How ‘Because of Marketing’ turned a social following into an 8,500-subscriber email list
Rachael Higgins, the voice behind Because of Marketing, has over 350,000 social followers across all channels. But email gives her something these platforms don’t: A direct link to the people who follow her.
She uses this to build relationships, communicate with subscribers, and drive outsized business results. For example, her email list resulted in around 40% of total ticket sales for a recent event, even though the number of people on her list is just a fraction of her total number of social followers.
This article will explore how Rachael built a thriving email list, from choosing a platform and growing subscribers to sending campaigns, optimizing engagement, and more.
Step 1: Choose an email platform
Rachael started her email marketing journey with another email platform. But she soon grew frustrated with the experience.
“The platform was slow and I had issues with campaigns not sending. Then my friend recommended MailerLite. The process was so much quicker. It was like night and day.”
Migration and set-up were a breeze: She uploaded a file to MailerLite with her email addresses and quickly created the templates and automations she’d use for her campaigns.
She finds everything from importing subscribers to testing emails easier than with her previous platform. The experience of sending emails has gone from one of frustration to one she looks forward to.
“I love MailerLite. I enjoy using it each week when I’m writing my newsletters.”
Here are the MailerLite features Rachael uses the most.
Rachael creates emails quickly and stays on brand with customizable blocks.
The Because of Marketing website pop-up highlights her newsletter to visitors.
Rachael directs people from social media to a website page with a newsletter signup form.
Data on opens and clicks shows which messaging and content appeals to her audience.
Rachael boosts email visibility by resending to those who didn’t open the initial message.
Step 2: Have a clear reason for people to sign up
People follow you on social media because they like the content you share on your profile. But they aren’t always looking to get your newsletter too. You must have a compelling reason why someone should join.
Rachael’s offer is super clear: Subscribers get a roundup of all the latest campaigns, news, and trends she shared in the previous week. This is an easy way for people to keep up with the latest marketing campaigns and news.
When launching a newsletter, you should also know how it will help your business. Rachael likes that it brings her one step closer to her audience.
“I love the ability to connect and build relationships with subscribers. I always ask what the reader’s favorite campaign in the newsletter is and I always get replies. It brings a human element to my newsletter, it’s not just a brand sharing news.”
Step 3: Promote your email signup forms
Rachael uses several strategies to get people to join her list. They all involve directing people to a dedicated newsletter signup page or an email signup form on the Because of Marketing website.
Since social media marketing is her strong point, the majority of her subscribers come from this channel. She adds a link to posts or comments where people can sign up for more.
“When I share a post on social media, I add a bit at the bottom or in the comments highlighting that they can sign up for the email list to get a roundup of all the week’s previous campaigns.”
Rachael has also had success with using lead magnets to grow her list. This year, she created a report that people could only access by signing up.
“I did a collaboration where we created a resource on 2024 marketing trends. People had to sign up for my newsletter to access it. This resulted in 400 new subscribers in a single day.”
Her website is the other main driver of list growth. People who visit her website are naturally interested in her business, so it’s no surprise that this converts so effectively.
“I have a signup form on my website. There’s also a pop-up asking people to sign up for the Because of Marketing newsletter. When someone enters their email address, they’re entered into the welcome flow.”
Rachael has grown her list in other ways too. She collects emails manually at networking events and gets a subscriber boost when her email list is featured in other newsletters.
Step 4: Selling event tickets with email
So, what do you do with all these emails once you've collected them? Rachael used her list to sell tickets to her recent in-person event.
Email marketing was the main strategy she used to generate awareness and sell tickets. It works well because promoting offers in an email list is an effective way to get people to take action with your brand.
This is because:
The people on your list have a proven interest in your business.
They have shown they are willing to provide something to deepen the relationship.
You can communicate with them directly.
Here's how she promoted the event. First, she created a dedicated announcement email which led to instant sales.
“I included the time, place, and information about the speakers. Within the first hour after sending, we had sold 20 tickets just through that email.”
She then continued to promote the event in each of her newsletters. Every time she mentioned it she’d generate more ticket sales.
Rachael believes that the strong relationships you have with people on your list make it an effective way to drive action.
“You have a stronger relationship with the people on your list than on social. It gives you the opportunity to nurture subscribers. Then they are one click away from signing up.”
In total, around 40% of ticket sales had come from email. The rest were from word-of-mouth and social media.
Her event also started a flywheel that she can use to promote future events and offers.
“When someone signed up for an event via word of mouth or social, they also joined my email list. We’ll be able to promote upcoming events to them.”
Step 5: Optimize for email engagement
You can have a large email list, but email marketing is only effective if people open and click on your content.
Rachael uses 2 main strategies to boost opens. The most impactful is MailerLite’s send to unopened feature, which lets her resend each week’s email newsletter to people who didn’t open the initial message.
“I’ll change the subject line and wait for 48 hours. Many people open the second send. It’s something I would recommend. You’ve already done the hard work, you might as well give people a second chance to see your email.”
She also found that including an emoji in her subject line boosts her open rate.
In particular, she uses the brown heart emoji in almost every send. When people see the heart while scanning their cluttered inboxes, they know exactly who the message is from.
Optimizing for clicks is another important factor. Including interesting content is the best way to generate clicks. Rachael can use her analytics to see the types of content her subscribers respond to.
Rachael also likes the MailerLite video preview block thanks to how easy it makes adding a clickable video of a campaign to an email.
“It’s easy to grab the URL from YouTube and instantly get a thumbnail. This speeds up the creation process and it looks attractive in the email newsletter.”
Why all businesses should use email marketing
Rachael plans to continue using email marketing to grow her business. She values the direct connection to her audience and how this complements the social platforms she has built a following on.
For any business owners out there, Rachael has some pertinent advice:
“It’s important for companies to have a mailing list and to use it. You’re just one click away from speaking to your audience, getting information, selling a product, or nurturing them. A lot of people do so much on social media. But email is an undervalued channel that more people should use.”
Learn more about Rachael’s business by joining the Because of Marketing newsletter. You can also follow the brand on LinkedIn and Instagram, or her personal account on LinkedIn.
Grow your brand with MailerLite
Access all the tools you need to build a sustainable creator business with email. Use forms and landing pages to convert social followers, send nurture campaigns with automations, create newsletters fast with drag & drop, and use Stripe integration to sell products.
