Recently I was talking to a client about emails doing my best to convince them of why they should establish an email list and start sending emails.

I have this conversation regularly with all of my clients. I went through the same list of reasons I’ve repeated countless times

that have been told to me countless times by my teachers, coaches, and google.

All reasons I’m sure my clients have also heard before from various sources

• Reason # 1 - the email list is the bridge from warm (interested) to hot (sold) audience

• Reason # 2 - your email list is your most intimate audience, meaning it is the most direct avenue for marketing to your potential customer

• Reason # 3 - subscribers are the most likely audience member to buy your product/service because they took the extra step of signing up to receive more info from you

• Reason # 4 - even if they don’t open your email they will at least see your name and it’ll be a subconscious reminder that you exist

the list goes on

Do I believe these things? Do I believe in the email list? Like, actually?

Or am I just parroting what I’ve been told.

Honestly…

Honestly, sometimes I’m not sure

Walk with me for a moment through my train of thoughts on this…

So.. I enjoy the email lists I’ve subscribed to.

I enjoy reading what my favorite creators/artists/small businesses write to me. 

I even write back sometimes, especially when they encourage it 

and sometimes I even hear back from them and that’s always so freakin cool to me

and I just think…if I was writing an email to someone, I’d absolutely love to receive a reply from them

It’s the next best thing to receiving a wax-sealed, handwritten letter in the mail (oh if only it wasn’t so expensive to send actual letters these days)

I love how subscribing to an email list ensures I won’t miss important info from that person - like announcements for new product drops, tour dates, workshops/course enrollment windows, sales, etc

I owe a lot of my most valued online learning to emails, because a lot of my favorite online teachers and coaches teach and coach in their emails, and that’s how I know I want to take their course or workshop or purchase a 1:1 experience with them

(And btw, I’ve never regretted any of these experiences I’ve become sold on through emails - I may not have taken the bite from their first pitch, but when I did finally bite I had all my questions thoroughly answered about whatever they were offering and I was confident that what I was about to receive was exactly what I wanted)

Mind you, I follow all these email-writers on social media too (if they are on them)…but the algorithms do make it more challenging to make sure I’m seeing all their latest posts and not missing any new offerings from them - even despite turning on notifications for them

and I’m also less likely to get a back-and-forth with them on socials.

Basically what I’m concluding is,

I do actually believe the email list and sending regular newsletters is an important tool and strategy for businesses - especially small businesses and independent artists,

Not because I was told so

But because of my personal experience interacting with my favorite creators’ emails.

And yes, I do find some emails annoying and spammy

So I unsubscribe and block those - and usually those emails are from big corps (Target, Michaels, Amazon, Walmart, etc)

I don’t blame any business for sending promotional emails

I’m not a victim of other people implementing smart, responsible business tactics and strategies that work for them

I choose to be a student and I observe what other people do, what works for them, what doesn’t, and I discern through application of this knowledge what actually works for me and what doesn’t

I take responsibility for my own inbox and endeavor to keep it clean and organized so that I don’t miss the emails I actually want to get from the people I actually want to hear from

and so that I have the capacity to receive more of what I want and more value in my life.

This is one small action I take to support my favorite creators and teachers 

who are showing up for themselves and werkin their booties out making their businesses successful…

…so they can keep serving the world with their skills, talents, knowledge, and art…

because I want to see more of their creativity in the world and I know that can’t happen without me being an active participant in that co-creation.

Emails aren’t annoying because people send them

You feel annoyed when you don’t feel in control…

and you don’t feel in control because you’re not effectively managing those emails that you opted to receive.

Believe me, I know what an overwhelming inbox feels like.

Even though I know how to manage my inbox, it still gets out of hand from time to time. But like with any practice, it’s not about perfection, it’s about noticing when you’ve gotten off track and being able to get back on it. 

When I find that I’ve lost the rhythm of my regular weekly practice of keeping my inbox clean, I have  a system I implement to get my inbox back under control.

You don’t have to continue allowing this idea that “emails are annoying” to get in the way of you taking the next needed forward action toward growing your own business 

What if…

emails are not annoying - you’re just feeling annoyed by them right now because you haven’t deleted emails, or unsubscribed, or reported spam in 3 years.

What if…

sending marketing emails doesn’t actually annoy your subscribers - you just assume it will annoy them because you fear rejection (classic heart wound).

What if…

emails are not annoying - you just parrot what others (who also haven’t taken responsibility for their inboxes) say to be agreeable and liked by them in superficial conversations.

What if…

emails are not annoying - you just haven’t established a system for receiving, reading, and deleting them that works for you, yet. 

What if…

your own lack of get-it-togetherness annoys you, not the emails themselves.

What if…

you could enjoy checking your inbox, opening, and reading emails from people you admire?

What if…

you could have stimulating back-and-forths with people who inspire you, right in your inbox?

So tell me - I’m genuinely curious…

What has been your feeling about emails? What is the current status of your own inbox? 

What has been your excuse (or very valid reasonings) for not starting an email list for your business?

Hit reply and let me know