Building an Email List with Nicki from The Sprinkle Topped Teacher

You've heard about the importance of building an email list, but what are you supposed to do with it once you have it? We're discussing how to consistently use your list and the importance of growing it today on the podcast. And, we're continuing the conversation in our Mastermind group. Head over there to share what works for you and hear what others are saying: www.growwithusmastermind.com.

Building an email list. It seems to be one of those things that's on every TpTers to-do list, but it's often not something that we focus on. April and I both admit that we haven't been real consistent with sending out emails to our lists over the summer either. That's why we brought Nicki from The Sprinkle Topped Teacher on the podcast to share how she grew her TpT store by focusing on building and using an email list.
A little about Nicki
Nicki started her store, The Sprinkle Topped Teacher, back in September of 2015. Her original focus was on K-3 products, but she has moved into creating resources for a broader audience.

This is her first schoolyear that she is going full time as a TpTer. She recently moved across the country and is using this as her opportunity to try stepping away from the classroom.

If you're thinking about taking the same step, check out our episode So You're Thinking of Going Full Time TpT? It's an exciting step but can feel a little scary too.

Nicki started focusing on building an email list after listening to plenty of business podcasts that talked about the importance of it. And, it really stood out to her when she heard Jenna Kutcher from Goal Digger say that if people subscribe to your email list they are your people.

She spent the entire 2018 year creating products releasing three a month! After that, she felt it was time to start building her list. So, she signed up for Amy Porterfield's Email List Building course and hit the ground running. During the 2019 schoolyear, she only created one resource and spent the rest of her time focusing on growing her email list and the results have been huge!
Don't be afraid to invest in yourself
Nicki mentioned that because she invested in herself and spent the money on the course she was more likely to follow through on completing it. The investment became a type of accountability for her.

April and I have found the same thing to be true. So, don't be afraid to invest in yourself. with courses and software. It might be just the thing that you need as motivation to really get your TpT business growing.
What do you send out to your email list?
Nicki believes in the 90/10 strategy. This means that 90% of what she sends out is focused on serving her customer. The last 10% is leftover for sales.

Every Sunday she sends out the Sunday Sunshine to her email list. The goal is to help her audience fight the Sunday scary. She reminds them of their purpose and value and gives them a freebie or notifies them of a promotion or podcast that shew was on.

On occasion, (that 10%) she sends out a sales email. When she does this it's usually an email the day before the sale and then one on the day of the sale.

Here's the best part—people reply to her emails. They are thankful for them and she gets feedback and reassurance that her emails are a hit with her audience.
What type of format should you use?
Nicki sticks with a simple format for her weekly emails. They begin with an introduction and then include a tip or challenge for the week. After that, she has a closing message and a P.S. that includes something that she's promoting.

You may hear from other sources that you should keep your emails short. But, Nicki mentioned that her emails are long