What six-figure creators and businesses do differently

Why email is the ultimate goal of my content strategy -- and why I use both Flodesk and Substack

Let me start with a confession: for years, I thought having a strong social media presence was enough to be a future author. I have always known I want to author books and publicly speak. I'd post consistently, engage with comments, and watch my follower count grow. But from building my SaaS startup, I knew better. I understood how long it takes to build a solid email list. We work tirelessly to grow it and, in turn, have a nurtured and healthy pipeline that continues to feed our sales funnel. On the personal front, I understood that it was strategically important for me to convert social media followers to email subscribers years before I planned to write a book or sell anything. So I started treating my content like a venture-backed SaaS business, and I will give you a look under the kimono today.

Let’s start with a hard truth

Social media engages, but often fails to convert at scale.

And my influence on social media is at the mercy of mega tech conglomerates. When the algorithm moves on from me, I am powerless. And this applies to all creators — in fact, creators who maintain email lists experience 68% more stability in their earnings during platform algorithm changes than those relying solely on social media distribution (2023 Patreon Creator Census).

More proof that email is king for businesses and creators alike?

• Creators with email lists earn 45% more annual income than those without, with the gap widening at higher income levels (ConvertKit 2023 Creator Report)

• Yet only 28% of content creators actively maintain an email list, despite it being one of the highest-converting marketing channels (Influencer Marketing Hub's 2022 Creator Economy Report)

• And 72% of creators earning over $100,000 annually use email marketing as a primary revenue channel, compared to just 17% of creators earning under $30,000 (Social Media Examiner)

• So you may not be surprised to learn that email subscribers are 6x more likely to purchase digital products (HubSpot's Creator Marketing Report)

For all those reasons, this week's post is different — I want to take you behind the scenes of my tech stack, because I run my content based on things I've learned running a startup for ten years. Selling thought leadership is different than typical consumer influencer marketing. But it's also valuable to create a following around your thoughts.

Because ultimately, this newsletter is about power. And removing barriers to power.

And if you want to sell or promote your thoughts to acquire power, understanding the right tools is crucial. And for me, personally, as someone who writes and creates content after hours, an automated and segmented tech stack ensures that I get the maximum value through the least work.

That's when I got serious about email marketing. But even then, I made another mistake: assuming all email platforms serve the same purpose. Let's get into it.

First off, you're already in my funnel (congrats!)

If you're reading this — you've reached my ultimate goal. I intentionally work to get email addresses in everything I create.

Why? Because email addresses allow me to influence you in long-form, and forever.

If I sell books or digital products (both of which are plans), I'll have direct access to you. Email converts at significantly higher rates than social media, which is why my entire content strategy is designed to drive email signups. I do not want to build a sales pipeline while writing a book. Rather, I choose to slowly build a community, develop trust through sharing my learnings, and get a sense of what performs best. And when I am ready to sell, at least a fraction of you will be ready to buy.

How I get email addresses

You didn’t land here by chance. I built a system around collecting email addresses, and it looks like this:

1. Make a video → Auto post to TikTok/IG/YouTube Shorts

2. Include a call-to-action to get emails via DM (primarily on IG)

3. Funnel those emails to both Substack and Flodesk

4. Send free weekly newsletters on Substack

5. Segment my audience and market when I have products on Flodesk (people who have purchased a course, people who have purchased a digital product, people who

   are interested in future courses)

Some of my segments on Flodesk, each label represents groups of people who have either bought something or shown interest

My email tech stack: two platforms, two purposes

I maintain both a Substack and a Flodesk email list because they serve completely different purposes in my business.

Substack: Newsletter

First, let’s be clear. Substack is not an email marketing platform.

• Goal: Attract more readers, develop trust, offer value, build community

• Monetization: None. I don't plan to monetize this community, because gating it would block growth. The primary (and arguably only) monetization strategy on Substack is a subscription model for my content. No workflows, no segmentation, no checkouts, less analytic info, no way to email individuals or small groups.

Flodesk: Sales engine

Flodesk is for sales. I started working with them earlier this year, they gave me a link for 50% off the first year if anybody wants it. They compete with other email marketing platforms, like Mailchimp. They are women and minority founded.

• Goal: Announce new digital products, courses, track purchase history, run email campaigns, segment customers and prospects

• Monetization: Direct revenue through product sales and offers

Here's the key insight that transformed my business: Substack is primarily for engagement and audience building, while Flodesk is engineered for conversions and sales.

What Substack does best:

• Lead generation: Delivering long-form, thought leadership content that is sharable and grows my community

• Community building: Creating a space for discussion and idea-sharing

• Subscription model: Offering a simple way to monetize written content directly for those who choose to

• Discoverable platform: Allowing new readers to find me through the Substack ecosystem

Substack is essentially a content platform with email distribution for the content. It's fantastic for writers, thinkers, and creators who want to share ideas and build a loyal readership.

What Flodesk does best:

• Customer journey mapping: Creating sophisticated email sequences based on user behavior

• Segmentation: Dividing your audience based on interests, actions, and purchase history

• Sales conversion: Designing beautiful, high-converting emails specifically optimized for sales

• Marketing automation: Setting up triggers, workflows, and conditional logic

• Revenue tracking: Understanding exactly which emails drive sales

Flodesk is a marketing platform with conversion tools. It's built for entrepreneurs who need to transform interested audiences into paying customers.

Email marketing generates $36 for every $1 spent, according to a 2021 Litmus report. This makes it one of the highest-ROI marketing channels available, outperforming social media, paid search, and display advertising.

Real Numbers: The conversion difference

With an Instagram following of 82,000 at an average engagement rate of 3%, each piece of content may reach approximately 2,460 people. On my mailing list of 3,000 subscribers, with an average open rate of 60%, around 1,800 people read each email I send. The (much smaller) email list proves to be a powerful vehicle for reach. And both mediums together ensures I build a community of people who trust my voice and consistently show up for my content.

And research backs my findings. According to Campaign Monitor, email marketing has an average conversion rate of 15.22% compared to social media's 1.9% conversion rate. This means email is approximately 7x more effective at converting leads into customers.

My current strategy: a dual approach

Here's how I use both platforms in harmony:

Substack: My thought leadership hub. I share insights, stories, and value-packed content that positions me as an authority in my space. It's where I build trust and demonstrate expertise.

Flodesk: My sales engine. Once people know, like, and trust me, Flodesk helps convert that goodwill into sales through strategic, segmented, and beautifully designed campaigns.

For the average creator or entrepreneur

If you're building a business (not just a readership), you need both types of email strategies:

• Engagement emails that provide value and build relationships

• Conversion emails that strategically guide prospects toward purchases

The harsh reality? According to industry research, only about 20% of six-figure creators have a sophisticated email marketing strategy. The other 80% are leaving significant money on the table. Yet email marketing remains the backbone of effective digital marketing strategies.

The real revenue opportunity

Here's something to consider: the IRS reports that the average millionaire has seven revenue streams. If you're only monetizing through direct social media opportunities (sponsored posts, platform monetization), you're limiting your potential.

Email marketing — specifically conversion-focused email marketing — opens up multiple additional revenue channels:

• Digital product sales

• Course launches

• Service offerings

• Affiliate marketing

• Event registrations

• Coaching programs

• Membership subscriptions

And that’s my case for email.

Your next steps

If you're serious about turning your influence into income, here's what I recommend:

1. Maintain a newsletter for building authority and delivering valuable content

2. Start a Flodesk account for strategic, conversion-focused email marketing (especially if you are a small business, in pre-launch for a small business, or a creator interested in/already selling products)

3. Create a simple lead magnet to encourage followers to join your email lists. This can be through Flodesk’s lead magnet forms (hint: every now and then I announce to my story that I intend to launch something, and ask followers to share their email addresses through Flodesk’s lead magnet forms. Remember, I am playing the long game, so this is a fantastic way to grow my community)

4. Segment your Flodesk subscribers based on interests and behaviors

5. Design automated sequences that nurture relationships and drive sales

Don't make the mistake I initially made — thinking all email platforms serve the same purpose. They don't. And understanding the distinction could be the difference between a hobby and a thriving business.

If you do sign up for Flodesk and start converting your audience into customers, use my 50% off code for the first year. I wrote this post to represent my work with them. Unfortunately, I do not make a dollar off of Substack so I have no code, lol — just sign up for the service and be consistent. You can also send newsletters through Flodesk if you want to keep your tech stack simple.

What questions do you have about my email marketing strategy? Do you want to learn more on my tech stack? Drop them in the comments below

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