get the maximum results from your email list by doing these four things!

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox

Episode: Make the Most Out of the Email List You Already Have

Date: October 23, 2025
Host: Liz Wilcox

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Liz Wilcox tackles a frequently asked question from her audience—how to maximize the value of the email list you already have. Addressing this by request from listener Sue, Liz delivers unscripted, actionable advice for online business owners who want their email efforts to yield replies, clicks, and sales—not just list growth. Her focus: connection, authenticity, and leveraging multi-modal interactions to build real relationships.

---

Key Discussion Points & Actionable Insights

1. Attracting the Right People to Your List

• Foundational Tip: Before working on engagement, ensure new subscribers are aligned with your brand and offers.

• The right freebie matters. If your freebie doesn't attract ideal clients, your list won’t convert as well.
  (01:12) “You gotta make sure you’re getting the right people on your list... Making sure your freebie is really attracting the right people.” – Liz Wilcox

• Liz recommends guesting on podcasts as a list-building method because listeners have already invested time and are primed to connect.
  (01:45) “If somebody loves listens to me for 5, 10, 30 minutes and then they stop what they’re doing... and they join my email list, I know they’re the right people.” – Liz

2. Building Personal Connections via Email

• Show up genuinely and frequently: Liz emails daily, encouraging replies every time.
• Replies aren’t just data points—they’re opportunities to engage, understand, and even make unexpected sales through relationship-building.
• Liz and her team (her sister Patricia) personally respond to emails, reinforcing the “real person” connection.
  (03:10) “If you ever hit reply on any email you get from me, you’re going to hear from Patricia... or myself.” – Liz

3. Go Beyond the Inbox: Make Yourself Real

• The most powerful lists are led by people who show up live: webinars, YouTube lives, podcasts, co-working sessions.

• Visual and auditory exposure deepens bonds—audience members “see” and “hear” you, not just read you.
  (04:17) “When you can transcend writing, that’s when you can really connect with the list.” – Liz

• Examples:

  • Weekly YouTube co-working sessions (Tuesdays at 1pm EST)
  • Including video or podcast links in almost every email
  • Frequent live webinars or Q&As

4. Consistently Invite Replies (and Make It Easy)

• The best way to unlock engagement? Directly ask simple, specific questions.
• Example prompts:
  • “What’s your number one priority for the week?”
  • Short, focused, and easy to answer, but open to deeper conversation.
• Let them decide the depth—some reply with one word, others with thoughtful paragraphs.
  (06:52) “You ask the simple question, they can decide where to go with it, right? So very specific questions.” – Liz

5. Infuse Personality: Show Who You Are

• Add pictures of yourself (professional and casual).
• Include gifs, references to personal interests (like Liz’s obsession with Survivor), and links to other platforms (e.g., TikToks you find funny).
• These touches humanize your brand and help your audience decide if they vibe with your style—or opt out, which keeps your list healthy.
  (08:55) “Share silly stuff that you love, right?... That helps me get to know them better. Or if I don’t like the TikToks three weeks in a row, I’m probably gonna unsubscribe, right? But I’m getting to know them.” – Liz

6. Periodic “Care” Emails

• Occasionally, send a direct message just to show that you care and invite a reply.
• Example:
  • “Hey, I want to know what your number one priority is because I want to hear about it... Seriously, hit reply. I want to hear what you’re focusing on this week.”
• This reinforces the human side and increases the sense of support and accountability for your subscribers.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• (01:12) “You gotta make sure you’re getting the right people on your list... Making sure your freebie is really attracting the right people.” – Liz Wilcox
• (01:45) “If somebody loves listens to me for 5, 10, 30 minutes and then they stop what they’re doing... and they join my email list, I know they’re the right people.” – Liz
• (03:10) “If you ever hit reply on any email you get from me, you’re going to hear from Patricia... or myself.” – Liz
• (04:17) “When you can transcend writing, that’s when you can really connect with the list.” – Liz
• (06:52) “You ask the simple question, they can decide where to go with it, right? So very specific questions.” – Liz
• (08:55) “Share silly stuff that you love, right?... Or if I don’t like the TikToks three weeks in a row, I’m probably gonna unsubscribe, right? But I’m getting to know them.” – Liz
• (10:10) “Hey, I give a crap, I give a damn. So sending those out periodically will help you really make the most of the list that you have.” – Liz

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00 – 01:03 – Liz sets the context and introduces listener Sue’s question.
• 01:03 – 02:00 – Foundation: Start with the right people on your list.
• 02:00 – 03:26 – Ways Liz connects: Daily emails, personal replies, live engagement.
• 03:26 – 05:00 – The value of transcending writing—appearing live and leveraging different content forms.
• 05:00 – 06:52 – Asking for replies: Examples and approaches to getting audience to respond.
• 06:52 – 10:10 – Showcasing personality through images, video, gifs, humor, and care-driven messages.
• 10:10 – End – Final encouragements and summary.

---

Final Takeaways

• Make sure your freebie draws in the right people (and prune those who aren’t a fit).
• Build genuine relationships—show up, be real, and add value beyond the inbox.
• Ask for engagement constantly, but keep your prompts simple and actionable.
• Show your personality, quirks, and interests to attract (and keep) subscribers who “get” you.
• Send “care emails” to reinforce your genuine interest in subscribers’ success.

Liz’s closing rally:
(10:26) “Let that be inspiration to you to just get it freaking done. I feel so much better now.”

---

For more resources, membership info, and links mentioned, check the episode show notes at LizWilcox.com.

Transcript

[A]

What's up, Liz Wilcox here. Listen, I don't even know what episode this is on because honestly, I really, really, really have been procrastinating and doing anything but recording episodes. But I'm tired of my own bs.

[B]

Have you ever been tired of your own bs?

[A]

So I am hitting record really quick before my daughter gets home because I.

[B]

Was talking to this lady, shout out Susie, Sue, Brick.

[A]

She is an awesome person on our email list. I'm gonna link to her in the show notes if you want to check her out. But anyway, talking to her in the inbox, like I said, you know, I only create episodes that you want. Right? And she's been requesting this for a while. You know, I have podcast playlists on growing your email list, getting replies, you know, growing the list. I think I already said that. Listen, I'm doing this off the cuff, just so you know, but she's always asking me, and it's a great question that I wanted to share with everyone.

[B]

Like, how do you make the most of the email list that you already have? Like, okay, Liz, I've got people on my list.

[A]

I'm growing the list. I'm doing the things, but I really need people that require reply. Click buy. Right. Well, first of all, before I get into the strategies. Susan, everybody, you gotta make sure you're getting the right people on your list. Right? And I think I have a podcast episode about that. We'll link to that in the show notes as well. But making sure your freebie is really attracting the right people.

[B]

This is why I love going on.

[A]

Podcasts as a way to grow the email list.

[B]

Because if somebody loves listens to me for 5, 10, 30 minutes and then they stop what they're doing. Because I know you're not sitting at your desk taking notes listening to this, but they stop what they're doing, they.

[A]

Join my email list. I know they're the right people. So that's a side tangent. But anyway, we've got this email list, Liz. What do we do with it? How do we really get people to connect? Because if you're not on my email list right now, why not link in the show notes? LizWilcox.com Hot pink button. You wouldn't be able to see that right now. I'm really connecting with my list. I'm emailing daily. I'm asking people for replies daily. I spent two hours. I got up at 4 o' clock this morning and I worked till 7am answering emails, helping people. I think I made like over $50 in the last like 10 days from tips, just from answering emails. But that's not why I'm doing it. I want to connect, right? I want to reconnect with my audience. So this is what I told her. I think when it comes down to it, in order to get the maximum results from your email list, you gotta be personable. Your readers have to feel like they know you and they know you are you when you email and that you are always there for them. You know, like, if you ever hit reply on any email you get from me, you're gonna hear from Patricia, my sister, life manager, admin assistant, or myself, right?

[B]

And that's something I tell you.

[A]

Like, hey, sometimes I can't get to the emails due to sheer volume. But Patricia is my biological sister. I trust her with my life and with your email life. So you will hear from one of us, right? But also, and this is, I think underrated or not even really talked about, but the people that have the strongest email list are the people that show up live, right? Like I'm on YouTube or you're listening in your headphones and you're seeing my face, you're hearing my voice. You know, email is awesome. I love email. It's this intimate channel. But when you can transcend writing, that's when you can really connect with the list. That's again why I love growing my list with podcasts, with YouTube, with live trainings. Because you're seeing me, you're hearing me, right? So you know me visually and you know me auditorily. Is that a word you know? And we are. There's three types of learners. Visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Kinesthetic is movement, right. Not much I can do about getting you to move, but I can get you to know me through my voice, through my face. Right? And so incorporating those types of things into how you're growing your list and then incorporating them into the email list themselves. So into your business, I often do a lot of live Q&As. I do a YouTube co working Tuesdays at 1pm Eastern, where I'm just live on video for two hours. I'm working. You're working, right? We're transcending that email list, right. I try really hard to host as many zooms, youtubes, lives, et cetera as possible. So people on my list come off the list, so to speak. They come into my world. Right? For example, with these daily emails I've been doing almost every email I. I have posted a YouTube video or a podcast link so you can hear me, so you can See me or I'm hosting in Q4 a lot of different webinars and things. I want people to know me, I want them to hear me, I want them to get my vibe right because then they can know whether or not they jive with it. And if they don't, they're going to unsubscribe. And that's great because what was Sue's original question? It was like, how do, how do I get my list going? How do I make the most of my list? You can't make the most of your list if you have the wrong people on there now. And again, I've got, I've got a podcast episode on this, but I ask for replies as often as possible. Constantly. Constantly. Okay, I ask, hit reply, yes or no. Sometimes these are email related, sometimes they're more personal, sometimes they're fun. But I always ask for a simple reply. Again, I'm going to link to the how to get replies. You know, I'm not going to go on and on about that, but it's up. You ask a simple question and it's up to them to go in depth or keep it short. For example, Susan and I were talking about this because I asked, actually, let.

[B]

Me.

[A]

Let me ask. Or let me. If you're watching on YouTube, I'm going to share my screen real quick. You know, like, hey, what's your number one priority for the week when it comes to growing this business of yours? That's one of the more in depth questions that I've ever asked my list. But again, it's simple. Your number one priority. I'm not asking you for all your priorities. I'm not asking you where you're struggling. I'm asking you what is top of freaking mind, right? The freak now, right? And I got a plethora of answers I won't show you because it'll probably show Susan's email address. But you know, she replied back with four or five sentences. Some people replied back with one sentence. Grow my email list network. Other people wrote me freaking paragraphs, right? So you ask the simple question, they can decide where to go with it, right? So very specific questions. All right, now what else did I say to Ms. Sue's. Oh, also put pictures of yourself in your emails, right? Outside of work, inside of work gifs, right? So y' all know I'm obsessed with Survivor. I was actually on Survivor. I was so obsessed with it. Actually I became obsessed with it after I was on the show anyway, so I might put Survivor GIFs up there or I might put pictures of myself up there. Share silly stuff that you love, right? If you watch TikTok, I know there's a. There's someone named Caleb that's in the membership. Shout out, Caleb. Shout out, Cleb. And they have this amazing newsletter called, you know, totally Unserious or the Unserious Club or something like that. It just helps you, you know, take things more lightly, right? But what they do that's really awesome, that gets me to know them even more is at the bottom of every email they put in, like a TikTok. You know, here's. Here's a funny TikTok. And so that helps me get to know them better. I get to know their sense of humor, I get to relate to them. Or if I don't like the tiktoks three weeks in a row, I'm probably gonna unsubscribe, right? But I'm getting to know them. But make it quick. People don't need long drawn out stories, right? Caleb's not telling you about their sense of humor. They're just sharing the link like, hey, this is a TikTok. I loved it. Hope you love it. In, out to the point, right? And then sometimes sharing one off emails that, that straight up say, hey, I care about you. Hit reply. Like this one that I just showed you on the screen. Hey, I want to know what your number one priority is because I want to hear about it. Let me share that screen. And I know if you're not watching on YouTube, you can't see it, but it says, you know, what's your number one priority? Hit reply and let me know. I want to hold that for you, keep you accountable. I all that, my priority, blah, blah, blah. Seriously, hit reply. I want to hear what you're focusing on this week. Right?

[B]

So that's basically just an email that.

[A]

Says, hey, I give a crap, I give a damn. So sending those out periodically will help you really make the most of the.

[B]

List that you have. All right, that's my story. I'm sticking to it.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

I went 10 minutes and I didn't.

[A]

Even want to record. Let that be inspiration to you to just get it freaking done. I feel so much better now. All right, I am sending you love. If you need more help with all of this, you already know you can join email marketing membership. It's $9 a month. It's a steal of a deal. I talk about all of this. I give you the templates for this and more. The link is in the show notes. I'm Liz Wilcox. You're awesome. I'll see you on the next episode, my friend.