Interview with a New Zealand email marketing freelancer
I'm trying something new in this blog. Here are a few answers to some questions that I've asked my email subscribers.
It's a quick way to help you get to know me and get some insight into what my business and life is like as an email marketer. Hope you enjoy Part One.
What's one thing you enjoy doing that helps grow your email marketing business?
I love writing. As an email marketing freelancer I find it easier to write than speak. When I speak, it's a stream of consciousness, and my brain jumps around a lot. That makes it hard to follow me. When I write, I'm feeling calmer, and I can write from the heart. Then edit or shift the order of things so it comes across in a way that is easier to understand.
Many of my clients are the opposite. They love to speak to groups, on stage, on video... It's the writing that is harder for them. Not always, as occasionally work with introverts. But more often than not, it's the extroverted coaches that need someone like me. Someone who can take the thoughts they share in videos and audio and turn them into emails that connect with potential clients. Or create an email strategy that they can actually stick to.
What industry myths have you fallen for?
Probably the biggest are that you need to be louder to be successful or doing all the things (aka showing up on social media posting, creating funnels, hosting webinars, speaking on stage etc.).
I've always been a quiet introvert. I can be quite determined and do things like speak in front of a small room of people. I had to learn how to do that when I was in my honours year. It was difficult then, talking about the plague to my fellow microbiology students. It's difficult now talking to a room of Auckland women in business about how they can use email marketing to grow their business.
There are so many options in marketing to grow your business. But they don't suit everyone. That's one of the reasons I believe in having an email strategy based on data. That way you're focused on, what your data is telling you about your audience and what they need to hear from you. Your also going to show up in a way that appeals to your target audience as well as how you can sustainably show up. Because long days creating content means you are constantly editing, writing and designing. Creating is great but too much unfocused creativity can lead to burnout. And you're more likely to become inconsistent when you get clients or life happens.
What doesn't suit your current stage of life or business?
I'm a mum of two boys in two different schools right now. That means I spend a chunk of my day driving them to school and back. At some point they'll take public transport once they're both at the same school but that's not possible right now. Neither is the 8-9 am networking meeting possible as I'm driving between schools at this time.
When I get up and start getting them ready and they've come down sick I need to be available to look after them. In the evenings when my husband is in the city I need to be there so I can't go to evening networking events.
The school run goes from 2.15 to 4pm so I'm not able and that seems to be the time many business owners reach out or come to edit what I've sent them. That makes offering newsletter services difficult as I'd be constantly saying Ok I'm on the school run so I can't get to this till tomorrow. There are other reasons as well and yes, if I had better boundaries I could make this work. But it's easier not to offer the services right now. So I only offer project work.
In this season of life (parenting young boys) I can't hustle harder to do the things parents of teens or empty nesters can do. And that's OK.
Do we have anything in common?
I don't usually write content with so many I statements. But I figure: AI can't copy this, and it helps us get to know each other (if you chat back. By the way, I often ask for replies from my email community because I believe email marketing is about two-way communication. Not broadcasting or advertising.
You can join my email list here.
