Last week I shared my answer to the reader question: “How do I grow a targeted email list?”
This email was so popular it got several responses from people responding about just how helpful it was.
It even led to this follow up reader question:
I’m right in the process of getting a local email list of people I know here. And no idea
of what they’re looking for!Have had 3 women’s gatherings/workshops and have their emails of course.
Maybe have these women each invite a friend to my next gathering and grow that way? Your thoughts?
I love this person thinking about what they could do to grow their email list!
My response:
I have some questions that will probably make my answers more useful for you. 😊
- What is the purpose of your local email list?
- What women’s gatherings and workshops have you collected these email addresses from?
- Are they expecting to hear from you?
Asking people to invite a friend to a gathering sounds like a great idea, in any case. If you send me some more thoughts, I’ll let you know what occurs to me from there.
This brings me to my point:
I LOVE answering your questions! Answering reader questions is amazing for many reasons.
It’s instantly relevant and useful to my readers. Hallelujah! My prayers to the gods of content creation are answered.
It makes my job of creating valuable content super easy. I know it’s relevant or you wouldn’t be asking, and all I have to do is answer.
It challenges me to explore territory I might not have done otherwise. I haven’t thought about “how to grow an email list” in some time, and these questions had me diving into my email marketing archives and blending it with some old-fashioned coaching, which resulted in something quite new and fresh.
Asking your question is a community service. Chances are good that the question you ask is also in the minds of others. By asking, you get to scratch your own itch and someone else’s, too.
(Sorry, slightly creepy metaphor. Not that there’s anything wrong with scratching a stranger’s itch.)
All that to say:
If you could ask me ONE question that would make the biggest difference for you right now, what would it be?
Send me your biggest, baddest, Abominable Snowman, Loch Ness Monster, Freddy Kruger question and I shall do my best to slay that Big Baddy with a power kick to the you-know-where.
But there’s something that makes for a really GOOD question that generates a super-powered answer. Have you noticed what it is?
I usually end up asking questions in response to these general inquiries, because I can’t provide a valuable answer without the clarity and context.
A Rockstar Question includes:
- A sentence or two about your business, specialty and what you’re up to
- What you’ve tried to answer your question so far: what worked and what didn’t
- What you’re considering as a solution or answer
- Your favorite song to sing at the top of your lungs in the shower*
Hint: if you’re a content creator, you might consider inviting your audience to ask Rockstar Questions in this way. It makes creating valuable content fun, fast and easy.
If you ask me a Rockstar Question right now, I’ll throw in this amazing bonus:
I’ll not only create an email from your response, I’ll turn it into a blog post with a blurb about how awesome you are and a link to your website! You’ll have your question answered and get a promotional boost for your business with a backlink in the bargain.
So ask away! I can’t wait to imagine you singing in the shower.
(Wait – that was also creepy. What’s going on with you today, Steph?)
Yours in love and play,
Steph
*Not actually a necessary component of a Rockstar Question, but Steph thinks it would be really fun to know
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