Some of your email list has been lurking but never investing, and have been following you for a while.

Do you have lurkers? Tire-kickers? Fence sitters? Stowaways? Hitchhikers?

You betcha. How many people would you estimate have been on your list for months or years and happily download everything you offer for free?

But gosh. The minute you suggest something that would appeal to the kind of content they’re engaging with that requires an investment, suddenly the email either doesn’t get opened or clicked through. You’ve done the work of priming, introducing, and educating. So what more is there that you’re not doing to get the stowaways on your list to make their move? Maybe even pay you some fare while you carry them with you on your journey?

How do you go about fixing a situation where these people continue to harvest everything you offer free for a high value return, but never buy or invest in your work? On the same token, how you keep competitors and their VAs from lurking around and copying every step or strategy you undertake?

Lurkers are weird. Can I say that without getting judgment? I’m going to say it anyway. The bottom-line question you want to scream is “Why are you even here if you’re not here to do business with me?” But don’t do that.

Because I know how you feel – like you’re working all the time for free, trying to nurture, and educate, and provide helpful resources. But after a while, lurkers can cause you to feel like you’re a walking mat. And honestly, it can get to a point where you start feeling like it’s pointless to continue to do all the blogging, writing, and creating, because they’re not going to buy. So what’s the point?

But because you’re a super professional kind of person, you’re not going to scream that at these people. Instead, you’re going to provide them exceptional service and FIND OUT what they need from you. And you’re not going to get discouraged. This is a problem that YOU can solve. But how to do it requires a little finesse, a little bit of if/then condition and actions implemented into your workflows on your funnels / sequences, and some clever writing.

And, I have some ideas to share with you that are super easy to implement that helped me curb this behavior quick, which actually led to more sales. Yay, right?

Questions to Ask Yourself About Email List and Website Lurkers

Here are a few questions to get you started contemplating your email list on this specific issue.

• Do you think the lurkers just haven’t been properly motivated?
• Are there people on your list that you only communicate launches and sales to?
• Have you integrated a sense of urgency on what will happen to their livelihood if they DO NOT invest?
• What is the story of the lurker? And on the same hand, have you told the lurkers their own story? [Remember, from Storytelling for Creatives, that your reader has to be able to see themselves in your stories].
• Have you worked the angle of inspiring your lurker into action properly?

I know… these questions aren’t exactly black and white. But this is a good start to consider your email sequences in terms of whether or not your lurker / reader is being appropriately addressed.

Disrupt the Future Downloading / Freebie Behavior to Gauge Continued Interest

And now, here are some things to consider to disrupt the free download conditioning and lack of investment:

1. Have you attempted to shut off the freebies and only offer paid solutions for lurkers? What happens when you do that? Do you get more unsubscribes or is the open rate consistently the same?
2. Have you attempted to not sell them anything, but offer content-only reading without the benefit of a free download? This will often help you identify if there’s still an interest in your work if they’re reading your blog posts, but not being offered something in exchange for their time on your website.

There are a couple ways to actually encourage your readers into action. I figured out something highly effective to curb the constant downloading but not investing behavior. And if you’d like to know what I specifically did, you can download “The Story Your Email List Tells“, where I share the exact details that put more income into the bottom line.

And, there’s a way that you can benefit your reader, as well, and I provide you with a few options on how to provide excellent customer service without them even seeking it out. Curious? Time to download the resource!

This is a 160+ page interactive guidebook that walks you through specific email list challenges and provides 10 solutions/activities to work on for each situation. Plus, you’ll learn metrics you can work on and what to look for, how to encourage more sales from those lurking & downloading, but never buying, and how to set up workflows that combat inactivity, low open rates, download dashers, and more. And finally, you’ll learn an easy to implement system to get your funnels organized, and create a smooth transition from one to the next.

10 challenges with tactical & strategic solutions for the creative email list marketer. A 100+ page interactive guidebook to help guide you through 10 different email list challenges, including:

• Not enough subscribers (list isn’t big enough – I need list-building help)
• List never grows and shrinks with every email (list growth doesn’t outweigh unsubscribe rate)
• Unsubscribe right after freebie (download and dashers)
• Downloads all freebies and resources but never buys (lurking but never investing)
• No sales from emails (no one is buying)
• Low open rate (are my emails boring or lack value?)
• Low email to blog rate in nurturing sequence (no one reads all my helpful tips and added value content)
• My email sequences are all out of whack and unorganized
• I’m not telling any stories in my emails (not relating to my audience)
• I’m not selling unless I’m emailing (need help with nurturing and nudging)

Inside you’ll receive activities, tactical solutions, and a larger strategy to make your email list building and management effective and easy.

You’ll learn:

1. What the problem seems to be (the cliche response) versus what the problem actually is
2. Tactical steps to improve each scenario
3. Strategies to implement that will align your brand with a bigger picture result
4. Metrics to shoot for at various stages (beginner, advanced, intermediate)
5. Goals (both long- and short-term) to work on each month
6. My own story with each challenge and what I did to correct them (a behind-the-scenes look at my funnels, stats, and more)
7. Workflows to set up to conquer download dashers and set up rewards-based system to give favor to your most loyal readers
8. What to check in diagnosing any of these challenges
9. How to test and measure results
10. Quick fixes (for the short-term results) and long-term solutions (for achieving those big dreams of yours)
11. Other thoughts and suggestions I’ve given clients I’ve worked with and implemented myself that have been helpful

Ready to finally solve your email list growth challenges once and for all?

Ready to finally solve your email list growth challenges once and for all? Download the guidebook today!