Episode 89: The Best (And Second Best) Way I Know To Get Quality Leads

Summary

Summary of Episode 89: "The Best (And Second Best) Way I Know To Get Quality Leads"

Podcast Title: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox
Host: Liz Wilcox
Release Date: February 6, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 89 of The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox, titled "The Best (And Second Best) Way I Know To Get Quality Leads," Liz delves into effective strategies for online businesses to attract high-quality leads to their email lists. Addressing common challenges such as leads that don't convert or high unsubscribe rates, Liz presents her top two methods for generating and maintaining a robust email list that not only grows but also ensures engagement and profitability.

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1. Affiliate Marketing Program: The Premier Strategy

Liz identifies affiliate marketing as her foremost strategy for acquiring quality leads. She emphasizes the importance of attracting customers who are genuinely interested in your offerings, as opposed to mere list subscribers who may not engage meaningfully.

Key Points:

• Customer-Centric Lead Generation:
  Liz explains that the best leads are those who become customers first. When individuals purchase a product or service, they are inherently more invested and likely to engage further with the brand.
  “The best way I know of is to build out an affiliate marketing program and to just have customers come onto your list through affiliate marketing.” [02:00]

• Community Through Customers:
  Contrary to the common belief that building community leads to sales, Liz posits that sales actually foster community. Customers are more likely to participate, share, and become affiliates themselves, creating a vibrant and engaged community.
  “Because customers actually create community... when people buy something, they're invested, they take action and then they share.” [04:30]

• Real-World Example:
  Using her own Email Marketing Membership (EMM) as an example, Liz illustrates how customers not only join her email list but also participate actively by attending live calls, joining Facebook groups, sharing content, and even leaving unsolicited reviews. This multi-faceted engagement signals high-quality leads.
  “You're in the Wilcox verse, you're in my universe. You're doing the things right because you're a customer.” [05:45]

• Advantages Over Traditional List Building:
  Affiliate marketing ensures that leads are pre-qualified through their purchasing behavior, leading to higher engagement rates and lower unsubscribe rates. This approach builds a list of individuals who are more likely to buy and interact with future marketing efforts.
  “You're in it to win it. They are sold on you. You don't have to sell them.” [07:15]

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2. Podcast Guesting: The Second Best Strategy

As a close second, Liz highlights podcast guesting as an exceptional method for attracting quality leads. By appearing on various podcasts, hosts can tap into new audiences who are already engaged and interested in their expertise.

Key Points:

• Establishing Credibility and Trust:
  When you guest on a podcast, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and build trust with the audience over the duration of the episode. Liz emphasizes that listeners who tune in for extended periods and choose to engage further by subscribing to your email list are highly valuable leads.
  “As a podcast guest, you are giving your best, you are establishing so much credibility, expertise, and creating so much likability that the right people will sign up for your list and give you high freaking quality leads.” [10:50]

• Liz’s Experience with Podcast Guesting:
  With over 200 podcast appearances, Liz shares that more than half of her email list comprises customers acquired through guesting. This extensive experience underscores the effectiveness of podcast guesting in attracting engaged and high-converting leads.
  “My email list has over 50% customers. That's because of these two things. Affiliate sales... podcast guesting.” [12:30]

• Audience Engagement:
  Liz points out that podcast audiences are already primed to consume content and are more likely to take action, such as signing up for a newsletter or downloading a freebie, after listening to a guest. This inherent engagement level results in leads who are more receptive to future communications.
  “They're listening to you. You are in their ears for 10, 20, 30 minutes... and they're like, yep, I want to hear more from you.” [15:00]

• Trust Transfer Through Host Endorsement:
  Being featured on a respected podcast allows for a transfer of trust from the host to the guest. Liz illustrates this point by explaining how a listener might respect her opinions and, by extension, trust the recommendations of a guest featured on her show.
  “If Shahara loves the email sound booth... She likes you. She's going to transfer some of that love to you because she trusts me as the host.” [18:20]

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Implementation Tips

Liz doesn’t stop at outlining these strategies; she provides actionable advice to ensure listeners can effectively implement them.

For Affiliate Marketing:

• Develop a Solid Affiliate Program:
  Create products that affiliates can confidently promote. Ensure your offerings are compelling and provide value to potential customers.

• Cultivate Relationships with Affiliates:
  Engage with your affiliates regularly, providing them with the necessary tools and support to effectively market your products.

For Podcast Guesting:

• Build a Compelling Pitch:
  Craft a clear and persuasive pitch that highlights your expertise and the value you can provide to the podcast’s audience.

• Prepare Talking Points:
  Develop key points and anecdotes that showcase your knowledge and personality, making your appearance memorable and impactful.

• Leverage Existing Relationships:
  Utilize your current network to secure podcast opportunities and amplify your reach.

“Slow down. Take intentional action to build out a product that you could have affiliate sell... build out a few talking points that would make it easy to, you know, pitch yourself on a podcast.” [21:10]

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Conclusion

Liz wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of intentional and strategic actions in building a quality email list. She encourages listeners to prioritize methods that not only grow their list but also ensure that the leads are engaged and likely to convert into loyal customers.

“That's my first best and my second best way I know to get quality leads.” [23:50]

She invites listeners to explore more email marketing advice by joining her email list, promising weekly content that is straightforward, enjoyable, and effective.

“Join my email list where I send you weekly ish emails all about, you know, email marketing. Keeping it simple, keeping it fun, keeping it fresh, and keeping it going.” [25:00]

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Notable Quotes

• “The best way I know of is to build out an affiliate marketing program and to just have customers come onto your list through affiliate marketing.” — Liz Wilcox [02:00]

• “You're in the Wilcox verse, you're in my universe. You're doing the things right because you're a customer.” — Liz Wilcox [05:45]

• “As a podcast guest, you are giving your best, you are establishing so much credibility, expertise, and creating so much likability that the right people will sign up for your list and give you high freaking quality leads.” — Liz Wilcox [10:50]

• “They are sold on you. You don't have to sell them.” — Liz Wilcox [07:15]

• “If Shahara loves the email sound booth... She likes you. She's going to transfer some of that love to you because she trusts me as the host.” — Liz Wilcox [18:20]

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By leveraging affiliate marketing and podcast guesting, Liz Wilcox provides a comprehensive blueprint for online businesses aiming to cultivate not just a large, but a high-quality and engaged email list. Her insights are grounded in practical experience, making this episode a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their email marketing strategy.

Transcript

[Liz Wilcox]

What's up? Liz Wilcox here, the fresh princess of email marketing. You are listening to episode 89 of the email sound booth podcast, and today I want to share with you the best and the second best way I know of to get quality leads to your email list. So let's hop right into it, because lately I've just been hearing like, yeah, you know, Liz, I get leads, but nobody buys. Everybody unsubscribes all that. So how do we get people that will actually buy onto our email list, how do we get people that will actually reply, etc. So I've got two ways for you. Honestly, the best way, I'll give away the number one way to get quality leads. The best way I know of is to build out an affiliate marketing program and to just have customers come onto your list through affiliate marketing. For example, maybe you heard about me and you joined my email marketing membership because so and so was sharing it, right? Then you joined my membership and then you joined my email list at the same time, right? You are a high quality lead. You're opening my emails, you're using my products, and now you're even listening to this podcast and maybe you're sharing and becoming an affiliate yourself for my products, right? So that is the actual and absolute best way to get quality leads is to get them to come on as customers in the first place, right? Why? Because customers actually create community. A lot of people think, oh, I gotta create community and then people will buy. Hell to the no. Okay, that, that is backwards, right? It's really, when people buy something, they're invested, they take action and then they share, right? So if you're not yet part of emm, my email marketing membership, you probably haven't shared with your friends about this podcast. Maybe you're just. Maybe this is one of the first episodes you're listening to. But if you came onto my list as a member of emm, you probably started using it right away. You came to the live calls, you joined the Facebook group, you started chatting, you're listening to this. Maybe you've shared with a friend, maybe you already signed up as an affiliate, right? You're in the mix. You're in the Wilcox verse, right? You're in the. You're in my universe. You're doing the things right because you're a customer. Maybe you've even left a review. I never asked for those. So by the way, side note, if you're liking the podcast, please leave a review. But I know that that is not. You can't always just create an affiliate marketing program. Maybe you're a service provider and you don't sell products or digital products. Maybe you're just getting started out and you don't even know enough about your products or why they sell to have other people sell them for you. So that's why this episode has my best and second best way to grow quality leads, okay? The second best. And I know I say this, gosh, I feel like I preach this every day, is podcast guesting. If I am in your ear for 10, 20, 30 minutes and at the end I ask you to sign up for my freebie and you do. You are a very warm quality lead, right? You've heard me. You know my framework and you know, part of you trusts me, trusts me enough to give your email address to, right? It's so much different than a bundle or, you know, any. Any other way, right? Link in, Bio, you know, LinkedIn to email lists, whatever. It's so much difference because as a podcast guest, you are giving your best, right? You are establishing so much credibility, expertise, and creating so much likability that the right people will sign up for your list and give you high freaking quality leads, right? I have been on over 200 podcasts. I think it's close to 300 by now. And my leads, you know, my email list has over 50% customers. That's because of these two things. Affiliate sales, right? People coming in as customers from other people, promoting me and podcast guesting. Every day I hear, oh, I heard you on this podcast, or yeah, I heard you through this podcast. Being on so many podcasts actually got people on my list that listen to podcasts. And that's why I have a podcast now, because we were like, when are you going to start your own, Liz? So podcast guesting, I cannot understate how awesome it is for growing your list with quality leads. Again, these people are listening to you. You are in their ears for 10, 20, 30 minutes, maybe sometimes even an hour. And if they get to the end of that hour, etcetera, and they're like, yep, I want to hear more from you. They sign up, they are in it to win it. They are sold on you. You don't have to sell them. They're already sold. You've already established expertise, You've already created a lot of know like and trust. And because they liked. Let's say you were on my show, right? Um, don't pitch me, by the way, I'm not taking guess, but let's say you were on the email sound booth. If Shahara loves the email sound booth. She hears you on the email sound booth. She likes you. She's going to transfer some of that, like, some of that love to you because she trusts me as the host. All right, that's episode 89, super, super simple. But I know these can be hard to implement, so I want you to take it seriously. Take intentional action. If you really want to get high quality leads and this sounds good to you, slow down. Take intentional action to build out a product that you could have affiliate sell to build out a few talking points that would make it easy to, you know, pitch yourself on a podcast, et cetera. So that's my first best and my second best way I know to get quality leads. If you want more email marketing advice, the best way to do that is. Well, normally I pitch my email marketing membership, but let me just pitch my freebie. The link will be in the show notes. You can join my email list where I send you weekly ish emails all about, you know, email marketing. Keeping it simple, keeping it fun, keeping it fresh, and keeping it going. Okay, so link in the show notes or you can go directly to lizwilcox.com hot pink button in the top right hand corner. You can't miss it. As always, I am Liz Wilcox and you are awesome. And I'll see you on the next episode of the email sound booth podcast.