Why you should embrace your unsubscribers!

"They must hate me!"

If you have an email subscriber list then you'll already have experienced the trauma of an 'unsubscribe'!. Eeeek!!! 😱

Imagine - someone having the audacity to remove themself from MY email subscriber list!

Oh, get over it... it happens every day and it's just part of keeping a clean email subscriber list.

Okay, so maybe I too (at one time, many years ago!) got a little bit upset whenever someone left my list, but I eventually understood why it happens, and more importantly, why I should embrace it!

Let me explain...

Whenever someone leaves your email list (i.e. they hit that 'unsubscribe' button/link) they may do it because of one of the following reasons;

they don't like you (highly unlikely)
they don't like what you share with them (possible, but unlikely)
they no longer find your content relevant or engaging (quite possible)
they have no recollection of ever joining your list and can't think why they did (possible)
they no longer have a need for whatever you share/sell (probably)
they are cleaning up their entire inbox and your email list is just another 'one' (likely)

In other words, it's unlikely to be personal, so you can just accept it and move on, focusing on growing your list.

I get unsubscribes almost every time I send an email out, everyone does. It's just part of email marketing - and I embrace it!

It means that I'm no longer storing the details of that person on my email list (which costs me money), they were probably never going to become a client of mine anyway, and my overall email open/engagement rates will increase as a result - and they no longer get emails they don't want - so it's win/win/win! 🙌

P.S. If you aren't getting any value from my emails, you too should hit that link below and have your name and email address removed! I'll respect your choice and wish you all the best for your business! 👇

💡Tip: The next time you get an unsubscribe, have little internal-celebration, thanking that person for doing a job that would've otherwise have to be have been done by you, at a future date (i.e. cleansing 'cold' subscribers' from your list).

The hierarchy of competence in your business

Everything we learn to do, and know how to do, lies somewhere on the hierarchy of competence, ranging from blissful ignorance to subliminally skilled - let me explain what I'm talking about...

The four phases of learning and levels of competence

It's a psychological framework which explains how people become more competent when learning a skill, and details the four phases they move through.

Let's begin at the bottom of the hierarchy and work our way upwards;

Phase 1 of 4

Unconscious incompetence - this is the phase where you don't know what you don't know. In other words, you can be incompetent at something without even knowing the degree of your incompetence. For example, let's say you were considering starting your first business, but had no idea what needed done or how to do it. During this phase you'll likely make lots of mistakes that you can learn from, moving forward.

Phase 2 of 4

Conscious incompetence - now you're into the phase where you begin to become conscious of things you don't know how to do. Continuing the example of starting your business, you may discover that you need to track your financials, documents like a profit and loss statement, a cash-flow statement, and a balance sheet, but have no idea how to create or maintain them - you're conscious of your incompetence.

Phase 3 of 4

Conscious competence - this is the phase where you begin to become proficient at those things you were previously incompetent, but aware of them. You'll have a good grasp of the skill and of what it entails, meaning you make only a small amount of mistakes while practicing. However, performing at a high level still takes a significant and conscious effort on your part, for example, maintaining those business financials, but still having to check and double-check everything you do.

Phase 4 of 4

Unconscious competence - this is the phase that we're all striving to be in, carrying out tasks that require little effort, can be done without much thought-power and more quickly than in previous phases. We have become so proficient at certain tasks that we can almost do them in autopilot mode, making very few mistakes. This is when you're doing something that you know inside-out, back-to-front, and pretty much able to do with your eyes closed! (okay, maybe not literally!).

So, in summary, your target is to get yourself into phase 4 for as many things as you possibly can, that help you to have more successful business and life!

💡Tip: List the main tasks that you need to carry out in your business, and see which phase you are currently in for each. Then do whatever you need to do to move yourself upwards, into phase 4 for each one!

Was he off his rock-er, and would you have invested?

Back in the 1970s, a guy called Gary Dahl (below) had a brainwave of a business idea - he decided to collect rocks from beaches around Rosarito and Baja California (the US-Mexico border area), and sell them as 'Pet Rocks' for $4 each! 😳

Yes, you read that correctly - he picked up rocks from the beach, put them into a box, and charged $4 for each one. And not only did he do that, he did it so well that he became a multi-millionaire! (He made the equivalent of $46m in today's money, by selling 1.5 million rocks!).

He'd been talking to friends and colleagues and he repeatedly heard about the challenges of looking after their pets - so he decided to create a pet that required no care whatsoever! (even though he included a 36-page instruction manual for how to make your rock "come over", "stay", "roll over", and "play dead").

Until this point, Dahl had spent most of his earlier career as copywriter and editor, based in California, which explains why he chose the beaches he did!

So, no matter how wacky or outlandish you believe your business idea to be, don't forget that Gary managed to convince millions that they should buy and own a bit of rock that he collected whilst walking along the beach!

Cheers,
John

If we're not already connected on LinkedIn, then let's fix that now!

If you're new around here, let me give you a brief intro to who I am and what I do;

👋 Hi, I'm John, a freelancer with 30+ years of experience in software development, business start-up and growth strategies, and digital marketing, specialising in email marketing.

I help service-based freelancers grow their businesses by showing them how to effectively implement an email marketing system that'll bring them leads, prospects, and new clients, complemented with proven success strategies for solopreneur-type businesses.