Borrow My Success Secret

By Pat Rigsby

I think there are a few things that I do that have helped me achieve success…just a few. I think being a coach first and a marketer / sales guy second is one. I think making important concepts simple is one. I think focusing on individuals and their unique goals instead of one-size-fits-all stuff is one. And the other is connecting.

Really…it’s 4 things. Not much else.

And with connecting…I prefer face to face…then phone…then email…in that order.

But the vast majority of my connecting is via email due to the leverage of it. See, most fitness entrepreneurs want ways to automate their email…and I think it’s a mistake. I think that your prospective clients and your current clients want to feel connected to you. They want to know you. To do business with you they’re going to have to like and trust you too. For me…email has been the platform for that.

Blogging is cool, but every time you ask someone to take another step like you do when you say ‘click here’…you lose a bunch of them. In fact, you lose most.

I’ve easily done 8 figures worth of business directly tied to email…and my approach isn’t complicated, so I’ll give you a quick overview here:

Step One: Show Up 

If you want to get people to read, you have to put stuff out there. Consistently.

I’d say that most people should mail 2-3 times per week. Yes, I do more but I don’t have the luxury of seeing my clients in person a couple of times a week either. So have something valuable to share at least 2-3 times per week.

**Quick tip – If you don’t like writing or aren’t comfortable with it, but you want to make it part of what you do…just write. I really didn’t like it when I started…not at all. Now I love to write.

Step Two: Make Deposits 

I try to deliver value…even when I am selling. I truly believe that someone could simply create a file of all my emails, ready them like a success manual and have enough to build a really solid business.

I’ll use the bank account analogy…when you give value you’re making a deposit and when you sell you’re making a withdraw.

Your goal should always have your readers feel like there is a positive balance in the account…ideally a big one.

Step Three: Be Authentic

People want to know you. They want to connect with you. That’s how trust is formed.

The more I share the better the response. This is why just sending a boilerplate email is a bad idea. It might be good information but it doesn’t create any connection with you or your brand. I talk about my family, my experiences…even some of the less enjoyable ones…because people want to know that I can relate to them…that I’m not some faceless corporation that is just trying to take their money. The same applies to you too.

Step Four: Simple Value 

I love to offer up simple concepts and tactics that can be applied quickly…things that either change the way the reader feels instantly or impacts their business quickly. That means things need to be simple. For you…that could be something to motivate, educate or inspire…but it has to be usable and simple.

Step Five: Commit To Your Ideal Brand

I mail pretty much daily and share what I feel I want my business to be known for and address. I get emails each week with people saying I email too much or some unsubscribe…and that’s ok. Those people might be awesome, but they’re not my people.

Commit to you and your brand…the right people will connect and the others will move on.

I often get asked…where do I get things to write about? The answer is everywhere. Conversations or meetings with clients. Personal experiences. Businesses I interact with and things I study. I really only write about a handful of things…the 20% that delivers the 80% of the results in building your Ideal Business…but I’m always looking for new ways to get my point across while staying true to my brand.

There’s a quick overview on my approach to email marketing…hope it helps.