TOC #190: An embarrassing story *not* about a urinal
(August 13th, 2024) How to get the right people on your email list
I hate origin stories.
They're overdone. And often irrelevant.
…but, you very nicely asked for mine.
So, I told it to you.
And you loved it.
(Well, actually I don't know if you loved it, specifically, First name / bestie, but lots of other people responded to that email to tell me they did.)
I'm not surprised — people love the gossip.
People also love embarrassing stories.
So, today, I bring you:
Even MORE origin story lore, and it's embarrassing.
(Not as embarrassing as me walking into the men's room at Target yesterday, and then not realizing until AFTER I was LEAVING, despite literally seeing the urinals on the wall??? I'm an idiot??? And that was really gross??? Anyway!)
Let me set the scene:
Girl had just become Website Girl.
…but Girl needed clients to actually, well, be Website Girl.
Girl heard from the other marketers online that the best way to grow your business was by building an email list, so she was game.
She did a bit of research and found that the best way to grow an email list was to create a lead magnet.
Cool, Girl thought to herself. Sounds easy.
So, Girl got to work.
She opened a blank doc on Canva — this was well before the days of AI integrated into every app, so she was fully on her own — and she got to designing.
You'd think Girl would have created something website-related, considering she just became Website Girl, and she wants to attract lots of Website Clients.
But no.
That would have been too easy; would have made too much sense.
Girl doesn't make sense. Girl is Squirrel.
(Come on, First name / bestie, you read Girl's origin story — you knew better than to assume that ADHD brain of hers would make sense.)
So, no, Girl did not make a website-related freebie.
Nor did she create anything related to the other things she was offering at the time, either, like blogging, or SEO, or content writing.
Nope! She chose to make the…
🎉 Pinterest ABCs 🎉
…like the idiot she is!
It was a slay of a freebie, Girl won't lie.
(It was literally 26 tips, A-Z, about Pinterest. Lol.)
But should Girl have been the one creating it?!
🚨 NO! 🚨
Girl is WEBSITE GIRL. Girl is not Pinterest Girl.
Imagine Girl's disappointment when she realized that everyone on her email list was suddenly expecting her to be Pinterest Girl.
Girl knew enough about Pinterest to create the freebie in the first place… but that's where her knowledge ended.
She couldn't actually confidently answer questions about Pinterest, or continue to talk about Pinterest — hell, she didn't want anything to do with Pinterest.
But there she was, out there promoting the ~Pinterest ABCs~ like it was her job.
…until, finally, she realized:
Oh, maybe I should teach people about something I actually know enough about? Something I want to write about? Something I have opinions on? And, most importantly, something I actually OFFER to paying clients?
Ya. 🙄
Safe to say Girl learned her lesson.
So, Girl created more Website Girl Appropriate freebies, like her Homepage How To, and her New Website Checklist, and her Glowing Testimonial Guide.
Girl acted like Website Girl.
…and Girl got lots of the right people on her email list.
…and when Girl launched her website copywriting course, and her website copy audit offer, and her website copy template, her subscribers actually showed up & bought in.
How To Get The Right People On Your Email List
Lead magnets.
That is how you get people on your email list.
…but you can't just ✨ make a lead magnet ✨ and expect people to flock to your email list by the thousands.
It has to be the right lead magnet, for the right person, in order for you to actually get RESULTS.
Lead magnets can be super easy to create — if you have a Canva account and enough knowledge to write a blog post about something, boom! you're qualified to make one — but that doesn't mean you should be out here creating one just for the sake of creating.
You'll be MUCH more successful if you take the time to think about WHO you want on your email list, WHAT they want to hear about or learn from you, and HOW you're going to attract them / pique their interest.
(Point of the story? Don't be the website copywriter who launched a Pinterest freebie and wondered why no one cared about what she had to say.)
The right person is…
open to learning from you
entertained by the things you have to say or share, enough to stay on your list and keep opening your emails
genuinely interested in working with you or buying from you, either soon or at some point in the future
So, the right lead magnet…
is not too long, and not too short
provides a comfortable amount of value
showcases your expertise
relates to your current offerings / the type of content you share (especially in your emails)
gives your audience a clear next step
Wanna learn more about how to get the right people on your email list (and how to keep them there!)? My LIVE email marketing course is coming back next month — and it's about to be the best version yet.
If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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