Set Up Your List
Today we’re starting with something simple. Because email marketing can be simple and easy yet truly effective.
Check for the following:
And that's it!
Next, we will work more on creating your freebie/lead magnet/opt-in or in other words – crafting a reason for people to sign up for your list. You might want to go back and change your list name and description later this week, and that's okay. This lesson is just about creating the foundation.
- START an e-mail list if you don't already have one for your travel blog.
This might mean signing up for your first email service provider (ESP). I recommend MailerLite which is what I use for Our Soulful Travels email marketing. For my Wildly Successful Travelpreneurs newsletter, I use Substack. (Only recommended if you want to start a newsletter but not as useful for email marketing.) MailerLite is free for your first 1000 subscribers, and I think their interface is significantly better than my second choice EmailOctopus which is free for up to 2500 subscribers – however, either would be fine. Best of all, both MailerLite and EmailOctopus give you access to ALL the features even on the free tiers which means you can test everything while you grow your email list and then choose the best option for you based on features once you reach the paid subscriber levels. (Just be sure to note the difference in pricing ahead of time after the free tier so you're prepared for the future. MailerLite tends to be the more cost-effective solution once you start to grow.) - REJUVENATE your existing e-mail list.
This means logging into your ESP, reviewing your current setup, and scrolling through all the settings.
Check for the following:
- Is your list still relevant or did people sign up to receive something you no longer offer?
- How long has it been since you've emailed them?
- Would it be better to start fresh with a second list? (With most ESPs you can have as many lists as you'd like under one account and are charged by subscribers, not how you divide them up.)
- Check to see what your automatic welcome email says (if you've got one) and ensure that it's still relevant.
- Where are your sign-up forms currently? Footer? Popups? Sidebar? etc. Refresh your memory of where and how you ask people to sign up on your website to make your life easier later this week.
- Click on the social links in your email signature and make sure they still lead to your current Instagram, FB, etc.
- What's the name of your list and list description say? Make sure that your list name and descriptions are congruent with what you're offering today. Same with your website URL.
And that's it!
Next, we will work more on creating your freebie/lead magnet/opt-in or in other words – crafting a reason for people to sign up for your list. You might want to go back and change your list name and description later this week, and that's okay. This lesson is just about creating the foundation.