The lesson here is to avoid clients who seem needy and can’t really afford your service. It’s better to wait a week or two and get someone who can pay you a better fee and will be low maintenance. People with real money don’t have time to micro-manage. They are too busy running their companies.
XV
The Art of the Email
I'd rather send out a mass email than hang posters all over the place.
- Todd Barry
101
Email is an Asset
The greatest asset in the online market is the ability to reach a customer multiple times. When someone visits my blog or reads my book, I have one chance to get them to take action. If I try to get someone to leave a comment, buy something, fill out a form, read another article AND give me an email address - none of it will happen. People can only handle binary decisions quickly; they want a yes or no option. When you add more options, the decision-making becomes more complicated.
Your first goal is to capture the email address. It allows you to create a relationship. You can send an email every day to strengthen the bond and begin to guide them down the path you want. The more touches you get with a person, the more valuable they are as a customer. This is how traditional companies view mailing lists. They want to send a postcard, but these days it is all about email.
With a large list of fans and followers, you can make money every single time you hit send. It’s amazing the first time you send an email and watch the money start to roll in. It seems almost impossible until it happens to you.
When you’re sending emails as a business, you have to approach it like a business. There are two ways of sending emails. The first is called a broadcast. It’s the type of email you are most familiar with. You crank out an email and blast it to your entire list at once. This is great when there is a sale you want to tell everyone about or the launch of a book.
The other type of email is called an Autoresponder. Software controls this type of email. It sends messages based on the actions of someone on your list. For example, you can set it up to send an email to someone as soon as they sign up. I have my software deliver your free gift from the front of this book immediately. If I tried to handle that process manually, I’d be tearing my hair out, checking my email all the time, and I wouldn’t have time to do anything else! If you want to see it in action, just click this link right now.
ServeNoMaster.com/quit
My software makes sure that you get an email with your gift instantly. I don’t even have to be awake. You can program your software to send an email the next day as well. When a new fan meets you, they get a series of emails that warm them up. They learn about you and get to understand what you are all about. Over time you can mix in offers for products you have made or are recommending.
This is how you can make money automatically as you build up your mailing list, and it’s one of the main tools you’ll be using to build passive income going forward.
102
Relationship and Respect
The most important thing about emailing people, especially if you’re using automation, is to treat your prospects the way you want to be treated. Trust me, if you stuff someone’s inbox with ten messages a day, they’re gonna hate your guts.
When you have someone’s email address, you’re establishing a level of trust. Break that trust and the relationship will never recover. So you should take your time and write emails that you would enjoy receiving. Don’t copy and paste other people’s stuff. Don’t send stuff you don’t believe in. And stay in compliance with the law – trust me, you don’t want to be in jail telling people you were an email spammer on the outside… because those guys hate spam too!
People need to be able to leave your list by clicking a link that is at the bottom of every email you send. That’s also the right thing to do. Keeping people on a list when they try to leave is just bad mojo.
Want a business that lasts? Build a tribe. You want an army of fans who like you, trust you and implement the advice you give them. That’s my goal for our relationship. Believe me; I’m not here to sell you more stuff. You already bought this book and that means a lot to me. What I want is for you to succeed. I want you to find a path to your destiny. To escape the stress of having one boss control your finances. I don’t need to make more money - I’m doing fine.
I want to be a part of your life for a while. So that when you finally quit your job, you email me. When you move to an island, you post a picture on my blog. That’s the stuff that gets me excited, and it can grow my business more than a thousand people opening a few emails.
I send all my emails from my real email address. If you reply to one of my emails, you get me. You will discover that the people who email you most are the ones you want to invest the most time in. They are the ones who are serious about following your path. If someone is initially skeptical but takes the time to email you, they are looking to be converted. Once you convince them that your message can help them, they will become a fanatic. They’ll support you and tell everyone they know about what you do.
103
Automation
There are two main pieces of software that I use for email automation. I explain all the differences in detail at ServeNoMaster.com/book
They both have great free trials, so you can get a feel for how they work before making a financial commitment. Honestly, they are both excellent. It comes down to your personal preferences as far as design and implementation. I use both companies for many projects, and they are the gold standard. Sign up for both free trials and play around inside.
Practice writing an email and see which editor you prefer. Then stick with the one that makes you happier. Don’t use the fact that I’m giving you two options as an excuse for inaction.
You want to have this software in place before you start getting visitors to your new blog because your first fans will often be the most ardent followers. You don’t want to miss out on the chance to start a great relationship.
There are only a few small investments you have to make to start building your online business, and an email provider is the most important. At the bottom of my book page, I show you the steps to follow after you have set up your blog. In Step Two, I walk you through the process of setting up your first email form on your blog. This is where people can let you know that they want to be a part of your tribe.
Once you have your software set up, it can do amazing things. You can change the messages someone receives based on which links they click in your emails or which products they buy. I often think of receiving my emails as being a part of a “choose your own adventure” book. The actions you take affect the story. Email should be interactive. It’s a two-way conversation, and writing your half of that conversation can be a lot of fun.
104
The Basic Sequence
When you write emails, there are a couple of steps you can take to improve the relationship. When somebody opens those emails for the first time, they’re excited about what you can do for them – and they’re paying as much attention as they ever will. You need to take advantage. That’s why your first emails are all about starting the relationship on the right foot. Your ultimate goal is to train your readers to take action when you ask them to. People want to do stuff when they know you and like you; you want to tell stories about your personal life because that’s how people come to feel a connection to you. Generic emails with nothing personal in them are cold and stale.
In every email, you want to plant hints about what you will talk about tomorrow. Start a story, but don’t finish it. This is a technique that many books and television shows use called a cliffhanger. Tell stories that last more than one email and continue to build the suspense over a few days. There should always be a reason in today’s email why they should open tomorrow’s. We want them to feel connected across all the emails we send.
Be honest about what is going on in your life. People want to get to know you. The more you reveal your life, the
easier it is for them to feel a real connection. The stories I tell in my emails are always about my real experiences. Just like all the stories in this book are about things that have happened in my life or are happening right now. In emails from a few years ago, I never wrote about having kids. That’s because I didn’t have any yet. Your stories and emails can be frozen in time. The realness doesn’t change just because your situation does. It’s the energy and truth that you put in at the moment of writing that matters so much.
In each email, you should have a link to something you want them to see. Sometimes it can be an amazing post on your blog, and sometimes it is something great you saw on social media. You want them to get used to clicking the links you send. If you are focused on providing high-quality content, then they will be happy they clicked. I use the same process in this book.
I created a bonus page at ServeNoMaster.com/book. The reason I made that page was for your convenience. It has links to longer stories, training, and the actual software I mention in this book. If you take the time to visit that page, you will discover that it has a ton more value to add on to this book. It has step-by-step explanations with lots of pictures explaining each process. I know many people are visual learners, and they’ll discover how amazing that page is.
I didn’t put that page together to make a buck. It’s there to give a ton more value to my readers and reward people who sit down at their computer to do something instead of passively watching life pass them by. It’s a way to pick up where this book finishes.
That page is the first step towards us developing a relationship. If you get used to visiting my blog, then we have a real chance to move forward together. Maybe you’ll start reading my blog posts and continue to get inspiration. When you leave a comment, it’ll lead me back to your blog.
That allows me to see what you’re doing and to leave a comment. I can see the great things you are doing and tell my other followers all about it. We’re building a relationship organically!
As you continue to grow your email business, you will run into all sorts of stuff you want to sell. Maybe your new book is coming out. So you tell them about your new book and include a link. Because they are used to clicking your links, they will take that action. Now the action you have taught them has helped you to sell another book.
All this happens quickly and smoothly when you focus on value. Never promote a product you don’t believe in. Never send an email you didn’t write. Never lie to your subscribers. When you break that trust, you can never get it back again. And don’t get discouraged if your stuff doesn’t sing on the page. You can get better at writing emails and storytelling - I have some great resources on my blog to help you get better and better!
XVI
Controlling Time
How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?
- Dr. Seuss
105
Working Alone
We were raised and trained in a world of oversight. For most people, the thought of total self-reliance is terrifying. The last time we did anything without a boss was homework back in school. If you’re anything like me, you struggled with your final thesis or dissertation. Time management is challenging. They don’t teach it in college, but they sure expect you to figure it out by the time you graduate.
Just sitting down at your computer is difficult. For most people, the home computer is a source of entertainment, not a productivity tool. We watch movies on our laptops, play games, check email and connect with people on social media. It can be very hard to decide suddenly that it’s work time. It took me a very long time to create a firm mental division.
There are certain tools out there that force you to focus. But those don't work for me. How does closing all my other apps help me when my mind map is in another app? Now I can’t see my notes. I also make quick idea changes on the fly and need to do research in the moment. I like to check for the latest statistics before I share them. I quickly just checked the most current statistical data on how many people finish the books they buy. The last time I looked at that statistic was a few years ago. Without a quick reference, I could have put an outdated number into this book.
Additionally, I write my blog posts online. I need an Internet connection to make it happen. Yes, some cool tools let you write blog posts offline and then sync, but that doesn’t match my workflow. As I’m writing a blog post, I like to insert links and images. I like to handle all of those steps at once. Dividing the process into writing and then adding the images later doesn’t work with my mentality.
Creating a place in your home that is a work location is crucial. If you sit on your bed playing games and then sit there to do work, your mind will struggle to know when it’s work time. Plus, the people around you will disturb you all the time. People don’t want to bother you when you’re doing work, but if you’re just looking at Facebook, they’ll interrupt all day long.
Here’s a little story – and this just happened half an hour ago. I’m working in the living room instead of the office today so that I can keep my eye on the kids. My girlfriend just knocked on the wall and called me into the other room. No explanation, she just said it was “a five-star emergency.” So I look at the kids. Neither of them is on fire, so that’s one star down in my opinion. I look at myself. I don’t smell like smoke, so we’re down to three. But I get up and see what’s going on, and discover that the dog chewed up his collar.
I asked her if this was more important than my work, or if she would have come to the office to tell me about this, she said no. And of course, it isn’t. Now, is my girlfriend sabotaging me to be a jerk? No. It is just psychology. People disturb us more when it is convenient. Creating a barrier that reminds them we are serious helps a lot.
There are an unbelievable amount of distractions in the world. Coming home from work just to start another job is hard. You need to start by looking for a rhythm that works for you. Some people wait until their kids go to bed and work in the garage. Other people I know prefer to get up for work two hours early. They put in time on their new project, and then they cruise into their paying job. People that can do that one often tell me about a productivity spike. These people are massively more efficient working at dawn.
When I first started working for myself, I was a total night owl. I was pounding cans of energy drinks until daybreak, typing like a madman. That’s only something that works great if you are young and have no responsibilities. Now that I have a family going on, that red bull and pizza game is no longer an option. I get up before six in the morning now. On office days, I work out, chill with my family then walk over to my office nook between seven and eight. I work until three or five, depending on what I have going on. I like to finish while it’s still bright out. When I go downstairs, I teach my son to swim and then I take my daughter out into the ocean for some father-daughter time. Separating work and family means those days are productive for me.
When I’m in the nook, I am in total work mode. I stick to one task at a time. I don’t check email in between writing sentences. That would destroy my productivity. Having a single location that is my work spot helps me. I know that when I’m here, I work. When I’m not in this room, I don’t do any work. I don’t even use the Internet anywhere else in the house. I don’t need it for anything, and it only offers me the temptation to “get just one more thing done” while I should be enjoying my family.
It’s important to keep your family from creeping into your work, but it’s just as important to keep your work from creeping into your family time. One of my great regrets as a child was how much my father worked. He put in a lot of late nights at the office, and I missed him. He made it to every game I had in any sport I tried, but even on vacation he always brought a big stack of work. I never understood his experience as a child. He was trying to provide for us, but now as the father myself, I don’t just want to be with my kids,
I want to be present in body and mind. And that’s a big difference.
Think about a location and time that matches your work needs. That way, your body knows it’s time to work when you sit down in that chair. You don’t have to leave the house, but it might help. You can just start with having a chair that you only use for work. That’s the first step. It helps a lot.
Everyone works with a different rhythm. I’ve tried a lot of office configurations. For a while, I had a little office that was near my house. I would lock myself away and get in the zone on projects. It was efficient, but I started drifting away from my family. I love my work so I can easily work twelve hours straight without noticing it. Working from the house means I see my kids a lot more. My daughter likes to sit near me and play with her educational tablet while I work. It’s her version of working next to daddy.
You want to find a balance between efficiency and enjoyment. I am more efficient all by myself, but that’s not the life I want to lead. My balcony spot is fantastic, but there are some downsides. I live in the tropics, so the sun is directly in my eyes in the early morning. I can’t work out there before 10 AM because the glare is so intense that I can’t see the computer screen. Later in the day, it’s so hot that I need the fan on full blast. That means I can’t record any audio; it will sound like I’m reporting live from a traffic helicopter.
Serve No Master: How to Escape the 9-5, Start up an Online Business, Fire Your Boss and Become a Lifestyle Entrepreneur or Digital Nomad Page 19
