Powerful Women Rising - A Business Podcast for Female Entrepreneurs

Email Marketing that Works w/Liz Wilcox

• Melissa Snow - Powerful Women Rising, LLC • Episode 109

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Your followers don't belong to you, but your e-mail list does!

In this episode, I’m joined by Survivor alum and self-proclaimed “Fresh Princess of Email,” Liz Wilcox - and she’s sharing her best strategies for connecting with people and making sales through e-mail marketing.

Whether you’ve been avoiding email marketing because it feels boring, sleazy, or just overwhelming, this convo is packed with simple, practical shifts that will help you build an e-mail list that works for you - and have fun doing it.

We talk about:

  • Why your email list is the most important asset in your business 
  • How to grow your list using what you already have (no tech overload or fancy funnels required)
  • What makes a killer freebie (and why yours might be missing the mark)
  • Mistakes you might be making on your lead magnet landing page
  • Creative ideas for growing your audience fast - even offlin
  • And how to choose list-building strategies that fit YOUR strengths and vibe

Liz’s whole approach is about keeping it simple, keeping it human, and keeping it you.

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Melissa Snow is a Business Relationship Strategist dedicated to empowering women in entrepreneurship. She founded the Powerful Women Rising Community, which provides female business owners with essential support and resources for business growth.

Melissa's other mission is to revolutionize networking, promoting authenticity and genuine connections over sleazy sales tactics. She runs an incredible monthly Virtual Speed Networking Event which you can attend once at no cost using the code FIRSTTIME

She lives in Colorado Springs with two dogs, her soul cat Giorgio and any number of foster kittens. She loves iced coffee, Taylor Swift, and Threads.

Speaker 1:

Hello Liz, Welcome to the Powerful Women Rising podcast.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, so excited to be here. Let's talk, baby.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I'm so excited to have you. We're talking about email marketing today, but before we dive into all the good stuff, tell everybody a little bit about you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So what up? I'm Liz Wilcox and you know that feeling you get when you listen to an awesome podcast like Melissa's and people come on and they start feeling you get when you listen to an awesome podcast like Melissa's and people come on and they start screaming at you you got to email, you got to email, and so you get pumped up, you log into kid or active campaign or whatever, and then you promptly feel kind of dumb because you have no idea what the heck to write. Well, I eliminate that problem. That's what I do online. I love to make email content super, super simple. It's all about just getting in there and getting to the point and getting out.

Speaker 2:

I've got a couple of fun facts that we might talk about along the way, but I think the biggest thing you got to know about me is I started as an RV travel blogger. That's how I really got into knowing how to connect with people. So I wasn't, you know, just this B2B2B2B2B person. I started, you know, marketing to usually men in their 60s was the majority of my audience, and I just learned how to talk to them, how to teach them about digital products and how to sell, and eventually I was like, hmm, I think I know something that other people don't. So I sold that business and I went all in teaching email marketing. And now I'm talking to you and Melissa Super exciting.

Speaker 1:

I love that. I really love that. That's your background too, because so often I think we listen to these interviews and we're like, okay, yeah, good for you, that worked for you. But it's really like you selling to people who are then like selling to other businesses, who are selling to other businesses Like is this really just a giant pyramid?

Speaker 2:

Can I say the word incestuous on this? And you know, I'm not above it. Y'all, I teach email marketing to you know, email marketers, right, and you, listening, I'm not above it, y'all, I teach email marketing to you know, email marketers, right, and you, listening, you are an email marketer. I'm including you in that. But, yeah, I love that.

Speaker 2:

I started out in the travel industry, too, and y'all our viewers, like I said, men in their 60s, they did not even know what a digital course was. My first product was an ebook. They're like, what's an ebook? They would buy it and they'd be like, well, what do you mean? I'm not getting a physical copy. I'm like, why do you think it was $5, bro? Like, come on.

Speaker 2:

And so I really had to navigate. You know, talking directly to consumers and not just consumers consumers that you know this is pre-pandemic, right. So they don't know a lot about technology, the internet. They're, you know, cautious about putting in their credit card. Again, you know, I feel like once the pandemic hit, that became less of a thing. More people, no matter what their age, are buying online. But this was 2016, right? So they were like I don't know, is your site secure? Do you have, you know an SSL. You know they were really concerned about that stuff. So I just found a way to navigate that by being, you know, super personal, right and personable right and talking to them like humans and not trying to just get at their wallets, trying to get at their issues and solve them. And yeah, I just noticed, you know, my friends were struggling with that and I was like, wait a second, I actually care a little bit more about my friends than these dudes in their 60s. So I'm going to sell this blog and I'm going to teach what I know.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome and that's one of the things I really love about what you teach and how you teach it. I've been in your email marketing program for a while and your membership and it's so easy to apply what you teach to anyone in any industry, in any field, right? I mean, obviously, the way that I'm talking to female entrepreneurs is not going to be the same way that Janice is talking to the people she's selling her like quilting patterns to right, but the way that you teach email marketing is going to work for me and it's going to work for her, because you help us kind of personalize it and it's not. We're not just like copying and pasting from chat GPT.

Speaker 2:

Thank you. I love that. That's so funny that you brought in the quilting pattern, because today is like my day of calls and I had two little coaching calls, one with a travel blogger and the other with a crochet blogger who was trying to sell more patterns in a membership. And you know it's using those same tips and I'm sure we'll get into it. And you know it's using those same tips and I'm sure we'll get into it. Of you know, connecting with your subscribers, showing that you're invested in them before they invest back into you, right, but it really is applicable across all industries because at the end of the day, you know we've mentioned B2B, b2c. It's really H2H right, human to human right, even if you're working with corporate clients, like I have a longtime subscriber.

Speaker 2:

She's in data viz right, so data visualization. She works with the UN. She works most of her people on her list, aregov right, and you would think that's the most polished, most professional Y'all. She's sending pictures of her kids she got five kids, right. She's sending pictures of her kids. She just did a two-hour live yesterday and sent people to that, where she's just troubleshooting working in Microsoft Excel, and she's the most personable email that I'm on anyone's list, right, and she's like. That just makes me stand out in a sea of boring, because I'm actually talking to humans and they're like oh yeah, I remember Ann because Ann showed me a picture of her kid. I'm gonna hire Ann because she's top of mind, right, and she knows what she's talking about. So it doesn't matter what industry you're in, you know she's top of mind, right, and she knows what she's talking about. So it doesn't matter what industry you're in, my dear, you can be personable and it will work.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I love that and that's exactly what I teach people about networking too is adding that personal touch and that human piece of it. Because when you remember, when you share that part of yourself or when you remember like oh, I just had that conversation with Liz last week about her I don't know vacuum cleaner that broke and I go to follow up with you after the networking event a couple of weeks later and I'm like, hey, hope you got your vacuum cleaner fixed. Like it's not that big of a deal, but for you it's like, oh, she actually like saw me as a human and it mattered enough for her to remember that my vacuum cleaner was broken. Like that matters to people, especially in this day and age when everything is so automated and chat, gpt and you know on screens and for people to be treated like humans by other humans is huge. Amen.

Speaker 2:

I love that Melissa.

Speaker 1:

So let's back up a little bit to what the point of building an email list is. Seems like a silly question, but we also hear a lot from people like get your people off of Facebook, get them on your email list. What are you doing with your email list? So like, why does that actually matter?

Speaker 2:

Listen, okay. So I know you're probably doing the dishes, you're in carpool, you're going for a walk, but I want you to do this anyway. Raise your hand for me. Raise your hand if you were alive in like 2022. And you remember when a billionaire bought a social media platform? Right, keep your hand raised. If you remember the next year, you know he changed the name. It imploded upon itself. It lost all of its sponsorship dollars, half of its users, you know, and continues to lose users by the droves in 2025.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know, that does not happen with email. That does not happen with email. So, with social media, one guy literally owns the whole shebangabang and he can say what works and what doesn't. Right, we're constantly complaining the algorithm, the algorithm, the algorithm, right, but really it's just one or two guys at the top saying these are what the goals are and all the minions. You know they change the algorithm, they change policies. You know, and you're stuck with what you're stuck with, right, I know, at the beginning of 2025, there was talk about the TikTok ban. Right, if you are building your entire audience on, you know, for what was formerly known as Twitter, on TikTok, facebook, instagram threads, whatever, you are subject to the approval of those people, right, and you are subject to their whim. It feels like that, right, like why did they change that? It was working.

Speaker 2:

But with email, email is so different, it's owned by many different people. You know, you own a little piece of it, I own a little piece of it Microsoft, google, yahoo, omnisend, kit, activecampaign, flowdesk, protonmail, hotmail. You know there's all these different players. So in order for email to make a change, it takes a lot of energy behind it. Right, it's not like social media where it's just yep, this is the new policy, here we go, right.

Speaker 2:

And so that's why email is so important, because you don't want to build on rented land, so to speak. Right, you want to be able to own your email list, own your following. You can't own it on Facebook. Facebook could shut you down, put you in jail tomorrow, but with email, because it's a decentralized platform, it's very difficult to be banned, right? So you get your email list, you get your subscribers, and whether you choose to use Kit today and you change to Flowdesk or MailerLite tomorrow, you can take those email addresses with you. That's why everyone and their mother, including me and Melissa, are hollering at you. You know, grow your email list. Get those people off of social media. We don't want you to lose them. We want you to have full control of your audience, and that's what email marketing is.

Speaker 1:

I love that, I love that answer, and it's really such a good way in a lot of ways better than social media to keep track and keep in touch with the people who actually want to hear what you have to say. Right, I'm thinking when you're talking, I'm like, well, what if I'm just not on social media, then who cares? Right, but I want to keep track of the people who want to hear what I have to say. I want to keep track of the people who might want to collaborate with me or buy one of my products in the future or subscribe to my service or whatever it is. So, even if you are, I tell people a lot like if you hate social media, don't do social media. Like, there's a lot of ways to grow your business that don't involve social media. If you want to be somebody who just goes out into the world and networks and that's how you're growing your business Fantastic. But you still need a place to collect those people, right?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and y'all. I read an article just this week that it said something like 84% of consumers, will you know, go to their email to consider buying something. That's a huge percentage, right, that's a huge percentage. So email really does work, you know. You might think, oh, I don't want to spam people, I don't want to do this, but there's got to be, like Melissa's saying, a place where you can gather your audience and speak directly to them. And if you know whether you want to make sales right now or you want to make sales down the line, if that's important to you which it should be, if you have a business, right, nod your head. I know you're nodding your head. Email definitely is the way to go.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so when it comes to growing your email list, what do you suggest as a starting point?

Speaker 2:

As a starting point, I suggest going to where you are most active. So, if you are on social media, if you're on Instagram, facebook, something like that, go and announce that you have an email list, right? Hey, I'm doing this thing over here. When I started my travel blog, I got on Facebook and I didn't even know this was a strategy. It just felt like the right thing to do. I was like, well, those are where my people are, right, that's where I'm talking to people online. And so I said, you know, hey, I'm starting this travel blog. I just bought an RV, you know, want to come, take a look at my journey and maybe learn something with me. You know, join my email list here. And then, from there, I created a lead magnet, a freebie, an opt-in, whatever you call it. Right, and that was something to incentivize people to sign up. Right, because, of course, some people are just going to sign up because they want to follow me, but some people they need an incentive, especially as you start growing, as you, you know, get people on your list that you don't know personally, right, they need an incentive. And so, creating that incentive, I like to think of it.

Speaker 2:

As you know, the first day of class. You know you're teaching X, what do they need to know? Or what resource do they need to have on the first day of class? Right, for me it's a welcome sequence, like I know you need a welcome sequence Even if you're not growing your list yet. You need to write that welcome sequence because once you start getting people on, you got to welcome them. So that's my freebie. That's the very first thing I feel you need on the first day of class when it comes to making money with email marketing. So think of it that way Like, what do they need on the first day of class? Is it a resource, is it homework? What is it? And that can be your freebie. And then you know, follow people like Melissa to help you learn about networking.

Speaker 2:

So I always say list building and visibility go hand in hand. I'm a 90s kid so you guys remember, like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, tia and Tamara, right, like? I know they're different people, but I can't tell them apart. That's how I think of list building, visibility, brand awareness, networking they're the same thing. The more you can you know, the more network you have, the more people that know who you are, the more your list is going to grow. So really, you know, just getting it out there, creating a lead magnet and then really working on your networking to have, you know, collaborations and things like that, that's going to be what really sets your growth on fire.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that I say a lot is networking doesn't just happen at networking events or networking meetings. It really can happen anywhere that you are connecting with another human. So we are networking in our email, we are networking on social media. If you're speaking on stage, you're networking right, because they're all just different ways of connecting with the people that you want to connect with. So are there any other tips that you have as far as a freebie, lead magnet, opt-in, as far as creating something that actually works and converts and gets people to sign up?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so remember, we're taking it to that first day of class. But any good teacher knows that the formatting is important. The way you present the information is important. So for me, you know I mentioned my welcome sequence that's in a Google Doc. For you, it's not a PDF that you have to copy and paste, it's literally a Google Doc. When you click on it, it forces you to make a copy, so it's in your drive immediately, right? So that's going to help people, you know, actually get it done.

Speaker 2:

So, thinking about the freebie, how can I get people to actually be interested in this? Or get it done? Right? And so you know, if you're working with single moms, you're not going to create a 21 day challenge, right? Like, oh my gosh, maybe you just create a 21 minute playlist of affirmations for them, or of, you know, feel good, if you're a fitness coach, it's a 21 minute playlist of, you know, songs from the nineties, so you can just take a 21 minute walk this week. Right?

Speaker 2:

You know, think of what is going to get them to sign up, right, cause it is a little bit of work. Right, we wanted them to take the, take the class, sit down on the first day. But we also need to incentivize them to get their butt in the chair, so to speak. So really making sure the format is right. What would help my person easily digest this? What would make them say, oh yep, that's doable.

Speaker 2:

It's not the challenge, it's the playlist. It's not a 60-, it's the playlist. It's not, you know, a 60 minute training on welcome sequences. It's the welcome sequence already written for them, madlib style, right? Oh, that seems easy, liz. Yep, I'm in. So really making sure you know, hey, what do they need on that first day of class? And how can I make it? You know, like that seventh grade math teacher that just somehow always had us working with Skittles, you know, like I was just excited, even though I hated math, I just loved working in her class because she always had candy or incentives or games. Right, thinking about it from that perspective, that's going to help you convert your lead magnet AKA actually get people to sign up for it.

Speaker 1:

Brilliant. I love that. What are some of the ideas that you've seen? Either you've used them and they've worked, or you've seen other people use them that have worked. Maybe things that people aren't thinking of, some creative ways or unconventional ways to build your list, or unconventional ways to build your list.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so collabs are the best, and maybe that's not something you haven't seen, but I'm telling you, if you don't hear it when I sing, you know I'm being real. That's your signal to listen up. A pattern, interrupt right. Collabs are great, Even something as simple as a freebie swap. So you share my lead magnet, I share yours. You know, I see this, but I don't see it enough. Right, this is just a super low lift, low effort thing. The key to it, though, is networking right Is getting people like oh hey, I met Melissa. I met Melissa through a lady named Deanna. Right, we did an email intro, and I mean, I had kind of known about her, I think she had kind of known about me, but now we're friends, we're talking right, we're in each other's communities. So, making sure you can find those connections to do the freebie swaps those are so, so freaking simple. If you learn nothing else, please do the freebie swap. Get out there and say hey, will you share mine, I'll share yours, and that's just so low lift.

Speaker 2:

Another creative way I've been seeing people grow their list is, honestly, with QR codes. Right, when you're doing a you know online thing and you know you have the ability to change your background, putting your QR code in that background. That leads to your lead magnet, right? You're doing a summit, you're doing a podcast, you're doing a YouTube live, you're doing a Facebook live. How can you get your QR code in the background, Even if you print it out, right? If you're like oh, I'm not techie, Liz, how do I get a QR code on my Instagram live, Print it out and put it in the background If you're not watching the video, I've got my calendar, I got the fresh prints Childish Gambino, NSYNC's back there. I'm covering them up. I need to get my QR code back there, right? Because that is just such a good way to grow your list.

Speaker 2:

When you go to in-person events, putting your QR code as the background of your phone is so, so smart. My sister actually gave me this idea and I'm going to pull it up. Right? If you're watching the video, you can see like I literally have it ready and available. So when people you know, see, I literally have it ready and available. So when people I'm networking at in-person events and oh, yeah, oh, Liz, what do you do? Oh, I need email marketing help. Oh, join my email list. That's the best way. That's the best way you're going to get me. And oh, here's a cue. It's on just my background screen, I don't have to pull it up nothing.

Speaker 2:

That's so fun, right it? Just even thinking about it makes you smile. So, really, taking advantage of QR codes and you can make them in Canva. Now y'all, gone are the days where it's complicated. Thank you Canva, thank you ChatGPT, thank you Melissa, thank you Liz. We're making this simple for you. So QR codes are really underrated. The collabs?

Speaker 1:

especially the freebie swaps, are really underrated. I love all those ideas. It's so funny because I've been an entrepreneur for eight, nine years. Now this is my third business and I did your list building live summit. Was it a summit? Do we call it a summit?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was like a little mini audio summit.

Speaker 1:

It was so good, all these different interviews with people with different ideas of how to grow your list, and one of the ones that I listened to was about the freebie swap and I was like how did I make it this far and never either A hear someone say that or B think about it myself?

Speaker 2:

Melissa, I am shooketh Y'all. If you are not watching the video, you need to, because I literally had my job. I did not know she was going to say that, because that's one of the very first ways I started growing my list in my travel blog, I was like, oh well, I have a freebie. I don't know if I read it or if I came up with it. I mean, obviously I didn't come up with the freebie swap but I was just like, oh hey, camille, will you share my freebie? I'll share yours. I've got a hundred people on my list. And she was like, oh well, I've got 50. I'm like, okay, let's swap. And the beauty about those are, you know, it borrows trust, right? If Melissa tells you join Liz's list, I love this freebie. When you join my list, I have a little bit of trust already built in because you came from Melissa. So it's, you know, it's more than a Facebook ad, right? Yeah, I love that. Another. I'm so glad you brought up list building live. That was a little summit I did in March 2025. But somebody was talking about in it. Gosh, I lost my train of thought on. I got it. I got it. Oh, just asking your current email subscribers. Uh, you know, hey, can you share my freebie with your people? Right, and there's technology that does this nowadays. But you could literally just ask. You don't have to spend two thousand dollars on spark loop, okay, you can just ask hey, I'm giving away this thing for free, do you mind sharing it? And that was something. That's how I got my first thousand subscribers.

Speaker 2:

I think I was stuck at 800 for a few months and I was just so frustrated, like, come on, I'm doing all the things, how can I do this? And I had an ebook that I usually charged between five and $10 for. And this guy was like, why don't you just give away that ebook for free? You know you're you're trying to sell the book. Why, if you really want a thousand subscribers, that bad, just give it away for free. So I created a landing page you know, normally $10 or whatever it was at the time, giving it away for free and I emailed it out to my subscribers because I mean, I had already tried selling it to them. Some people bought, some people didn't. So I said, hey, if you don't have a copy yet, here you go, you can sign up over here on this landing page.

Speaker 2:

But you got to do me a favor. Send this to one of your camping buddies, right, because I was in the camping industry. Oh my gosh, I got like 1500 subscribers. I almost doubled my email list and I said this is only going to be available for the month of February or whatever. Right, and for 30 days or 28 days, right. I said, you know, please share, please share. Just every time I emailed. Please share this, please share this Anytime. I would go in a camping group. Hey, I'm giving this away for free, free, free, free. You know, and I, yeah, I was able to almost double my email list. So that's another thing, um, that I just recently remembered, and I actually think I'm going to do that with my membership. Give it away for free for like 48 hours, um, and see what happens, cause I'm always looking to grow my list with fun, creative ways too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that would be awesome. Those are really great ideas. I love those. And are you gonna do List Building Live again?

Speaker 2:

Yes, next in 2026. I think I'll do it every March.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so y'all are going to have to wait a while, but until then this podcast will tide you over, or you can just go join email marketing membership, and then that will also tide you over.

Speaker 2:

Amen $9.

Speaker 1:

All right. So let's talk about some common mistakes that you see people making when they are trying to grow their list, especially organically, like without using paid ads.

Speaker 2:

When you're trying to grow your list and I say it with love on your landing page, nobody cares about you. A big mistake, and I say it with love, babe, I really do. They just want to know if this thing, this freebie, is for them. I see too many people with landing pages that are just really long and they have an about me section and it's like I don't care, I just need to know is this going to work for me? Are you talking to me? Is this for me? So, making sure your landing page it should have you in it. Right, I need to know who Melissa is, but I don't need to know too much. I just need to know, like, do I get the vibe right, so to speak, and so you can say a lot in a little time or in as many or in as little words as possible with pictures, even if you just have a picture, that's going to be better than you know five, 10 sentences about why you created this or you know your history and why you're the one right.

Speaker 2:

For example, on my landing page and I'm sure Melissa will link it in the show notes somewhere there's a picture of me with I've got a Will Smith sweater on and I'm pointing to it like making a funny face, and the caption says Will Smith would want you to have these welcome email, swipes or something Y'all. That's obviously untrue. Will Smith doesn't know me, he doesn't care about your business, but it's funny, right? It's like, oh, this lady doesn't take herself too seriously, but I said that without saying anything, right, without any words. And so immediately that's going to attract some people. Oh, this email is so boring, this lady seems funny, I want this. And it's going to repel others to oh, what the heck, this lady cannot be serious, exit out, right. And so, again, the big mistake I see people making is just making that landing page too long. You just wanna address people.

Speaker 2:

And again, when you go to my landing page, you'll see it says hey, you're building your email list, now what? But you don't know what to send them, right, send them the welcome sequence, right? So I'm talking directly to you. If you're not building your email list, you're like oh, I landed on the wrong place, exit out. So just speaking very directly to that exact person is really, really gonna help. Worry less about describing the freebie and more about describing where your person is right now and how the freebie very quickly can help them get that next step. You know, hey, this is your first day in class. This is what you need. This is what we're going to do. This is why Come on in.

Speaker 1:

I love this interview so much because everything that you're saying about email marketing is like a version of what I say about networking. Like I see people do the same thing when they introduce themselves at networking events. It's like I read a statistic once that in the first 7 to 11 seconds of you talking, people decide if they want to keep listening to your law. Like 7 to 11 seconds is not a lot of time and I can't tell you how many people spend the first 30 saying I'm board certified in blah, blah, blah and I have a certification in this and I'm a this and this and this coach and you know, and like, like you said, no one cares. No, at some point we might.

Speaker 1:

Yes, right, now in the first 30 seconds of meeting you. We just want to know are you talking to us and can you solve our problem?

Speaker 2:

Right, what's in it for me I know that's cliche, but it's so, so true Like, am I in the right place? And what's in it for me? Right? So yeah, y'all we just, when it comes to list building, keeping those top of mind, the same as networking, right, because list building is networking. It's the same, you know. It's just finding your audience, finding people who will, you know, maybe not right now, but will eventually buy your products, your services, spread the word for you, you know, invest in you, do the work you ask them to do, share with their friends, right? That's networking in a nutshell, right? Like, how can I find people who will help me find more people? Right, that's all your list is. How can I find people who will help me find more people who will buy? So, yeah, everything that Melissa says. Just think about it, you know, regarding email list building, and you'll be golden.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love what you said too about the authenticity piece of it, and like the outfit that you're wearing in the picture and like the joke that you think is funny, because I mean it is funny. I didn't mean that you think it's funny and no one else does, but where was I going with that?

Speaker 2:

I don't know.

Speaker 1:

When I introduce myself at networking events a lot, or really anywhere, I'm like really awkward. People think I'm really funny and they're always like you're so funny. I'm like I'm actually not that funny, I'm just like really nervous. And when I'm nervous, a bunch of weird shit comes out of my mouth and for some reason, you guys think it's funny, but like I just let myself do that and be that person, and I didn't always because and this is part of why networking in a lot of spaces has gotten so weird as everybody feels like they need to show up as this, like polished, perfect, professional. I'm so successful, I'm so smart, I have an altogether person and I feel like when you show up, like you do on your landing page or like I do when I'm nervous and I introduce myself, yes, there are plenty of people that are like oh my God, what is this lady? And no, and then there are plenty of people that are like I love her, she's hilarious, this is my vibe, I'm in right, and, and both are good things.

Speaker 2:

Amen. I recently sponsored a food blogging event and I went and these were advanced bloggers, so they, you know, they had it going on and I I did, I think like 22 sessions in one day, like one-on-ones, and just looking at their welcome sequence and I would say 20 out of 22 of them because I was in person with them I would say, you know, oh, this is a great welcome sequence, but I don't know who Melissa is, right, I don't know who Shahar is. Where's Lakeisha? I've been hanging out with Lakeisha all week but I don't see her in this welcome sequence. And oh, you know, I was trying to be professional. It's like okay, but especially food bloggers, and I would, I would point to the room. I say you are one of thousands, hundreds of thousands of food bloggers, but you have what makes me want to follow you, right, and what's going to keep me around is that little, that personal stuff. It's not that professional, polished. You know, welcome to my kitchen or you know whatever it's. You know it's what makes us unique, is going to make us stand out, not only in the inbox but at networking events, on social media, et cetera. It's what's going to keep us going. It's what's going to help people share our stuff so we grow even more. You know those unique things.

Speaker 2:

My silly joke about Will Smith, you know, before Melissa and I hit record I was like I'm so sorry I forgot a hat. You know, like that's just something unique about me. I always have something on my head. You know, I always say it's part of my work uniform, right, that's unique. There are a million and one email marketers out there, but Melissa asked me to come on the show, right, because I have a unique perspective, a unique look, a unique personality. So don't be afraid, even in your list building, to put that out there, because you know, eventually you can try to hide, but eventually your true self will come out. And you don't want to build an email list of people who don't know the real you. You want to build an email list of people that are like, yes, I love those corny jokes. Liz tells yes, I love that Melissa gets awkward when she's nervous. Because so do I?

Speaker 1:

right, that's what we're trying to build yeah yeah, and you build trust with people when they see you showing up consistently, right, if I read what you put on threads. But then I read your email and then I meet you in real life and all three of those sound like different people. Now I'm confused about who you are and whether or not I like you and whether or not I trust you. So that's part of it too. With email is like I don't want to meet you at a networking event, get on your email list and then all of a sudden I'm like wait, this doesn't sound anything like the lady that I met at the networking event. So that piece, I think, is really important too.

Speaker 2:

So, so important. I always say you know, share a little bit of personality in your emails and on your landing pages, right, but the personality a lot of people get tripped up. They're like, oh well, I'm a private person. It's like, okay, well, you wear your personality. We all wear our personalities, right? Like you don't have to be this crazy extrovert. You know tropical colored shirts and yellow background like Liz Wilcox, to have a personality you can. You know it's. Are you a little awkward when you're nervous? What TV shows do you like? What's in your mug today? Do you have a mug or are you a super nice glass girly? Those surface level things can go a long way in relating and keeping you memorable and keeping your business around for a long time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. This reminds me of the conversation, the interview that I did with Deanna Seymour for this podcast, speaking of personalities, and it was all about using gifts in your marketing. And I started using them more after I did that interview and I felt I feel like that's a great way to just interject a little bit of your personality, a little bit of your humor, your style, what you like, what you think is funny, and so there's a lot of different ways to do it too.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I love that. I use GIFs all the time, like in not every email, but you'll see one in. You know my welcome sequence. You'll see them in at least one email a month. But I make my own because I want people to see my face right, especially online. You know we can network, but it's so much better when people you know know what you look like, especially when you're building an email list. If they just found your landing page on Pinterest or something, they might not even know what you look like. So putting a picture or putting a GIF really, really helps with that personality piece, really helps with that connection, which will help with conversions later, for sure.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that you're calling it a GIF. And I called it a GIF because I remember in the interview with her we talked about what is the correct pronunciation and before I started talking about it, I was like shit, what did she say was the correct pronunciation? And I just went with.

Speaker 2:

GIF. I think GIF, the guy that created GIFs says GIF, but I would argue, even though I say GIF, I would argue that GIF is much more popular and probably what is like well known as the correct pronunciation. I just say jif because sometimes I have an accent, depending on who I'm talking to, and so sometimes it's like wait, what did she say? So I've just gotten the practice of saying jif, so it's not confused.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome and that's the lore on that. Anyway, back to email. That's awesome.

Speaker 2:

I love that and that's the lore on that. Anyway, back to email.

Speaker 1:

Is there anything? I mean, there's a lot that goes into list building. There's no way we can cover it all this morning, but is there anything that I haven't asked you about or that you haven't gotten to talk about that you feel like this is really important for people to hear when it comes to list building?

Speaker 2:

Yes, if I could leave on any note, I would love for you to know that there are a million and one email strategies for growing your list out there. I mean, melissa just said we could talk forever about it, but you've got to go with the one that feels good for you, right? Because list building it's a long game. You're not just going to go oh, I'm going to focus on list building for six months and suddenly you have 100,000 people on your list. It's a long game. It's something you have to do over and over. It's why I said, yes, of course, melissa, we'll be doing list building live again, because I need to be doing it every year, because you need to be doing it every year. And so, when it comes to what strategy you should pick, go with the one that fits what else? Your personality, right?

Speaker 2:

I've mainly grown my list with podcasts and summits. You might think, oh gosh, I could never do a podcast. You think Melissa gets nervous, you don't even want to see me, right? So pick the one that fits your personality, that fits your style, because this is something you're going to have to do over and over and over again. So make sure it feels good to you. If Pinterest feels good. You're a visual girly, you know you could play around in Canva all day Pinterest would be great for you. If you're someone who loves to network and you're really good at it oh my gosh. Doing collabs, getting on summits, hosting your own events or getting on podcasts, freebie swaps those would be good for you. So, making sure you pick the thing that's like yeah, I could see myself working on that for the next 90 days. Go with that. Brilliant, love it. If people wanna know more about you, I could see myself working on that for the next 90 days.

Speaker 1:

Go with that Brilliant, love it. If people want to know more about you, if they want to grab that freebie that you have, the welcome sequence thing is awesome. If they want to join email marketing membership, which is also awesome, what's the best way for them to connect with you, follow you, learn about you?

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh. She finally asked Yay, of course I'm an email marketer. I would love to help you grow your list and grow mine at the same time. You can go directly to lizwillcoxcom. There's a hot pink button in the top right hand corner. You can't miss it.

Speaker 2:

You're going to get that welcome sequence that I've been talking about that you will definitely need as you grow your list to introduce your subscribers to you and your products. So you're going to get that welcome sequence. You're also going to get three newsletter samples so you can show, or you can see, how to get people to click, how to get people to reply and how to get people to buy directly from your newsletter. And if that's not enough because I really want you to email and I know writing from scratch totally sucks you're going to get 52 subject lines for a year full of emails. So that's the welcome sequence three newsletter samples and 52 subject lines. Lizwilcoxcom hot pink button you can't miss it. And of course, melissa has mentioned my $9 a month email marketing membership. That's where I write your weekly newsletter for you. You can take and make it your own Mad Libs style. You can go directly to lizwilcoxcom. There's a yellow button at the very top. You can check it out there.

Speaker 1:

Awesome, love it. Thank you so much for being my guest on this podcast. It was great chatting with you and shared a lot of awesome information and things that I think people can start doing right away to start growing their list, so thank you very much.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. Thanks, melissa, and I can't wait to see what we all do with email marketing.

People on this episode

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Melissa Snow

Host