After my previous blog post about building an email list, several readers emailed to ask, “OK, I have a list — what should I do with it?” Good question! Here are a few ideas…
Provide Helpful Content
THE absolute-most-important thing you can do is to provide content that is of interest to your subscribers. When chatting with audience members or meeting planners in your niche, keep track of the specific questions they ask.
Those questions will provide you with an endless list of topics and content for your newsletter. This blog post is a perfect example of that… readers sent in the question and here you are, reading the answer!
Keep in Touch and Be Consistent
Many speakers have asked me how often we should reach out to our subscriber list. It could vary dramatically, depending on your speaking niche, but a good place to start is every other week. Listen to the feedback from your subscribers — that’s how you’ll know how often they prefer to hear from you.
Be consistent in what day & time you send — Tuesdays & Thursdays are considered the best days of the week. HOWEVER — as always, it’s critical to keep in mind who your subscribers are. If people in your niche are more active online on other days of the week, consider sending your newsletter then. Same goes for time of day.
Share Your Successes… But Be Humble
It’s not about you. It’s about them — your audience, clients, and potential clients. It’s entirely possible to “brag” in a humble way. For example, in your ‘what’s happening’ section of the newsletter, you could say, “What an honor! I got my very first standing ovation last week when I gave my signature keynote at ABC Association’s national conference!” or “My new book, <title>, is coming out this Thursday. I’d be thrilled if you’d share it with your industry friends who could benefit from the info on <niche>.”
Can you feel the difference between those examples and something like this… “I got a standing ovation last week when I rocked the stage at ABC Association’s conference. They loved me!” or “Help me promote my new book, <title>, so it’ll be a #1 Seller on Amazon! Tell your friends to buy only on Thursday!”
Big difference. Yes, you rock. Yes, you’re awesome. Just share the news humbly and people will love you even more.
Remind Them that You’re Available to Speak
The goal is to make it as easy as possible for potential clients to invite you to speak. So, be sure to include links to your ‘speaking topics’ page or your contact form in multiple places throughout your newsletter.
Share a link to your sizzle reel or preview video. Include a thumbnail image to make it more enticing to click. Announce a new keynote or workshop with an interesting title and description.
Simply say, “Need a speaker for your next event? Click here to…” or “Looking for a dynamic <your niche> speaker who shares tons of helpful content? Contact us today…” Be creative and get them thinking about how they can use you when you come to speak for them.
I hope these ideas are helpful to you. If you’re like me, you get dozens — sometimes hundreds — of emails each day. A well-done, creative, information-packed newsletter that reflects your unique personality is what will help you rise above the noise.
Cynthia works closely with emerging professional speakers as they grow from speaking as a hobby to getting paid to speak full-time. In addition to creating websites exclusively for professional speakers, she consults in the areas of online presence & credibility, public relations, and content & product creation. She is passionate about helping speakers share their messages while impacting thousands of people around the world!
