In the last 10 years, social media has become vital to grow a business.
Its opened up a world of possibilities for small businesses that weren't possible before.
The downside is that it's unpredictable and unreliable.
It only took Instagram being down one summer day in 2019 for me to say bump this!
I'm focusing on my email list. I need to be able to communicate with my community at any time, not when it's best for these platforms.
So I took that one summer day as an opportunity to start building my community outside of social media.
Today I can rely on my email list, my core community for engagement, sharing resources and to generate revenue.
If you want to build a business that lasts and has a wide impact, then it's going to be impossible to do it alone!
You need a group of people around you who believe in the same things that you do, who can see your vision similarly as you, who can get behind what you’re putting out there. People who will support you, share with you, advocate for you and plug your business when the opportunity arises!
These people are your community!
And this isn't a one way street. It's a give and take relationship. You’ve gotta give them something in order for all these things to happen. And that “something” is value. Put a pin right there because we're going to come back to that thought.
Let's get back to your community, it's made up of everyone who knows about you, follows you and believes in your brand.
But your email subscribers are a special subset of your community. They are your core community. These are the people who not only believe in your brand but have taken the extra step to stay connected with you.
These are the people you want to cater to and give your best to. If you treat them like a priority then they will treat your business like a priority.
Think of your favorite brands. The ones that if you didn't have access to their products and services, you would lose it! Think about it and drop the names of those brands in the comments and think about why you support them the way you do.
Is it their quality products?
Is it the way they make you feel?
Is it because they’re doing something you truly believe in?
Is it because they truly cater to you and your needs?
There is a reason. And I can guarantee that it's on purpose. Your favorite brand is known for the thing that attracts you. It's written into their mission, values and vision. All of their marketing efforts are geared towards delivering on these fronts.
When clear about what you’re doing, why you're doing it and who you're doing it for, it's easy to create content that draws out your core community who will ultimately help you build a thriving and profitable business.
Remember your email list is stacked with core community members. They've already bought into your brand. The hardest part, which is getting them on your list is over.
Now it's your job to continue to deliver on your promises. You have to give them something in exchange for their attention and loyalty. You have to give value.
Here is where a lot of biz owners get tripped up. What's valuable for my core community may not be valuable for yours, even if we’re in the same industry, do the same type of work and even if we share some of the same customers.
There are a lot of ways to learn what your community needs.
But the best way to find out is to simply ask.
If you already have subscribers on your list, then this is step easy. Send an email to your subscribers asking them what topics they want you to cover or ask them what their number one struggle is. The responses may shock you so be open to what they say.
If you are just starting email marketing and you don't have any engaged subscribers on your list then you can ask your audience on social media something similar. Let them know you’ll be starting your email list and you want to know what topics you should cover.
Whether you have an established or budding list you can use the 2 following strategies to do some email content research:
In a nutshell you have to be clear about your biz mission value and vision in order to deliver exactly what your core community wants. Once you're clear on those things you can be even more specific and accurate with your email content by asking your audience what they want/need from you.
How do you plan to foster your email community? Shoot me a DM on Twitter to share with me!
