I’m a bit of a follow-up fanatic. When you follow-up with past clients, lost leads, contacts, and colleagues, you’ll find that you

• win more deals
• fight the resistance
• build stronger relationships
• get better at the art and craft of follow-up

You’re playing to win at business – not to avoid losing – so you want to bias yourself towards taking action. Following-up with leads, clients, etc. is a powerful action to take.

Be persistent in your follow-up, especially with a lost lead or a past client. When you follow-up, you’re creating an opportunity for the recipient to renew their interest in working with you.

There is a lot of value in being more assertive with your follow-up.

Your friend Kai encourages you to send more follow-up emails and follow-up more frequently.

More follow-up gives you more chances to catch them at the right time and more opportunities to have a conversation.

However, there is value in being cautious with your follow-up, dear reader.

Your friend Kai doesn’t advocate for you to send a daily follow-up email. That’s too much follow-up.

What if the conversation is… very old?

Be shameless. Send your follow-up email. Don’t apologize. You’re here to do business and resume the conversation.

If you find an email deep in your inbox that you missed replying to, send that reply and follow-up. If it’s too late, the recipient will let you know.

If you talk yourself out of sending that follow-up email, you have let the resistance win.

Want to get better at your follow-up? Check out The Outreach Blueprint (https://kaidavis.com/outreach-blueprint/). In The Outreach Blueprint, you’ll learn how to craft your follow-up emails, send polite + proactive follow-up, and use the included templates to accelerate your follow-up.

Excelsior!

Kai

(This is a second part to the 2019 daily “Today? You start building your email list”)

If you’re just getting started with email marketing for your business, you want to make it as easy on yourself as possible.

• Pick a service that makes it easy to send email
• Get a ~dozen or so readers
• Make the clackity-clack noise regularly
• Practice hitting that publish button

Picking a service feels like a hard part, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can always switch services later. And switching is never as complicated as people make it out to be.

Pick an Email Service Provide on Easy Mode

Pick three you like (e.g., 1: ConvertKit, 2: MailChimp, 3: ButtonDown) and roll a 4 sided die. Re-roll if you get a 4.

Great, now you’ve picked a service. 🎉

….but how do you get people on your list?

If a freelancer starts an email list and starts sending emails, but has no readers, will anyone notice?

Not really.

As you get started with your email marketing, you want to focus on getting people on your list.

Just a few to start. But enough so that when you send out an email, you get a person or three reading and another person sending back triumphant emojis of celebration. 🎉 🌟 💯 🚀 💌

But HOW do you get people on your list?

When you’re getting started with email, you want to get a small group of readers. You don’t need thousands or hundreds. You need a dozen folks. More will come from time. Right now you want to focus on

• Getting your first 12 readers/subscribers
• Making the clackity-clack noise and writing some letters
• Hitting the button to publish your letters

Let’s talk about how you can get those first 12 readers. 

It all comes down to making a list of folks you have connections with, asking them, and surfacing interest.

Social Outreach

Not ads on social. Outreach on social.

Go on LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook/Reddit and look at your list of friends/connections/whatever.

Make a shortlist of people that:

• You’ve had a conversation or two with
• You’d like to read your writing

Just aim for 5-8 folks to start.

Then, send each of them a message. Say something like

Hey, just a quick note to let you know I’m starting to write a regular newsletter about <INSERT TOPIC HERE>. Would you like to receive it? If not, no worries. If you would like to check it out, then let me know, and I’ll add you to the list. 🎉

Then, add the people who said: “Heck, yes!”

Social Promotion

Make a post on your network(s) of choice (LinkedIn, Reddit, MySpace, Friendster, Twitter) and say something like

Hello, world! I’m writing a newsletter about <INSERT TOPIC HERE>. Would you like to receive it? Toss a <reply/comment> on this message, and I’ll follow-up with you. 💌

Then, follow-up with people who share an enthusiastic yes and add them to your list.

Email Outreach

Make a list of ~5-8 people you know (friends, colleagues, contacts, clients) and send them each a short email. Something like:

Yo, I’m starting a newsletter about <TOPIC>, and I’m excited to share some regularly weekly writings. Would you like to receive the next letter when I send it? If not, no worries. If you’d like to be on the list, just reply and say, “I’m IN!” 😄

Ask Kai

I’m always happy to be an early reader on your new email list. Just send me a message at kai@kaidavis.com and let me know you’re starting a newsletter. I’ll flash you a 👍 , and you can add me to your list.

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Your homework, should you choose to accept it:

• Post a message to your social network of choice
• Say “HEY! I’m writing about <topic> and…”
• Take a screenshot and send it to me 🙂

Looking for an outside perspective on what to say + how to say it to get your email list going? Grab a Quick Consultation and we’ll talk through your situation + answer your questions: https://calendly.com/kaid/quick-consultation/

Excelsior!

Kai

A question via Fabian in the Freelance Camp community forum (https://freelance.camp)

What should I be doing to increase my clients? Referrals have been my bread and butter.

If referrals are working for you, see if there are opportunities to double down. You can spend a few hours thinking/reviewing what you’re doing and filling in the holes.

Do you have a Standard Operating Procedure (https://kaidavis.com/standard-operating-procedures/) for asking for a referral? SOPs make referrals (as my Chem teacher used to say) plug and chug.

Are you asking for referrals from your…

• Leads that don’t convert into clients?
• Clients at the end of a project?
• Colleagues and people in your network?
  

Each of those is a valid lead source.

If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

To get more referrals, ask for more referrals.

Can you get hyper-specific about who an ideal referral is for you?

• If it’s an agency, what type of agency? What size are they?
• What kind of client is their most common? What size clients?
• What solutions or outcomes are they selling to clients? What kinds of projects? Where do they need help?
  

The more specific you make your ask for a referral, the easier it will be for someone to say, “YES! I know someone who NEEDS your help.”

What would another 3-6 clients this year mean for your business? For many freelancers, that’s the difference between ‘feast’ or ‘famine.’

If you want to get more clients through referrals, then Referral Systems is your guide https://kaidavis.com/referral-systems/

Excelsior!

Kai

Wait – the Elite Assistant got 4 of 5 stars… what gets 5 stars?! Don’t leave us hanging, man!!

A reader question in reply to “Give your website an elite assistant that keeps the bad leads out.” Here’s the relevant bit:

— ✂️ Snip —

• Option 1: Just your email address — 🌟 (one star out of five)
• Option 2: Ya Basic Contact Form — 🌟 🌟
• Option 3: The Elite Assistant — 🌟🌟🌟🌟

— ✂️ Snip —

The truth is that nothing scores five out of five because everything is a tradeoff.

I use (and love) ‘Elite Assistant’ lead forms in my business. They produce higher quality leads who share more information.

However, tradeoffs.

The more information you ask for on your lead form, the more fields you have. The more fields you add, the more friction you’re adding.

Now, there are a lot of ongoing discussions on the impact that more/fewer form fields have on conversions. The tl;dr in the year of our lady Two Thousand and Nineteen boils down to

Reducing form fields to increase conversions isn’t a myth, but it’s also not an absolute truth. (https://conversionxl.com/blog/reduce-form-fields/)

There isn’t a 5-star recommendation, because there isn’t a clear winner. It depends on you, your business, and your current situation:

• If you ask fewer questions, you’ll get more leads through your lead form, but you’ll have to invest more energy in qualifying your leads
• If you ask more questions, you’ll get fewer leads through your lead form, but you’ll have to invest less energy in qualifying your leads

Tradeoffs.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should shrug your shoulders, not change anything, and let the status quo win.

Back to ConversionXL:

Ask yourself whether quality (longer forms) or quantity (shorter forms) is more important. Design your forms accordingly.

and

The length of your form can be as daunting as the number of fields. Be aware of how greedy your form looks.

and

If you need more information, weigh the value of that extra information against the conversion rate. Is it worth it?

As you consider what changes to make to your lead form, you’ll want to act with intention. You’ll want to think about what questions you need to ask and want to ask and then decide what you will ask.

In Quick Start Lead Forms, you’ll learn the ins-and-outs of lead forms in about an hour. You’ll get a pack of videos and lead form video reviews, as well as a reference file full of questions you can ask on your lead form. Read more right over here: https://kaidavis.com/lead-forms/

Excelsior!

Kai

Brad shares the outcomes he’s seeing after reading Get More Leads

I went from zero leads…to a couple leads a week…to averaging a couple leads per day. I need to filter them better just to be able to gracefully handle them all!

It’s crazy. I’ve made over $2000 since reading your book and implementing it. I’ve got two project proposals out right now for another $2k each.

The most surprising outcome has been that with all the leads I can now see a trend and I have developed a productized service roadmapping session based off the inquiries and feedback.

I agonized over what to offer, but without enough leads I didn’t understand what my potential clients valued. Now? It’s easy!

Congratulations, Brad! 🌟

Reader, If you’re looking for more leads, you’ll want to run down to The Kai Davis Store (https://store.kaidavis.com) and grab your copy of Get More Leads: https://store.kaidavis.com/products/get-more-leads

Excelsior!

Kai

The other day I realized I didn’t have a Standard Operating Procedure for “A Lead Appeared In Your Inbox, Kai!” I immediately went to work to remedy this oversight and stop leaking leads.

Lead intake can be challenging and confusing. There are a lot of moving parts: your webpage, lead form, reviewing the lead’s information, writing and sending your reply email, and booking your initial call with that lead. And follow-up.

What’s the essential bit of lead intake? You need to have a reply email to send to your new lead to move them forward. It doesn’t matter if you’re sending your lead intake email manually or automatically. It doesn’t matter if you have a finely tuned Lead Form (https://kaidavis.com/lead-forms/) or an “Email me” link.

If you aren’t sending a reply to your leads to say, “Great to hear from you, I’d love to help. The next step is…” your lead intake will flop.

To stop leaking leads, you need an initial email that you can save, customize, and send as a reply, like:

NAME,
Great to hear from you. Thanks for telling me about PROBLEM and OUTCOME. I’d love to help.
The next step would be for us to have an initial call so I can learn more about you, your business, and the outcomes you’re looking for help with. And, so I can answer any questions you have for me.
Pick the time that works best for you here: CALENDAR BOOKING LINK.
Looking forward to speaking with you,
YOUR SIGNATURE

Is this perfect? Na. Is it good enough to save in your template or resource folder? Is it good enough to use a few times until you find opportunities for improvement? Hell yeah.

Copy, customize, and send this to your new leads to help move them forward to your initial call.

Excelsior!

Kai

After a decade in the consulting mines, I’ve found that, for me, the best way to start work is to have a standard process to follow.

Here’s my Start of Business Day Procedure. There are many like it. This one is mine.

🚰 Get a glass and fill it with lemon water

Stay hydrated.

🧼 Clean your workspace for 5 minutes

Take any lost dishes, glasses, or loose pieces of paper and bring them to their homes.

💡 Adjust office lighting

Open the blinds. Turn on the light.

🖥️ Turn on the computer

A necessary step.

🎵 Start Focus At Will

Focus At Will is a quick and easy source of music to help me focus. I’ve been a customer for 4+ years now (https://www.focusatwill.com/).

⏲️ Start Noko

Noko (nokotime.com) is an excellent time tracking app. I use Noko daily and recommend it.

⏲️ Start a new “business admin” project timer in Noko

Start of day stuff? It has a project, so I know how much time I’m spending on it.

Your friend Kai hates hourly billing, but he loves knowing how much time it took to do that thing.

📂 Open Results.md and update the day

On the advice of the excellent Eric Davis (no relation) of Little Stream Software (https://littlestreamsoftware.com), I keep a text file with a running list of everything I complete in a day. Big, small, and everything in-between!

📕 Open Today’s Daily Journal in Notion

I keep a daily journal for life and business.

I keep my journal (and my projects, actions, and notes) in Notion, an all-in-one workspace that helps me write, plan, collaborate, and get organized.

https://notion.so, if you want to check Notion out. It’s awesome.

https://kaidavis.com/loves/notion, if you want to check Notion out and get $10 in credit (and I’ll get $5 in credit).

📂 Open my BattleBoard

I keep my actions and tasks in what I affectionately call my BattleBoard (https://kaidavis.com/battleboard/).

My BattleBoard is a Kanban Board in Notion, through Trello works quite well.

Here’s what a pair of cards (Actions) looks like:

🆓 Start Freedom

The internet is a very distracting place. Freedom (https://freedom.to) frees me from this distraction.

• You enter in the sites you want to block (e.g., Facebook, Reddit, Google News, Slack)
• You schedule a recurring time for Freedom to run and block these distracting sites (e.g., 7 am – 6 pm)
• You are now free
  

Go and celebrate.

⏰ Start Timebar

Timebar is a small, focused app that stays out of your way and makes sure you don’t lose track of time.

I use Timebar to track my pomodoros/work sprints during the work day.

Timebar turns your entire menubar into a subtle progress bar that slowly slides away.

Check Timebar out here: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/47506/timebar.

✍️ Open Ulysses

I write my letters and #content in Ulysses, a fantastic writing app that’s markdown compatible (https://ulysses.app/).

✍️ Write The Daily Letter for 25 minutes

I swap Noko over to the “Daily Letter” project, I set Timebar for a 25-minute sprint, and then I get to work.

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Now it’s time for you to get to work, my friend.

Excelsior!

Kai