“I already wear too many hats in this business. I can’t add email marketing to that pile.”
Sound familiar?
I expect it does.
Most small business owners feel this way, and with good reason.
You’ve Already Got Too Much Going On to Deal with Email Marketing
Today’s headline is brought to you by a podcaster who contacted me about appearing on their podcast, “Merger She Wrote.”
I do a lot of podcasts where I talk about the benefits of email marketing and (of course) sending regular nurture emails.
Here’s what they wrote:
Overwhelm for business owners is a thing. It’s true for businesses of all sizes. I’ve worked with many of them and all of them, regardless of how much they delegate, feel like they’ve got so much on their plate, they’ll never get it all done.
Founder dependency, the subject of this podcast, is also a thing. One of the hardest parts of owning and running your own business is handing things off fully to other people. You always feel like you need to know what’s going on at all levels, because it’s your business. Your baby.
Unfortunately, this desire to be the person who makes all the final decisions and “takes full responsibility” can frequently lead to becoming the bottleneck in your own business. It’s commendable, but it’s a problem. And it contributes to that previously mentioned overwhelm.
Here is my response to this podcaster.
By the way, “I don’t have enough time” is the second most common response I get from business owners when I ask whether they have an email list. Right after, “I never know what to write.”
Founder Dependency Can Hold Your Business Back
I admit, I suffer from founder dependency myself. I’m terrible about letting other people take some of the burden of my business off my hands. Especially the parts I don’t want to do, like bookkeeping and social media.
Part of it is whether or not I can afford the help. A common concern for a lot of small business owners.
Part of it is this sense of responsibility. This is my business; I should be doing it, whatever “it” is. Even when I’m bad at “it.”
This podcaster’s point of their client not knowing how to build a list and even if they had one, writing to them regularly would just be another thing on their weekly to-do list, is totally valid.
But it does all lead back to this “I should be doing it” mentality.
And as everyone who is self-employed knows, if you don’t do the work, the work doesn’t get done.
One of the reasons I started my own email marketing business is I saw how many business owners let marketing fall to the bottom of their to-do lists.
They might run a few ads or post regularly on social media and hope to get a few new customers that way. This can work, but it’s expensive and it doesn’t create a steady stream of business. It entirely ignores at least 90% of potential customers or clients.
Actually maintaining any sort of consistent marketing strategy, especially one that involves following up with older leads that don’t bite right away? That’s not high on the priority list.
Why?
It involves time, effort, and money.
And if you don’t have any of those to give, then nothing happens.
Instead, you go with the customers who are right in front of you, because they’re there and you can make money now. Meanwhile, that other 90% of potential customers, who might not be ready right now but may want to become customers soon, disappear to your competition.
Which means your business can’t grow, because you’re not willing to put the time, effort, and money into staying in touch until those potential customers are ready.
If you’re seeing yourself in this picture and you don’t like it, I don’t blame you.
It’s a common curse for small businesses and it’s hard to overcome.
You can’t make money if you don’t grow, but you can’t grow because you don’t have the money (or time, or effort).
Why I Always Advocate for Email Marketing
I’m going to stand on my soap box for a moment here and remind you that email marketing has the highest ROI of any marketing channel out there at 3600-4200%. That means for every dollar you put into email marketing, you can easily make between $36 and $42.
So, while investing in setting up an email marketing funnel and following up with those potential customers may feel expensive at the beginning… As soon as you start seeing those people say “yes,” it’s worth the upfront expense.
A well-thought-out and executed email marketing system can be that “invisible machine” that operates in the background, sending people to the right place at the right time.
Once that’s set up and running smoothly, all you have to do is find 90 minutes every week to knock out a nurture email to keep in touch with the people who don’t say “yes” right away, so they stay engaged until they’re ready.
That is the ideal.
Reality can be harder to manage.
Most business owners start building an email marketing funnel with the very best of intentions…
Then life, and business, get in the way.
Some get their funnels up and running, but then never get around to writing those nurture emails. So, their potential customers get a great first impression, but never hear from them again.
Some get their funnels partially built, but then give up because the tech is too confusing, it’s taking too much time, or it just doesn’t make sense to them.
All of this is valid.
But it doesn’t solve your growth problem, or your connection problem.
That’s why sometimes, the easiest solution is to outsource your email marketing to someone who knows what they’re doing and can get it done faster, because that is their sole focus.
Like me.
Hiring a Professional Isn’t That Scary
I know from firsthand experience that letting someone else take over part of your business is terrifying.
Do they really know what they’re doing and not just talking a good game?
Can they follow my instructions?
Will they get it “right”?
Will it be as good as if I did it myself?
What happens if this doesn’t work? Have I just wasted a ton of money?
These are all valid concerns. As I said, I’ve been through this myself and it really is scary.
But if it means that you can get the result you want without having to put in all of that time and effort yourself, then it’s one less thing on your plate and one less bottleneck in the growth of your business.
So yes, hiring a professional email marketing strategist, like me, is a good option.
Here are a few things to look for when you’re ready to hire someone to help you get your email marketing system in place:
- Are they familiar with your email service provider and have they used it before? Every system is a little different and if someone knows how the system works, it takes less time and they can make your system as efficient as possible.
- Does this person align with your company’s values? This is especially true if they are writing your emails for you. You are trusting them with your company’s messaging and voice. You want them to express those clearly and honestly.
- Have they gotten good results for previous clients? Ask for references and testimonials. You are entrusting someone with “your baby.” You want to know they’ll do a good job caring for it, just like you would.
- Can they get this done within your requested timeline? Some of this will depend on the expectations you both set for the project. Everyone needs to be realistic and we all have to sleep occasionally. But good communication about when you expect this project to be up and running is important.
Ready to Outsource the “Hard Part” of your Email Marketing?
Creating email marketing strategies, building funnels, writing emails, and setting up automations is what I do all day, every day.
I chose this profession because I love it. I love every part of it, from geeking out about how to make an automation execute a specific task to channeling my inner “you” to bring your words to life in every email.
My services include:
Done-with-You Marketing Funnels: I help you build your own email marketing funnel and we go through the entire process together. I review everything you write and help you automate the system in your ESP and track revenue.
Done-for-You Marketing Funnels: I build the whole funnel for you from lead magnet and welcome sequence to sales page, follow-up emails, and tracking.
Full-Service Email Marketing: I build and run your entire email marketing system, including tracking how much revenue it’s bringing in, so you can focus on the work you love to do, serving your customers and creating your product or service.
Since I mentioned testimonials are important, here is one from one of my Full-Service Email Marketing clients:
I’ve worked with Tanya Brody for several years in a few different ways, including taking her courses and being an original member of her Email Marketing Connection Academy, and have been more than satisfied every time. Now she manages my entire email system, from drafting and scheduling weekly emails to suggesting content ideas to creating and maintaining sales funnels. I honestly couldn’t handle all of this without her. I have a high level of trust in her professionalism and creativity. She is always kind and honest, lets me know when something won’t work the way I think it will, and continually helps me figure out new ways to interact with my customers. 10/10 absolutely recommend.
– Michele Cagan, CPA
I would be honored if you would entrust me with “your baby,” so I can help you bring it to the world in the way you want to see it grow and thrive.
If you’re ready to outsource part or all of your email marketing to someone you trust to get the job done, please schedule a free consultation with me now. No pitch, no pressure.
We’ll talk about where you are now, where you want to be, how to make that happen, and whether handing part or all of it off makes sense for you. If it doesn’t, I’ll say so and tell you the best, simplest ways to do it yourself.
I hope that this email made you feel seen in your frustration about already wearing too many hats. I also hope I can help make that burden a bit lighter, one way or another.
Finally, this week’s pictures are from a recent trip to Surfer’s Knoll beach here in Ventura, CA. Seeing the kites flying (below) made me particularly happy.
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