How often should I make an offer (aka sell to my list) via email? It’s a question I get asked a lot and for good reason. You don’t want to over sell to your list, but you also want to make sure they know how they can work with you more intimately. The short answer is it’s a balance, like so many things in your business. And knowing who your audience is key here. 

I like the strategy of offering something for sale right away after they say yes to joining your list with a freebie.

I call it the upsell strategy and it works whether you sell goods and services. Offering something right away plants the seed that you have more to offer, even if they don’t buy right away. It sets an expectation that they will be seeing more offers from you in the future. This upsell offer needs to be reasonably priced, nothing over $40 in my opinion, AND give a ton of value. If you offer a service, this upsell would do great as a mini e-course. If you offer consumables, this upsell could be one of your best selling items at a large discount. 

After this initial upsell offer, it’s time to focus on adding value to your new lead.

There are 2 groups of people who join your list – people who already know you and people who don’t. As you start to grow your list, the majority of people joining will be new to you, so it’s important to know who is joining your list and what value they are looking for. If you are clear on who your audience is and what they need, this is the place to add it on THICK! Love on your audience here, when they first join you. It will really set the tone for your relationship. 

If you sell a service, like coaching or consulting, a deeper relationship needs to be established. For service providers, it’s key to add value and give your newbies some quick wins – whether that’s with the freebie you offered them or inside the email sequence you send to them after they opt in. The first 15 days after they opt in is where you want to establish the KNOW-LIKE-TRUST factor. People start to trust you when you’ve given them a golden nugget – something they will carry with them for a while. 

If you sell consumables, your audience is joining your list because they want to consume your product, so it’s more acceptable to send offers more frequently and right after they join your list. They are ready to buy at this point, so sending a new offer or coupon code once a week for 3-4 weeks is a great way to get your product in their hands. Of course, in addition to sending offers within the first 30 days, it’s a smart idea to also add value! I like the strategy of offering a golden nugget PLUS a coupon code. 

As an overall strategy, I suggest making offers on no more than 50% of your emails.

So, if you send one email per week or about 4 per month, no more than 2 should include an offer. If you are in the middle of a launch, that’s a different story, and I would suggest offering subscribers the opportunity to opt out of sales emails during a launch. 

Avoid going too long without offering something to your list.

If you are afraid of over-selling or feel uncomfortable ‘selling’ via email, you are missing the boat! You are a business owner who has something to offer, and you need to be offering it! It’s great that you are adding value, but never making the offer to your next step, may be hurting your business. Even if no sales come from that email, know you are laying breadcrumbs for future sales here! I see my clients making sales from subscribers that have been on their list for years. And I am positive that it is from consistently offering the next step. Look at making the offer to your list as an investment in your future sales, without expectation that you will reap today. Sow your seeds now, so you have a fruitful future! And if you do happen to make a sale from your first offering, what a gift! 

Have you been holding back on selling via email? Why do you think that is? Take some time to reflect on this with journaling or meditating. Is there resistance because you don’t love your offer? Or maybe you feel like your list is burnt out or outdated? Time to get clear on this in order to move forward with sacred action! 

I’d love to know your thoughts, please comment below. 

In gratitude for the opportunity to serve you and fill my sacred purpose! And so it is.