It’s no secret that having a solid email list is the key to building a successful business, and one that stands the test of time. But, the idea of building your email list can still feel overwhelming and confusing for a lot of new business owners. Today, I’m going to break down exactly what I did to add 20,000 new email subscribers on my list in one year…no paid ads required.
“So the key to your business success is in the email list and the primary goal of your business should be to get people on your email list so you can connect to them in a meaningful way there.” – Shawn Mynar
“It takes seven times for someone to take action on something that they’re interested in. They need to hear way more than you think they do.” – Shawn Mynar
“You cannot be afraid to talk about your freebie a lot. It is okay, it is part of being in business, it will change your business so much and it is not annoying.” – Shawn Mynar
“Know that you are providing a service, something so valuable for someone that needs it and they’re not going to know just because you post about it once every few months. It needs to be very regular, very consistent, very often.” – Shawn Mynar
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It’s no secret that having a solid email list is the key to building a successful business, and one that stands the test of time. But the idea of getting people on your list can still feel overwhelming and confusing for a lot of new business owners. Today, I’m going to break down exactly what I did to add 20,000 new email subscribers to my list in just one year, no paid ads required. So let’s dive in. Hey, there, I’m Shawn Mynar, and this is unstuck entrepreneur. I’m a former nutritionist who turned a struggling stressful nutrition practice into a thriving, Freedom filled online business way work from home in my sweatpants while reaching and helping 1000s of people all at the same time. Now I’m obsessed with showing other heart centered coaches, practitioners and solopreneurs how to build a business and life they love. Consider this podcast your safe space to learn both the inner work and practical strategies required to build the impactful profitable business of your dreams, no hustle, grind, or long hours required. That’s right hustle culture. not welcome here. Let’s get into today’s session.
Hey, hey there, friends. Welcome back to the unstuck entrepreneur podcast. Thank you so so much for being here. As I’m sure you know, by now, I am so grateful for each and every one of you. And for everything you do to support this show. We’ve got a juicy episode ahead of us today. But first, I have an invitation for you. I am hosting a free live business building workshop. And you are invited. It is happening February 14 2022 at 11am Mountain Standard Time, and it will be hosted on Zoom, it will be live, we’ll all kind of hang out, I’m going to share seven ways to actually make money in your wellness business. So yes, this is for wellness practitioners, you know, nutritionists, health coaches, personal trainers, therapists, energy workers, physical therapists, I could continue continue going on and on, you know who you are. But even if you are not that person, this actually still would apply to you if you are a service based business owner. So feel free to come even if you are not in the wellness space, you will get a ton out of it. We’re going to talk about things like how to turn lurkers into paying clients, multiple income streams that won’t involve more work or more hours from you how to create passive income opportunities, and actual action steps that you need to be taking. And you can take in your business right now today to start making more money. So this really is geared for the wellness business owner who is just starting out, or who has been in business for a few years and is not making the money they want to make, or you haven’t started your business yet, but when you do, you want to be making some money when you do that it is for you. So you can save your seat over at shawnmynar.com/wellnessworkshop. If you want to get the recording, you know, you cannot be there live February 14 at 11am. Mountain Standard Time, that doesn’t work for you get your name on the list, and you will still get the recording. If you don’t sign up, then I don’t know that you’re interested and I cannot send you the recording. So you have to do that if you want to get this information at all. There will also be plenty of time for q&a about anything in your business. I’m happy to help. So you can bring your questions and we can just have a general business discussion. That’s always fun, too. But really, anytime we can connect live face to face, I mean, you’ll see my face I will not be able to see yours. But that’s okay, I can imagine you out there I can use my imagination. And we can really connect in a new way besides just this podcast or social media. But we have this live connection point. So shawnmynar.com/wellnessworkshop it is coming up so soon and I hope to see you there now.
Today we are moving on to talk about the build pillar of the flow and grow framework. If you’ve been listening to the past few episodes, then you know I’m doing a little podcast series we’ll call it it’s going to be about four episodes worth where I talk about every pillar of the flow and growth framework, which is my signature framework that we work through inside of holistic business starter which is my business program for wellness business owners. We’ve already gone through two pillars we Started with the Define pillar, define your dream client. And then we went through the Attract pillar, which is attract your dream client to your work. Those were episodes 132 and 133. If you want to go back and listen in haven’t yet, now we’re moving on to the build pillar, which is building rapport with your dream client. This pillar is all about communication and connection and creating a relationship with your dream clients so that they feel comfortable taking the next step with you. Really, you want to get them to the point where they’re like, Yes, take my money, I want your help, I need your help, please, how can I work with you, that’s what we can do. That’s how far we can get in the build pillar. So that really selling is easy. It’s super easy. All you have to do is announce you have something going on announced that you’re taking clients or you have a new program coming out, and people are ready, they have been ready. And that’s where it really gets fun. And the whole goal of the build a pillar, we’re going to start with a quote, which says this is from Paul Meyer, which says communication, the human connection is the key to personal and business success. I edit it a little bit, I think it said the key to personal and career success. I edited it to say business success. So let me read that again. Communication, the human connection is the key to personal and business success, which is the whole point of the build pillar, build rapport with your dream client. Now, we actually already spent a ton of time on the build pillar recently. And you guys didn’t even know that at the time. But that’s what we were doing. If you remember back to episodes, 126 and 130. So not that long ago, we did a whole aligned audience attraction series, we spent four episodes, talking about attracting your audience. And in that series, we talked a lot about email lists and freebies and newsletters, and creating a new mindset and energy around those things. So that you understand the importance and the purpose of them.
And so that you actually want to do them because you know how beneficial they are for you, and your clients and your business. We did all that. And if you didn’t listen to those episodes, definitely go back, you will get so much value out of those four episodes, it will completely change your business if you let it. And all of that stuff is a big chunk of the build pillar inside holistic business starter. It’s all about creating a super valuable, unique freebie. It’s all about writing a warm, inviting welcome sequence for the people that come into your world through your email list. And then it’s also about committing to a regular newsletter schedule, and doing it. So those are the three things that we really make sure that you’re doing in the build pillar pillar of holistic business starter. And just as a quick reminder, I want to go over why this is so so so so important for your business. We’ve talked about it a lot, I’m gonna say it again, there’s this thing called the know like and trust factor Kvlt for short, and your clients need it before they decide to go from an audience member to a paying client. It is extremely rare that someone happens upon your Instagram feed. And then within a week is ready to pull the trigger and buy from you and become a client or be part of your course or your membership or your group program. Super rare. They need to be warmed up. They need time to get to know you. They need time to like you and you your personality, what you do what you offer, how you teach how you share everything about you. And then they need to trust you to trust you with their problem that you are the person that can help them get to their solution. Everybody needs it, we need that you need that yourself when you are making a buying decision to you have to get to that point. And it’s really not up to you when that happens or how that happens or how long it takes for someone that is in your audience to become a paying client. What you do have control over is how you do that how you show up for them and what you use to build that know like and trust with them. And the best way to do this is through regular communication. And the best way to know that they are receiving your communication and that you are popping up in their world is with you Email.
It’s not social media, because you don’t know what the algorithm is going to do. You don’t know how many people the algorithm is going to show your posts to. It’s not social media. Yes, that is a great cherry on top. Yes, definitely use it to enhance what you’re already doing in your business. But we really need to get to the point you guys know, I feel this way about social media. But just in case, you haven’t heard me say it in a while or ever, we need to get to a point where we don’t have to use social media to build your business. And then when you do, and you use it anyway, because it’s their to free marketing tool, you might as well, that is when we’re really in a great position. Because if social media ever goes away, or if you just ever don’t feel like it, you don’t have to rely on this thing that you have no control over to build your business. And that is what an email list does for you. 100%. So the key to your business success is in the email list. And the primary goal of your business should be to get people on that email list so that you can connect with them in a meaningful way there. This is not so that you can be annoying and email them every day, or only email them when you have something for sale and be salesy about it and weird. Of course not. That’s not the kind of people we are, that’s not the thing we’re going to do, we’re going to use this as a really great tool to establish a connection, to really have authentic communication, and to connect with people in a meaningful way. That’s what we really want to do. And since we’ve talked about all these topics, already, and quite recently, I wanted to mix things up a little bit for this specific discussion, and share a little story of how I built my email list. And how I grew from around 500 to over 21,000 In just one year.
And no, it was not Facebook ads. Although I have nothing against Facebook ads, I use them. I think they’re great. I highly recommend them when you are ready. And that’s a whole nother discussion. But I didn’t use them in that year for this growth. I did it all organically. And so I want to share with you what I did. Are you ready for this big reveal this big story of what I did this crazy wild thing that I did to grow my email list so rapidly? Oh, the suspense. I had an epic freebie. And I talked about that freebie. A lot. That is my story. That is it. Yep, that’s all it took. Actually, it’s kind of a lie because I actually had three epic freebies. So I had three epic freebies and I talked about those epic freebies a lot. That’s the actual story. That’s it. There is no magic, no secret sauce, and nothing special. Except having those epic freebies and making sure everyone knew about them. So let’s break this down a little bit. I want to share with you what these freebies were. Because I really believe that the freebies were the biggest reason, obviously, why I was able to build my list so rapidly. And by the way, just so we have some context here. This was back from mid 2017 to mid 2018. I was at the time a nutritionist teaching the keto diet to women. So my freebies were I have three epic freebies, they were number one a quiz showing people if they had a fat burning metabolism or a sugar burning metabolism. So it was a quiz. The second thing was a Keto dessert recipe book with 10 dessert recipes that were zero or low sugar. And then the third thing was a PDF of my favorite supplements to take while you were on a keto diet, and how to take them. Those were my three freebies. And those freebies accounted for over 90% of my audience growth in those 12 months. Why? Because they were highly, highly valuable freebies for my specific audience. So once again, we’re going back to that first conversation we had back in episode 132. about defining your dream client and how that is the core focus. That is the first thing to do before you can do anything else in your business because it all revolves around that piece. So I knew my dream client. And I created a specific freebies that were extremely valuable. Like, they could not say no to wanting those freebies, they absolutely wanted them.
And it was like a no brainer, yes, I will give you my email address so that I can get my hands on these recipes. or Yes, I will give you my email address. So I can figure out if I’m burning sugar, or if I’m burning fat. And if you were not someone who was interested in the keto diet or doing the keto diet, then you would not be interested remotely in these freebies. And that was a really big test for me to make sure that I was only creating things that would be irresistible to the people that I was working with, and the program that I was running to where they would want to be a paying client. And not being a value not being of interest to the people that I wasn’t working with at the time. And that’s how you know that you have a really good freebie because it is irresistible to the right people. And this is the conversation that I want to have with you today. Because there is a good chance that if you have a freebie already that and I’m not saying this is 100%, because I haven’t seen your freebie, so I can’t say but what I do see a lot of people have freebies, that really aren’t exciting or valuable or irresistible enough to build their audience to build their email list. And we are at the point in the world of online business, or really business in general, where everyone knows what a freebie is, everyone knows that when they type their name and email address into this box to get this thing, they are also going to start getting emails from you. And so it has become an even more protected thing. And like you’re not fooling anyone.
So what we really need to do is make it so that that does not matter. Make it so that they are more than willing to put in their email address and more than willing to get emails from you on a regular basis because you’re created something so valuable that really, they would have paid for that big people could have easily paid me for this recipe book. But no, I gave it away for free in exchange for their email address. So this is the first big, big piece, I want you to challenge yourself. Really go back and look, if you already have a freebie. Is it irresistible enough? And what can you do to make it more? So? Can you turn it maybe into a different approach? Like there’s tons of you know, workbooks and worksheets and PDF guides and those kinds of things? Is it something where you can take the information and turn it into a more fun and engaging thing like a quiz, or like a journal or something like that just get a little more unique with it, we really have to try to stand out from the crowd. And you can do that with a freebie. 100%. But it takes a little bit more thought. And it’s worth it. It is so worth it to put that thought and energy and time into creating a really amazing freebie. Can you imagine what would happen in your business? If you created a freebie that got you 20,000 new eyes on your work that you could then email every week and connect with in this different way? What would that do for you and your business? And isn’t it worth it? To do something that would get you there? I think we all would say yes.
So that’s the first conversation we need to have. And the first thing that I did, yes, I created three, I didn’t create three right away they kind of just happened as I was getting more and more clients and getting into the work and realizing what people actually needed and wanted and creating them when I had time. So it’s not like you have to have three, your resistible epic freebies right away. Let’s start with one and then you can move on from there. And then the second piece to the puzzle is that I talked about these freebies. A lot. I talked about them way more than I talked about any of my paid offer. I shared about them everywhere. I talked about them on my podcast with links. In every episode I talked about them in every episode, I talked about why people needed them in every episode. Basically, I was selling my freebie in every episode. And in fact, I actually recorded a whole podcast episode about the supplements so I talked about each supplement. Why you should take it why it would work how How to take it and then linked to the freebie to get it with the links to get the supplements. And so that works really well as a standalone podcast episode. So that’s something you could consider doing too. I also highlighted all three of these freebies, all over my website, of course, on the homepage, showcasing the freebies, them having their own separate little bar on the homepage, I linked them up in the show notes of every podcast episode, they were on the sidebar of every blog post.
So for me, on the blogs, I have a whole sidebar to the right, where it has little places you can click into those all were freebies, and you know, talking about them and referencing them in my actual blog posts to super important to put it as part of the conversation that’s happening in the blog post. So people can click on that and get it there. And my quiz I actually had it was a bar at the top of my website on every single page. And that was something that I set up through the host of the quiz, which was interact, and put that as a bar that just no matter what page people were on, it would show up and they could click and start taking the quiz and get the results. And by the way, just a side note, people love quizzes, especially if you create a quiz, where people just really want to know that thing about themselves. And this is again, something to really start brainstorming and take the time to really think about in your business, what would just be something irresistible that people would have to know about themselves. Obviously, people want to know if they’re burning burning sugar or burning fat, that was a no brainer. And so I made that quiz. And it was like, um, just immediately took off. And it was everywhere. I talked about it everywhere. I talked about it on social media, linked it in my stories, linked it in my bio, you know, just made sure that everyone knew that that was something available for them to take. So now I’m using my tool, which for me was a podcast, and we talked about tools in the last episode, Episode 133. So go back and listen, if you haven’t, I talk, I use my tool to talk about my freebie. Often, I use my website to showcase my freebie everywhere. And then I also made it a point to get people to my website, I created reasons for people to go to my website, I wrote blog posts specifically for my dream client, and then share those blog posts on Pinterest. I share recipes on my website, I would send them to my website to listen to the latest podcast episodes. Because once someone is on your website, there’s a better chance of them staying and kind of looking around and clicking here and clicking there. And oh, here’s this freebie, I want this much better chance. But you have to have that freebie, very obvious to the eye to the person that is on your website, reading a blog post for them to take the next step after they’re done reading.
So you put the freebies on your website, and then it’s very easy to guide people to your website, and then they can take it from there. And of course, I’m using social media to my advantage and talking about my freebies, on social media. Not every post. Of course not that would be annoying. But I always give the advice of a few times a week on your stories, you can talk about your freebies and put a link to sign up to get it and maybe once every, let’s say, seven to 10 posts on your feed. You can be talking specifically about your freebie or mention your freebie and, you know say Lincoln bio to get it. It is a regular thing. And this is what I do not see people doing I know you have a really great freebie, although let’s put it through the test and make sure it’s unique and epic and irresistible to your dream client specifically. But I know you have a good freebie, but you’re not talking about it. And people do not know it is there on their own. It is very rare that someone is just going to happen upon it and decide to put their name and email address in you have to talk about it. You have to put you yourself and your work out there in all these unique ways with the goal of getting people on your email list because once they’re there, it’s a whole different story. And yes, they can unsubscribe, no, not everyone is going to open your emails but you have a way better chance of connecting with them authentically to get the word out about you and your business and how you operate and what you teach and what you’re passionate about and all these tips and tricks that you’re giving away for free is for them to help them just to help them get started, they will get all of that through your emails.
And as you can see, I am incredibly passionate about this. Can I just tell you, I did not know that I was this passionate about freebies, and email lists and frequent regular newsletters until, like, I became a business coach. I’m like, wow, I really get amped up when I talk about this stuff, because I know how important it is because it happened to me. And I know how transformational it can be for a business because it happened to me. And so this is how I gained 20,000 email subscribers in one year for free. I didn’t have any ads, any Facebook ads, Instagram ads, I didn’t use anything but my own mouth, my own words, my own actions, and really just getting out of my own way and not being afraid to share about a freebie. It’s free. It’s free. You’re not asking someone to pay you a million dollars for this thing. It is free. And it is helpful, and you created it to help this person out. And they want that help. But they don’t know that it’s there. And even if you’ve told them once, even if they’ve read it twice, even if they’ve heard it three times, it takes seven times for someone to take action on something that they’re interested in, they need to hear it more, they need to hear it way more than you think they do. And when you do that, it’s quite simple. But you cannot be afraid to talk about your freebie a lot. A lot. It is okay. It is part of being in business, it will change your business so much. And it is not annoying. It is a free resource that you created for someone that needs it. It is not annoying to talk about that. Okay, I’m gonna get off my tangent. I’m a little heated right now, I’m so passionate about this. But I do just want to break this down. I think we all got it. But we’ll put it into some tips for you to follow in your business so that it’s succinct. And you know where we’re going with this episode. First of all, don’t create a freebie just so you have a freebie I repeat, do not create a freebie just so you have a freebie that is honestly a huge waste of your time and energy. What you need to do is take the time to brainstorm a freebie that would be irresistible to your dream client. Think of something unique to you and your approach, how you would solve their problem, how you would help them think of something unique and you all have it you do, you may not think you do, you have a unique approach.
And there is a way to put it into a freebie that would be unique and stand out and irresistible to your dream client. So take the time to really think about this and find a way to deliver it that’s fun and flows and feels good for you and your dream client take the time to make it robust and well designed. And keep in mind that this is often someone’s first impression of you and your work. So make it a really, really good first impression. This does not mean that you need to hire a designer, this does not mean that you need to spend months trying to create this thing. It doesn’t it could all be done in less than a week. But it is intentional time spent on your freebie it is not just putting something together. So you can say you have a freebie and talk about it once or twice. That is not what we’re doing here. The second tip I have for you don’t be afraid to share about your freebies, a lot. All of your other content should be pointing back to your freebie that really is the biggest goal for what you’re doing here in your business. Even more so than getting people to buy your products and services. It is more so to get people on your email list because most purchases happen through your email list. So you have a way better chance of capturing that of establishing that connection, building the know like trust and getting to them to the point where they’re ready to purchase by email than from any other source. So the point of, you know, being on social media, the point of having a podcast, having a YouTube channel, all the things and having these tools is to get people on your email list because that is where the transaction happens. So think about it that way.
And just Share, share, share about it. And keep in mind like I said, this is a free offer. So if you’re shy about talking about a free thing, how are you ever going to talk about your paid offer? It’s like you’re putting that same mindset on this two different things. but it really is showing you how you feel about selling and showing up and inviting people into your world. So if you’re shy about talking about your freebie, then we have some work to do on your overall sales and marketing mindset. And that’s like a big chunk of what we do in holistic business starter, along with creating your freebie and getting your email list going and all that good stuff. But we really have to get clear and get over it. And just know that you are providing a service providing something so valuable for someone that needs it. And they’re not going to know just because you post about it once every few months, it needs to be very regular, very consistent very often. Last thing, include ads, quote, unquote, ads about your freebie all over your website, and then get people to go to your website. You can do this through blog posts, podcast show notes, waitlists paid offers, whatever it is. And even if you don’t have a website, yes, it’s just a hack, you can absolutely do the rest of this, you do not need a website to have a freebie you can create an entire freebie flow without a website, and no one would know the difference, you can do this all in your email service provider, create like a landing page for your freebie that’s really beautiful, and looks really well designed. And then get people on your list and start sending them emails. And you can do it all without having a website. So you don’t need that as a barrier to entry before you can start setting up and building your email list. And so if you do have a website, then just know it should include your freebies all over the place, you should link to them, there should be like I said, the ads that have an image and get people interested in them. And doing this really all of this builds a long term strategy for your email list growth too, because people will read that blog post two years from now people will listen to that podcast episode a year from now, and be interested in join your list at that point. So we’re really trying to create the system that works for you all the time. And not just when you decide to talk about it on social media. And then maybe you get three people and then you don’t talk about it for three weeks. And you don’t get anybody on your list.
And then you talk about it again, you get three more people. That is that’s too slow, we want to reach more people in a more meaningful way, which means we need to be more intentional with it. And this is how you do it. All right, we’ll leave the conversation at that for now. As you can see, I could absolutely talk about this all day long. I think it is so important and so fascinating. And so fun. When it starts happening in your business, it’s just the coolest experience. And this is how we build rapport with your dream client, which is the third out of five pillars in the flow and grow framework that we work through inside of holistic business starter, it is a step that you cannot ignore my friends, because without it, you are not going to make any sales. Or maybe you’ll make a few sales because of social media, but you will not make the impact and the income that you really, truly can make if you don’t have this going in your business. And if you don’t make any sales in your business, you don’t have a business. So we have to start here, we have to do this intentionally. And when you do, you will see such a big difference in your business growth and in your bottom line. All right, I will leave it at that. Once again. Don’t forget to sign up for the free live workshop I’m hosting February 14 2022 at 11am. Mountain Standard Time, whether you’re going to be there live, which if at all possible, be there live, it is super fun.
We can chat, we can talk it out, we can do q&a, really make sure you’re getting all your questions answered. And you will feel so like excited to have a business to work on your business. We all kind of feed off each other’s energy. And we’re all just excited at that point. So if you can be there live, please do. If not, you can absolutely get the recording and you will still feed off that energy. So no worries. But either way, you have to sign up at Shawn minor.com/wellness workshop, and I will see you live February 14. All right, until next time, take care. If you’re like most of my clients, you followed your passion for health, got your certifications did the trainings and now you’re excited to have your very own thriving impactful wellness business. But how do you actually do that? It’s a common position to be in, especially in the wellness space because no one teaches you this whole business thing along the way. This trend is exactly why I’m here. A passionate nutritionist turned business coach for wellness professionals. Because I’m done seeing wellness practitioners continue to play small in their business, simply because they don’t know the right steps to take. If you’re like most wellness pros out there with a dream to start their own impactful freedom build business, you’ve probably spent hours trying to build your website, figure out what the heck to post on social media and taking all the courses to try to get competent in what you’re doing. Or maybe just the thought of all that sends you into a puddle of stress and overwhelm good news, you don’t need a perfect website, a killer Instagram strategy, or to be an expert to have an impactful and successful business. What you do need is a plan. The wellness business blueprint is the Jumpstart you need to plan, prepare and execute on your passion for helping others without that sinking feeling of overwhelm. Because this isn’t like the other stuffy, boring business plans out there. The wellness business blueprint is centered around you, what feels good to you, what’s right for your business, your dreams and your lifestyle. What keeps you in alignment and your energy flowing? What allows you to stay sane and stress free and excited in your business? Because building your dream wellness business starts with a plan that works for you. This free 15 Page printable workbook will take you through my signature flow and grow business framework so you can create your own business vision while gaining clarity structure and a solid plan to move forward. Download it today and get started on your business blueprint head to shawnmynar.com/wbb that stands for wellness business blueprint and get started building your dream wellness business today. Again, that’s shawnmynar.com/wbb
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