Welcome to the first issue of the Ascend with Ascendz newsletter.

Every Saturday morning I will be landing in your inbox sharing practical and implementable marketing strategies, tech tools and tips.

Now before you roll your eyes…🙄

I totally recognise that we are already in a very noisy echo-chamber, where we’re constantly being bombarded by so-called ‘gurus’ telling us that we must use ads, or post on IG twenty times a week, or use a specific platform if we want our businesses to be a success.

It’s a never-ending onslaught and it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees – my intention is not to add to the noise.

But you’re sharing a newsletter about marketing strategies and tech tools – how are you not adding to the noise? 🤔

Well yes 😅 the irony isn’t lost on me, but rest assured, I’m no self-proclaimed guru, I’m not steadfast in thinking my way is the only way and I’m never going to tell you that anything I talk about is a definitive path to riches because that would simply be a lie.

Having personally been sucked in too many times before by that kind of marketing and sales, there’s nothing more disappointing than feeling disappointed when you realise your £3k (or more) down and not an inch up.

I eventually had an epiphany and decided to ditch the rose-tinted glasses and resist the urge to pay for yet another unoriginal course or program just because the creator professes to have built a 6 or 7-figure empire in the click of a finger.

The truth is growing my business only ever felt difficult when I was trying hard to replicate someone else’s path, even when it felt out of alignment with my own.

So, I stopped doing what everyone else was doing (casts mind to still empty Instagram feed 🤦🏾‍♀️) and instead I’ve focused on achieving growth in small increments, fully appreciating that I’m my only competition.

Charting my own path and tweaking and tinkering in my own business has helped me recognise that there are so many ‘smaller’, less sexy marketing things we can do that can compound quickly to increase traction.

But no one really talks about them because they’re not the grand, ‘make £10k in an hour, selling in the DMs’, kinda strategies 🤷🏾‍♀️

For instance, what ROI do you reckon you could yield if you spent a little time strategically segmenting your email list? (Keep reading, I’m about to tell you 😉)

Or, how much more successful do you think your next launch could be if you actually reverse-engineered the numbers beforehand?

It’s amazing how many of us skip the ‘menial’ type tasks – but here’s a nugget for you: micro actions can create macro results.

So, that’s what Ascend with Ascendz is all about.

The simple (and possibly boring) activities, strategies, tactics and methods you and I can leverage, to grow our business…even if it’s just 1% at a time.

Marketing Strategy of the Week

Segmenting Your Email List: Unleash the Power of Personalisation

Ever tried delivering the same presentation to a room filled with both investors and toddlers? It wouldn’t be very effective, right? Email marketing faces a similar challenge.

If you’re looking at your open rates and/or click-through rates (CTR) wondering why no-one is reading your stuff…then perhaps consider that your emails are just too generic and therefore fall flat in and amongst the wonder that is your subscriber’s inbox.

Segmentation is the antidote to this problem.

Imagine dividing your email list into targeted groups based on demographics, interests, purchase history, or website behaviour.

Suddenly, you can craft emails that speak directly to each segment’s needs and the results are impressive. Studies show segmented campaigns can generate up to 760% increase in revenue compared to non-segmented emails [Source: DMA].

Here’s why:

Increased Engagement: Subscribers are more likely to open and click on emails that resonate with their interests. Segmented emails boast 30% higher open rates and 50% higher click-through rates than generic ones [Source: HubSpot Blog].

Boost Conversions: Targeted offers based on purchase history or website behaviour convert at a much higher rate. Segmentation can help you turn casual browsers into loyal customers.

Reduced Unsubscribes: Nobody enjoys irrelevant emails. Segmentation ensures subscribers receive content they find valuable, keeping them engaged and reducing unsubscribe rates.

It may feel like a daunting task, particularly if you have a big list of subscribers. But once you’ve figured out what you want to segment by, you can always have your subscribers do the work for you by sending out a poll/survey and using the responses to tag and segment people accordingly.

If you haven’t segmented your email list yet then now is as good a time as any to get started.

And here’s a tool that could help you implement the above:

Tech Tool of the Week:

Tech Tool Spotlight: ConvertKit

ConvertKit (soon to be Kit) is a powerful email marketing platform built specifically for creators and businesses focused on building relationships. Their user-friendly interface makes segmentation a breeze, so much so, we’ve just moved over to ConvertKit ourselves.

You can create segments based on various criteria, craft personalised email sequences, and track performance in-depth. ConvertKit recently announced their forthcoming rebranding and also enhanced their free plan which can now accommodate up to 10,000 subscribers, before you have to pay a penny.

It’s definitely a strong choice for businesses and great for segmentation.

I’m also quite a fan of their founder Nathan Barry, who I’ve caught on a few podcasts in recent weeks.

But back to the point at hand… investing a little time in personalising your email broadcasts, through segmentation will pay dividends later.

Definition of the Week

A/B Testing: A controlled experiment commonly used in marketing to compare two versions of a marketing element, such as a website headline, email subject line, or landing page layout. Half of your target audience sees version A, while the other half sees version B. By analysing results like click-through rates or conversion rates, you can determine which version performs better and optimise your marketing materials for maximum impact.

I hope you’ve found value in this week’s newsletter.

See you next week.

Best,
Toni