People in real life give us permission to contact them every single day, and we don’t think twice about it. When you consult with a new car salesperson, you tell them to call you when the model you’re looking for comes into stock. When you meet a new friend, they tell you to call them, and you don’t hesitate to pick up your phone and connect with them. Why, as small business owners, do we struggle so much when it comes to our email list?

It’s because small business owners project their own feelings about their email inbox onto their prospects, and in turn, are too hesitant to either begin writing the email, or too afraid to press send.

When your leads press submit on your website form, they’re effectively saying, “I want to hear more from you!” But instead, we shell up and think we are bombarding our email list, and we don’t want to bother anyone more than they already are with a full inbox. You’ve already sat down and typed out that email, but you hit backspace a thousand times to erase what you wrote, thinking these people don’t want to hear what you had to say. Even worse, you hover over the “Send” button and it ends up in your Drafts folder because you couldn’t find the courage.

Here’s the thing: All of the business you need is already within your business. That lead list – that email list – is full of people who have already said they want to hear from you. They’ve raised their hands at some point and have said, “I need your help!” And by them asking for help, it means they want to hear from you more than the once a month you’re reluctantly sending emails already.

When you write emails that are educational, entertaining, and purposeful, it’s easy for your readers to become compelled in what you have to say.

Instead of them swiping on your unread emails in their inbox, they’ll be anxiously awaiting the next edition coming their way. The more intriguing you become for them, the easier it is to make offers to your audience. The more offers you make, the more clients you can gain. The more clients you gain, the more people you can help. In return, the more money you’ll make, and the more time freedom you’ll acquire.

No, it doesn’t mean send monthly newsletters of what is going on in your business, but instead send a weekly-cadence of emails that are full of informative steps relative to the problems you solve, stories of yourself or your clients having success using your methods, and occasional offers to work with you.

And if an unsubscribe comes through? No big deal — not your ideal client, so keep writing to those who actually want to hear from you.

A small business owner’s email list is one of the most under-utilized but most effective sales tools they can have.

Your feelings about emails in your inbox are not theirs. They want to hear from you. They want help from you. They want to work with you.

Set them up for success.

Want an effective email marketing strategy we teach our PDBM clients? Book a call with our team here, and let’s brainstorm a plan to help you build emails more consistently into your business.