A monthly service that grows your business
through intentional e-letters to your email list.

You Want to Connect More One-on-One With Your Audience

When you think about pitching or marketing your business, you may feel uncomfortable or unsure of what exactly you should be doing (and when).

But connecting with your audience? That’s one of your favorite parts of running your business. A positive interaction with someone who benefits from your work can leave you feeling good for days.

The reality is that you can’t travel to every single client’s or customer’s living room to sit on their couch with them and connect. …

But there is a tool for one-on-one connection that you already have available to you:

Your email list.

When people give you their email addresses, what they’re communicating to you is:

I want to hear from you. Your knowledge is important to me. I trust you.

Sending regular e-letters (my preferred terminology for newsletters) builds relationships with your clients and customers.

Those relationships increase the likelihood that your subscribers will buy from you.

Consistency equals trust.

And trust is the difference between launching a product or service and hearing crickets, and selling out your new product or service within 24 hours of announcing it to your mailing list.

You’re Busy, and Marketing Keeps Getting Pushed to the Bottom of Your To-Do List

You have an endless amount of marketing tasks on your plate as a small-business owner, and it’s challenging to prioritize writing and sending emails to your mailing list.

What if for one of the most important marketing activities you could do, there was both a strategic plan and the work was taken care of?

My E-Letter Ally handles the entire process of operating your email list—from the strategy to the setup to the writing and sending—for you.

Here’s what the research tells us about email lists: They are hands-down one of the most effective marketing tools you have available to you.

That’s because, as the smart folks at Copyblogger put it: “It moves the conversation about your business to a more personal environment—the inbox.”

In a recent ExactTarget study, 91% of respondents said they checked their email daily (who are those 9% that don’t check their email daily?), and 77% said email was their preferred channel for “permission-based promotional messages.”

So what this means is that even if you just do this one thing every month—sending e-letters to your email list—you’d have accomplished a major marketing activity to grow your business.

Stay on People’s Minds Without Annoying Them

You’ve received enough crappy e-letters in your inbox to know what you don’t want to send: a long description of yourself promoting the latest thing you have for sale with no coherent thread tying these e-letters together, no attention paid to how people read text online, and no real value for your readers.

You can’t unsubscribe to those missives fast enough.

One of the purposes of having an email list and sending e-letters is to make sure that people think of you when they need your products or offerings. We’ll do that in two ways:

1. Sending two e-letters every month on the same day of the week and time of day (consistency, remember?)
2. Including valuable content that your audience will benefit from just by opening and reading your email

What kinds of valuable content? You’re an expert in what you do, and it’s my job to draw out your expertise and present it in a way that provides value to your people.

For example, a hair stylist might include a “Healthy Hair Tip” in every e-letter. A yoga teacher could have a “Pose of the Month” or a guided meditation audio. A photographer might offer “How to Look Good in Photos” advice. And a jewelry designer could showcase different outfits or looks to style her jewelry with.

So for every single e-letter, you’re offering your subscribers something useful. People will be delighted to open your emails knowing there’s something they’ll benefit from inside.

The Service That Pays for Itself Every Month

Email marketing is cost-effective and will forever alter the way you think about your business, your audience, and your marketing (not to mention your revenue).

According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing has an ROI of 4,300% (nope that’s not a typo) and 66% of consumers have made a purchase online as a result of an email marketing message.

The purpose of sending consistent e-letters to your people is to build trust. Once you’ve established your e-letter rhythm, a welcome benefit is that you’ll notice your subscribers are purchasing your products and services (more than your Facebook fans or Instagram followers). They’ll buy not just once, but regularly, time and time again as you create products or services that will help them.

Imagine unveiling your new product line for the first time in an e-letter and having it sell out that week. Imagine publishing your novel and meeting hundreds of people on your book tour who are so enamored with your book that they’re practically selling it to their friends and family for you. Imagine launching an updated service and having all of your spaces filled for the first month before you announce it to the public or do any marketing outside of your list.

Imagine the cumulative effect of increasing the lifetime value of your clients and customers every single month.

These are the results that are possible.

A Responsive Email List Is More Valuable Than Your Facebook Following

Unlike your Facebook page, Instagram followers, and blog subscribers, you “own” the contact information for your email list.

While other business owners are spinning their wheels trying to figure out Facebook’s latest algorithm, you could be building lifelong fans with the useful, engaging content you deliver right to their inbox.

Your e-letters are a window into your unique story and can offer useful information that helps your subscribers in a small (or big!) way.

They have the potential to be more intimate, more insider, and more connected—an antidote to everything that clouds the machine of blog posts and social media updates.

Why I Created This Service

I know how frustrating it feels to have something that is just out of your reach. For 5-plus years I’ve been writing creative direct-response Web copy for entrepreneurs—and after our project ended, my clients would be on their own to create and send their e-letters.

I watched as they’d fill their schedules and to-do lists with all the other demands of running a business, and neglect to send letters to their email list. Meanwhile, I was still brimming with so many ideas for how they could be connecting with their audiences that I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut.

These small-business owners were doing amazing work. I could see the future of where their businesses could go if only they could be intentional in connecting with their audience.

In addition, I witnessed my own business grow through my e-letters, Elemental Vignettes, and knew the same possibilities were there for other small-business owners. I wanted a way to share my knowledge around sexy things like subject lines, list sign-up forms, and click-through rates.

That’s why I created My E-Letter Ally. It’s a high-touch consulting service, billed monthly, to help you intentionally connect with your audience and grow your business through your email list.

How It Works and What You’ll Get

Month One: Foundation

During the first month, we’ll work closely together to lay the foundation for a successful email list strategy.

Here’s what’s included:

/// Optional add-ons during the first month: custom CSS design for your email template, opt-in gift writing and design, or an auto-responder series. (You can indicate your interest in these in your application.)

Month Two and Beyond: Growth

Every month you’ll:

And every six months, you’ll join me for a complimentary 60-minute Reflection and Strategy Session to review what’s working and see if we need to change anything in our My E-Letter Ally Blueprint. (Small businesses need to be nimble. This service keeps up with you.)

Done for You: A Reprieve From Worrying About Your Email List

The hard truth is that no one wants to “subscribe for updates” or sign up for your “newsletter” except for your mom and the person you’re sleeping with—but don’t worry, we’re going to fix this.

When you sign up for My E-Letter Ally, you won’t have to spend time figuring out how the MailChimp software works or what metrics to look at and what changes you should be making to your strategy as a result. I bring everything to you.

Things I obsess over so you don’t have to:

• How to write subject lines that get subscribers to open your emails (here are some samples)
• What content your audience responds to
• How to avoid triggering spam filters
• How to share your knowledge and expertise in compelling ways
• Click-through rates and how your list measures up to others in your industry

From day one of our working together, you’ll never wonder what your role is or what the next step is in the process.

I’ve intentionally kept this service and process as simple as possible for you.

Think documents with clean fonts and white space. Think timelines, structure, and consistency.

Apply for My E-Letter Ally when:

• You’re launching a new business and want your ducks-in-a-row from the start
• You’ve hit a plateau with your current profits
• You want to deepen the connection with your current audience
• You need a strategic partner and expert consultant
• You have a limited amount of time and want to experience the power of delegation

My E-Letter Ally for the first month is a one-time fee of $1,000.
After that, the monthly subscription costs just $400.

There’s no minimum number of months you have to commit to upfront and you can cancel at any time.

If you’d like to pay for 6 months at a time, you’ll receive a 10% discount.

Because of the deep, comprehensive work we do in the first month of this service, open enrollment only occurs during select months throughout the year.

The next available start date is: April 1^st.

Increase the Lifetime Value of Your Clients and Customers Every Single Month

“I was in business for two years before I got serious about my mailing list. I started working with Ana, and within two months had made back the money I spent on this service (and then some!). Not only has my revenue increased, I also feel like I know my audience better because of their responses to my emails, and knowing what they’re opening and clicking on. That’s been invaluable for me in terms of creating services I know my people are interested in. I only wish I had started sooner!” –Health and wellness coach who has appeared on TV morning shows

“Working with Ana has changed the way I operate my business. When we were coming up with the strategy for my e-letters, we decided that I should have a shop on my site for my products and send traffic from my e-letters there. While all my sales used to come through my Etsy shop, now more than 50% of my sales are coming in through my own website, which means more cash in my pocket.” –Indie crafter with 4,500 Facebook fans and a top-ranked podcast

“She writes subject lines that get people to open my emails and has an eye for putting together my e-letter in a compelling visual way. But my favorite part about Ana is that the structure she’s provided with this service allows me to feel like this marketing task is really taken care of. I never worry. Instead, since we’ve started to work together, I’ve been able to use that extra time to create two new products—one of which sold out within a week of announcing it to my email list.” –Product designer whose goods have appeared on Design*Sponge.

You May Also Be Wondering …

I don’t even have a mailing list. Is this service for me?

Yes! You’re exactly the kind of small-business owner this service was created for. And don’t worry—we’ll set up your mailing list, put the sign-up forms on your website, and you’ll start getting subscribers in no time at all.

I’ve been collecting email addresses (with permission, of course), but never sent my audience a letter, and I’m embarrassed about how it will look if I start now.

I get that. I want you to know that that’s not uncommon, and it’s totally okay to start now. Your audience will be delighted to see content from you after explicitly indicating that they wanted to. And if you get unsubscribes in the initial letter from people who forget they had signed up, that’s actually great news because it allows for a higher-converting list.

Why do you use MailChimp? Can we use different email software instead?

I use MailChimp because its features are tailor-made for small businesses. Their software is free for up to 2,000 subscribers (and there’s a low monthly fee when you grow bigger). Operating this service within one email software provider is what keeps your monthly subscription fee low. If you’re already using different email software, we can import the emails into a MailChimp list. If you don’t want to switch from your current email provider to MailChimp, this service is probably not the right fit for you.

What happens if I need to cancel my subscription? How do I get access to my MailChimp account?

Actually, you’ll be the one to decide the login credentials from the beginning, so you’ll always have access to your MailChimp account. If we ever decide to part ways, you get to keep the work we’ve done together, including the My E-Letter Ally Blueprint, and your MailChimp account will be in your hands.

I’m not sure whether anyone else besides me can do the writing for my business.

If your business is sending astronauts into space or splitting subatomic particles, then you might be right. However, if your small business sells remarkable products or offers boutique client services, I can write about it. In fact, my “outsider” perspective and targeted questions will allow me to write more accessible, engaging content than an insider usually will.

I can do this myself, why should I hire you?

The short answer is that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. As a small-business owner, your most precious resource is your time and energy. When your monthly e-letters are taken care of for you, you can use that time to generate new ideas for the direction of your business, build more creative legacy work, or just rest and restore.

I have product/service launches coming up this year. How will this service support those?

For your product or service launches, you can add on any additional emails for the weeks leading up to the launch to your monthly fee. We’ll discuss any upcoming launches during the foundation month, and this service is flexible enough to support your launches as needed. Alternatively, you can always handle these extra emails on your own while maintaining our rhythm of two monthly e-letters.

What amount of time will I need to dedicate to this service?

The first month is intentionally deep and thorough: You’ll meet with me on a weekly basis to talk about your business goals, your audience, and how we’re going to grow your business through your email list. These will be four 45-minute sessions, and you’ll also have materials before and after each session to review. Following that, your time investment will be less than 60 minutes every month: 15 minutes to review your Monthly Report, 30 minutes to fill out the Monthly Content Planner, and 15 minutes to review the two e-letters before we send them out.

Does this subscription mean I’ll be able to pick your brain 24/7?

Of course, I’ll be happy to answer your questions as they arise via email. But after the first foundational month, the main idea behind this service is to focus on sending out your e-letters, eliminating lengthy meetings and calendar coordination along the way. That’s what makes My E-Letter Ally much more affordable than other consulting services.

Will my e-letter subscribers know that I don’t write my letters? How do I know that your writing style will match mine?

Nope, they won’t suspect a thing, mainly because they’ll be so delighted by the useful content you’re sending them. And this question is why I created such an in-depth foundation month before we even begin writing content—the custom Voice Style Guide I create will be a reference point for both of us to nail the exact tone and voice you’re going for.

How does payment work?

After determining we’d be a good fit to work together, you’ll receive an invoice for the one-time payment of $1,000. The invoice is payable with your debit or major credit card, and your spot is reserved once the payment is made. For your ongoing monthly fee, you have two options: One, pay monthly on the first of every month, or two, pay for six months at a time on the first of every six months and get a 10% discount. I use Stripe (with FreshBooks), a payment processor that sets up a subscription for you and automatically charges you monthly or every six months.

What happens after I apply?

I’ll review your answers, and send you a link to schedule a 30-minute Skype video or phone call with me to learn more about your business and answer your questions. If we decide we’re a good fit to work together, I’ll send over an invoice for the foundation month, and the service details and contract for you to e-sign. Your place is held once those two items are complete.

The Offer Is Simple:

1. We co-create the strategy to reach your business goals through your email list.
2. I gather content for, write, and send two e-letters every month for you.

The next available start date is: April 1^st.