5 Simple Strategies to Grow Your Email List to Your First (or Next!) 1,000 Email Subscribers! with Kristen Robinson

Kathi: Hi everyone, this is Kathi, and I am with the email list growing queen, Kristen Robinson. Thanks for joining me, Kristen.

Kristen: Thank you for having me.

Kathi: Absolutely. So I know you're a work-at-home person and you've created a great lifestyle by doing what you do, and you're really well known in your field for growing your list. Talk to me a little bit about how you got started. What's your backstory?

Kristen: So first of all, I am a military spouse. My husband is in the Marine Corps, and we move every three years. So being online is very essential to my lifestyle, because we move every three to three and a half years. And basically I decided to get online. When I started my business, it was, believe it or not, an offline business, not realizing that, hey, I move every three to three and a half years. And when my husband got his first set of orders to Hawaii, yay, Hawaii, I was moving literally to the other side of the country, because we were in North Carolina. So we're going all the way to Hawaii, literally the other side of the country. And no offense, technology was not what it was at that time. We didn't have Zoom and all that great stuff. And so my clients were like, "Yeah, I'm sorry. This is great, but I'm used to seeing you every day, and I will no longer be doing business with you." So I lost 90% of my clients because I moved across the country. And I'm like, "Yeah, we can't be doing that."

Kathi: What were you doing with your clients at that point, in person?

Kristen: I was branding. We were a marketing agency. I had a website designer and a graphic designer on staff, and we were doing websites, promotional products, social media marketing, print marketing as well. If you signed with us, it was a whole year commitment, and we usually signed anywhere between 12 to 20 clients for the year. So, a really busy boutique marketing agency. And when we got to Hawaii, I was like, "You know what? Let's try this online thing. Let's do it." And I got online and I was like, "Okay, I got a webinar." Because that's what they tell you, right? Do a webinar. Whoever they are, they tell you, "Do a webinar." So I did a webinar, and nobody came, because I didn't have a list. You can't invite people you don't have, right?

Kristen: So I went to my business bestie, who was already online, and was like, "Can you promote my webinar?" And she's like, "Sure." So she promoted my webinar. She has a 20,000-person list. And I got my first 200 people. Yay. Nobody bought. It's like, "Yeah, I got a list, but nobody bought." So I'm like, "Okay, it's got to be the offer, right? It's got to be the offer." So she invited me to her event in Atlanta. Same offer, same price, same everything. And in person I sold out. I enrolled 10 people into that course, sold out all the spots, and I'm like, okay, it's not the offer. So I went back to the webinar, those same 200 people, and did the same again. Same webinar, same offer. You see where I'm going with this?

Kathi: Right.

Kristen: Two people this time. And I'm like, I need a list. I was like, okay, I don't have a bad offer. I need a list. And that was when I was like, okay, I'm going to grow my list. And for a lot of my clients, I know the pain all too well. I remember it. It's not like it was recently, it was a while ago, but I still remember the fresh pain of, "Oh, no one's buying. I need a list." So yeah, I've been there, and that's why I'm so passionate about what I do, because it's hard to sell your stuff when you don't have anybody to talk to.

It's hard to sell your stuff when you don't have anybody to talk to.

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Kathi: It's so funny that now, if you had moved from North Carolina to Hawaii, your marketing clients probably would have gone with you, because now I don't have to see you in person. It's not like that anymore. We're all so accustomed to the virtual thing. Especially the work you were doing could easily have been done virtually. But that's what happens with technology. It evolves.

Kristen: Exactly. It evolves. And it's funny, because even in Hawaii I was still half and half. I still had the agency open because I was transitioning into online. So by the time we left Hawaii, I was full-time online. That was a three-year transition of trying to really get that going as technology evolved. But I also realized that it's hard to have that footprint and do that. And lots of people locally like to see me, and it was just really hard.

Kathi: They get spoiled. They like seeing you.

Kristen: They do. And that's okay.

Kathi: So you've done a lot with your email list building business. What do you consider your most unique gift? What's the asset you draw on to make you succeed, and perhaps others that you help?

Kristen: Like strategy-wise, or just how I help my clients?

Kathi: Your inner gift. What do you have that you bring forth?

Kristen: I would say my clients always tell me this, and it's one of those things I didn't believe at first until I got somebody outside the online world. My clients always tell me I have a great way of breaking things down into simple tasks that you can do. I'm a good person where I can break things down step by step, where it's manageable to do. And again, I never believed that, because it's one thing to be an expert in what you do. But side note, I love to garden. That's my hobby. And so I was talking to my father-in-law and he's like, "I want to garden, too." And I was telling him how to get started. He's like, "Oh my gosh, you made it so doable. I was so scared, and it was all this stuff, and wow, it's so simple." And I'm like, "Yeah, my clients are right. I know how to break this stuff down really well." But that is my gift: I can take things and literally break them down into bite-sized pieces where it's doable, and cut out the fluff so that you feel like it's manageable.

Kathi: I really love that, and that's something that's very important for any type of coach or any type of person that's teaching anything. So good job on that. So talk to me about what you feel is the best strategy for growing your list. All the women entrepreneurs out there are in the same boat. We need more people on our list. What's your favorite strategy? I know you have several up your sleeve.

Kristen: My favorite strategy is online giveaways. Definitely, by far, my favorite, either hosting or participating, either one, for various reasons. I like online giveaways because it's fast. I'm a very impatient person. I want to build my email list like yesterday. Online giveaways allow you to grow your email list by the hundreds in a short amount of time. I think my record is I've added 800 people to my email list in three weeks in an online giveaway. So it happens really fast. But what I also love about online giveaways is there's this collaboration piece. You're not alone. You're in this community of other people, all promoting, and it's this fun group thing that we're all doing together to help each other. So there's this collaboration spirit that I love.

Online giveaways allow you to grow your email list by the hundreds in a short amount of time.

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Kristen: And then, going with that collaboration spirit, I always meet new people. I think that's the coolest part. And every giveaway is always a different circle of people. So I feel like I'm in these different circles all over, where I get to meet new people, and those new people can be your collaboration partners, creating new things or doing things together. There are some people right now from the last one I hosted that I'm promoting to my list next year. We're doing some joint venture things together, and that's so super cool. We're going to exchange different things. Or people have been in my giveaways and I promoted them to my list. People who are really good, it's like, "Oh, I love your free gift. Can I promote you to my list?" And they're like, "Really?" And I'm like, "Yes, this is awesome." So I just love hosting or participating. I love meeting new people, and like I said, that spirit of partnership where you're all doing it together, and then you're meeting new people where you can collaborate even further and grow your list or get more sales, too. So it's just a great multifaceted thing where you can really get involved and meet new people.

Kathi: Yeah. And giveaways are generally not that costly. For those listening out there, if you've never done a giveaway, definitely jump into one, because I agree with Kristen. As online entrepreneurs, we feel like we're alone all the time, and this allows us to make friends and meet new people that we would have never met. And again, I love the fact that you will JV further and get more friendships and deepen the relationship. I think that's fantastic. And actually, that's why I'm having you on this podcast, because I was involved with one of yours. And you are very methodical. I like the way that you break down the steps one, two, three, so on and so forth. So let me ask you, how long have you been online, or when did you move out to Hawaii?

Kristen: 2012.

Kathi: Okay, good. So you've been at it. So what do you feel is the biggest obstacle that you've had to overcome in this aspect of your business?

Kristen: Just moving. Just moving.

Kathi: Business-wise, anything that you've struggled against and overcome.

Kristen: Honestly, the moving piece. I'm thinking about it this year because this year is a PCS year. Hold on, I'll break it down. PCS stands for permanent change of station. My husband's going to get orders and we're going to move somewhere else. Remember, every three to three and a half years this happens. But the thing is, if he gets into a special school, his schools are anywhere between six months to a year. So when you add it all up, since we've been married it's been like six moves, and we've been married for almost 13 years. So if you guys want to put the math together, that's a lot of moving. And the reason I say that is because it's my life and business: when my life gets chaotic, my business gets chaotic.

Kristen: One thing I will say, for some of you who are familiar with military life, my husband is an officer. I'm just going to caveat with that. Because he's an officer, there are lots of activities that happen throughout the year, whether it's a PCS year or not. But if you are leaving on orders, you have what you call hail and farewell. Hail and farewell means you hail in the new people and you farewell the people leaving. And no offense, you would think there's just one, right? Because he's in one unit. Oh, no, there are lots of them. The Marines that he works with have to do one, then all his peers have to do one, then the whole unit has to do one. When we moved from, I think it was New Orleans, there were like five hail and farewells. I'm just like, I can't go to all these. I'm going to get fat, because there's always eating involved. There are gifts, all that. So there are all those things I have to do with my husband. There's saying goodbye to everybody. There's the moving. You've got to pack things in boxes. So it's all of that.

Kristen: And then what's happening in my business? Because I'm not available to deliver, let's say, a course. I'm not available to do some things. And so I would say the hardest thing is, how do I navigate my business in the midst of the chaos of moving? And then let's not forget, what if I move into a different time zone? Because that happens too. I could be on the East Coast, and then it's Hawaii. I go from Hawaii to the Central time zone. So that's another thing: I have to really cut back on what I'm going to offer to my people, because I'm like, hold on, this is July. I can't say this will be 3 p.m. Eastern, because that might not be the case. It might be 2 o'clock Eastern, and then I have to remember I'm six hours behind in Hawaii. So for example, this year I only planned from January to April, because May and June are hail and farewells and July is moving. So there's this pause in my business where I'm uncertain of what's going to happen. I have to really wait until the orders come: where are we going?

Kristen: And even when we get the orders, that doesn't mean that's exactly where we're going. Because when we got orders to go to Hawaii, the original orders were for Japan. We were going to Japan. Our stuff was already on a boat in March. And in March they came back to us and said, "Yeah, the position got reassigned. You're moving to Hawaii." Okay. So all my stuff is on a boat. Is it going to come back? And they said, "Oh, it's going to come back, but it's going to go past Hawaii all the way back to North Carolina, and then it's going to go back all the way." I'm like, "Oh my gosh." So even then, I tell people, I don't believe it until I'm sitting on the plane and buckling my seat belt. That's when I know it's going to happen. And we were supposed to move in June, and they're telling us in March, no, you're changing, and all the stuff on the boat won't get there till September. So I'm like, "Oh, well, I'm glad I have a laptop."

I don't believe it until I'm sitting on the plane and buckling my seat belt.

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Kristen: So that is the hardest thing: to navigate what it is I'm going to offer in my business, and how I'm going to serve my people during the time I'm trying to move a whole household of people to a new location. New doctor, new vet for my dog, new area, housing, all of those things that I have to navigate in my life while trying to run my business. So that has been the hardest challenge.

Kathi: Oh, I get it. And then you throw daylight saving time into the mix, too. Are they switching? Are they not switching? Who switched? I don't know. So yeah, you're up against a lot. I organize a lot of military spouses, so I get it. And just the gowns alone that you girls have to put on is something.

Kathi: So talk to me about your most memorable win, something that you did for yourself or your client. Give me a good story of a nice win for yourself.

Kristen: Gosh, the most memorable win. I'm going to go with the one that just immediately popped into my head. And it's funny, because this organization is no longer around, but it was still the coolest thing ever. In Hawaii there was an organization. They would host monthly networking events. I had just gotten to the island in June or July-ish, and it was September, so it's my second networking event of theirs, and they decided to do an award. It was the networking award, and I won. Yay. And I remember going, "How the heck do I win this award when I've only been on this island for two months? Who the heck did I meet?" And what was really cool about this award is that it's by voting. They send out a thing to everyone who's a member of this organization and say, "Hey, who would you nominate?" And then after they get the nominations, you have to vote. So I'm sitting there going, I literally stepped foot on this island two months ago, networked. How did I get nominated, and then how did enough people vote for me for me to win this? And we're talking people who had been on the island for years, you guys. It's not like, oh, she's new, let's give it to her. There were other people who had been on the island way longer than me. It's like, how did I win this?

Kristen: There were three different awards. Don't ask what the other two were, because I was excited about mine. But I remember the other person who won their award. We were in another organization that no longer exists, unfortunately, the National Association of Professional Women. We were in that group together, and she was like, "I'm so happy, because I voted for you." And I just had to know. I'm like, "Why did you vote for me? You barely know me. You've known me for like a month. Why would you vote for me out of everybody?" And I love what she said. She's like, "The fact that you came on this island and you weren't so arrogant. You just wanted to give. You just wanted to help people. And that just stood out so much for me that when they asked who would you nominate, I nominated you." And I was like, "Oh." And she goes, "And I voted for you." And I was like, "Wow." And she goes, "I can't speak for everybody, but if they voted for you, I'm pretty sure they feel the same way." And that was just the coolest thing. I'm like, I'm just helping people out. That's kind of how networking works. You help people, and then they help you. You have this give-first attitude. That was probably one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me in business.

Kathi: That's awesome. Givers get, for sure. So how do you celebrate your success? What do you do? I'm asking this because this is a big year of celebration for me, to make sure that I celebrate all the wins. How do you celebrate your wins?

Kristen: I'm a very simple girl, honestly. So I have a tiered thing. Something as simple as, let's just say I did a launch, and whether it went bad or good, I did it. I have an "I did it" award. That's ice cream. Baskin-Robbins ice cream, pralines and cream, in a cup. We don't get the cone, just the cup. "I did it": one scoop. Now, for example, I do a lot of three-day virtual events, because that's a lot. Again, whether it's bad or good, I'm really all about "I did it," and that's all that matters. If it's good, okay, we'll put some cool stuff in there. But there's a minimum of celebration. So whenever I finish my three-day virtual events, I do a spa day. I go to Massage Envy, I get my little massage, and I get the facial. I get both. There's no either-or, or "hey, it was a good event." No, no. The minimum is a massage and a facial.

I'm really all about "I did it," and that's all that matters.

Kristen: And then when it comes to end-of-the-year stuff, how I reward myself is a nice weekend somewhere. And it doesn't even have to be away. Sometimes I've been feeling like, you know what, I just want to stay at home and not leave, and I've done this. I would literally go to the grocery store, get everything I need for the weekend, and not leave my house for the whole weekend. Just cozy up in a little snuggle blanket, watch my Netflix, watch my Hulu, watch my Disney Plus, whatever it is, cuddle with the dog, all that great stuff, and just chill out. Before all of that, I would go to Margaritaville. I love Margaritaville. When we lived in New Orleans, we were going to Mississippi to Margaritaville. And of course in Hawaii, well, there are plenty of places to go in Hawaii. It's Hawaii. So for end-of-the-year stuff, I love to take care of myself. I guess it's self-care in the weirdest way, minus the ice cream part. I love rewarding myself, just really treating myself to a really good time. So I'm very simple.

Kathi: You are the first person that has a three-tier list of things. I absolutely love it. Three tiers, girl. You do think very thematically. I love this: step by step by step. I might have to throw in the ice cream cup myself when I do something. I think it's fantastic to celebrate whether it's good or bad. The fact that you just did it, the "I did it" award, is a great reminder for all of us, and I'm going to implement that as well, because I'm always so judgy with myself, as we all are. Well, it wasn't quite what I wanted, and then I don't celebrate, which is just silly, because the fact that you actually did it is fantastic. So good for you, girlfriend. I'm taking that one away. I'm going to run with it. And I like the idea of the ice cream in a cup.

Kathi: Okay. So you're very organized. Obviously you have to be, as a military spouse and as an entrepreneur. What's your favorite organizing hack?

Kristen: Oh, man.

Kathi: Your favorite organizing hack or platform, whatever you use that you just love.

Kristen: As far as organizing notes, or what kind of organization?

Kathi: Okay, let's do this. To keep your day-to-day life organized as an entrepreneur, what tool do you use?

Kristen: Okay, this is going to sound so simple, but hands down, Google Calendar. Now I'm going to say the reason why. I love Google Calendar because, remember, my husband is in the military. There are times where I don't know when he's going to be out, because he just forgets to tell me. So I have synced his calendar onto mine. So I'm like, "Oh, you have a field exercise next week." I can look, because his stuff is synced with mine. And what I've done is I've added reminders to remind me, oh, he's going to be out in the field, aka he won't be home for a week, which means Kristen makes sure he takes out the trash before he leaves, or makes sure he changes that light bulb. The honey-do list before he leaves. So when the week comes, it's not like, "Hey honey," oh, he's not here.

Kristen: On top of that, my team has access to this calendar as well. So if they're like, "Hey, I need Kristen for something," it's like, Kristen is not available at this time. And what I found with my team the most is it also gives my team boundaries. Because I love my team. They love me. I want to say this. Yes, you need boundaries with clients, but you also need boundaries with your team. So for example, I have lunch on my calendar. It says lunch break, and there's a block, and I've trained my team: do not message me, do not Slack me, from 12 to 1. And if you do, I'm not going to answer you, and I'm going to silently remind you, aka not answer you, that I am at lunch. This is my time where I am eating. I am enjoying myself. I get one hour, and then I will be back in the office, aka up the stairs, and I'll answer you. But from this time to this time is my sacred time of eating and being with myself.

Kristen: And so that has been one of the coolest things, that my team can respect those boundaries. Like, oh, she's in an interview right now. She'll answer me later. Or, hey, she's doing lunch. Or, hey, Kristen has a doctor's appointment. So it's them knowing where I am, but also the fact that they know when to expect me to respond to something. And the best part is, I've told my team, I don't care if it's on fire. You can wait. This urgency is not as important as you think it is. And they've learned that as well. Like, "Oh my gosh, this client's going to fire us." It's like, no, they're not. It's just a misunderstanding that I will clear up when I get out of the doctor's appointment and drive all the way home. I'm still driving. I will see you when I get there. I'll respond when I get there. So having that boundary with my team and separating myself as the CEO, but also keeping my husband organized, myself organized, the dog, all that stuff, has just been really helpful. As simple as it sounds, it's done a lot for my business and my personal life.

Kathi: No, it's super powerful. I could not live without my Google Calendar. And I agree, the team knows where I am. They schedule into it, they have the parameters, they schedule for me. Like this podcast, they scheduled it, and then I just show up. And we also have a separate schedule for all of our promotions. And it's funny you say that about your husband. Do you schedule trash on his calendar?

Kristen: No, I feel like I really need to. Okay, in all fairness, he puts reminders on his phone. So Monday night it'll be like, trash out. But I don't see the reminders, which stinks, because it only syncs the event. So he has his own reminders, and of course we'll be sitting next to each other and it's like, oh, trash goes out, and it's on his reminder.

Kathi: I ask you that because I put "take out the trash" on my husband's calendar, because every other week we have recycling and trash, and my husband never remembers. So I put it on his Google Calendar, because we share calendars, and he declines it all the time. He cracks me up. He still takes it out, but he just has to put that decline in there just to get my goat. That way we don't have to nag. It's in the calendar. He goes, "Is it recycling or trash?" Look in the Google Calendar. I wrote it in there because I can't remember which week is which.

Kristen: Exactly.

Kathi: It's just the trivial stuff. When you use a calendar properly, the trivial stuff just falls away. Just like your team knows that you're not going to be disturbed at a certain time, my team knows they can't schedule me, because they can look at my calendar and see where I am and who I'm with and what I'm doing. So it just works out beautifully. I just love the Google Suite in general. So, as we're winding down, if you were going to tell your 18-year-old self something, what piece of advice would you give her?

Kristen: My 18-year-old self. Oh, boy. I would tell her that at any given time, anything can change. And it's so funny, because my husband and I were talking about this the other day, back in the high school and college days, where you just think everything is so finite. Fun fact about me and my husband: in high school, we went to separate high schools, and we never got asked to homecoming, ever. So it's hilarious. We've never been to a homecoming. And when you think about it, you're like, "Oh my gosh, no one ever asked me. Something must be wrong with me." And it's like, news flash, just because you didn't go to homecoming doesn't mean you won't go to prom or the next dance or whatever. And I just have to laugh, because in college we had dances and we actually went to dances together. We never went to homecoming, but we went to dances together. It's just funny how some of that stuff works out, where you think it's so finite or you think it means something about you, but the next day is another day. That thing is in the past, and the next thing can change. And I say that because, especially in the life that I live as a military spouse, literally any day can be different. One day it's this, one day it's that, nope, it's this. Any given day, anything can change. And so that's what I would tell my 18-year-old self: recognize that whatever yesterday brought doesn't mean that's what tomorrow's going to bring.

Kathi: Yeah. Go with the flow, girl. Go with the flow, and expect it to change, because the one thing that's constant is change anyhow. So you might as well get into it. Okay. So I know you have something that you're going to offer the audience and the listeners. What's your free valuable resource that you're going to put out there, Kristen?

Kristen: My Explode Your Audience Blueprint. I love this. It's basically the five ways I've grown my email list to 4,000 email subscribers twice. I grew my email list from zero to 4,200 in two and a half years. And I realized that I wasn't making the amount of money that I wanted to make. I was struggling to make $3,000 months with a 4,000-person email list. And I was just like, "This is absurd. I'm going to burn down my list, like any sane person would do." So I sent out three emails to my list and said, "Hey, if you want to stay with me, click here and opt in again." And out of those 4,200, 1,600 stayed with me. So I literally lost a lot of my list.

Kristen: And I realized a big learning lesson was not only do I need to grow my list, but I need to grow my list with the right people. Because a lot of people are taught they can have quality or quantity, and it's like, no, you can have both. That's what we want. We want a lot of the right people. We don't want a small group. And so I was like, okay, I have a second chance to do this. Let's see if I can grow my list with quality people, the right people, but get a lot of them. And that's what I did when I went from 1,600 to 4,000 in a year and a half. So I did it faster. And when I finally hit that 4,000 is when I had a $65,000 year in my business. And the previous year I had made 30,000. So I doubled my revenue just by having the right people looking at my offer.

A lot of people are taught they can have quality or quantity, and it's like, no, you can have both.

Kristen: And so in my Explode Your Audience Blueprint, I'm walking you through the strategies that I used to do that twice. And the funny thing is, I used a lot of the same strategies. I just tweaked them to make sure I was talking to the right person, tweaking my messaging. It was the same strategies. It was just, hey, I'm talking to this person, and being more specific with whoever that person was. So my blueprint covers my five strategies on how I did it, and I'm giving that as my valuable resource.

Kathi: I love that. And I think it's so important that everyone out there hears this: you can get rid of the people who didn't opt in again. They were people who really didn't care anyhow, and they were probably ones that didn't open your emails, and you're paying to send stuff to them. So I think that's brilliant, and very courageous of you to slaughter your list. I think it needs to be done from time to time. All right, everybody, download that. I've already downloaded it and looked at it. It's really, really good. So download it. You'll get some tips you might not have even considered on how to grow your list from Kristen. I really appreciate that. That's very generous, Kristen. So is there anything that we should have talked about that I didn't ask you? Anything burning that you wanted to talk about during this podcast?

Kristen: Not necessarily, but I'm glad you had me. And this is probably the most different type of interview I've had in a long time. I don't really get a chance to talk about my military spouse life, so I'm glad I really got to talk about it, especially the things that keep me organized, because there is a lot that happens. But yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Kathi: Oh, absolutely. That's what it's all about. I think hearing everybody's stories and where we're at personally is a big factor for us as women entrepreneurs, especially those of us who are working from home. Our home life is very much a factor in our success or not, and our attitude or not. So I commend you for all your moves, and going online obviously is something you had to do. And good luck with the time change. Everybody's still dealing with that one. Maybe one day we'll stop changing the time. That'd be fantastic. But anyhow, thank you, Kristen, so much. And everybody, make sure to download your resource. Grab it. You'll learn a lot. And I will see you next week. Thanks, Kristen.

Kristen: Thank you. Take care. See you guys next week.