8 Emails You Can Send That Aren’t About Your Latest Blog Post

I’ve been in a funk lately.

I’ve lost my mojo and my creative juices have dried up. But, wait! That can’t happen to a mommy blogger!

As a blogger, we always have to be online and growing our tribe of followers, right?

#realitycheck

That’s not always going to happen. Especially for mompreneurs. We have a house to take care of and children to nurture (on top of your blog + biz). And if you end up taking too much on your plate – I’m guilty of this every month – you’re going to run out of energy.

But, this is the worst time to run out of energy or creativeness. You’re growing a new blog, trying to grow your list and eventually wanting to create a product or service.

So, what do you do when you haven’t blogged in two weeks (or more) and you have a growing list of subscribers wanting to hear from you?

You can’t just send them your latest blog post when you don’t have one.

Your Subscribers Want to Hear From You!

I know, this might seem like totally not true when every time you send an email you get like five or more unsubscribes. And if you have a large list, it’s more like 12 or more every time.

But, none of that matters.

You know why?

Because the people who unsubscribe aren’t your target audience. They just subscribed for your freebie and nothing more. Or, they subscribed but the posts just aren’t jiving with them (this is a sign that you need to niche down).

No, you don’t want them, so it’s a good thing when people unsubscribe from your email list.

What you want are raving fans on your list. They want to hear from you. They want to know what’s going on behind the scenes and they want to see what’s happening on your blog.

 

Those are the subscribers you want.

And if you don’t email them consistently – it can be several times a week or once a month, as long as it’s consistent – your subscribers might forget about you and find a new blogger to follow.

So, how can you keep your fans excited about you every week? Here are eight emails you can send to your subscribers even if you haven’t updated your blog in a month.

1. Create a Welcome Series

A couple months ago I found Meera Kothand’s blog and had several tabs of her blog posts open on my browser for weeks.

#badcomputerhabit

I discovered her post on how to create a welcome series and decided to create one for my Twins Mommy list. I’ve never created one before so this was all new to me.

But the advantage to having a welcome series is that it can be automated and sent to all new subscribers.

This can act as a way to filter out subscribers that aren’t your target audience. The set up is like this:

1. They opt-in to your list via a lead magnet or content upgrade
2. They receive your freebie (Email 1)
3. The next day (or whatever hours/day you want to space your emails apart) they receive your first welcome series email (Email 2)
4. The next two emails are spaced 1 day apart (Emails 3 and 4)
5. The final welcome series email is sent a week later (Email 5)
6. Your new subscribers join your list and get notified of new posts and news

In my welcome series I’ve made sure that they don’t get more than one email from me in a day. Since I regularly email my subscribers on Thursdays, my welcome series is sent out on all days except Thursday.

The great thing to having a welcome series besides the fact that it can “screen” your subscribers, is that it gives you time to work on your blog and biz while your new subscribers are reading popular posts and learning more about you and your blog.

But what about the subscribers that have finished your welcome series? What kinds of emails can you send them?

2. Send a Tools Email

One thing you can do is send an email that describes all the tools you use for your business. Depending on which email service provider you use, you can even use affiliate links in your email (MailChimp doesn’t really approve of this practice).

I subscribe to Allison of Wonderlass‘s email list and I received a tools email several months after I subscribed to her list.

I LOVED this email because it had so much value to help with my blog. From editing tools for photos to a tool to create PDFs, workbooks or eBooks and it also mentioned her Facebook group.

While this email is probably strategic for Allison (she’s growing her Facebook group and earning some income from her affiliate links), it’s a great email to give to your subscribers, especially if they are new to blogging and growing an online biz.

3. Show a Quick and Useful Trick

Let’s face it:

We are moms and we don’t have time to do every strategy to grow your blog or email list or income. We only want to do the one best strategy to get us ahead.

Well, wouldn’t it be cool if an email like that was in your inbox? AWESOME!

Giving your subscribers exclusive tips and strategies are what helps make your list elite. It will also lower your unsubscribe rate and it will help strengthen your relationship with your subscribers.

Candis of Smart Mom Blogger sent an email that showed a useful trick to get more attention on Facebook. It was something I never thought of so when I read it, I knew Candis is someone to learn from.

Getting these emails are awesome for your subscribers so think of neat tips and tricks you can only share with your list members.

4. Give Away a Freebie

One of the best emails to get – in my opinion – are freebie emails. Isn’t it nice that after a few months of being on a newsletter that you suddenly get a freebie?

It rules!

You know it’s exclusive because either the blogger tells you or you haven’t seen it on their blog. I belong to Neville Medhora’s email list. He’s a copywriter for AppSumo and he teaches great tips on copywriting on his blog.

I always love his emails since they are sort of playful, conversational and just dang funny. He also has some great email subject lines that make me open his emails – go figure since he is a legit copywriter.

Every now and then I get emails with freebies. I don’t realize it until I click on the link and notice it’s not on his blog. One email I got recently was for a problem solving checklist. These freebies are awesome for writers and bloggers and I always snatch his freebies when he sends them.

5. Repurpose an Old Post

Want to know a secret?

You can use an old blog post and repurpose it as an email. It can be pure value with or without links.

There are several ways to do this:

1. Repurpose an old post and make that your email. Provide no links.
2. Repurpose part of the post and then direct your subscribers to finish the post on your blog .
3. Repurpose several blog posts into one email.

This not only saves you a ton of time, but to a new subscriber that hasn’t read all your blog posts, this will be like reading a blog post as an email.

While some subscribers may not like this approach (some people just don’t like 1000-word emails or just don’t have the time to read a long email), a lot of subscribers do like this and welcome a story or a new trick.

For example, with my other list – over on Elna Cain – I often repurpose several old posts and create a value-based email. One email I sent was titled: Three Things to Help Your Freelance Writing Biz and in my email I gave my subscribers three solid tips.

Doing this is great when you haven’t had time to update your blog or are doing more marketing like guest posting to grow your brand.

6. Tell Them About Your Guest Post

I haven’t done much guest posting simply because I’m writing a lot on my two blogs. But if you have a guest post (or client-based post) that relates to your subscribers, why not let them know about it?

This is a great opportunity to show your subscribers credibility and expertise in your niche. For me, since my niche is digital marketing, anything that relates to that I can share with my subbies.

Francesca Nicasio of Be a Freelance Writer, emailed me and told me about her latest guest post over on The Write Life. Since I’m also a fan of that blog, I appreciated her telling me of her post there.

7. Promote Your Latest Webinar/Podcast/Video

I’m sure you get these emails all the time right? Especially if you belong to influencers’ email lists in your industry like Melyssa Griffin (my secret #girlcrush).

But if you’re wanting to do a webinar or podcast or even just to a quick video, this is a great opportunity to tell your subscribers first. This is a perk for being on your list.

Something Melyssa did was do some webinars to promote one of her courses. You didn’t have to sign up to them, just be on her list.

8. Feature Other Bloggers or Blog Posts in Your Niche

One thing many bloggers do is sort of a round up of the bloggers or blog posts they felt helped them on their journey to success. Your entire email doesn’t have to be this one big feature, but you can do a personal update and then do a feature section.

McKinzie of Moms Make Cents recently started featuring other mommy bloggers in her newsletter. This is great since one of the best things you can do is network with other mama bloggers in your niche and feature them!

There Ya Go!

There are a lot of things you can tell your subscribers about. But, sometimes when you’re creative tank is on low, it’s hard to come up with some ideas.

Here are eight emails you can send to your list and still keep them happy and informed. Now it’s your turn – what types of emails do you send to your subscribers?

Grow Your Email List the Right Way With MailChimp