Becky Mansfield

Newsletter

Increase your open rate (practical tips)

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Most of you know that I have really been working hard on my email newsletter list.  I am growing around 500-2,000 a day and I want to keep it up.  Yes, it is expensive (last month I paid $450 in fees for my list), but it is worth it because in the same month, I made over $3,000 in profit from my newsletter list specifically.
increase open rateHow it happened -1- I switched to Convert Kit.   That was when I started taking things more seriously.   It was when I started really trying to grow my newsletter list.

2- I made lead magnets.  These are things that the readers get when they sign up.   Maybe it is your free book or a cool printable.  Whatever it is, make sure it fits your post.  You wouldn’t offer a “marriage tips” book on a recipe post.  This means that you may have several lead magnets.

3. Be consistent.
My GOAL is to send out a newsletter once a week.  I have 7 lists, so that means writing 7 different emails every Sunday.   It is time-consuming, but worth it.  I’d say it takes me around 1-2 hours to write out those 7 email newsletters.

4. Be personal.
My readers love stories, pictures & just conversation.   Be personable and you will see a bigger response, leading them to open it again & again.

5. Have a great subject line.   Here are a few tips: 

  • Ask a question.   People want to talk about them, so if you ask a question, it immediately gets them interested.   Maybe leave it open ended… “Did you do this today?”      Of course I want to know what they are talking about!
  • Give me the details.   I love when I get a newsletter and I know what is in store for me  “5 calm-down tricks you can’t miss!”     If your readers are interested in your posts, they are going to love this kind.
  • Be personal.   Talk about what is going on with your life.  Example: “The reason we almost quit preschool.”   Most people like to know what is going on in other’s lives… that’s why reality TV does so well.
  • Do it again.   One thing that I will do is try different subject lines to see what works better.   I know that Convert Kit allows me to send out the same email with 2 subject lines, to different groups.  I can test which thing went over better.  I can also send out the same email several days apart, to the people that didn’t open it the first time, with a new subject line.   I’ve seen my open rate go from 20% to 45% by doing this.
  • Be sure that your opening line (the preview) is just as intriguing as the email.  Don’t give away your best stuff in the first sentence, or there will be no reason to open your email.

Get readers back to your blog (without relying on Facebook!)

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There are so many ways to get your readers back to your site- Facebook, pinterest… but how do you get them back to you when those things aren’t working?

I feel so frustrated with Facebook sometimes.  I’ll have a week where everything is 30-50% reach and then I’ll have a week where it is back to 10% or less.   I don’t get it.   So, I’ve found a way that works.

bring them back

Newsletters.

I’ve been bringing them back to my page with newsletters.  Let me tell you exactly what I’m doing.

1- I switched over to ConvertKit.

2- I made many sequences:  I’m up to 6, but will do more.
Screen Shot 2016-03-26 at 6.57.28 AM

A sequence is an automated e-mail.   So when someone signs up, they get my welcome email.   A day later, they get my Sequence email #1 with an intro to who I am.

Four days later, they get another email with a few of my most popular posts (I need to remember to update these often). 

Three days later, they get a list of some of my favorite things/places (with disclosed affiliate links).

A few days later, they get another e-mail with a personal story & a brief intro about my book.

A few days after that… an email with my books.

That’s kind of how it goes.

The beauty of it is that my readers get to know me really well.  They write back to me.   They click on my posts, they read my e-mails and my posts.

THEN… every week, I write an email and I include a lot of my Instagram pictures, stories with links to the posts to read the rest of those stories, etc…

You are already signed up for our emails here, where we try to do similar things, but not on such a large scale.  (You can sign up for my YMF email if you want to see how I am doing it there, or sign up for Paula’s to check out what she is doing)

Ps- helpful tip!  I know that we hate UNSUBSCRIBING to emails, because we feel bad, but Kirsten Oliphant once told me that if you aren’t reading them, you should unsubscribe to save them money, because they are paying for you every month.   I loved that little tip because I love reading e-mails, but rarely have them time, so now I only get my very favorites that I am not seeing on Facebook. 

So your homework tonight is to set up your sequences with Convert Kit or whatever company you are with…. even if you only do one!   You do the work once and you are done!