Did you get off track and now you’re desperately trying to figure out what to send your list if you haven’t emailed them in forever?
Kate, I haven’t emailed my list in a million years! What do I do?
This is one of the most common questions I get on the daily. We all know that it’s important to send our list emails regularly. But most of us (ok like 99.99999% of us) sometimes fall off the wagon at some point. Next thing you know, you haven’t emailed them since dinosaurs roamed the earth. Now what?
Don’t Beat Yourself Up if You Haven’t Emailed Your List
Before we get into what to actually send your list when you haven’t emailed them in a while, we need to address the mental hurdles that come with the territory.
Let’s be honest, it’s kind of embarrassing when you haven’t emailed your list. You might even feel like you want to give up or maybe you’re feeling a bit guilty.
The first thing to do is realize that no one is perfect. Go ahead and accept the guilt and move on. It’s not the end of the world. You’re not in trouble.
And believe me when I say I get this question ALL. THE. TIME That means you’re not alone. Everyone has gone through this.
Sometimes, it’s hard to find the time or maybe there’s just so much going on in your world right now that you haven’t been able to focus. The important thing is that you’re back at it and ready to wow your people again.
Will People Unsubscribe From My List if I Haven’t Emailed Them in a While?
You probably already know this deep down but I’m going to go ahead and say it. You are going to get unsubscribes. No matter what you do, it’s going to happen. Go ahead and prepare yourself mentally.
Of course, I’m going to give you some tips to help cut down on the number of people who unsubscribe but if you haven’t emailed them in a while you have to understand that your email subscriber may have already solved the problem that made them sign up in the first place. Another thing that happens is that they aren’t interested in the topic anymore.
- Maybe they aren’t interested in learning how to grow vegetables anymore.
- What if their little ones have outgrown temper tantrums (for now)?
- Maybe they’ve given up on learning to play the banjo.
These are people who would have likely unsubscribed over time anyway. Just be ok with the fact that you will get some unsubscribers. You can always find more people. The good news is that not everyone is going to unsubscribe, just the people who aren’t really your people anymore.
Should I Send Out an Apology for Not Emailing My List?
Regardless of why you haven’t been sending emails, I don’t recommend apologizing for not doing so.
Um, Kate? Shouldn’t I apologize for not emailing them? That seems kinda rude!
Although a lot of people will tell you that the best thing to do when you haven’t emailed your list in forever is to apologize profusely. Maybe you’ve been told to give some long sob story about why you have been missing in action. I don’t ascribe to that way of thinking.
The truth is, no one wants to hear about all of your reasons or excuses or whatever else is going on in your life. They are already busy with their own problems. Chances are, they’ve completely forgotten about you. You haven’t been top of mind. What they DO want to know is why are you suddenly showing up in their inbox again and why should they care.
That’s why we start out with something positive and helpful for our first email back to a neglected list.
What to Send Your List if You Haven’t Emailed Them In A While
Step 1: Top 3 tools or tips
This first email is great for reviving a dead email list and it happens to be one of my favorite emails to send. This email is great for a variety of situations (like in your welcome series for example) and it’s perfect to send out to your list if you haven’t emailed them.
Email them a list of your 3 favorite tools, apps, or resources.
Now I know this might sound kind of lame. After all, you haven’t emailed them in forever and suddenly you’re going to pop back in their inbox with 3 tools?
When you reappear in their inbox, make sure that you’re showing up with something good. Something that will reassure your list that they want to hear more from you.
Even though the ‘top tips’ email is pretty basic, it shows that you’re someone who is going to share the good stuff so you’re worth hanging on to.
You don’t have to overthink the three things. This could be anything that will solve problems your ideal audience faces. Just make sure they aren’t a random collection of tools. It needs to be geared towards the people that you want to talk to.
- Three apps every 40-year old busy mom must have to lose weight
- Three social media apps that every blogger needs to know about
- Three meal planning tools that will save your sanity
Do you honestly think that people are going to mark you as spam or unsubscribe when you give them free tools that they can use today? No one is going to get mad at that. And remember, don’t let it get to you if you have some people unsubscribe. They have moved on and that’s ok.
Which brings up our next point.
Step 2: Remind them why they signed up
So if you’re a branding expert who loves to help out bloggers you might say something like:
Hey (name)
I know when it comes to creating graphics for your blog, it seems like everyone is using the same old tired stock photos and you want your blog and your brand to stand out and shine!
Here are my 3 favorite places to get stock photos
-link
-link
-link
And in case you’re wondering how I got your email in the first place, you signed up for my free Brand Your Blog in a Weekend Guide. Here’s the link in case you need it again. (LINK)
Again, keep this light and easy. There’s no reason to overthink this part. It’s just a simple reminder (with links) on how you got their email address in the first place.
Step 3: Let them know what to expect in your next email
In the same vein of reminding them why they signed up for your email list, let your subscribers know what to expect next.
This is going to help cut down on your unsubscribers because people are going to be curious and excited about what other goodies you have in store for them.
This can be as simple as “Keep your eyes peeled for next week’s email where I share my absolute favorite tip for …”
Step 4: Ask for a reply
Once you’ve wowed them with some free resources and reminded them why they signed up to your list to begin with sign off with a PS asking them to reply.
You can ask them where they find their best stock photos or what apps they like for social media. You just want to encourage people to really talk to you and have conversations. This is going to help you build rapport with your email list so that later down the road, they feel like they know you and trust you and that makes selling to your list a million times easier.
Speaking of selling to your email list …
The Biggest Mistake You Can Make if You Haven’t Emailed Your List
A big mistake a lot of people make when they haven’t emailed their list in a while is to offer up something for sale or try to drop affiliate links.
Even if you’re giving a huge discount and offering something that would normally be $250 for only $7, now is not the time to try to sell anything.
Give your list some time to warm back up to you. Nurture them and send them regular emails for a month or so before you launch or promote a product.
Moving Forward
Now that you’ve broken the ice and figured out what to send your list if you haven’t emailed them in a while, be sure to go ahead and create an email marketing plan you can stick to. You want to keep your emails consistent going forward.
You may find that you are more consistent if you write out a few newsletters at a time and then schedule them to go out later. If you’re stuck on what to send, go ahead and get 2 years’ worth of strategically mapped out email ideas right here (for free!).
However long it’s been, just go ahead and do it. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Remember that you only need to be brave for five minutes at a time and hit send.
Talk about a blog post coming right on time. I literally blew off cobwebs from my email list this week and am scheduling my first emails in who knows how long it’s been. Thanks so much for the tips!