Episode 004: Set up an email list
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In this episode, we talk about all the rain in Los Angeles, set a goal to get to 30 episodes of Do Weekly, get hopped up on licorice, and Alex makes up some sayings that totally don’t exist. We share our shiny new elevator pitches, high five, and then head into our brand new challenge – setting up an email list.
This Week’s Challenge: Set up an email list
So many small businesses do not maintain an email list. An email list is just a list of contacts of people who are interested in what they do, whether they’re past paying customers, current customers, or prospective customers. It’s one of the very best tools a small business can have.
A lot of small business owners neglect creating an email list because they may not realize how valuable it can be. They might also avoid staying in frequent contact with their list for fear of feeling sales-y. It’s also one of those things that’s so easy to procrastinate on. It’s so easy to think it’s a busy week and you’ll email your fans next week. Except week after week, it gets neglected.
The truth is, there are people out there who are huge fans of your business and what you do. Folks who would love to know about new products or services you’re offering. Folks who would really appreciate knowing about a sale, receiving a coupon, or learning about a special offer. So your task this week is to gather up the contacts you’ve already got and set up a system for keeping track.
If you’ve already got an email list, it’s time to take a look – is it up to date? Do you stay in touch regularly? It might be time to send out a note to the list and to make a plan for sending out regular messages. Think about what would be interesting to your customers.
Resources for finishing this task
- MailChimp – a free-to-get-started professional email list service (Natalie’s favorite)
- Active Campaign – Alex’s favorite email list service
- 8 Ways Small Businesses Can Build an Email List Faster by John Rampton
- The Small Business Owner’s Guide To Email Marketing Success by Jessica Lunk
- 3 Easy Ways to Build an Email List For Your Small Business by Syed Balkhi
- 5 Best Email Marketing Campaigns for Small Businesses by Phil Frost
After you’ve done the task
Write and tell us about it! Tweet us @doweeklypodcast, use our contact page, or email us at TalkToUs@doweeklypodcast.com. Let us know how many folks you gathered up for your email list and what kind of message you sent out.