The particular One-Subscriber Email CampaignPosted by Alvarado Hester on May 20th, 2021 I've heard the same complaint more times than I could count. "I know I have to do a contact newsletter, but it's not getting done." People say this month after month, year after year. I'll admit it; until very recently, I was saying the same thing myself. I finally made a decision to have a closer look at what was really going on, and more importantly, what to do about it. After over a month of strategizing, writing lists of ideas, organizing those ideas with mind maps, and pacing back and forth, I became distressed. I wasn't making any measurable progress at all. Writing content makes no difference unless someone sees it. What was the foundation of my internal resistance? As always, perfectionism was the problem. I finally deducted that, if I wished to get things in motion, I had a need to start with small steps. Coffee at hand, I resolved myself to send out the first email newsletter, come hell or high water. Fourteen days later, I had still sent out nothing. But I had finally identified the perceived threat: I was concerned about blowing my credibility with my entire audience in one fell swoop. I knew that most people would open the first email just because it originated from me, but what about the second email? As a way to drive repeat opens, I'd need to deliver relevance. The answer: I would send a contact newsletter to one person only. Here are a few unexpected benefits to sending out a one-subscriber campaign. Perfectionism loses its power. The greater the audience, the higher the resistance. Would you favour a conversation with one individual, or stand up in front of a stadium to give a speech? If you were giving a public address, can you not feel convenient practicing the speech in front of your friend first? When you begin off with a little audience, you will see your fear diminishing greatly. The penalty for screwing up is virtually zero. Improve quality and relevance by getting feedback. Most likely, after you send out the first email, you'll think of things you might have done better. If get more info send it to someone you understand well, it will be easy to require their feedback on how to improve it also. That is part of why many writers hesitate to share their writing. We all do our best proofreading after we hit the "send" button. Knowing this, we hesitate to pull the trigger. Starting with one person allows us to improve future content without making highly visible mistakes. The process gets easier once you start. Although you may only send a newsletter to a single recipient, you've done the main part: you've started. The next step is always easier compared to the first step, and the 3rd step even easier compared to the second. Once you're in motion, you're likely to stay in motion, even though you move slowly. Any progress is a wonderful thing. You can set up an account with a mass email distribution service like iContact, MailChimp, AWeber, or Constant Contact. This kind of service will allow you to add visitors to your list at the rate that you choose. You can include one new person to your email list per week. Or, you might begin to feel confident and decide to start adding a lot of subscribers. Regardless, if you simply take the initial step and send the initial email, you will discover your motivation a tad bit stronger than it was yesterday.Like it? Share it! More by this author |