why email matters more than social

Your Etsy shop and Gumroad page can be delisted. Your Twitter following can disappear. Your email list is the one asset you actually own. A list of 500 engaged subscribers regularly outperforms 5000 social followers for product sales.

the minimum viable list setup

ConvertKit (free up to 1000 subscribers) or Beehiiv (free up to 2500) are the right tools for most solo creators. Set up a single automated welcome email that delivers the value you promised at signup.

the lead magnet that works

Your lead magnet should be a stripped-down version of your paid product. If you sell 61 Shopify snippets, offer 3 for free. This attracts exactly the right audience and makes upgrading to the paid product feel natural.

what to send

  • Week 1 — your lead magnet + a note about what's coming
  • Week 2 — a tutorial or how-to using the free resource
  • Week 3 — behind-the-scenes on how you built the paid product
  • Week 4 — soft pitch for the paid product with a 10% subscriber discount

frequency

For a digital product audience, once per week is usually optimal. Less than that and subscribers forget who you are. More than that and you burn goodwill. Consistency beats frequency.