Why You Should Not Build an Email List for Your Service-Based Business

You’ve heard it a million times, the money is in the list. AND, you should be building an email list, no matter the type of business you have or its size. Well, I don’t think it’s as clear cut as that.

So in this article, I’m going to be giving you a few reasons why I think you should not be creating an email list for your service-based business.

Visual learner? Watch the video:

Let me start by saying, I agree with the phrase of money is in the list. After all, I have an email list I’m building right now.

But for service-based business owners, especially ones that are just starting out or trying to build up and gain new clients. This form of marketing just isn’t worth the time.

Building an email list is one of the last things you should do. And here’s why.

Building an email list is a long-term strategy

You can’t just create a signup form, stick it on your website, expect people to sign up and then convert to clients. Just like that.

Here’s how creating a successful email list works

And while I’m outlining all of this, calculate in your head how long you think it will take you to complete each task.

1. Firstly, you have to determine specifically who you want on your list and get as specific as possible.
   1. So if you want to generate new clients, you have to be specific on who your target client is, and how you’re going to get them on your list.
2. Then, you have to give them a compelling reason to be on your list in the first place.
   1. This usually means creating a freebie or opt-in to get them to exchange their email address for that freebie. This could be anything from a whole email series to a downloadable PDF or mini-course. That could take a long time and a lot of skill to put together.
3. Then you need to create an onboarding sequence or funnel to convert them from an email subscriber into a paying client.
   1. Again, that takes a lot of skill and resources to get done.

How long do you think that would all take you to create?

Plus, to do all this, you need to:

• Invest time and or money in the email software you need.
• Learn how to install the sign-up form on your website.
• Learn how to create the email freebie or opt-in.
• Have the copywriting skills to write a really good funnel that will convert people into clients.
• And more

Why this isn’t ideal

If you’re in a 9-5 job, and you’re trying to build your service-based business on the side, you simply don’t have the time to give to these tasks.

Or if you’re already running your service-based business. Have a lot of clients and projects to take on work for. Or you’re looking to find new clients. Again, you don’t have time to waste.

Then on top of this, you have to wait for your potential clients to sit through your email funnel and convert into actual paying clients. And during that process, you’ll have no idea if your messaging or copy is resonating with them.

Essentially, you could be waiting for weeks to months to see if things are working or not.

As I said earlier, building an email that can be profitable, even for service-based business owners. But the time investment is so large and the wait to see results so long, that it’s simply not worth it.

Unless you’re already seeing success and you have stable clients coming in, or you’re thinking of offering digital products. And even then, you have to wait to see results coming in.

And here’s the second reason.

Building an email list requires a whole marketing strategy surrounding it

The time you spend building your email list doesn’t stop there.

After all, you need people to see your freebie so they can sign up. This means a lot of your time is going to be spent getting people to visit your website so they can sign up to get your freebie.

Which means, more time spent on social media, more time spent on SEO or ranking in Google, and maybe even time and money spent on ads.

Do you really have this time or money to spend on your service-based business right now?

Not only does building your email list take time, but it also takes a lot of time to build your social media following too. So if your social media following is small, it’s going to take even longer to see the results you want in your email list.

Building an email list is the go-to for business owners. So you can bet there’s a lot of competition out there for other business owners offering really solid freebies in exchange for potential clients email addresses.

It’s not as easy as it once was.

Okay. So, that all sounded a bit doom and gloom. But I’ll say it again, investing your time and money in building an email list for your service-based business is fine. If you have clients coming in and the time to spare.

If you don’t, your time would be better spent elsewhere.

So, tell me in the comments, are you starting an email list for your service-based business?