One of the things that’s been coming up with a few of my private clients in the past couple of weeks concerns email—specifically, the fear many practitioners have about writing “too often” to the people on their list.
What practitioners worry about is that showing up frequently in someone’s inbox will make that person unsubscribe.
To understand that unsubscribes are a cause for celebration, it’s useful to think about how your list becomes one of your most valuable business assets. It’s generally agreed that who your subscribers are is far more important than how many you have... so which people are the ones you think should be on your list in the first place?
A. People who are like your best clients, know they have a problem or difficulty you can help them with, are looking for help and may be interested in getting that help from you.
B. As many people as possible with as many problems as exist on the planet.
C. People who don’t know they need your help—or who know or suspect they need it, but don’t want it.
D. People who are intellectually interested in your modality—maybe even fascinated by it—but have no intention of working with any practitioner to experience it.
Did you pick “A”? That’s my answer because the people in that group are much more likely to become your clients than any of the others. When they do, you won’t have to convince them or feel “salesy.”
The truth is that someone who doesn’t want to hear from you is most likely not in the A group—in other words, not your current or future client. What’s truly great about them is that they figured it out and got out of your mental space.
When the people who know they are not a fit leave your list, they make it easier for you to interact in a meaningful way with the people who want to hear from you… want to know more about you, what you do and how you can help them.
People who want to hear from you are not going to object when you show up in their inbox once or twice a month—or even once a week—with information that helps them!
Here are a few celebrations that come from focusing your effort on the people who want you to write to them:
- It’s easier to think of things to write about—for example, you can answer one client’s question, knowing that most people on your list will be interested in what you have to say.
- Because you don’t have to please the whole world, you can show up as yourself, knowing that the people you’re writing to want you to be exactly who you are.
- You don’t have to please everyone, so you don’t have to stuff down your truth, keep yourself small or hide your biggest gifts.
So don’t worry about emailing too often! Instead, remember that your clients and potential clients want to hear from you. Focus on giving them real value. If someone does leave, remind yourself that the person wasn’t a fit, and celebrate how it helps you pay better attention to the folks who want to hear from you.
Caution!
Don’t take what I’m saying here as a license to SELL in every email you send… People are on your list because they want the value you offer, not an endless stream of emails about how they can pay you!
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