a that's right yeah so catbat
look her on LinkedIn uh check her out
because her you know it's her stuff is
awesome and I think the pr today I think
it's one outside two when we set off uh
yes we're in a garage uh it was a bit
cold when we got here but you should see
the the spread that the cats put on here
for us in terms of heaters I mean I'm in
a t-shirt yeah not a goose pimple inside
no we might as well be in New Yorker at
this point yeah it's it's amazing it's
really cozy so yeah big thanks to cat uh
cheers cat and there we
go uh so yeah if you saw that that was
cat
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