Then, in this article, I’ll be breaking down 7 different ways you can monetize your email list and how to do so effectively.
Side note: If you’re a coach, course seller, or consultant, I’ve created a post specifically showing you how to monetize your list, and you can get that by clicking here.
So, without further ado, here at the methods that I’ll be covering in this post:
- Products
- Services
- Affiliate
- Sponsorships
- One Time Offers
- Tripwires
- Paid Community
Products
If you look like the following with your email list –
Then this is by far the most straightforward and most profitable way to start getting your email list to start spitting out some money…
Not only is it the most profitable out of this list, but it’s also the one that you have the most control over.
And that’s selling your own products.
So, if you’re someone who owns a digital product, service, or subscription, and you’re not regularly pitching it to your email list, then what are you doing?
A simple email talking about the benefits of your products and showing off any testimonials is more than enough if you’re just getting started.
But one objection that I hear a lot of the time is –
“I don’t want to be too salesy…”
This is such a poor excuse, and here’s why:
If you truly believed that your product or service improved your customer’s or client’s life, then you would do everything you could do to get it in front of them and pitch it to them.
Yes, there’s a right and wrong way to go about this, and if you want to find out how you can do this properly, then you can click here.
It’ll take you to another blog post where I talk about 7 different ideas you can use to mail to your list.
Now that’s over, on to the next.
Services
This is obviously only applicable if you sell services…
But building up a list of potential clients is a fantastic way to constantly have a lead list that you can tap into.
You could build this up by creating a free lead magnet or low-ticket course that’s tailored for your ideal clients.
And then use this to build up your email list of potential leads.
Once you’ve done this you can begin sending emails about your services, testimonials, stories, objection handling emails, and more.
Not only that but if your services are high ticket (which they should be), some clients may not be convinced right away…
…And need that steady flow of emails and content that will eventually convince them.
Soon enough, they’ll be wanting to partner with you because not only have you convinced them that what you do works, but it’ll also be an easy close IF they’ve been on your list, reading your content, and becoming a warm lead.
So, if you want a service that you want to sell more of – build a list of potential clients and mail them consistently!
Affiliates
Affiliate marketing is possibly one of the simplest ways to monetize your email list if you’re just starting out.
Doing affiliate deals allows you to monetize your audience without having to take care of customer service, product fulfillment, or any of that stuff…
One way I do this for my list is simply adding a hyperlink at the bottom of my emails that says ‘These emails were created with ConvertKit’
And the hyperlink is an affiliate link – see the screenshot below:
Another way to maximize your profits (and my favorite way) is to dedicate email campaigns to promoting specific offers…
So, this could be a hero’s journey email sequence or simply one broadcast email and the solution to what you were struggling with was the product you’re affiliating for.
Bonus: One way to maximize your affiliate payouts is to provide add-ons to their purchase IF they go through your affiliate link.
For example, you may have a course that you sell, but for this, you might say –
“If you buy this product through my link and provide proof – you’ll also get my paid course FREE of charge”.
A quick word of warning: There are a lot of email-sending providers out there that are against affiliate marketing and have confusing terms of services when it comes to this.
So, before you start pumping out affiliate emails, make sure you’re email software allows you to do so.
One email software that I know that is affiliate marketing friendly is GetResponse – You can click here to learn more.
Sponsorships
This is one way of monetization that I’ve seen an increase in popularity in the past 6 months…
It’s simply selling ad space in your emails for specific sponsors related to your niche, here is an example of one below:
This is one of the most passive ways to monetize your list.
But in my opinion, it’s also one of the least effective ways to do so when you have options like owning your own products, services, or communities.
But, if you’re interested in getting sponsorships, here are a couple of ways how to do so:
- Go through ConvertKit Sponsor Network. There is a certain criteria you have to meet, so make sure you click here to find out if you qualify.
- Reaching out to sponsors directly via cold email (Good idea to disclose your email open rates, the size of your list, and current revenue from it).
- Here are some advertising networks that you can use to get sponsorships:
Check out the above links and see if you can monetize your list with some sponsorships.
Paid Community
Creating a paid community is a fantastic way to monetize your audience.
For example, you might be selling products and services and you want an add-on to what you currently have…
One way to do this is to create a paid community.
Your paid community could consist of:
- Weekly strategy calls
- Different group chats of like-minded individuals
- Courses and content that are behind a paywall.
And once you have this setup, this is something that you can promote to your email list on a consistent basis.
Seen many people do so effectively and would highly recommend looking into this method of monetization within your business if you’ve been wanting to bolt on a stream of income that’s not directly correlated with your time, then this is a good option.
Bonus Methods of Monetizing your list.
One Time Offers
Although with this method, you won’t be directly monetizing subscribers on your email list, it’s still a super effective way to maximize the profits of your business.
So, a one-time offer works like this –
Someone signs up to your email list, and on the thank you page, you pitch them a one-time offer that they can’t and won’t get anywhere else.
Tripwire
Following on from the previous method –
A tripwire is an effective method to create the most effective and profitable email list possible.
Simply, it’s this –
Instead of offering a free lead magnet in exchange for their email list, you offer a low-ticket product ($1 – $25) and this now means that you have a list of buyers and not freebie seekers.
Yes, your list will be smaller, but it will be a whole lot more effective if you do decide to sell a higher-ticket service or any other kind of product for that matter.
Here’s an example of a tripwire –
As you can see, Russel offers the book for free (You’re just charged shipping), and then he has all of your details where you can retarget with higher ticket offers.
A basic structure of an effective business model.
Here’s a good picture depicting what that whole funnel looks like:
Conclusion
If you’ve been struggling to monetize your email list effectively, hopefully, this will help.
Got any other questions about email marketing? Then click here to check out a post I created.
If you have any other questions that I haven’t answered, you can either leave a comment under this post or send me an email at Jamie@EmailMaximalist.com.
FAQ
In my opinion, the most effective way to monetize your email list and maximize your profits is by selling your OWN products.
If you’re currently sending out emails to your list and they’re hitting spam or not getting the open rates you hoped, then you can click here to check out my post on improving your email deliverability.
I personally like ConvertKit and it’s what I’m currently using.
However, you can check out my review of a wide range of different software that you can pick from by clicking here.
