Email marketing is an invaluable tool for entrepreneurs with service-based businesses.

Facebook. Microsoft. Google. They know exactly how valuable your community is. Down to the penny.

Think about it. People are legit more likely to give you money, keep in touch, and engage with your brand if they feel comfortable enough to give you their email address. Your social media platforms have an email address for every person that has liked, followed and shared your message. Do you? You are the one with the unique perspective that is attracting those followers and there's nothing stopping you from bringing them into your space.

Have you ever thought of putting together a membership offer, or offering courses of some kind? Email marketing software is the backbone of the audience journey for either and you definitely want to have the audience warmed up and already drinking your kool-aid.

The backbone?

Say you do decide that you want to put together a membership site. The best place to find the people to populate that offering will be your email list. Your superfans and brand besties are more likely to receive and take action from the inbox. They may not even see that social media post and announcements on paper are right out. Technologically, a robust email marketing tool is going to be your best bet to act as the gateway for your website to determine who is a member and who is not if you're using a customized solution via Wordpress – which I highly recommend over employing a one-size-fits-all membership suite.

Flexing your marketing muscles is like any new work out. It can hurt - especially if you don't have a plan in place - but it's imperative that you keep working at it for that pain to ebb and to start to see real gains. You've just got to take that first step. Make a plan.

1. Determine who your brand bestie is.
   • Why they want to hear from you.
   • What they want you to say.

Getting into shape all the way around.

I know you're thinking that email marketing is just one more thing to put on your plate, but is it? Another great muscle to start working on is your delegation tendon...trust; it's there connected to your knee bone or something. I'm a nerd, not a doctor. 🤓
Real talk though, I have a very lean business [read Boss on a Budget] and one of my favorite meetings each week is the one with my editor. She and I confab and she tells me that she removed legit from that sentence up there and even though I put it back, we bond over that and make sure that the voice of my brand is unique. If you've ever read any material on being an entrepreneur in 2019, you've seen someone tell you that you need a SQUAD or a team. Putting one together is not a fast process, nor should it be, but the first time you are sick and your team covers your bases [insert better word for that here 🤪], you will appreciate the value of that advice. I know that I did.

Okay. That's done. Now what?

1. Start writing.
   Whatever your Brand Bestie wants to hear from you, write those topics down with a few notes about them, then pick one to draft out. Finish a couple and you'll have a head start.

2. Sign up for email marketing.
   Mailchimp is free up to 2000 subscribers and if you use this link, you'll get credits on your account if and when you decide to upgrade to a paid plan.

3. Decide how you want to grow your list.
   There are a lot of strategies for this out there. Here's my favorite article on that. I won't lie. I didn't take my own advice until a few months ago when I personally emailed my clients and friends a short intro and link to my first campaign. My list is small, but my open rates are ridiculously good because I've started with people that have listened to me prattle on about this stuff so they know exactly what to expect from me.

   

4. Start sending regularly and don't stop.

You'll find that soon enough you've built your tribe and even if you never start that membership site, or the e-learning course, you won't regret connecting.