How to nurture your email list even when you’re Out of Office: 3 strategies for taking the summer off
Ah, summer—
A time when even if you’re normally the most responsible, adult, buckle-down-and-do-it kind of person, it feels like the world is almost daring you to not show up for work.
Especially this year, am I right?
This year it feels like our collective exhaustion with the world has sublimated into a universal acknowledgement that we’re all going to be more or less OOO from yesterday until Labour Day, or thereabouts.
(If you’re reading this from Australia, thinking, “Will these lazy North Americans ever stop going on about their summer breaks?” Sorry—the answer is no, probably not. )
This year is actually the first year since 2015 that I am NOT taking the summer off.
Instead, I’ll be over here creating content & offers to see me through till Fall.
But since I do want you to be able to relax, and enjoy, without worrying about the emails you have to send if you want to stay in touch with your list, today I thought I’d share:
3 Strategies To Help You Stay In Touch With Your Audience When You’re Taking The Summer Off
This first one’s for you if:
You really need a true break…
You’re generally good at keeping in touch…
You’ll have time to reconnect with your audience before you try to launch again…
#1: Just accept that you won’t and move on
This may be counterintuitive advice from someone who generally always recommends that you send more emails…
But the fact is, your subscribers have other stuff going on, too. They’ll probably survive if you skip a few weeks (or more) of emails.
Your next step?
Send an email that feels like it’s coming from a friend (as usual) letting them know what you’ll be up to and when they can expect to hear from you again…
…and then just GTFO.
***
This next one’s for you if:
You’re planning to launch an offer right around the time you’ll be back at work…
You’re religiously consistent and don’t want to let things drop off…
You’ve got time to schedule a later send before you turn on your OOO…
#2: Re-share relevant content your people may have missed
Pre-scheduling your weekly email to point your subscribers towards your existing content is a great option if you’ve already got blog posts / podcasts / Youtube videos etc. that they might not have seen for awhile—especially if those are relevant to an offer you plan to sell when you’re back at work.
Alternatively, you can grab copy from an Insta post that did well and turn that into an email. Or take that old IGTV video you created, transcribe it and schedule that for another week.
Essentially, this strategy is all about repurposing content you’ve already created so that you’re staying top of mind, educating your audience about the problem you help them solve, and helping them shift beliefs so that they’ll be ready to buy when you’re ready to sell.
Your next step?
Go grab that content (this part’s important!) spend some time making sure you’re adding relevant, timely hooks that will get people to open those emails whether they’re at the beach or sitting at home, muttering curses at anyone with a hint of a tan.
This one’s for you if:
You don’t want to bail, but you’re not a planner either…
You’re too burnt out to pre-schedule, but not ready to completely jump ship…
You know you’ll have a million ideas as soon as you’ve been offline for more than 48 hours…
#3: Share lighthearted takeaways from wherever you are, but – and this is key – SET A TIMER for how long you’ll let yourself scroll / write
We all know by now that rest is good for us…
(We all know this, right? It feels like it’s become a Universal Truth but I also recognize #hustleculture is still alive and well)...
So if YOU know that as soon as you’ve completely unplugged, you tend to be visited in dreams by your sexy creative muse…
Go with it.
Share your vacation epiphanies with us.
Hell, share your random vacation anecdotes with us.
You can add value to your audience simply by sending quick & easy emails.
Just make sure you place limits on how long you’ll let yourself scroll / draft / revise / spend any time online.
If your goal is to be offline, then let yourself BE offline.
We’ll miss you, but we’ll be here when you get back.
Your next step?
Make note of the goal you have for your newsletters while you’re away:
Are you nurturing?
Are you in pre-launch?
Do you want to sell something completely hands-off?
Then on your regular email day, give yourself 30 mins and just share something fun. Add your CTA. And then log off.
So what do you think?
Which one is more your style?
Let me know how you’re spending your summer & how you plan to keep in touch with your people by leaving a comment below.
If sending your weekly email feels more like a chore than a money-making privilege, check out this comprehensive email marketing strategy & planning workshop:
Inside Activate your Email List, you’ll learn:
How to create months' worth of content ideas in one sitting (not just for your emails, but social media & blog posts too)
Which messages to send & when (whether you're prepping for a live launch or booking clients all the time) <— THIS is the piece that 99% of list-building courses leave out!
Expert tips, copy tricks & subject line best practices that will help you write the kind of emails that move your people to ACT
“Katie’s workshop was just what I needed to give me a framework to bring my subscribers closer to me and get better at CTAs and sales.”
- Jilliane Yawney, www.jillianeyawney.com
xo KP