Episode 12
Your Tiny Email List Can Still Get You Clients—Here’s How
Think your email list is too small to matter? Not true.
In this episode of The Solo Coach Podcast, we’re diving into why your tiny email list is more powerful than you think—and how to start using it now to connect with your people and grow your coaching business.
If you’ve ever felt like emailing your list is a waste of time because it’s just “too small,” this episode is for you. We’ll explore:
● The real reason you’re avoiding your list
● Why a small list might actually be an advantage
● A simple system to stay consistent (even when you’re busy)
As a solo coach building a business one relationship at a time, this episode will empower you to stop waiting and start using your list—no matter how many people are on it.
What You’ll Learn:
● The biggest myth holding coaches back from emailing their list
● How to shift from “I barely have anyone on my list” to “I’ve got this!”
● The 3-email IEP rotation to stay consistent and connected
Resources Mentioned:
● Join my newsletter: Find Coaching Clients
● Check out the Email Confidence Kit for Coaches
● The Happy & Successful Business Mastermind
Support the Show:
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review! Your feedback helps other solo coaches discover the show and grow their business too.
👉 Visit my website: Elevated Mind
Transcript
I have a question for you.
Speaker:Do you think that your email list is too small, like too small to really do
Speaker:anything with it, to email regularly or even get clients from.
Speaker:Well, here's why that's not true and what you're missing out on.
Speaker:It's a lie, honestly, that keeps coaches stuck.
Speaker:Most coaches don't email their list enough.
Speaker:It's not because they don't really want to, or it's not because, you know, they
Speaker:don't want to communicate with their community.
Speaker:It's because they believe that their list is too small to matter or they're afraid
Speaker:of emailing the wrong thing or too much.
Speaker:I mean, you've probably felt this like you worry about, you know, especially when
Speaker:you're just getting started those first few emails.
Speaker:What if you say something people don't like and they unsubscribe or you don't
Speaker:want to bug people, so you email, you know, once or twice a month and.
Speaker:Or your email list is, you know, five people, so you figure that's not, you
Speaker:know, nothing to be worth emailing at this point in time.
Speaker:You tell yourself that you barely have anyone on your list, so why bother?
Speaker:I don't want to send too many emails and annoy people.
Speaker:I don't even know what to email about.
Speaker:So you wait and you wait and you wait.
Speaker:And meanwhile, you know, if you're steadily growing your list, like
Speaker:you know, 50 or more people a month, then you know, that might be okay because
Speaker:you're going to be emailing your list pretty quickly, right?
Speaker:It's not going to be long before you start.
Speaker:However, if your list is growing slowly, then, you know, when
Speaker:will you start emailing?
Speaker:What's that threshold?
Speaker:Is it 10 people?
Speaker:Is it 20 people, 100?
Speaker:Well, I say it's when you have one person on your list, that's
Speaker:when you begin to email.
Speaker:So weeks or months can go by and you finally do send an email, your audience
Speaker:has already forgotten about you.
Speaker:That's the thing is if you wait, the people who are on your list
Speaker:have forgotten about you.
Speaker:I mean, you totally ghosted them.
Speaker:So if this is you, here's what I've learned from working
Speaker:behind the scenes of multi million dollar coaching companies and
Speaker:being a coach myself.
Speaker:A small list is not a problem.
Speaker:An ignored list is a problem.
Speaker:Here's what you can do about it.
Speaker:Your list, even if it's a tiny list, is more powerful than you think.
Speaker:You're not an E commerce store sending mass discounts to 100,000 people.
Speaker:You're a coach and probably a solo coach, meaning it's just you.
Speaker:You're wearing all the hats.
Speaker:Your business thrives on connection, trust and relationships.
Speaker:And guess what?
Speaker:It's easier to build deep relationships with a small audience than a massive one.
Speaker:With a smaller list, you can get higher engagement.
Speaker:That means fewer passive subscribers, meaning they got on your list for
Speaker:something free a long time ago, but really never intended to follow along with you.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:The people that are on your list when you are growing your list more slowly and you
Speaker:have a smaller list, are probably on your list for a very specific
Speaker:reason they want to be there.
Speaker:It's easier to personalize your emails.
Speaker:You can actually respond to people, ask questions, and tailor content.
Speaker:I mean, literally, you can have conversations
Speaker:and you can learn a lot from a small list.
Speaker:There's no pressure to be perfect, and perfect doesn't exist.
Speaker:But still, you can make mistakes with a smaller list without the impact
Speaker:it might have on a big list.
Speaker:You just need to be you.
Speaker:And you know when you're just starting out.
Speaker:As soon as you get person number one on your list, it's a great time to start
Speaker:getting into the habit of emailing your list regularly.
Speaker:Instead of seeing your small list as a problem, treat it like a small
Speaker:room of potential clients.
Speaker:If five people showed up to hear you speak, would you ignore them?
Speaker:Of course not. You would give them all your attention.
Speaker:That's how you should treat your email list.
Speaker:No matter if it has one person on it, or a thousand or ten thousand.
Speaker:You should speak to those people and give all your attention.
Speaker:I mean, come on, you've been waiting to talk to people and help them, right?
Speaker:And your email list, no matter how many people are on it,
Speaker:are right there waiting for you.
Speaker:Emailing your list is like having a direct line to your people.
Speaker:A line that has no algorithm, social media trend or platform change.
Speaker:Nothing that someone else is going to mess with or something else like the algorithm.
Speaker:You can think of it this way.
Speaker:Social media is like renting a house.
Speaker:You're building on someone else's land.
Speaker:The algorithm decides if people see your posts.
Speaker:Your reach can drop overnight.
Speaker:And one policy change can wipe out your presence.
Speaker:Have you ever lost access to an account?
Speaker:If so, see what I mean?
Speaker:Email, however, is like owning your home.
Speaker:You control it.
Speaker:You decide when and how you show up.
Speaker:No algorithm, just you and the people who actually want to hear from you.
Speaker:You are the one with the keys to your house.
Speaker:You choose the consistency, frequency and quality.
Speaker:Personally, I have found that building your email list is a top growth Driver
Speaker:of your coaching business growth.
Speaker:Driver number one is list growth.
Speaker:And I don't mean one or two people here and there, meaning steady, significant
Speaker:list growth month after month after month.
Speaker:And that also means having a plan in place to do that.
Speaker:Number two is email marketing, because as you're growing this list, you need to be
Speaker:talking to this list when people invite you into their inbox.
Speaker:That's personal, so treat it as such.
Speaker:And here's the real kicker.
Speaker:Your email list is full of people who have already raised their hand
Speaker:and said, I'm interested.
Speaker:They signed up, they want what you're offering, or they at least want to
Speaker:know about what you're offering.
Speaker:Which means that when you email consistently, you're not marketing.
Speaker:You're building a relationship.
Speaker:Your people get to know you, they start to trust you.
Speaker:They come to you when they're ready to get the help they need because they've
Speaker:made a connection with you.
Speaker:But if you haven't been emailing them regularly, they've probably
Speaker:already forgotten about you.
Speaker:That's why email is the most secure, reliable, and profitable
Speaker:way to get clients.
Speaker:We call it email marketing, but it's really just staying in touch with
Speaker:the people who want to hear from you.
Speaker:Here's a simple three email system that keeps your list interested.
Speaker:Now that you know your list does matter, no matter how small.
Speaker:Remember, as long as there's one person on your list, you have a list and
Speaker:you need to email your list.
Speaker:So it does matter.
Speaker:Now let's tackle the next big question.
Speaker:But what do I even email about?
Speaker:Well, the answer is use the Inspire, Educate, Promote rotation.
Speaker:This simple system keeps your emails fresh, engaging, and never too much.
Speaker:So what I mean by this is you look at three different emails
Speaker:in three different ways.
Speaker:So the first email is an Inspire email, or an email designed to create inspiration.
Speaker:The second email is designed to educate, to teach something useful.
Speaker:And the third can be a direct promotion to book a call with you, purchase a product,
Speaker:register for a webinar, sign up for your program.
Speaker:Right, whatever is relevant and appropriate in that email.
Speaker:So the first email type, Inspire, creates an emotional connection.
Speaker:People don't buy coaching, they buy an outcome.
Speaker:They need to believe that the outcome is possible, that they can do it, and
Speaker:that you are the coach to help them.
Speaker:That's why your first type of email is an inspiration email.
Speaker:It's something that makes your reader feel seen, heard, and motivated.
Speaker:And you don't even have to make a direct offer.
Speaker:You can make an indirect offer so that every email doesn't come across feeling
Speaker:like you're saying here, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy.
Speaker:What to send?
Speaker:You can send a personal story about a struggle that you have overcome.
Speaker:You can talk about a client transformation with permission, of course.
Speaker:Or if you have a case study, a powerful belief shift that changed your business.
Speaker:An example might say something like this.
Speaker:Five years ago I almost quit coaching. Why?
Speaker:I was afraid that no one would ever pay me.
Speaker:I told myself I needed a bigger audience, a fancier website and a perfect offer.
Speaker:But what I really needed was to show up, give value to others,
Speaker:and believe in my value.
Speaker:Here's what happened when I did and you go into the outcome.
Speaker:The next type of email is educate.
Speaker:This is giving practical value.
Speaker:Your audience needs motivation, yes, but they also need help.
Speaker:That's where your education emails come in.
Speaker:These provide actionable tips your audience can use right away.
Speaker:What to send.
Speaker:It might be something like a quick win strategy related to your niche, a common
Speaker:mistake your audience is making and how to avoid it, a step by step breakdown of
Speaker:something you've mastered, or some facts that they might not have
Speaker:been aware of before.
Speaker:Here's an example.
Speaker:If you're struggling to sign clients, you might be making this mistake.
Speaker:Selling the coaching process instead of the outcome.
Speaker:No one buys coaching.
Speaker:They buy outcomes.
Speaker:Here's how to reframe your offer so people say yes quickly.
Speaker:Third type of email Promote.
Speaker:This is an invitation to work with you in some way.
Speaker:Most coaches send too few promotional emails because they're afraid of selling
Speaker:too much or coming across as pushy or constantly asking people to buy.
Speaker:But let me be blunt.
Speaker:If you never sell, you never make money.
Speaker:And you can sell in a way, as I said, even in the inspirational email, in an
Speaker:indirect way that isn't pushy or annoying.
Speaker:Because if you're focusing first on providing that value, whether it's through
Speaker:inspiring them, motivating them, or educating them, then what you're offering
Speaker:in the mentioning of that can be done in a way that doesn't overwhelm
Speaker:the point of the email. Right?
Speaker:It doesn't come across as an email where you're selling.
Speaker:So your list wants to hear about your offers.
Speaker:We've talked a little bit about this.
Speaker:As long as they feel relevant, helpful and exciting, not pushy.
Speaker:And that's what I mean by like when we're writing an email, like an inspiration
Speaker:email, and then we mention something, maybe we use the PS then
Speaker:it doesn't feel pushy at all.
Speaker:But the other thing is, if you can connect it to whatever it is that you have written
Speaker:about in the email, the inspiration type.
Speaker:Email or educational, it doesn't matter.
Speaker:If you can tie it to your offer, bridge to it, then it feels relevant, it feels part
Speaker:of the story, part of the email, and a necessary piece and it makes sense.
Speaker:So again, as long as it feels relevant, helpful and exciting, you're just fine.
Speaker:Don't worry about it.
Speaker:Make those offers how many times have you looked at
Speaker:something, checked the price, and didn't buy it right away?
Speaker:Tons.
Speaker:That's like daily for me, probably, or almost daily.
Speaker:But you come back at some point because you knew you wanted it
Speaker:when the time was right.
Speaker:Like imagine like I know that I have certainly gone online, go shopping and I
Speaker:look at a few different places for something, I might even put it in a cart
Speaker:and kind of wait so I can make my decision and come back.
Speaker:Likewise, I have certainly opened up emails where someone is making an offer.
Speaker:It intrigued me.
Speaker:I clicked on it, opened up the sales page or whatever the next step was and went
Speaker:through it and like, hmm, I want to think on that.
Speaker:And I've left it open because I want to come back to it.
Speaker:There have certainly been things that I have purchased or signed
Speaker:up for down the road after it has.
Speaker:The offer has been made multiple times because in the first couple
Speaker:of offers I wasn't ready.
Speaker:Keep that in mind.
Speaker:And oftentimes people like this is an it's an long standing advertising kind of rule
Speaker:of thumb is that people need to see the offer multiple times.
Speaker:It used to be with print ads and I made did like don't quote me on this because I
Speaker:may be wrong, but it seems like I remember that for print ads like back in the day,
Speaker:people actually needed to see it an average of 14 times before
Speaker:they made a purchase.
Speaker:Now, I don't know what the if there is a parallel to like, you know, making offers
Speaker:through email, I really think that comes down to how well you've written the copy
Speaker:and how well you can tap into your people's desired outcome and
Speaker:pain points and struggles and how well you can highlight the gap.
Speaker:But the point being is it can take some time.
Speaker:And you should, it should.
Speaker:Especially in the beginning when you're getting started out.
Speaker:And so you're going to email and make offers multiple, multiple
Speaker:times, always and forever.
Speaker:And just remember that your list wants to know.
Speaker:The people on your list want to know what you have to offer.
Speaker:It doesn't mean that they're necessarily ready to buy right away, but they want to
Speaker:know and that way they can make a decision or make plans what to send.
Speaker:You can send an invitation to book, a free call, a launch announcement
Speaker:for a new program.
Speaker:A behind the scenes look at how you helped client a smaller, low risk solution that
Speaker:enables them to try your work at a low risk.
Speaker:Here's an example.
Speaker:This week I'm opening up five spots for whatever your offer is.
Speaker:If you've been wanting more clarity, more clients, and a business that actually
Speaker:feels good to run, this is for you.
Speaker:Hit Reply if you want details.
Speaker:That's another great way.
Speaker:Just start asking for the conversation right now.
Speaker:Here's how to make emailing consistently easier.
Speaker:If you're struggling to email consistently and this is very, very common when you're
Speaker:first starting out, I have even struggled with consistency and pick big.
Speaker:Part of that is that you don't have clarity around what you want
Speaker:to talk about regularly.
Speaker:But you will get there.
Speaker:But another thing that can help you, as I said, is using that
Speaker:Inspire Educate Promote.
Speaker:So I call it an IEP rotation and this is simply to help you
Speaker:create consistency and stay on track.
Speaker:For example, if you use this IEP approach right, you
Speaker:can then pick a day each week to write emails.
Speaker:Let's just say that it's every Tuesday.
Speaker:You know that Tuesdays are email writing day and you're going to go ahead and get
Speaker:those three emails written and scheduled.
Speaker:You can use the Inspire Educate Promote rotation.
Speaker:Rotate through the three types so you never run out of ideas.
Speaker:Or if you're ready to increase frequency, you can send them all in a week.
Speaker:So you can either let's say that you're sending out one email a week right now
Speaker:you can just start with the Inspire.
Speaker:The next week you can do an Educate type.
Speaker:The next week you can do a Promote type.
Speaker:Of course I would love to see you emailing more than that every single week.
Speaker:But if you're just starting out, I want you to focus on being consistent
Speaker:first at whatever frequency that is.
Speaker:Once you're consistent for quite a while, then you can increase frequency to the
Speaker:point of what makes sense for your business, or to whatever point
Speaker:you're able to maintain consistency.
Speaker:And only after that do I want you to begin to optimize those emails.
Speaker:Meaning look at all the stats and look at what you need to change and
Speaker:improve and introduce new ideas.
Speaker:So with this system, again, use the IEP rotation.
Speaker:Keep a running list of email topics.
Speaker:Anytime a client asks a question, add it to your list of topics.
Speaker:It's a great way to I get an idea to write an email around.
Speaker:Write like you're talking to one person.
Speaker:Forget marketing.
Speaker:Imagine writing to a really good friend who needs to hear from you today.
Speaker:Conversational moves people to professional can lack connection.
Speaker:Your small list can get you clients if you start now.
Speaker:If you're not emailing your list, you can't get clients from email.
Speaker:But I promise you, you can get clients from email.
Speaker:And it doesn't matter what size list you have.
Speaker:I know many coaches who have gotten clients with just a handful
Speaker:of people on their list.
Speaker:And I know clients who have got who have made over six figures with a list
Speaker:under 500 people, and not just once. So it wasn't a fluke.
Speaker:They did it again and again, year after year.
Speaker:So don't get the idea stuck in your head that you have to have a really big list to
Speaker:do anything with or to get clients from, because it simply isn't true.
Speaker:You don't need thousands of subscribers.
Speaker:You don't need to be perfect at email.
Speaker:You just need to show up consistently.
Speaker:Start with one email this week. Make it simple.
Speaker:Make it real. Make it helpful.
Speaker:Get good at being consistent, as I said, and then increase frequency.
Speaker:Your people are waiting.
Speaker:Now go. Hit send.
