Email Is Not Optional

There is very little in this world, especially in the digital age of business, that you actually own. Your email list is pretty much it.

That being said, it's not about "hoarding" an email list or "collecting" subscribers. You have to actually be willing to email them regularly.

I get it, you're probably thinking "I don't want to bother them," so you're only going to email once a month or once a quarter. With that kind of gap, you're potentially bothering them more, because they've probably forgotten where you came from.

I have companies that email me daily, heaven forbid some multiple times a day, and while I'm not part of that camp (unless we're in the homestretch of a promotion or deadline), I am a firm believer that a weekly email is a good pace to connect and remind your clients you exist.

Don't Have Email Software?

If you don't have a website, choose an email software that lets you build stand-alone opt-in landing pages, something like Kit or Flodesk. If you already have a website, you can add pop-ups and forms to, you should have a much wider range of software to choose from.

Ultimately, you want a software that lets you collect emails and send both automated emails and bulk mailings. That's it. That's the bar. Stop overthinking the platform and start collecting addresses.

What Goes In a Weekly Email?

Your email should have:

• A connection piece that reminds people you're human (but keep it shorter than you think)
• Something of value
• An action, whether that's an article to read, a social post to interact on, a podcast to listen to, an event to sign up for or an invitation to book a call and their vacation

Here's what that looks like in practice. Say “The Amazing Race” is on, your email could open with something like this:

"Last night I was watching ‘The Amazing Race,’ and they were racing through Athens, Greece. Something that really caught my attention was how few people were in the background. It got me wondering what time of year they film. Did you know that depending on the time of year you travel to Greece, it can have a significant impact on the crowds? Shoulder season, for example..."

That's a connection piece (you, watching TV, being a human) leading straight into value (shoulder season crowds) that sets up an action (consider shoulder season for your Greece trip).

If they only book one vacation a year, 51 of those emails are not going to trigger them to book a call. And yet a lot of advisors stop emailing after three or four emails that didn't get them a booking. You're not selling toothpaste. You are in the high ticket, top five expenses of life. This is not a weekly purchase. Your marketing is about building a community to connect with, so that they remember you when they're ready to convert to a sale.

One Story, One Email

The biggest problem with email is that we think we've only got one shot, so we try to cram everything in. Flip that. Think of it as sending shorter, single-thought messages more often. Look at the story you want to share. What's the moral of it? If there's an "and" in it, you've actually got more than one story, which means more than one email.

For example, if your oldest recently went off to university, you might be thinking about how little time you have left with them, how hard it is to coordinate schedules now how differently they travel now compared to when they were five. That's multiple stories. They don't need to be told all at once.

Your connection piece should be a maximum of five sentences, no run-ons, before you move into why it matters to them. Just like “The Amazing Race” story connected into shoulder season and who should consider it, your story needs a bridge to something about them, not just a recap of your week. This is not a holiday letter where you tell them everything you've done since the last one. Your connection story needs to be about them, not about you.

PS: notice what I just did there? Always use a “PS,” you may be surprised how many people read the top line and then skip down to the PS.

PPS: write like you're speaking to one individual, not a mass market crowd.