(REBOOT) Liz Wilcox - The Fresh Princess of Email Marketing

VFV Ep 48

[: 00:00:00

I'm just like feeling like, did we just become best friends? So today, ex, I have exciting email marketing for you with Liz Wilcox. And Liz, thank you so much for being here. And if you would tell my guests a little bit about yourself, that would be fantastic.

ow, you listen to an amazing [: 00:01:00

And for every dollar you spend with email, you can get. 40 bucks in return now go, go, go, go. And so, you know, you probably open up MailChimp or convert Kit, whatever the heck you're using and then you feel kind of dumb cuz you have no idea what the heck to write. Well I help eliminate that problem. I truly mean it when I say I wanna make email writing really simple and very effective for you and uh, I'm sure we'll get into that.

t it off, put it off, put it [: 00:02:00

I just opened it. I open up and here you're talking about it, that exact topic with your swipes in there, and I'm like, oh my gosh,

I love that y'all, so what Val was talking about, I have a, I. A $9 a month membership and I send out weekly templates and it's, I love, love, love to hear that. Cuz there's always, there's almost always like one or two people that they're like, this is the exact thing I was just thinking about. And I'm like, yeah, that's called magic. Um, you know.

Exact thing.

you getting a deal? But it's, it's so fun. And yeah, we were talking this week, it was about gathering customer research and asking people, uh, what they, what they wanted from you. But I just find it so fun. I just love. Newsletters. And that's actually how I got started. I was an RV travel blogger.

'all like I did not come out [: 00:03:00

Let me just create this membership. Let me just do it for you or whatever.

I know there's, uh, the times that I've really not been good about it. And I mean, even now I'm still, there's times that I'm falling through. I'm not following through with what I want to be happening, and it's because I get really stuck in my head of who do I wanna be in my emails? I'll start second guessing my personality.

Am I too much? You know, all of that. And that leads me and so many clients when we're talking down, well, I don't know what to write. It's like you have to bring your personality back into it, and of course you don't know what to write if you don't.

Yeah, [: 00:04:00

So the first thing you need, of course, is a little bit of personality, right? We all get those email marketers where it's just super dry. I'm thinking of like e-commerce or if you sign up for, you know, you buy something from like National Football League or something, you know, and then they, it's just not personality even I'm on.

I don't know if you guys, uh, are familiar with this guy, Marshall Mathers, Eminem, slim Shady. I'm on his email list and I mean, luckily he's so huge, you know, he is like the number one rapper in on, in the globe. He doesn't have to have personality, right? He can just. Send the shop link. But you and I, you know, we're not the real slim shady, right?

are not standing up. And so [: 00:05:00

No transport. Uh, you know, I don't care about anything. I'm only. Invested in making email work for you, and I share that constantly. Hey, let's make this email thing work, right? Especially in my membership, almost every email I send out Monday morning, I'm like, I believe in this for you. I believe in this for you, you're gonna figure out email marketing, right?

n emails a day nowadays. Um, [: 00:06:00

Like for me, one of mine is affordability. When. Started, I had, you know, negative $0, so to speak. Right. I really didn't have any money to invest. I didn't have anybody telling me, yeah, you should spend money on that. That's a good idea, Liz. Yeah, you're right. You know, everyone was like, when? That's another crazy idea from Liz.

Surprise. Surprise. Right? And so, you know, I, keeping things affordable is really important to me. So that's something that I share often. And I know there are certain principles that drive the way you do business, and sharing those with your email list is really important.

want you listening. To feel [: 00:07:00

Yeah. Amen. That's right. On my homepage, it's like, it says something like, raise your hand. You know, if you gave Convert Kid a hundred bucks, then you didn't send one dang

Right.

And we're talking about earlier, you know, I mentioned ho for every dollar you can get 40 bucks of return, but that's when you do it, right?

So focusing on that personality, vision, and values, that's gonna help you stand out in the inbox. Oh, I know who Val is. I know what she stands for. Uh, you know, I know a little bit of her personality and I know what she wants to help me with, right? And so then what the heck do we put in these newsletters?

ght on my homepage, I take a [: 00:08:00

Hey, I know you guys, uh, constantly ask me questions about newsletters. Oh, I have this newsletter membership top freaking die. It's not, it's not actually magic, like I said earlier, it's just learning more about your subscribers so you can create products or tweak your current offerings and sales messages so that people actually know, oh, this is gonna help me with that vision.

This is gonna help me get where I wanna go. So inside of those emails, making sure, number one, that people know you are invested. Right. Invested in your business and invested in that vision for them. Saying something like, oh, I just spent an hour listening to a podcast about email marketing. Uh, now I'm gonna write less crappy emails for you.

hows you're invested in them [: 00:09:00

You know, there are 1,000,001 people trying to grab your subscriber's attention that are doing something similar to you. So if you can show you're invested in your business, Hey, I just bought this new laptop. I just spent three hours creating this offer, da, da da da da. That's, they're gonna invest back into you, but you have to show you're invested first.

relatable, right? It's like, [: 00:10:00

Like I'm a huge survivor fan, so for me it's like obviously going to an island isn't relatable, but the people on the cast are the people they bring. They're school teachers. Then they had like a custodian one time, a lunch lady, a flight attendant, you know, people like you and me. I think last season they had a TikTok creator that was really, really, I was like, suddenly I was like, she was my favorite.

Yep.

the gate, right? These are relatable characters. That's what casting does. So in your email, newsletters being incredibly relatable. And note, you don't have to be interesting. You don't have to tell these stories. Everybo. Every other email marketer tells you to say, you can say, Hey, I just got done watching Sister Wives.

eces? And then the third and [: 00:11:00

And you know, most people say, oh, that means I have to email daily or weekly. I can't do that. That's too much Liz. But honestly, if you show how invested you are in the vision for your people and your business, if you become very relatable to them, staying top of mind becomes much easier. Y'all, I didn't email my list last week.

I had just gone through a. Lunch. I was tired. I got really sick. My nephew came into town. I was like, I'm not, no, I'm just not doing it. I need to a break. Nobody forgot about me. That's because I've spent so much time becoming relatable. Investing that staying top of mind actually becomes easier for me.

Yes, and I definitely noticed that because for quite a while I've been telling myself over and over again, I mean, not even quite a while, for like two years, I was telling myself, you know what? We're gonna set a commitment. We're gonna email every day. We're gonna see how this works, and check stats Zoom.

was tired of hearing myself [: 00:12:00

Um, but then I, I, I felt that little bit of burnout, like you said, I was like, Ugh, I keep, this is not sustainable for me, because now it felt like work and then it's not fun, right? It's like, so. Setting in a place that I have related with these people Now, like you said, if I go a few days without emailing, it's okay because they're still gonna open it up.

They still remember who I was that said that's because we've done some work before. Before we stopped emailing.

d, right? Oh, here comes Liz [: 00:13:00

Right. So it's the same as the mailbox. When we go out to the mailbox, I've got three pieces of the mail. Oh, that's junk. I automatically throw that away. Oh, this is a bill. I know. I don't need to open that till next week. It's gonna go over here in the junk drawer or whatever, and oh my gosh, Val sent me something.

I have to open this right away. Right now, Val sent me the same thing every single day, every single week. It was the same package, or it was the same Thank you card. Eventually, uh, I know what's in there. It's gonna go with the bill, right? I'm gonna set it aside. Oh, I'll open that next week when I get to it.

But in the inbox, we know, you know, once it gets to page two, it ain't, it ain't happen in

Right.

next week. Oh, I'm gonna go [: 00:14:00

We want to be. Uh, unpredictable in that content, not in like a chaotic way where, you know, I'm talking about email and then I'm talking about, uh, you know, re my favorite reality star and then I'm talking about this. You know, we wanna be familiar but not predictable, uh, in the best way.

yeah, yeah. Awesome. Um, yeah, so I've got unpredictable down everybody. You, you all know that unpredictable down. No, I, I know one thing that I do lean into is, is you know what, I'm constantly thinking of my email list as part of my community, and I know that that was a nice mind shift change as well, instead of just my marketing venue.

had a switch click where it [: 00:15:00

Oh my gosh. Absolutely. Y'all, not only do replies help you build community, it's good for deliverability if, if Val replies to Liz. And Liz sends an email the next day, guess where that thing is going? It's going straight to the inbox because Val just sent up a green flag, uh, to the internet. Gods that says Liz's emails are important.

So then let's say Roberto joins Liz's email Liz a couple months later because Val kept throwing up those green flags. Guess where Liz's emails going? It's gone in the inbox. So it's really good for deliverability, but it's excellent for community emails. For lack of a better term, it's an intimate space.

of course, start off asking [: 00:16:00

At the top of the hour said, oh, Liz's template was perfect. It, it was, you know, if we could spend a few hours together, what would we do? And then they click A, B, or C. You know, you could even just get people to reply. What would we do? Here are some of my ideas. A, B, C, uh, hit reply and let me know if any of that feels good to you or if you had another idea and getting.

One-to-one connection while emails one to many, turning it into one-to-one is so fabulous. And that's what I mean by friends, and that's what I mean when I can, you know, at the top when I said, oh yeah, you just have a list full of friends. You can basically say, Hey, I know you want X, Y, Z, so I created X, Y, Z.

t seeing people click on the [: 00:17:00

Me too. Yeah, I absolutely adore it. And in fact, I mean, listeners know I'm huge into collaboration and one of the things that's my top thing for collaboration is replying to other people's marketing emails. When they ask, ask a question, I reply to the email I'm, you know, and start the connection. And guess what happens you guys.

I get people like Liz on my podcast cause that is 100% how this came to be. I was replying to switching carts cuz you switched carts back in, you know, a while ago. And I was replying to that, that yet it had already happened and I saw that in there. You're looking to be on podcasts. And I'm like, well hell, I'm just gonna ask what's gonna hurt if I'm gonna ask. And that's how it goes. Right.

d people. First of all, if I [: 00:18:00

I'm looking at those individuals like, oh, LA Kendra signed up. Na Haku signed up. Oh, there go, here comes Roberto again. Right? And I'm like, oh, I wonder who na Haku is. I wonder, uh, you know, what can I say to her to help her understand that I'm invested in email for her? Right? And so I'm not thinking, oh my gosh, I gotta send a hundred people an email.

pick it up when we're ready, [: 00:19:00

Wants to preach to us. Um, so I love email for that reason, and I really, truly love connecting with my subscribers. If you could see me, usually this is the part where I pull up a slide and I have like 10 pictures of me with subscribers and they're all customers too. Um, because I believe customers actually create community, wouldn't you?

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Oh yeah. So, uh, everybody has gone through. If you've been on my list, you already know that. I just, I've like been all in on emails this year, like all in. You also know that I've been online for decades. And the hearing, the message when it's the right time to hear a message is so important.

eels like the time to do it. [: 00:20:00

Um, yeah, like what says, definitely be looking at it. And, and who can I connect on my, on my list? You know, even, even pulling them up. That was one of the beautiful things that happened when I just went through my list. Um, Is backwards of what I would tell any one of my clients because I spent hours going through my list.

ike I just connected with all: 1800

I love that. That excites me

Oh yeah, totally nerding on emails anymore.

Well [: 00:21:00

Why I can spout these, you know, one to 40 bucks, uh, thing is because it's consent based. I said, yes, Val, I wanna hear more about this. Right? And when we, I think what Val's talking about is, you know, removing people that aren't opening from your email list. Those people have just simply removed consent.

do you have? Others we just [: 00:22:00

Somebody sent me a video today and I noticed they had 121,000 unread emails and that's all I could pay attention to. Luckily the video was only like 45 seconds cuz I was like, whoa

Yeah. Cause I'd be like, I dunno what you even said cuz I'm like Molly mo mo

Right, right. Oh my gosh. Austin Powers hilarious. Anyway, so, you know, if, if those 121,000, if those people were being responsible business owners like Val, they would've removed Mike years ago, apparently.

Right. And so it's really important to do those cold scrubs and to also see unsubscribes as someone who's just, you know, they got on the. And they changed their mind. And that is okay. It's not personal. It's maybe it was bad timing. Uh, you know, you just got lost in the shuffle of their other 120,000. Um, and in that case they will resubscribe.

my email list is about three [: 00:23:00

Yep.

So don't take unsubscribe personally.

And definitely, uh, you know, if you wanna learn more about cold scrubbing, just DM me later. Uh, cause it really is awesome. And again, it's, it goes to that consent based marketing and that's what makes Mar emails so awesome and how you can make those real connections with the people that really wanna be.

Yeah. Yeah. And now it's got me looking at. A nerdy looking at it going, oh, okay, well this is so-and-so, and I've never had a conversation with them. Like, that's beautiful. They're opening all of this stuff, but I've never had a conversation. What can I talk about to get them to reply?

r their name too, but of not [: 00:24:00

So, you know, you say, Hey, first name. And then the, hey, you know, friend, like it will replace like first name with friend or whatever. You can actually customize that to say whatever the heck you want. And me, everyone, I don't do this every single time, but you know, when I'm in a especially like goofy mood or something, I'll say, you know, Hey person who should hit reply and tell me their first name.

How you doing? I'm telling you, at least one or two people every single time. Oh my gosh, that was hilarious. You know, my name's Liz. I can't believe you know, that's so funny. How did you know? And you know, we're off to the races. So that's a great way to Val's point of like, how do I get this person to interact?

hose people that. Have their [: 00:25:00

Yeah, even, and even I, I know how marketing goes. I know that they didn't type my name in there. However, there will still be times, and especially if it's somebody, I do know that all of a sudden I'm reading an email and my name's in there and I get this little, you know, that connection, that little instant connection of she talked to me, you

Absolutely.

it's silly.

It is silly and there are some I've seen a lot of, or not a lot, but I've seen email marketers and especially a lot of copywriters, and this is where I'm gonna get burned on the steak one day. They'll say, don't, don't say, you know, Hey Val, hey Liz. Hey Roberto. Don't do that. Like just get into the email.

uld, I would have that small [: 00:26:00

Right? I'm always saying, you know, dropping in real quick, Val, Hey Val, that's what I would do to an actual person I know. And so it's more emphasis for me. On the email than the marketing. Like if you're marketing and you're an, an excellent storyteller or copywriter, sure. You would drop that name and you would just get into, you know, let me tell you about the time.

You know, I don't know. I was thinking stepped in dog poop, you know, like, like, you know, those, all those copyright and they're excellent storytellers and I'm not, I'm not like talking smack, but you know, those emails, you open it and it's like I could feel the squish in my. And, you know, but they don't say their name, you know, cuz it cuts off that, hey, cuz it, it interrupts the story.

ng in your email where it is [: 00:27:00

Which

So I love the

putting your personality in there.

Right, yeah, if you, if you put a personality in there, you. And it also goes to, you know, showing I'm invested and I'm relatable.

Being relatable is really easy. Oh, my fridge broke. Anyway, I'm writing an email because that's what I do on Tuesdays. That is so relatable. And you didn't tell a story, but suddenly I know your fridge broke. And I, which is relatable and I know you're emailing me, which shows that you're invested in me without all the story.

Yes. Yes. Oh my gosh. Alright, we should probably wrap this up cause it's something we could talk about for so long.

I could talk about this forever, and I do. And I do.

Zone of genius in the [: 00:28:00

Yeah, so buckle up. I know you're probably driving, doing the dishes, something like that. Turn it up. This is what I want you to hear when it comes to email marketing y'all. Seriously, when it comes to just life in general. I always ask myself two questions, and this helps guide me. Number one, what would this look like if it was easy?

And chances are, you know the answer it, you might be like, oh, well I would hire someone, but you might not have the money. So I always have a backup question. And number two is, what would this look like if it was fun? And between those two answers, you can usually come up with a solution or a next step action item.

untangle. There's segments, [: 00:29:00

I promised that NA's gonna start to untangle for.

And then you can be nerds like us cause you'll, cause you'll all of a sudden be all in and you'll be talking to everybody about this topic as well and you'll be like, who am I?

One of us. One of us,

Join us on the dark side. It's fun over here. Awesome. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for being here, Liz, and sharing all of your tidbits that everybody's gonna be writing them down, everyone. We're gonna have all of the information in the show notes and especially how to join her membership, um, because.

a be in there. But thanks so [: 00:30:00

Yeah. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to see what everybody does with email. And if you wanna get started, you can just go directly to liz wilcox.com. Hit the hot pink button in the right hand corner. You can't miss it. I'm gonna give you an. Hire welcome sequence already written for you. Three newsletter samples and 52 subject lines, all for free.

Liz wilcox.com. Hot pink button. You can't miss it.

Perfect. All right everyone, I'll talk at you next week.