Build an Email List People Want to Stay On

As you build your email ecosystem, there's a feeling I want you to try to build for your audience.

And that feeling... I don't know exactly what it is.

Is it love? Inspiration? Admiration? Curiosity?

I find it difficult to pin it down to one emotion.

But last week, I felt this feeling and was compelled to reply to the email from a mentor who has unknowingly helped shape my life and business.

Here's what I said:

"[Name], it’s difficult for me to express how much I love the work you do.

I’ve been in your (and [Name 2]) world a long time.

(Hmm I’m curious when I first joined the list!)

And oh my days, there’s nobody I love learning from more. Not everything you do clicks with me, BUT, there’s never a moment where I feel like I want to leave your wonderful world.

What you create resonates deeply with me and I just want to thank you for that.

I picked up Scott’s book based on that Q&A session you do. And oh boy, I’m hooked.

Learning has never been so fun.

Well, anyway, I appreciate you, your thoughts, your dedication to knowledge and everything else.

From a 29-year-old in Scotland still trying to figure out life…

… thank you.

Best,
Paul"

I joined this guy's email list back in c ~2015, and I've been paying attention for most of that time.

(That's 11 years I've been reading his emails for. This is why building relationships with your audience is important)

Throughout that time, his emails, Q&As, ideas and random recommendations have become a fairly constant presence in my life.

I’ve bought his stuff. A lot of his stuff.

Gone down rabbit holes because of something he mentioned in passing.

Had ideas rattling around in my head for days because of something he wrote.

And probably spent a ridiculous amount of money on books because he told me they were worth reading.

About a month ago, he recommended another book that I ended up buying. Within a few pages, I was hooked.

And I had this weird little moment where I thought:

Bloody hell. How many things have I read, learned, questioned or changed over the years because this one person decided to share what he was learning?

So I replied to his email with what I shared above.

Now - I didn’t want anything from him, and there was no clever reason for sending it.

I just realised that someone had been positively influencing my life for YEARS… and I’d never told him.

That weird little feeling is the result of doing marketing that feels good for you and your audience.

That's why I'm obsessed with it. And that's why I teach people to build these email ecosystems.

If we focus on making a positive difference first, then everything else (like sales) happens downstream automatically.

That doesn't mean you can throw out all your strategies and just base your marketing on 'pure love, bro ✌️'.

But go upstream and figure out your ultimate goal. Then work from there and reap the rewards of making a positive difference in the world.

When you do it this way, business is so much more fun.