Email Marketing Know How with MiMI Dabo

Q and A with Mimi Dabo

Hi MiMi, I'm Julie, I was watching one of your videos from 2022 where you discussed how to grow your email list and increase your open rate. 

I felt like you were talking to me, and I wonder if you can help.  My goal in my health coaching business in 2024 is to really double down on email marketing.  Every marketing expert says this, but so far, I haven't really paid attention to email.  I got discouraged after spending months doing email without any noticeable results. 

I don't understand.

I've spent the last 4 years trying to get noticed on social media and now I feel like I've missed out on this.  No one is really jumping on my lead magnet and my open rate is about 4%. 

I don't really understand what's at stake when it comes to email marketing and how it can help my coaching business.  But I'm listening now because it seems to be where my heart is leaning in 2024. 

I want my coaching business to be successful and this is a strategy I want to focus on moving forward.  Can you explain how email marketing helps my business and how to make it work for me?  Thank you and I hope to hear from you.  Best, Julie M.

MiMi's Wisdom...

Hi Julie, Thanks so much for your support. I truly appreciate you.  And of course, Happy wonderful new year.  I hope you enjoy double, triple and quadruple of all good things this year.

And as for your email, I've got you.

You hit the nail on the head with email marketing.  It's still one of the best ways to attract and enroll clients into your coaching business or any other service-based business.  And the trend is moving further up in 2024. 

I want to acknowledge you for commenting on your open rate because many coaches focus exclusively on how many people are on their email list, or just on growing their email list, while ignoring probably the MOST important metric in email marketing, aka, email open rates.

Email is one of the strongest marketing and messaging pathways for women coaches and all service-based providers.  And the number ONE metric happens to also be the ONLY key to actually selling in emails.  

And this is, how many people on your email list are actually opening your emails to either read it, click on the buy now button, click on the download lead magnet button, click on the invest now button, click on the work with me button, or simply to hit reply and say hello to you?

Everything thing else is honestly, just vanity metrics and 10 steps away from activating sales.  Vanity metrics costs women coaches nothing but time, energy and shalom.

While you seem to already grasp this, I really want to hammer this home for those of us reading who still wobble around email metrics.  

If your email subscribers are not opening your emails and actually reading them (and clicking on the links), then you're wasting precious time and energy. 

We spend so much time creating value, sharing value and expecting that our community receives this value, and that we make the impact we're here to make. 

But if you're spending hours drafting, writing, sending out these emails and sales information that no one is seeing because they don't open the emails, then.....it's time to change that.

Unopened emails equals No one's reading equals = No clicks = No sales.

Let's start with growing your emails list in 2024.  

Emails are basically a relationship with your audience and potential clients.  People who've raised their hands to step into your community and learn more about you, your services and how to work with you.  

There are a few ways to grow your email list in a way that creates heartfelt connection and meaningful relationships.  Creating a pathway and channel for your potential clients to KNOW without a doubt that you see them, you hear them, you know their deepest challenges, desires and dreams, and your content can support them to create their vision. 

Each of these ideas or ways to grow your email list will work for your health coaching business and any other service-based business.

Valuable Lead Magnets

First up, is the lead magnet, which you've already acknowledge you have.  Is it due for a refresh?  Is the lead magnet you have now the first step into the result you co-create with your health coaching clients? 

Nobody needs another pdf, ebook or quiz that entertains.  If you haven't already, update your lead magnet to provide real value.  Something that stops the scroll and empowers a potential client to see herself in the results of your offer outcomes. 

Because you've given her a glimpse of that first step, and not another generic download.

BOPA

Second is BOPA, which simply means borrowing other people's audience.  This can be in the form of a podcast, a masterclass, teaching in a colleague's mastermind, etc. 

Once you're in front of someone else's already curated audience, you become a trusted leader in your niche or space.  This means those new potential leads and clients are more willing to be a part of community.  You can use your upleveled lead magnet to invite them into your community or create one that meets their specific needs. 

This is one of the fastest ways to grow your list because you come in already sliding up the know, trust and like factor scale.  So, you can skip that dance because their person already vouched for you.

Facebook Groups/Social Media

Next, since you've already invested 4 years on social media, perhaps you can use some of that equity to share your lead magnet in Facebook groups that are open to other coaches sharing their value. 

Answer a few questions, share some value and then add in the link for them to dive deeper into what they're looking for with your lead magnet.  Of course, this only works if you actually have permission to share.

Partner with other Coaches

Is there a peer coach in another niche that you can partner with?  I'll give you an example. 

When I was a relationship coach for women in 2017, I partnered with a business coach for women and I'd send my emails to my list because 50% of the women on my list were also businesswomen, and she'd send my emails to her list because many of the women on her list were either trying to get into a relationship or struggling to maintain their marriages.  

It worked out great for growing both our lists.  We did this for another a month.  We called it monthly guest email spots.  This can work with guest blogging and anything other peer-related support, just as with BOPA.

Summits

Fifth, you can try summits if you haven't already.  These are events hosted by someone else (OR YOU) and you're invited on as an expert/speaker to share about 20 to 30 minutes of value. 

Every coach or summit participant advertises the summit to her list, and you get the opportunity to have 1000s of new subscribers join depending on how many coaches participate in the summit.  

Facebook Ads

I don't know much about these personally, but I know colleagues who use their lead magnets as Facebook ads to grow their lists.  It works for them, but I truly believe that 99% of the time, organic growth works well because those folks are truly committed to being a part of your community.  

Speaking Engagements

Last, but not least, you can grow your list with speaking engagements, live or virtual.  Whose audience can you support?  Where can you share your expertise value? 

Similar to BOPA, you come in with a high-trust factor.

Bonus

If you've already written a book, then use your book to attract more clients into your community. 

Allow your divine wisdom to guide to the pathway or channels that work best for you and the work God is doing through you. 

There are many ways to grow any email list in any niche, but I know any of these will get you up and growing this year.  I trust you to tap into your prosperous womb for the HOWs to come through.

Now, let's get back to those open rates and how can you double, triple and 10X by May 2024.

Your messaging and marketing reach using email puts social media to shame.  It's about 40%, and we all know that traffic quality matters, which is why I'm not a fan of potential clients who show up from Facebook ads.  

Nonetheless, a higher percentage of your email subscribers will engage MORE with your content than they will on Instagram or Facebook, or any other social media because your email list is pulling them from a one-to-many space to a 1-1 space.

Let's get right to the point.  If you want people to know your beautiful heart, and be inclined to work with you, they've first got to open those emails and read your divine message.  And this is where subject lines MATTER. 

I'll share 2 ways improving your subject lines will support your business.

Personalized Subject Lines

Research has shown, and I've seen this over and over again over the last 7 years, that when you use someone's name in the subject line, it connects to the heartbeat.  The familiarity supports them to open often. 

For example, one out of every 3 emails I send out each week, starts with the name of the person; 'mimi, did you know?' or 'mimi, can you relate to this?' or anything you know will make them notice you're speaking personally to them.  

Higher Quality Subject Lines

Better subject lines activate readers to open your emails.  Strong subject lines activate sales.   Knowing who you serve comes into bigger play here because you need to know what makes them curious enough to open your emails.

How do they buy.  Do they make decisions the way you do. 

Do you know and truly understand how and why they invest in your coaching offers? 

Do you know what captivates and activates the Caleb or Joshua in them? 

We love to skip this part of our coaching businesses and focus on the offer or the coaching, but if don't TRULY know our WHO and what, it doesn't matter how fabulous the offer is.  No one will buy.  Online or offline.

So, back to your audience and potential buyers.  Are they more inclined to open email subject lines that create connection?  Maybe personal stories about you, your life, your business, motherhood, your hobbies?  Then share more of those.

Are they more into research?  Then you can lead with what I learned from adding an extra cup of water to my intake daily (For example).  I know some women in my community love these business research-based stories. 

So, I'll send out periodic emails with subject headings like, what I've learned after 19 years in my fashion business or what cold selling jewelry taught me about high-ticket sales.  Something along those lines.  They're always to see what wisdom you've gleaned over time.  And how that wisdom can support them now.

Another option, depending on your niche is pop culture.  I can't even tell you how many emails I've received in my inbox between August and today with emails referencing Taylor Swift, and I'm not even a Taylor Swift fan. 

A lot of coaches have been using Taylor's Eras tours to boost their open rates.  From subject lines like 'my 10K month era' to 'my cardio obsession era' and so much more.  I've even tried one of those out with my list, writing, 'welcome to my billionaire era.'  It worked.

While I'm not going into statistics about open rates, or how high they need to be, all I'll say is that they need to be high enough for YOU to sell your offers. 

High enough for you to know your people actually get value from the messages you share.  High enough to know they actually know about the work you do and the offers you're selling.  There's no competition.

When you truly know your WHO and understand the way they think, then you can tailor your subject lines and email content specifically to their heartbeats.  This is the MAGIC of higher open rates and the key to making sales with email marketing.  Speak to their hearts.  This is the magic wand.

A final note

As you dive into growing your list and increasing your open rates this season, (your email marketing era - I couldn't resist), it is important to recognize that email service providers penalize you for opened emails.  It increases the rate of landing in the spam box instead of the inbox. 

My invitation is to resist vanity metrics and remove anyone from your list who hasn't opened your emails within the last year.  Start with that until you warm up to removing even the 90-day squatters.

I usually send a message out to them, letting them know it's been a while since they last opened my emails and asking them to click this link (usually a link confirming they're still interested in receiving emails) if they want to continue receiving my emails.    Simple and easy.

It's up to you to train your email list to engage with you.  It's up to you to train them to click by actually selling in your emails.  

I hope this email supports you to step into 2024 ready to grow your business with this simple, yet very potent marketing channel.

Have a wonderful and blessed 2024.

Cheers,

MiMi

If you have any questions related to your coaching business, especially related to hight ticket coaching sales and offers, contact MiMi Dabo.

www.lifecoachforwomen.com