Book Review: Email Marketing Demystified: Build a Massive Mailing List, Write Copy That Converts and Generate More Sales

A few weeks ago, listening to Entrepreneurs on Fire led me to another great book to read. This book discusses the importance of controlling your own email list. The book is called Email Marketing Demystified: Build a Massive Mailing List, Write Copy that Converts and Generate More Sales* and was written by Matthew Paulson. By maintaining his own email list and monetizing it, Paulson put together an annual revenue of $2.5 million. Got your attention?

This book began by pointing out that email is not going away anytime soon. Email allows you to talk to your clients whenever you like at no cost. Most importantly, you own the list. If Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or another platform changes their communication model, you could be in a jam if their list is all you use. By maintaining your own list, the list is yours, not theirs.

I found the 246-page book to be a quick but highly informative read. The book is spread over an introduction, nine chapters, and a series of appendices.  The nine chapters cover the following topics:

• Selecting an Email Service Provider
• Building Your Mailing List Through Your Website
• 14 Ways to Grow Your Mailing List Independently of your Website
• Mailing Your List: How, What, and When to Send to Your Audience
• Writing Email That Inspires Users to Take Action
• Monetization: Six Ways to Make Money with Your Mailing List
• Email Deliverability and List Maintenance
• Legal Aspects of Email Marketing
• Outbound Email Marketing

In each chapter, Paulson went into thorough detail about each topic. He also provided recommendations for products while explaining why he made each recommendation.

At the end of each chapter, Paulson provided action steps for the reader to implement. I, personally, have made changes to my operations based on this book. Throughout the book, he included detailed case studies where he outlined how different businesses put the lessons into action and the results.

Chapters that particularly resonated with me included ways to grow my mailing list independently of my website, choosing what to send my list, writing messages to take action, and the legal aspects of email marketing. Paulson wrote about how to prevent being a spammer, which is extremely negative for your business. He also discussed cold emailing or outbound email marketing. As I am trying to grow my business, these topics definitely caught my eye.

The book speaks to the power of email marketing. Virtually, every business can benefit from the lessons in this book. I look back to my previous employment with cooperative extension, and I believe we could have done a much better job leveraging email as a marketing tool. There are lessons that can benefit my current business and employment at Jamestown Community College.

If you are trying to communicate with your clientele, I would strongly recommend this book. In fact, I initially purchased a Kindle version, I just ordered a paperback so I can have it at my fingertips.

Additional Reading

• Book Review: Booked: The Digital Marketing and Social Media Appointment Setting System for Anyone Looking for a Steady Stream of Leads, Appointments and New Clients
• Book Review: Growth Hacker Marketing
• Book Review: Permission Marketing -Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers
• Book Review: The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself

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