Should you consider running an email challenge?

We’ve discussed email only courses before and why they’re still effective. Simpler to create, but just as effective are email challenges.

Similar to an email course, an email challenge also consists of an automated sequence of emails. But where an email course teaches a particular skill or craft. The email challenge challenges your subscribers to achieve a specific goal. They’re also typically shorter than email courses and are easier to create.

 

Are email challenges effective?

They absolutely can be, but getting people to sign up and actually do the work is key. We all have a need to improve ourselves and a challenge helps us achieve a sense of accomplishment. A challenge requires people to actively participate in order to get results. So your challenge needs to provide a desirable transformation. Your subscribers must want to do the work.

Subscribers who achieve the desired transformation will want to share their results. Who wouldn’t want to brag to their friends about losing 10 pounds? Or the fact that they’d written the first chapter of their book? And if they’re sharing their results they’re also going to be talking about you. Which in turn leads to more email challenge subscribers. A win-win situation.

 

Would an email challenge work for you?

A great challenge provides a transformation that’s both desirable as well as achievable. If you can offer a desirable transformation that can be achieved in a short period of time, then an email challenge will definitely work for you.

 

5 important things to consider with email challenges

  1. Email challenges need to solve a very specific pain point and be irresistible to your subscribers.
  2. Successful email challenges provide instant gratification. Your subscribers don’t want to have to do too much work and want to to see results quickly.
  3. Leave them wanting more at the end of the challenge. They need to be thinking ‘If this was possible in such a short time imagine what would happen if I signed up for their full service/product’.
  4. Create a consistent email format. With a standardised email format, your subscribers can focus on their tasks and not trying to make sense of your emails.
  5. Add a social element to increase your subscribers’ engagement. Get them to post a status update or a photo on an exclusive Facebook group for the email challenge.

 

There are 5 easy steps to your first email challenge

Step 1 – Come up with a concept and outline the transformation with key points

Step 2 – Take your outline and flesh out each key point with valuable content. Keep it simple and to the point, so you provide value but don’t overwhelm your subscribers. Include an actionable step for each outline point.

Step 3 – Design your email template and type out your emails.

Step 4 – Set it all up in your email marketing tool (ie Convertkit, Mailchimp etc.)

Step 5 – Promote your challenge via social media or using paid ad’s

 

Here are a couple of email challenge examples to get you thinking:

  • A gratitude journaling challenge with daily prompts
  • How to create a capsule wardrobe with daily outfit inspiration
  • Meditation challenge with daily emails and links to meditation audio files
  • 6-week clear your clutter challenge with daily decluttering tasks
  • A challenge to eat vegan for a month, where you get weekly emails with a grocery list and recipes for the week