How I use Woolworth's 'Pick and Mix' in my email marketing...

Improve your email marketing...

Let your subscribers self-select their pathways

Remember pick'and'mix?

You know, the sweets that come in all shapes and flavours, and you fill your bag with whatever takes your fancy - an idea introduced by FW Woolworth, way back in the day.

It takes me right back to 1977, wandering round Woolworths on a Saturday morning, looking to see what I could get with my pocket-money! (and yes, we all ate a few as we filled our little paper bags, when nobody was watching!)

Where am I going with 'pick and mix' in an email about building a profitable email-first business? 🤔

Well, this is how I like to think of it when designing an effective email marketing system.

I like to have many options for subscribers to choose from, and not just a one-size fits all system.

When someone joins your email list as a subscriber, they're likely going to have challenges, goals, and questions that are unique to them and their business.

Example

When a subscriber joins my email list, they normally have one of three main challenges when it comes to email marketing;

1. They don't know how to get started.
2. They struggle with the technology (e.g. Kit).
3. They have tried email marketing but have no strategy and therefore aren't getting the results they hoped for.

Based on these initial struggles, I can help them overcome their top challenge. And that's great, but what next?

Well, that's when the power of self-selection kicks in.

Once I've helped them overcome challenge #1, I'll ask them, either overtly using a poll or survey, or more subtly* with embedded email links that will lead them to accessing the content they want.

*an example of a subtle embedded link could be... "...and if you'd like to know more about how to grow your email list, check out this video here." - anyone clicking on the video link would be given the option to opt in to an evergreen sequence that teaches ways in which to grow a clean and engaged email list.

By making this a continual and purposeful process, I allow them to guide themselves down whichever paths they choose.

And just so you don't get disheartened when designing yours, this is something that takes time to build over months and years - it's not a day-1 thing!

Start with the basics, and grow slowly for the optimum subscriber experience.

Nerdy fact...

In preparation for writing this email, I took the time to identify every pathway I have available in my email marketing system and fed it into Chatgpt so it could calculate how many possible 'combinations' there are, based on options and the number surprised me - it's over 24,000!

So, the chances of you, as a subscriber on my email list, experiencing exactly the same journey as another subscriber is quite small.

Introducing a Kit feature...

Embed Spotify podcasts in your emails

Kit has a built-in email element that lets you embed a Spotify podcast directly inside your emails.

By clicking the little '+' icon (or typing a forward-slash '/'), you can pop up the menu and select the 'Spotify' element, and insert the link to whichever artist, album, playlist, or podcast you want to share.

With the element embedded, you can then add the link to whichever podcast you want to share with your email subscribers.

How to add the link

Firstly, copy the link from within Spotify. Navigate to whichever podcast you want to share, copy the link and have it ready to paste into Kit (see below).

Now, insert the Spotify element into your email and add your podcast link;

Once inserted, the link will render and show you the artwork as supplied by Spotify, just like the example below;

So, now I'll finally share with you the actual podcast episode that I've been using in my examples above - the podcast link below is the result of having done what I've shared above; (this one is clickable👇)

UGG's Secret Weapon: The Pow... Apr 30 · Lean Marketing 41:24   ​

P.S. This is a great episode from Allan Dib's 'Lean Marketing' podcast, where he chats with Brian Smith, the Australian entrepreneur who made his fortune with UGG Boots. His story makes for both an inspiring and interesting listen.

P.P.S If you're not familiar with Allan Dib, he's the creator behind the renowned '1-Page Marketing Plan' - another great book to add to your reading list!

It's available from all the usual places, including Audible if you prefer the audio version.

Tech you might find helpful...

Free tools to manage your images and PDFs

I've been using these two toolsets for years and sometimes I forget just how useful they are, to the point where I use them every day without even thinking about them.

They're two websites called Iloveimg.com (for all image needs) and Ilovepdf.com (for all PDF needs).

Started in 2010 in Barcelona, Spain, the small team of engineers and designers have slowly crafted many tools and features, many at the behest of the user community, to provide a suite of tools perfect for solopreneurs.

I use their free plan, however, they also offer a premium plan if you have needs that exceed their free limits, for £9/m.

The feature I use more than any other is their compression tool, allowing me to reduce the file size for any images or PDFs that I add to my emails.

And in case you're not aware, when sending emails to your list, ideally you want to keep the email size below 102kb as that's the limit above which Google (and other ISPs) will 'clip' your email - in other words, any content after 102kb will not be seen by the recipient unless they click to manually load it.

Here are the links to each of the two websites, if you're interested in using them;

A podcast guest appearance I recently made...

With speaker, educator, author, and podcast host, Jeff Bradbury

Recently, a fellow-Kt user, Jeff Bradbury got in touch with me, inviting me to be a guest on his podcast show (The Jeff Bradbury Show), which I was delighted to accept.

Jeff has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the education space and has been podcasting since 2011 (back before it was even a 'thing'!).

During our chat, we discussed all-things email and Kit-related, and how solos can up their game by adopting an email-first approach in their businesses.

You can check the episode out below;

Unlocking Email Marketing Su... Jun 8 · The Jeff Bradbury Show 35:41   ​

Answers to your questions...

How long does it take to set up an email marketing system?

This is a question I'm often asked, so I decided to create a short video to give my answer (and show you how to do it!).

​ Watch the 33-minute tutorial video

What questions do you have right now that you need answered? Hit the button below and let me know...