This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Today's listener just got her website up. Woo hoo, congratulations. And now she is wondering about the next step. What would the next step be? Well, after you have a website, you need an email list.
Okay, these are probably the two most important tools that just about everybody needs, regardless of what kind of product or service you're developing, regardless of your side hustle. And there are some exceptions like some businesses that operate exclusively through social media or on some other platform. But generally speaking, probably 80% of our listeners who want to start some kind of project, you're gonna need a website and you're probably gonna need an email list provider. Okay, so why is this so important? It's because as soon as possible, you want to be collecting contact information or you want to be establishing networks of communication, let's say, from people who might want to hear from you, whether it's about a topic that you are writing on or sharing information on otherwise through a podcast, through a video, something else, or with updates and potential offers, deals, et cetera, on the products you're selling.
Okay, so there are lots of ways to connect with people, of course, but email remains powerful, remains tremendously powerful, let's say, decades after its invention, just because you don't have to rely on someone to be actively checking any other network. Aside from something like text messaging, which is even more immediate and has an even higher deliverability, open rate, et cetera, email is something that really hasn't changed a whole lot, at least in terms of its fundamental nature, all this time. So communication matters, but does it matter which company you use for your email list? That's what today's listener is wondering about. You'll hear from her and my answer right after this quick message from our sponsor.
Stay tuned. [Music]
Hey, Chris, this is Becca from LA, and I've been listening to the show for a couple of years now. I'm finally getting my first website up, and I know I need an email list to go with it. Which service should I choose? Does it matter?
Once I have it set up, what do I actually do with it? Just add a form on the site and hope that visitors sign up? Lastly, after the website and email service, is there anything else that's a must have? I'm big on logistics, and I like the idea of planning for everything at once. Thanks for any help you can give me, Chris.
[Music]
Hey Becca, thanks so much for listening. Thank you for the question, and congratulations on launching that first website. Okay, so good news here. Does it matter which company you choose? Not really.
You know, there's lots of options out there. Options include MailChimp, HubSpot, Constant Contact, ConvertKit, which is what I use these days, and more, and I don't necessarily think that one is better than the other, especially when you're just getting started. Also, several of the website platforms have gotten smart about this, and now include email management as part of their service. So for example, if you have a Squarespace website, if you have a Shopify website, those companies offer versions of essentially the same kind of thing. Now, if it doesn't matter now, might it matter later?
That's a little bit more difficult because the pricing for these services is based on the number of subscribers you have. So they tend to start very cheap, and they tend to get very expensive once you have tens of thousands of subscribers. So thinking long-term, there are some considerations between the different platforms and such. I just don't want you to get hung up on it while you're getting started because it's more important to move forward. And it is possible, by the way, to migrate your mailing list from one company to another 'cause you own the data.
Like the company doesn't own that data about the email and names and all that stuff, that's yours, right? People sign up for your website. But it's not always easy to do that. It can be a little bit of a painful process to move. So if at all possible, it's best to start with a platform and stick with it.
I did want to mention that we have a special offer from our partner, from our email host provider. You can learn more about that at sidehustleschool.com/email if you're interested. Again, sidehustleschool.com/email. So that is a good deal. But I also want to say if you're already on something else, then that's okay too.
Like I don't want you to feel like that's the only way to go forward because ultimately it may not matter too much. Now, as for Rebecca's other two questions, I think she said something like, "Okay, once I get the form up, what happens next?" Well, that's a topic that would take more than four minutes to answer, but I would say after you put the form on your site where people can join the email list, I think you should just ask yourself, why would visitors want to subscribe? What is the best possible reason I can give them to subscribe? I think if you think about that, you might identify some next steps there. And as for her other question, like what else is a must have?
Okay, I need my website, I need my email list. What else do I have to have? I would say there's not much else that's a must have. I mean, depending on what you're selling, depending on what you hope to provide or what kind of topic that you're going to be an expert in or whatever, there could be something else. But overall, in terms of generalities, it's far more important to focus much more on your offer.
Focus on what is it that you're going to provide people? How can you do a great job with that? And how can you create a compelling message around that offer? So that's going to be far more important than anything to do with tools. The tools should exist to support your overall message, your offer, what it is you hope to actually sell.
So think more about that. And if you have a question of your own, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. We'll continue to feature them throughout the year, along with stories, case studies, tips, and update some other listeners as they launch their projects. I'm so glad you're out there today. Take care of yourself and check on somebody else as well.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
