In 2021, I took the newsletter sign-up off my website. From then on, the only way someone could join was to purchase something from me. In this article I share what lead me to stop using freebies, and what happened to my email list (and sales) as a result.
— In this article —
How people enter your list matters
When I started working for myself, I followed the standard advice. Grow your email list quickly with a lead magnet, then nurture people through an email sequence and regular newsletters.
I grew my list to a few thousand people within a year. I sent my newsletters — but when I made an offer, very few people bought.
That got me curious. When someone unsubscribed, I’d look back at how they’d joined my list, how long they’d been there and whether they’d engaged with my emails.
The freebies that grew my list the fastest were also the least likely to lead to sales and the most likely to result in unsubscribes later. In many cases, people hadn’t even opened the free download.
Like everyone else, I’d made it so easy to sign up that people could do it in seconds and forget they ever had.
The ‘Who the heck is that?’ moment
One day, while clearing my inbox, I came across emails from someone I didn’t recognise. I remember looking at their name and thinking, ‘Who the heck is that? And why are they emailing me?’
I traced it back to a freebie I’d picked up, probably from an online summit or social media post. I vaguely remembered the resource, but definitely not who offered it.
That made me imagine someone seeing my name in their inbox and thinking, ‘Who the heck is Danielle Gardner?’
They’d signed up because they wanted the download. They’d barely had a chance to get to know me or how I think.
I saw the same pattern when I took part in summits and bundles. I’d get a spike in subscribers, followed by a dip in open and click-through rates. A month or so later, there’d be a wave of unsubscribes.
What I really wanted was for people to see my name in their inbox and think, ‘Oh, it’s Dani Gardner. I wonder what she has to say today.’
Nurturing people before they subscribe
We’ve been taught to grow our email list quickly with a lead magnet, then nurture those people with email campaigns until they buy. But my journey was compelling me to question that advice, and instead ask ‘What if I nurture people before they join my list?’
That question lead to the decision to stop using freebies and lead magnets, and removing the option to subscribe from my website altogether. Instead, I put my time into articles and videos anyone could read or watch without having to hand over their email address.
I decided I wanted to build trust with potential clients by being helpful up front. I wanted to give them the opportunity to experience my thinking and how I approach the situations they’re facing. That way, when they did join my list through one of my offerings, it was a very conscious choice.
What happened when I removed my freebie
I wasn’t sure a buyers-only list was the wisest business move, but it felt right. I clicked ‘Save’ and felt a wave of satisfaction.
What I hadn’t anticipated was what would happen to sales. The following month, sales of my tiny courses doubled.
In hindsight, it made sense. A lot of people were visiting my website every week because of my articles and videos. They’d spent time with my thinking. And since they couldn’t passively join my email list, a percentage of them decided to buy what they needed right there and then.
Having an ecosystem of discoverable content that leads people to my work played a significant role in this outcome. If I didn’t have the website traffic I doubt I would have seen such a big difference in sales when I moved to a buyers-only list
Small list, big results
Has this decision slowed my list growth? Absolutely. My list has hovered under 1,000 people for several years. By industry standards, that’s tiny. And yet that list has helped me bring in over six figures a year while working in a way that leaves room for the life I want.
I’d been led to believe I needed a huge list to earn the income I wanted. This advice is based on the assumption that only a small percentage (around 2%) of subscribers buy, in which case thousands of them are needed to make the numbers work. But returning to my earlier point, how someone enters your list matters.
These days I think much less about growing my list. I’m more interested in having people on it who actually want to hear from me. And when someone unsubscribes, it feels a like a cleansing of sorts, and that room is being made for someone who is ready for my work.
Making your own email list-building decision
If your current approach is bringing in subscribers who rarely respond or buy, try changing one thing about how new people join your list. You could spend some time publishing work people can find, try a small paid offer or make the sign-up a little harder.
If you’re starting from scratch, I’d begin with one question your clients bring to you and write or record your answer somewhere people can find it. That gives them a way to get to know how you think before you’ve made a free download or decided what you’ll sell first.
Curious about what else I’ve questioned?
You’ve just seen how this works from the reader’s side. You could read the whole article without giving me your email address. I wrote a tiny book about the other assumptions I’ve questioned in the way we’re taught to market.
It’s called Quiet Marketing. Each chapter ends with a Quiet Act of Rebellion, for you to bring into your own business. It’s available as an e-book and an audiobook.
Finally, I'd love to know what's been most useful for you here? Let me know in the comments.
Danielle Gardner
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