EP 284 — Email List Growth for Coaches: The #1 Thing That Could Be Holding You Back
Email list growth for coaches is essential if you want a steady stream of clients and consistent income in your business. But here’s the truth no one talks about: if your emails aren’t getting delivered, your client list won’t grow - no matter how many subscribers you have.
In this episode, I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes story of what happened in my own business when my email deliverability tanked (and cost me thousands!), and the steps I took to fix it.
If you’ve been struggling with slow email list growth or poor engagement, this episode will show you how to:
Avoid common mistakes that hurt your email deliverability
Choose the right email service provider (and why I recommend Flodesk)
Keep your emails landing in inboxes, not spam folders
Use simple systems to send emails that actually support your coaching business
Your email list is one of the most powerful assets you’ll ever build as a coach. Make sure it’s set up to actually reach the people who need you most!
You can sign up for Flodesk here: https://flodesk.com/c/DEBBIESHADID
Connect with Debbie:
Website: https://www.debbieshadid.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbieshadid/
🎙️ Listen to the podcast: Life Coach Business Building School: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/life-coach-business-building-school-with-debbie-shadid/id1502118085
Don’t forget to subscribe for weekly episodes on coaching business strategy for women over 50, tech tools for coaches, and simple business growth strategies that really work: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz6RS8kQGMLJqJrK9uKdjtg
#DebbieShadid #LifeCoachBusinessBuildingSchool #CoachesOver50 #WomenCoachesOver50
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Transcript
Today, I am gonna share with you why delivery of your email is one of the most important things in your coaching business. I'm gonna talk to you about a decision that you need to make about the type of software that you're gonna use to deliver your emails. I trust Flodesk, and that's what I'm gonna talk to you about today because when you use flodesk you're much more likely to have your emails reach the right people.
I'm Debbie Shadid. I have helped thousands of women not only just build and grow profitable coaching businesses, but I have sent thousands of emails over the years to clients, to people who register for my workshops, And to people who are just starting to engage with me. Email is the lifeline of my business, and it will be the lifeline of your business as well. I have had amazing results using Flodesk and it is what all of our clients use, but This year I had an experience that completely changed how I see email marketing, and I wanna share that with you. I have to tell you a story about something that I had never heard anyone talk about. This year I learned the hard way, the importance of using a quality. Email service provider for years. My emails had been getting a 50, sometimes 60% open rate. People got their consult reminders, their workshop invites, their free offers. Everything worked beautifully. Then, almost overnight that all changed. I moved to a new email service platform, not Flodesk, but a different one, and my email rates dropped to 6% in just a matter of weeks. Now when you're sending emails to thousands of people and you're used to 50 or 60% of your people opening every email, and it goes down to 6. You know you've got a problem. It was really difficult and it wasn't about the subject line. The problem was, is that the provider that I was using was using subpar servers. Now, I know I'm getting techy on you, but imagine this, when you send your email out, it goes through a server, And if the server is not a quality server with good filters on it, your emails could end up with a group of emails that are flagged as spam.
Now, we know there's all kinds of people who send junk emails or who steals email lists from somebody else, and their emails end up being spam. So if you use a subpar company to send your emails, your email could turn out like mine and end up not getting delivered. That's how my email open rate. Went from 50 to 60% down to 6%. It's not because I had changed my message or my subject lines or anything else, it's because they were not being delivered into the people's inboxes. This is why I'm more passionate about Flodesk than ever. do you know? That's possible. Have you ever heard of this? In all my years of business, I've been using email marketing since 2002. I had never heard of this, and I don't know anyone who also has ever experienced this. My email was actually blacklisted. Yeah, that's as bad as it got. if you have somebody who scheduled a consult, you want them to get the reminder. People who scheduled consults with me were not even getting their reminders. People who attended my workshops and signed up for 'em were not getting their invites. People who signed up to get my free Canva training, were not getting the free graphics that I promised them. Can you imagine what that would do to a business? Well, I can tell you it was not fun after all of my years being in business with a great reputation. I had people that started saying,
Hey, listen, I signed up for your thing and you didn't give me the graphics, for the Canva workshop. Yeah. You didn't send 'em to me. And I'm like, well, yeah, I did send them to you, but you know what? They were not landing in their inbox or even in their spam folder. I actually had emails that were automatically going to people's trash folder. This is why I recommend to our clients that they use Flodesk, and I have used Flodesk actually probably since the beginning of Flodesk.. Not only would it cost you sales if your emails don't get delivered, but it also damages trust, and we know that in a business like we're in trust is essential. So for me, it was heartbreaking when I had people who said, Hey, I didn't even get my reminder for my consult. I was like, what do you mean you didn't get your reminder? Our system had failed me and I don't want that to happen to you. Once I realized what has happened, I could take action to change that, and we did. We moved away from That email service provider back to a platform that we trusted. and that's why I'm talking to you today about Flodesk. we know again about subject lines, about automation, about design, but what you hadn't heard about, I'm sure, was these subpar servers and how you want to work with a quality email marketing company, and that's why I'm here to talk to you about Flodesk.
I also wanna talk to you about the beauty of Flodesk.. Not only does it provide for excellent deliverability, right, my emails could actually reach people's inboxes, but beyond that, here's why I think Flodesk is really a perfect solution for coaches, especially those of you who feel like you are tech challenged, is that you, first of all, the design is beautiful. It's very similar to Canva. If you guys know how to use Canva. you'll almost intuitively know how to use Flodesk, so it's easy to use. Also, their designs are beautiful, modern, very spacious, very clean, very professional, which is very important to me. They're simple to use. They are affordable. They fact, right now, when you sign up for Flodesk you can lock in your pricing. Before the prices go up, so there's no crazy tiered pricing. You lock in at a certain price and that is your price for always. They also offer forms and workflows. Now, what is a workflow? That is a series of emails that if somebody signs up for something, like if you sign up for my workshop, you're gonna end up in a workflow. And you're gonna get a confirmation email that says, Hey, thanks for signing up for the workshop. Then you're gonna get the reminder emails. We're starting in one hour, we're starting in five minutes. Then you're gonna get the automatic email that says, here is the replay. That's called a workflow. your emails need to be able to deliver the freebies. They need to nurture new subscribers, like show 'em some love because they joined your email list. And all of that happens in one place in Flodesk. It is everything a coach needs. It truly is an all-in-one starter system.
And I'll tell you, there are people in this industry that have massive email lists that are still using Flodesk. So it is not only easy to use, it also is something that you can use as your business grows and develops. So honestly, after what I went through, I can tell you that I have peace of mind with Flodesk and I could highly recommend it. So here's the takeaway. Deliverability matters in emails. Not only having the right subject line, not only having the right content in your email, but also having a trusted, reliable server that can send out your emails where you know it's so much more likely that it will end up in their inbox. All of us today are facing challenges with email deliverability And that is thanks to our friends at Google, like through Gmail, they're filtering things into promo folders, You guys know how that works. But with a reliable email company like Flodesk, you increase your odds that your email's gonna end up in the primary box. I do wanna give you one pointer. If you are doing email marketing and you're offering freebies. I do recommend that you tell people to check the promo folder or even the spam folder. In our Canva training, which I'd be happy to share with you guys. You can comment the word Canva or send me a DM and I will send you that, but in that training, I actually in the very beginning and at the very end I say.
I'm gonna send you a gift of 30 days of social media graphics. Be sure to check your promo folder and your spam folder in case this does not get delivered to your main inbox. you guys have to do the work and let people know that even when you have a very reliable and dependable email service provider like Flodesk.. Deliverability matters. You can do everything right. You can send the best emails with the best subject lines, but you have to protect your business. You have to protect your reputation. You have to choose an email service provider that you can trust, and I can endorse Flodesk. It's been an amazing tool for all of our clients.
If you've been struggling with email deliverability or if you don't even do emails. Please consider Flodesk I can tell you that it's an amazing platform to get started with. It is simple. It's beautiful, it's reliable. It comes highly recommended by me and so many of our clients. I'm gonna. I'll be sharing a referral link. It's an affiliate link, so you'll be able to save some money and I'll make a little money, but it is highly recommended. So click on the referral link in the show notes, or I wanna invite you to go over to YouTube. I'm gonna leave a link right here. I have actually a full how to training that I just did on how to use Flodesk so you can see for yourself before you buy it. Go over, check it out. See what it's all about. And again, I would love it if you'd use my affiliate link to save 50% off and to make me a little money as well. You guys, thank you so much.
Just remember, your email list is one of the best ways that you can grow your coaching business. I would say that is actually the one thing that creates the most revenue, the one marketing tool above anything else that creates the most revenue for my business. So I challenge you. To get busy on email, and I want you to pick a great provider like Flodesk, remember, your email list is one of your greatest assets. Treat your email list with care. Make sure that you use a tool or a software provider that will support you, that does not sabotage you, like the experience I had. Now I've shared with you the details of what happened with me, and I have to tell you, it was a heartbreaking experience. now you know what to use Flodesk. I trust it and you will love it too. that's it for now. You guys have a beautiful week. Make sure you follow me on YouTube and go look for that training on Flodesk. And then last thing, you can comment the word Canva and you can get our Canva training for coaches and you can hear how I recommend. Our people to go look for the email in your spam or promo folder. Okay? That is all for this week. You guys have a beautiful week. We'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye.
