Overcoming Email Marketing Anxiety - How We Finally Found Our Mojo

Never ones to gatekeeper our knowledge and expertise (just ask our Illuminators!), we've spent the money, wasted the time and pretty much own the t-shirt when it comes to trying things out and failing, as quickly as possible. 

Now, we're on a mission to make sure you don't make the same mistakes with your email marketing platform so you can learn from ours and be a hop, skip and a jump closer to achieving the impact and income you crave.

The Early Days & A False Start

Back in 2011, Becca launched the UK's first preloved wedding marketplace. 

Buzzing with entrepreneurial spirit, she was ready to conquer the world... or at least the inboxes of potential customers. 

As a savvy business owner, she recognised the power of email marketing and promptly set up an account with the provider she knew of at the time. The stage was set for engaging newsletters, exclusive offers and a direct line to potential customers.

But how many emails did Becca send out that first year?

Zero. Nada. Zilch. 

Not a single "Hello, lovely!" graced anyone's inbox in the many years she ran that business. Why? Well, let's just say perfectionism and fear had her in a chokehold tighter than a corseted bride.

It wasn't that Becca didn't understand the value of email marketing. She did, absolutely. But there was a problem. In fact, there were many. 

Not only did the emails look nothing like her beautiful brand, the templates were uninspiring and the thought of hitting 'send' to a list of thousands felt overwhelmingly daunting.

Fast Forward to a New Beginning

By 2020 we were three years deep into a new business - a boutique PR and copywriting house that had us fully booked from the get-go, all through word of mouth referrals. 

But those years took their toll and as we entered our fourth year, burned out and ready for a change, we discovered the online world of knowledge brokering. Think course creation, online resources and coaching. 

It was a revelation. This new-to-us industry opened the doors for us to help more small businesses and creative entrepreneurs, who like us at the time, needed help but didn’t know where to turn.

But we faced yet another challenge.

We quickly realised that despite (or perhaps because) we'd been fully booked through word-of-mouth recommendations, we'd neglected to grow our most important audience - our email list. 

This time, we decided to give email marketing another shot, but with a platform all the online industry pros were recommending. "Behave like the business you want to become," one "expert" told us. So we did.

So we signed up for the same platform all the high achievers were endorsing and kept our fingers crossed and gritted our teeth as the hefty monthly payments popped out of our pockets. 

Surely it would work for us too, right? Wrong. 

While we did manage to send out some emails and slowly build our list, something still didn't feel quite right. To us, the so-called 'does it all' platform felt clunky. It consistently took us longer than we'd like to navigate and when we did manage to hit publish, the outputs lacked the visual appeal we desired. 

We were stuck in email marketing limbo – knowing its importance but struggling to execute effectively. To make matters worse, it came with a hefty price tag. 

The Game-Changer. Hello, Flodesk!

It was like a breath of fresh air when we started noticing these stunningly beautiful, yet simple emails appearing in our inbox. 

Intrigued, we dug deeper. What was this platform creating such eye-catching, professional-looking content? And how could we get it for our business?

The answer? Flodesk – a female-led tech company that seemed to understand exactly what we'd been missing all along.

With email marketing at its core, Flodesk is a suite of tools designed to grow with you from getting your first subscriber to making your first sale, and beyond. Flodesk describes itself as the world's most intuitive email marketing platform designed to help small businesses grow, nurture and monetise their list - beautifully. 

We were instantly sold, immediately signing up for their free 30-day trial. 

For the first time, it felt like we'd found an email marketing platform that was not only visually appealing but also incredibly intuitive. 

The user interface was a dream, making it easy to create emails we were actually proud to send. But the real game-changer? We could finally wrap our heads around segmentation, allowing us to tailor our messages to specific audience groups for maximum impact. 

Better yet, it didn't take all day and didn't cost the earth.

How Flodesk Stands Out from the Crowd

While other platforms we tried left us feeling overwhelmed and uninspired, Flodesk was a breath of fresh air. 

Unlike those clunky interfaces that seem to require a degree in rocket science, Flodesk's intuitive design had us creating beautiful emails in minutes. And let's not forget about the pricing - where other platforms penalise you for growing your list (the nerve!), Flodesk offers unlimited subscribers for one flat fee. 

It's like they actually want you to succeed! And that to us felt and continues to feel so good. 

The Results: From Anxiety to Success

From the moment we switched to Flodesk, it didn't take long for us to 10x our email list subscribers which in turn has had a hugely positive impact on our revenue because our email list is where we make the majority of our sales.

Plus, its excellent analytics tool allows us to quickly see and understand how our subscribers, emails, forms, workflows and checkouts are performing. Ultimately, it allows you to uncover valuable subscriber insights and take the guesswork out of growth. Which we’re sure you’ll agree is music to your ears. Business is hard enough without more guesswork. 

We use it to:

• Quickly identify what is (and isn’t) working and take action to adjust strategies and improve performance
• See how our list is growing over time and who our most engaged subscribers are 
• Make data-driven decisions to refine our marketing 
• Easily export data for further analysis or reporting 

While writing is second nature for us, before switching to Flodesk, we still tended to procrastinate when it came to sending emails to our list. It felt too hard because of the system and we avoided the frustration. 

Since being with Flodesk, we've found our flow, enjoy writing to our list and have finally been able to get our heads around how to create nurture sequences without a headache.   

The impact it's had on our business and our bank accounts has brought us nothing but joy. Not only are we spending less each month on having a suitable system, it's making us money through easier sales systems. 

Our emails have brought us clients and sold our products and services. 

For example, when we launched our programme, The Illuminators, we used Flodesk to easily create an email sequence that not only looked great but converted like crazy. And the feedback on the emails themselves was business affirming. It was like our personality could finally shine through in our marketing!

And did we mention the checkout? Not only does Flodesk do emails, it allows you to sell your products with ease. Since we signed up, we haven't looked back.

Why Flodesk Stands Out

• One monthly price, unlimited subscribers. Unlike competitors, Flodesk doesn't penalise you for growing your list. Which we think is so right. After all, it takes hard work to grow your list and you shouldn't be penalised for having more people subscribed. 

• Intuitive email builder. The click-and-drag builder makes it easier than ever to create beautifully branded emails (no coding or design team required, thank goodness!). While we tend to create simple text-only emails for our regular correspondence, we love getting playful with more design-led emails for our special-edition mailouts and it’s so simple, it’s done in a blink.  

• Templates designed to make you money and impact. Flodesk has a library of gorgeous, strategically designed templates that are easily customisable to match your brand's look and feel, which we love. Because, just like writing, sometimes you need someone to get you started so you're not faced with the void of a blank page.  

• User-friendly analytics. Flodesk's Analytics tool makes it super easy to understand what is and isn't working, even for people like us who are much more comfortable with words than numbers. Given that all marketing is an experiment, we love how simple it is to investigate the impact of our efforts.

• Make sales with ease. Flodesk helps you monetise your offering with sales pages, upsells, instant deliveries and unlimited transactions - all seamlessly connected from the start. Hook it up with Stripe and kerching, payments incoming! No more transaction headaches, thank you very much.

Ready to Make Those Inboxes Sparkle? Get Started with Flodesk!

If you're ready to kiss your email marketing anxiety goodbye and get your business flowing in the right direction, give Flodesk a whirl. 

And, if you use our juicy affiliate link, you can claim 50% off your first year (you're welcome!).

Here's how you can get started with Flodesk:

1. Get your hands on all the Flodesk goodness and take it for a spin for 30 days for free. With unlimited access to emails, forms, automations and sales pages, you can test it out for 30 days, no strings attached or credit card required. Think of it like a first date coffee date with a new friend, but way less awkward!
2. Make it look and feel like you and your brand (no design skills necessary). Whether you're feeling creative or need a little inspiration, Flodesk is right there ready to make it easy. Choose from their gorgeous templates or start from scratch, you've got custom fonts and branded graphics at your fingertips, ready for you to whip up beautiful emails faster than you can say "Send"!
3. Add more ease and impact into your business, no design degree required. Flodesk's intuitive interface lets you design stunning emails right in the platform. It's so easy, even Laura loves it (and she once vowed she'd never enjoy software again, so that's saying something).
4. Save your money for magic you really desire, here's the icing on the cake. Use our affiliate link and you'll get 50% off your first year. That's right, half off! It's like finding the perfect labels-on dress on Vinted, but for your email marketing.

So, what are you waiting for? Start your free trial and claim your 50% discount. 

We only ever recommend things we love 

Flodesk has truly transformed our approach to email marketing. 

From overcoming our initial anxiety to now eagerly crafting engaging campaigns, we've experienced firsthand the power of an intuitive, beautiful and effective email marketing platform. 

With its user-friendly interface, stunning templates and powerful analytics, Flodesk empowers small businesses to create impactful email marketing strategies without the usual headaches.

Whether you're just starting your email marketing journey or looking to elevate your existing efforts, Flodesk offers the perfect blend of simplicity and sophistication. 

It's not just about sending emails. It's about creating meaningful connections with your audience and driving real results for your business.

Don't let email marketing anxiety hold you back any longer. With Flodesk, you can confidently step into the world of email marketing and watch your business grow. 

Start your free trial today and join us in making those inboxes sparkle!

*Contains affiliate links, but we only ever recommend things we genuinely adore. Promise!*