“But no one is buying!”
“I need to get my subscribers to become buyers.”
Someone joined my email list last week.
They received my welcome email which had an ask:
Hit the reply button and tell me if you could get help with just one thing related to your email strategy right now.. what would it be?
This was their response:
“I just spent three hard-working, focused months this summer building an email list from zero to 2,316 subscribers.
I send at least one email per week.
The open rate is around 40%+.
The click rate is around 6.65%.
But no one is buying!”
Okay. Quite a head-scratching problem.
I gave them a detailed response.
(Yes, I reply to every email that I receive from here)
We had a good back-and-forth chat and I helped them the best I could.
But this is not a unique problem. This is something that a lot of people face.
In fact, I saw this post on X recently as well:
Similar thing.
Now you must be wondering…
So what do you do when your list is growing but you’re not making any sales?
What are some things you should be looking at?
I got you!
The first and foremost thing you need to look at is… the people you’re attracting on your list.
You’re never going to sell ANYTHING if you have the wrong people on your list.
I have said it again and again…
It’s better to have 100 people on your list that are interested in precisely what you do than having 1000 people who are interested in anything and everything.
Email isn’t social media. There is no popularity contest here. You’re not going to go viral for talking about generic shit and getting engagement from people who would not spend a dime on you.
So please…
Stop creating generic lead magnets.
Stop trying to appeal to everyone.
Stop attracting anyone you can.
Instead…
Speak directly to your ideal customer in the pre-signup stage.
Repel everyone else.
It's killing your business by attracting the wrong folks (literally). Instead:
- Get crystal clear on who your ideal customer is.
- Create content that speaks directly to THEM. (Their problems, frustrations, desires, beliefs, etc.)
- Use their language (The voice-of-customer data), not industry jargon.
Note: This wasn’t the case with the person mentioned above because they have a very tight niche and a hyper-targeted lead magnet.
Now, once you start attracting the right people on your list…
These people are not going to buy from you based on three major reasons:
a) They don't believe you can help them
b) They don't believe your offer can help them
c) They don't believe they have the abilities to help themselves
You have to shift these beliefs in your favour.
Here’s how you can tackle each of them:
a) When they don't believe you can help them
This is a competence, credibility, and trust problem.
(Build trust is a gradual and ongoing process that can’t be rushed… but you can surely give it a headstart with the right messaging)
Focus on these questions:
- Why are you the right person to help them?
- Why should they listen to you?
- Have you already helped people like them before?
- What was the transformation for those people? Are you sharing that clearly?
All of this needs to be communicated clearly by your welcome email + sequence to build rapport as soon as the person joins your list.
(And occasionally in your regular emails as well)
If they can’t see you either helping yourself or helping people like them, they’re gonna have a hard time believing you.
b) When they don't believe your offer can help them
Even if you’re the right person to help them doesn’t mean your offer is as well.
The offer problem is huge.
Right people + wrong offer = No sale.
- What made you create your offer?
- Did you create something that YOU THINK people would want? Or did you create something that people actually need?
- And then has the offer actually worked for people like them? And are you sharing those experiences as well?
- Are you answering all the questions clearly and handling the objections?
This has a lot to do with research and what it is that people are actually struggling with that you can solve.
For example..
Did you notice how I asked you a few questions on my thank-you page? and then in the welcome email as well?
It's the same for my clients too. Data is super important.
This helps me understand people better, their problems, struggles and needs.. and where exactly they are in their journey. I can then use that data to create content and offers that serve them better.
Another thing you should do before going live with offer is pre-validating it i.e. offering it to a bunch of folks and see how they’re taking it.
This will save you so much time and energy that you’d otherwise be spending on wrong offers that no one’s even gonna look at.
c) When they don't believe they have the abilities to help themselves
AKA the limiting beliefs.
People have limiting beliefs that stop them from taking action.
"What if it doesn't work for me?"
"Has it worked for people like me before?"
"What if I don’t have what it takes?"
This is a relatability problem and the best way to tackle it?
STORIES.
Your story. Your customer stories.
Show that you have been in their shoes. Show that you’ve helped people who have been in their shoes.
Help them relate to what you do and make them visualise the journey and VOILA.
Lastly, your copywriting skills make a huge difference as well.
Selling through emails is all about good copy and if it doesn't hit the mark… well, you know it.
You don’t have to be an expert copywriter to make sales, but you do have to know enough to hit the right spots.
So practice, practice, practice.
(Of course, there’s gonna be stark difference between the sales generated by an expert copywriter and someone who just knows enough)
So, I hope this gives you a good direction.
And if you need me to help you with it? Just ask for a free consultation here.
I have helped 30+ clients build better relationships with their audience, make more cash, and save their precious time. I am confident we can do wonders for you too.
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