What did your first email sequence look like? What tips do you have?
April has been using email for quite some time now, while Angie is just getting started. With April’s guidance, Angie is setting up her first email sequence. You get an inside look at what she included and how it is set up.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. You don’t have to purchase them through our links, but if you do, it helps us pay for the costs of the podcast and blog!
Switching from Mailchimp
Angie has been collecting subscribers with Mailchimp for free but recently passed into being charged. She wanted to get things set up and going but wanted to decide first on which company she would go with. She ultimately decided to go with ConvertKit after hearing from so many people how easy it was. She found it super easy to move her list over and it took less than 5 minutes! Now, she is ready to get moving on making it worth the cost.
April started on Mailchimp, as well. Then once she reached 2,000 subscribers, she switched to ConvertKit and didn’t like it. She then went over to Mad Mimi and was happy there for awhile but it was not very user friendly. It was cheaper but she wasn’t seeing it convert to sales. She had about 6 sequences set up. She began getting frustrated with Mad Mimi because she couldn’t see the data that she wanted to see. (You know how we love data!)
She decided she wanted to improve her sequences and change up her site. She went back to ConvertKit. She reworked her site with a new theme that integrated her opt ins and resources how she wanted. April is very happy with how things are going so far with ConvertKit.
Reasons We Love ConvertKit
- Ease of use. We find it user friendly and could set up our first opt ins quickly.
- Data. We love the additional data given that was missing before. We can see all the conversions for each opt in to easily see which ones are working for us.
- Deliver-ability. With a more simple email, it tends to get into more inboxes instead of junk folders.
- Rules. You can create almost any kind of rule we could think of.
- Sequences. So easy to set up, get going, and track.
- Automated. Once set up, it can run itself! Love this…the more we can automate, the happier we are.
If you’d like to try it out for yourself, you can get one month FREE by clicking here. We’d be happy to help get it set up for you. April is currently making 4 times what she is spending on her list!
Opt-In
Angie decided that her first sequence was going to be for her huge holiday close reading bundle. She already had a freebie for it. She decided to use the same freebie as on TpT except she beefed up the freebie to include even more enticing goodies to get people to opt-in! It was helpful that Angie was able to re-purpose something she already had so she could get right to the setup. Angie picked this bundle because it will cover the cost of ConvertKit if she sells just one per month.
What did Angie do with her opt in?
- Wrote a blog post filled with content and included to opt-in for the freebie. She put the opt-in at the bottom of that post and any related post.
- Made an image and put it in my side bar.
- Put it into a pop-up that only shows on desktop when it anticipates that the viewer is about to leave.
- Made a landing page for the freebie to send people to from social media. You can see what that looks like by clicking here.
Angie said that it helps to play around with it and set up each form type so that she could better identify when and where she would use each type. She was able to set them up rather quickly once the images were made.
Why email?
- Give them a freebie.
- Show them how to use it.
- Explain why they NEED more.
- Get to know them.
- Help them out.
- Then, maybe they’ll buy your stuff.
Angie’s Sequence
Disclaimer: This is how we set up our emails. If you hear something that you think won’t work for your audience, don’t use it. Everyone’s audience is not equal. What may work for one may not work for all. Test and retest!
Once they opt-in, they get the resource immediately. ConvertKit makes this SO EASY! This action then adds them to Angie’s close reading sequence.
Angie has drafted 6 emails for her first sequence.
Email 1: Just a follow-up email to make sure they were able to download the freebie and it includes a link to the freebie if they need it.
Email 2: Helpful tips for the freebie. That’s it. She also links to the freebie again in case they still haven’t downloaded it. She wants them to use it and love it so she wants to make it super easy for them.
Email 3: About me and she also asks if they have any questions or need any help with the freebie. She talks about her education and what makes her qualified to help them with this. She also links to her TpT store and other places they can find more. (Thanks to some tips from April.)
Email 4: Ways to use close reading. Almost all content for using close reading with any passage and then I link to my resource at the end.
Email 5: The same info as in the blog post about 6 ways to make close reading engaging and a link to the blog post for if they want to read more. One way to make it engaging is my resource and I link to my bundle here.
Email 6: I wait a few days and ask them if they have any questions. I also link to the bundle here for those interested. Thanks to April’s suggestions, Angie has added some positive reviews to this email as well.
As Angie writes more blog posts, she will continue to add to and beef up this sequence. Some of these emails would even make great blog posts, too!
It does’t matter how small your list is, you can continue to grow and build your list while setting up your automation. Start with one and continue from there.
April’s Sequences
April has a few different sequences based off of some big product lines she sells. Her biggest email sequence focuses on training teachers on project-based learning, so many of the emails explain how to implement a piece of it in their classrooms.
In this sequence, she is selling individual lesson plans, a full course, and her book, all while giving teachers great information on planning and implementing this type of instruction!
April uses Thrive Leads instead of the ConvertKit forms on her blog. They give a little more customization, and you can set them to automatically show up on posts depending on the category you choose, which is a time-saver!
In case you want to see how we do it on our blogs:
- April’s Blog: Performing in Education
- Angie’s Blog: Fun in 5th Grade
We’d love to chat more if you join us in our Mastermind Group at www.growwithusmastermind.com
If you’d like to try it out ConvertKit for yourself, you can get one month FREE by clicking here. We’d be happy to help get it set up for you.
