Should My Podcast Have an Email List?

In the age of social media is email still relvant? If so, how do you grow your list? What makes a good lead magnet? Do I need a lead magnet? This is all discussed in episode 630 of the School of Podcasting

Sponsor: Podcast Engineering School

[1:38]

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Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for “podcast engineer” and saw quite a few options

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What Makes a Good Lead Magnet?

3:23

Thanks to Win Charles from the Ask Win show, Matt Rafferty from the Author Inside You podcast, and Jerry Williams from the FBI Retired podcast for contributing

Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer defines a lead magnet as “a small chunk of value that solves a specific problem for a specific market that is offered in exchange for an opt-in. My buddy (and co-host of the Podcast Review Show) Erik K Johnston did a whole episode about lead magnets. Today we talk about email lists and why you might want to start using one. 

OptinMonster (which is a great tool/plugin for capturing leads) breaks it into seven parts:

Solves a real problem – if your lead magnet doesn’t solve a real problem that your customer avatar has, or if it doesn’t give them something they really want, it won’t work at all.
Promises one quick win – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick win for your avatar. In other words, it should help them to easily achieve something.
Super specific – don’t create a lead magnet about something general. The more specific you are about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert leads.
Quick to digest – PDF checklists tend to convert really well because they are so quick and easy to digest. eBooks or lengthy reports may make your prospects feel overwhelmed.
High value – your lead magnet should have both high perceived value and high actual value.
Instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it is something that can be delivered right away. People love instant gratification.
Demonstrates your expertise or Universal Value Proposition – when someone consumes your lead magnet, it should demonstrate your expertise or your unique value proposition. This helps turn leads into customers down the road.

Here is a list of 69 effective lead magnets (no email required)

Advantages of an Email List?

17:44

The biggest advantage of an email list is you are one click away from your desired call to action, and more than likely you have someone's undivided attention. Most people (hopefully) are not reading their email while driving, etc.

You can email your list directly and not have the information appear on your website.

You are in contact with your engaged audience.

2000 Facebook followers is not the same as 2000 email subscribers

According to a 2015 study, 3.57% is the average open rate. So if you have 1000 subscribers, 35 will open your email

Derek Halpern of Social Triggers sent his latest post to his email list and his twitter account

Here are the results he got:

• 50 people clicked on his link from Twitter
• 1,200 people clicked on his link from his email list

His email list might be twice as large as his Twitter following but it still generated about 24 times more clicks.

Even your grandma has email.

Where To Start?

21:38

Mailchimp is many times the place you start. Why? It' starts free (but if your list grows can be expensive).

There are many, many companies out there. I've used Aweber before moving to Convert kit.

Aweber is $19/month for 500 subscribers or .038 cents per subscribers

Convert kit is $29/month up to 1000 subscribers or  .029 cents per subscriber

MailChimp is free up to 2000 subscribers but limits the number of emails sent out in the month to 12,000. If you have 1000 subscribers and wanted unlimited emails per month it would be $15 a month at Mailchimp 

Do I NEED an Email List?

Do you need an email list when you starting a podcast, no. But, I hear time and time again that someone in year three pivots their show in a new direction and really, really wishes they had started an email list.

Be Very Careful With Affiliate Links

Both Amazon Associates (amazon's affiliate program) and Mailchimp have it in their terms of service that sending email with affiliate links is against the rules.

Take the Time To Learn Your Email System

One of the things you should do upon signing up for an email service is to take the time to go through whatever tutorials they have. For example, I use Convert kit and to make a long story short I'm not using half of the features. When I was at Podcast Movement, I went to their booth, explained my situation and the rep show the features I could be using, and show how easy it is to use. With this in mind, I still need to take the time to learn the system. There is no sense spending money on a system that sits dormant. 

Example of Podcast Lead Magnets

Erik K Johnson has 17 Ultimate Podcast Interview Questions

David Hooper of Big Podcast has 25 podcast episode templates (bottom of the page)

Daniel J Lewis has 20 things you should do before recording every podcast episode (right sidebar) He also has an email list devoted to pointing out great deals at Podcastingdeals.com

I have a resource to help you write better Podcast Episodes titles at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/headlines

I also have a video series for those thinking of getting into podcasting that walks you through the first few steps at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/babysteps

The Question of the Month

28:50

If you've attended any podcast event, was it worth it? If so, why? If not, why not? Please send those in by 8/24/18 go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact if you are emailing them in please put "August Question" in the subject line. (and don't forget to mention your show). 

Also Mentioned in This Episode

Without warning Podcast at https://sheilawysocki.com/

Nashville Podcaster Meetup 

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