Thread by @alexhillman

A peek behind the curtain on email list size:

Given our number of students, their number of successes, and our business size, people often think @stackingbricks must have a huge list.

You need to have a huge list to generate this much success, right!?

Nah.

@stackingbricks While migrating to @convertkit we decided to do some list hygiene. Our open rates ARE back up since moving, but the team recommended cleaning out cold subscribers to improve overall deliverability (not just raw % numbers).

@stackingbricks @ConvertKit So over the last few years our list has grown to just shy of 14,000 subscribers. Respectable for sure, but many people (including our peers!) assume we have at least double the size.

Notably, we have several 30x500 alums with lists MUCH bigger than ours. They also make more $$.

@stackingbricks @ConvertKit Here's where things get interesting, though.

According to Convertkit data, around 6000 subscribers haven't opened or clicked in the last 2 months. Given that we send email every week, that's notable.

42.8% cold.

@stackingbricks @ConvertKit Thing is, that's not necessarily a BAD thing. It was surprising to me, and not a great thing for sure but it's not exactly alarming.

Subs go cold for lots of reasons.

Could be us (email subjects aren't good, for instance).

Could be them (busy, no longer interested).

@stackingbricks @ConvertKit So this week we are running a re-engagement sequence for the first time ever.

Those 6000 cold subscribers will receive up to 4 emails over the course of a week.

Each of these emails offers value, a way to reconnect, and a way to indicate "I'm still interested!"

@stackingbricks @ConvertKit This concept isn't novel or anything, but a lot of the examples out there are pushy or needy or passive aggressive.

"We miss you!"
"Hey did you die?"
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Don't you want VALUE?"
"Don't you want to SUCCEED!?!"

No no no. None of that.

@stackingbricks @ConvertKit I'll share the exact copy in a bit (when I'm not in a taxi) but everything is friendly and direct.

So, at the end of this sequence, if a subscriber has not clicked or opened, we will delete them.

@amyhoy and I have talked about how this feels so weird and almost wrong but also how that's not rational at all.

They aren't reading anyway. Why would we keep sending?

So. Back to list size, cuz that's why I started this thread 😂

I'm expecting a fairly small % of our cold list to re-engage (but I could be wrong!)

Let's say it's 5%. 300 people.

That means we will have around 8300 ACTUAL subscribers, if you define subscriber as someone who actually reads what we send.

Now, let's put that number into some perspective:

- JFS has sold around 4500 copies. That's over half the list.

- Our holiday bundle sells 400-500 units every year. That's 5% list to sale conversion.

- 30x500 has had over 1200 students enrolled between our bootcamp and our self guided academy. That's a 14.4% list to sale conversion rate on a VERY premium product.

How? Why?

Our subscriber count is low-ish but our subscriber quality is VERY high. The source? We grow the list with ebombs: stackingthebricks.com/the-ebomb-reci…

We focus relentlessly on understanding our audience and their problems. We offer fixes. We communicate in their language.

Do you need a big list to be a success? Hell no.

You do need people who trust you. People who you have actually helped, and believe you can help them again and again.

You need to understand them, deeply and clearly. Maybe better than they understand themselves.

A 500 subscriber list built this way can easily generate 50-70 sales.

Which means a mid-tier product ($140-$200) could crack the $10k mark with just 500 subs.

A tiny product ($50-$70) can make $10k from 1000 subs.

Small lists can make real sales.

And that's just from one product!

Customers who love one product are likely to buy the next thing (if you understand their pains and that next thing is based on them).

Factor in list growth and multiple products and you can start to see with simple math how tiny empires can be built from even tinier lists.

So next time you see someone touting a giant email list, or you think you need a huge list to start selling products, STOP.

With the former, big lists are top line numbers that don't really mean much if you don't know their conversion rates.

With the latter, start selling now.

When you can make $1000 in sales this way, you can make $10k.

When you can make $10k this way, you can make $100k.

1.5x-2x-5x or more year over year growth ACTUALLY can happen when you are consistent and use an effective process.

The key isn't precisely what you sell or the exact model you sell with.

The key is who you sell to and how well you understand them. And then lots of small, sometimes seemingly "meh" wins along the way that add up to big, game-changing wins.

If you want help getting started, this free roadmap & email course has helped a ton of people. yearofhustle.com

Many have made their first sales with this process. Several (that we know of, so maybe more!) have made tens of thousands JUST from free lessons YOH alone.

For the AM crowd

https://twitter.com/alexhillman/status/1099567586335846400

Update on this thread about re-engaging our list:

First email (see below) has been out for just 8 hours and 2.8% have explicitly clicked to stay on the list, and 4.8% have opened.

So…that’s a good start!

More additions to this thread on REAL subscribers, conversion rates, etc. Now a full post on @indiehackers!

*** Special update: make sure to check out the post to see all 4 emails on our re-engagement sequence (currently at 4% clicked, 6.6% opened). ***

bit.ly/2T2w3na

@IndieHackers I added some *epic* notes to the comments of that @indiehackers post about list size and conversion rates: bit.ly/2UeQfio

@IndieHackers Another update on our re-engagement sequence:

>600 subscribers have re-engaged so far.

Almost 10% of the cold list back from the dead!And that’s only after 2 emails. 2 more to go.

@IndieHackers I also made the entire re-engagement sequence and visual automation workflow shareable via Convertkit: bit.ly/2UcIQA0

It’s not fully documented and wired into our other systems, feel free to use and modify for your own.

Our final re-engagement email went out about a hour ago.

So far ~10% of our cold subscribers came back, double what I (randomly) predicted. Gonna give it a week to see how many more click before we actually delete the completely cold subs.

grab the full text, timing, etc for this sequence here: bit.ly/2UcIQA0

Latest update on our re-engagement sequence:
- over 10% of our cold subscribers explicitly said they want to stick around
- the final email we sent gives clear instructions on how to come back, if they ever want to

I KNOW it's the right thing to do, and yet, this completely reverse-able action of deleting 5800 subscribers makes my stomach turn upside down.

Special thanks to @convertkit for making me affirm it so boldly, and @amyhoy for holding my hand.