Laryssa Wirstiuk 0:00
Ready to break free from algorithms, vanity PR, and money-sucking ads? My name’s Laryssa Wirstiuk, and I’ve learned in 8 years of jewelry marketing that content is the crown jewel. My agency Joy Joya takes a holistic approach, leading with laser-focused storytelling, impactful content creation, and strategic content distribution. This method has worked for the solopreneur as well as the multi-million-dollar company, and now I’m sharing these systems and tactics with you. Here’s to standing out in the Sea of Sparkle.

Welcome to Episode #293. In today’s episode, I want to discuss the importance of quality over quantity in email marketing and how to maintain a healthy subscriber list. This topic arose because I’ve noticed a significant increase in spam subscribers on my clients’ lists recently, and I’ve heard similar stories from others in the marketing community. This issue, known as “list bombing,” is described in Klaviyo’s support documentation as “a malicious attack where the attacker exploits a signup form or checkout page by making a large number of fake submissions, filling the associated list with emails and phone numbers that have not consented or are invalid.” Although a rise in email subscribers might appear beneficial for your brand at first glance, it only holds true if all the new contacts are genuine. Sending emails to these fake profiles can harm your deliverability, as your emails might get caught in spam traps. You’ll also see a decline in your open rates. Later in this episode, I’ll delve deeper into list bombing and share ways to protect yourself against it. The main focus today is to ensure your subscribers are legitimate, genuinely interested, and actively engaging with your emails, regardless of whether you have 100 or 100,000 subscribers. Stay tuned for tips on achieving this with your email marketing strategy.

But before we get to the solid gold, I’d like to take a moment to remind you that this podcast has both audio and video – so you can either listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on YouTube by searching “Joy Joya”. You can support the podcast for free by taking the time not only to subscribe but also to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also, if you didn’t know, I co-host another podcast called “Success With Jewelry” with my friend Liz Kantner, who’s also a jewelry marketer and the founder of the Stay Gold Collective. We have a free version of the podcast, available everywhere you listen to podcasts and on YouTube as well as a membership community with extended episodes and additional resources. I invite you to check it out if you’re hungry for more content!

And in case you missed the announcement, I’ve got some big news. I’ve got big news! For the third time, Joy Joya is opening an incubator grant, and it is officially live and waiting for your applications! We’re doing things a little different this time around. Visit https://jewelrybrandincubator.com to apply and get ALL the details. We’re giving away six months (August 1-January 31) of FREE full-service digital marketing support, valued at $3,000 per month ($18,000 total value), to one emerging jewelry brand. Last time I offered this about a year ago, we had pretty strict requirements to enter, and I got a lot of feedback about how that felt limiting. You asked, and I listened! We’re taking off the requirements: you only need to be an active jewelry business with an ecommerce presence to enter. Highlights include: Access to Laryssa and your dedicated Client Account Manager at your fingertips 6-month content calendar tailored to your brand 3 audits Comprehensive email marketing management Blog post writing and publishing Success roadmap for ecommerce, email, and social, and much more Additionally, NEW this year we’re offering the following for five finalists: six months free of the mid-tier membership to JoyDeck ($3,600 value). JoyDeck is an all-in-one marketing support platform that provides accountability and direction, a personalized plan, confidence and assurance, real-time progress monitoring, accessible marketing expertise, and more. Highlights include: Access to Laryssa and your dedicated Client Account Manager at your fingertips 6-month content calendar tailored to your brand 3 audits Use our customizable email templates Success roadmap for ecommerce, email, and social, and much more And ALSO all entrants, yes ALL entrants, will receive three free months of an entry-level membership to JoyDeck ($300 value). Entry-level JoyDeck focuses on accountability and support for your marketing. If you’re on the brink of something big but need guidance to take that leap, you’ve come to the right place. This roadmap is reserved for the bold, the dreamers, and those hungry for growth. Highlights include: Jewelry-specific content calendar Flex social media marketing ideas Access to our extensive resource library and email marketing templates Collaborative marketing challenges Weekly brand storytelling prompts …and much more! Why are we doing this for free? The recipient of this grant will share their business and marketing journey with Joy Joya Podcast listeners and host Laryssa Wirstiuk. We’ll spotlight you as our best case study yet. Also, we love giving back to the industry, and we’ve had a lot of success with the past two grant programs we’ve run. As I mentioned, the only requirements are that you have an active jewelry business with an e-commerce presence. If you’re already a Joy Joya podcast fan and feel aligned with Laryssa’s approach to marketing, that’s a bonus! Again, visit https://jewelrybrandincubator.com to apply and get ALL the details. Applications close Friday, July 12th at 11:59 PM PT.

Okay, let’s get into today’s episode, my Sparklers! Let’s start with list bombing. I need to mention this because it’s become a super widespread issue in email marketing land. And if you let it go for too long without doing anything about it, this will do major damage to your list, to the point that you’ll have to spend months rebuilding your sender reputation in a strategic way. So if you catch it early, that’s great! This is why it’s so important to pay attention to your email marketing analytics – to see if anything fishy is happening. So you’re probably wondering: why does list bombing even happen? These spammers are trying to trick your platform into sharing spam on their behalf. The ramifications of the list bombing is that it’s super annoying to deal with, and it will harm your sender reputation as an email marketer if you don’t catch it quickly. The first way you’ll notice that you’ve been list bombed is that you have a sudden increase in subscribers. It will often start slowly and then ramp up if it goes unnoticed for too long. You may feel good and happy about the increase in email subscribers, but if you start to investigate further, you’ll see the email addresses look funny, like they have plus signs in the email address or weirdly everyone is signed up from Japan. There’s just something not right about the email addresses themselves, and they never actually engage with the emails you’re sending them. Usually list bombing is all coming through one signup form, and from what I’ve seen personally, they’re coming from a signup form that’s being displayed on Shopify. So what should you do if you notice list-bombing? First, suppress or archive all these new subscribers immediately. Try to figure out the source of the list-bombing and ask yourself if that particular form is necessary. Set up a segment or filter in your email marketing platform to identity new subscriber email addresses that have a similar pattern, like they all have a plus sign in the email address name.

Implement double opt-in Yes, I said it! I used to implement double opt-in with clients on a case-by-case basis, but now I think it’s kind of necessary with the rise of email spam. No one ever likes to hear that they should implement double opt-in. But here’s more about what it is as well as my argument for it. Double opt-in is a process used in email marketing to confirm that a person genuinely wants to subscribe to an email list. Here’s a brief explanation of what it is, its origins, and why it’s recommended: What is Double Opt-In? Double opt-in requires two steps for a user to subscribe to an email list: Initial Signup: The user fills out a signup form on a website. Confirmation: The user receives an email with a confirmation link, which they must click to confirm their subscription. When Did It Come About and Why? The concept of double opt-in became more prominent in the early 2000s as a response to increasing concerns about spam and data privacy. The rise of email marketing brought about issues with unsolicited emails and list bombing (adding fake or unwilling subscribers to email lists). Double opt-in was introduced as a method to ensure that only those who genuinely want to receive emails are added to the list, enhancing the quality of the email database and compliance with privacy regulations. Arguments for Implementing Double Opt-In Improved List Quality: Ensures that subscribers are genuinely interested, leading to higher engagement rates. Reduced Spam Complaints: Confirms that subscribers have actively chosen to receive emails, decreasing the likelihood of spam complaints. Compliance with Regulations: Helps comply with anti-spam laws and regulations, such as the GDPR in Europe, which require clear consent from subscribers. Better Deliverability: High-quality lists with engaged subscribers improve email deliverability and reduce the chances of emails being marked as spam. Enhanced Trust: Builds trust with subscribers by demonstrating a commitment to privacy and respect for their consent. Implementing double opt-in can initially reduce the number of subscribers, but it ultimately leads to a more engaged and valuable email list. Ultimately, you have to decide if double opt-in is right for you, but it’s something to strongly consider in this day and age. Drop the vanity As you’ve probably gleaned from this episode, a lot of email marketing means dropping the vanity around how many subscribers you have and instead focus on ensuring you have subscribers that really care and love your brand, no matter how many those may be.

Besides watching out for spam, another important aspect of this is ensuring that your current, non-spam subscribers still want to be receiving your emails and/or that their contact information is still correct. To that end, I recommend doing a re-engagement campaign about every 90 days or even setting up an email flow/automation that gets sent automatically when someone meets the criteria that they’re no longer engaged. Typically this criteria is as follows: If someone can or cannot receive marketing > can receive > email marketing > because person subscribed > and subscribe date > is at least 90 days ago AND What someone has done > Received Email > is at least > 5 over all time AND What someone has done > Opened Email > zero times > in the last 90 days AND What someone has done > Clicked Email > zero times > in the last 90 days Then you ask all those people if they still want to receive your emails and give them a chance to update their contact information. If they still don’t engage, then it’s time to archive or suppress those contacts, so they don’t weigh down your subscriber list. Yes, it might be painful to do, but in the long run, this is better for the health of your email list! So how have you been a caretaker or your email subscriber list? What challenges have you had in this process? Let me know in a comment on YouTube or DM me on Instagram. I’d love to chat about it!

Okay, let’s get into the GOLD MINE. Welcome to another edition of THE GOLD MINE – a segment where I get personal and share insights on entrepreneurship, mindset, success, growth, and all things business. THE GOLD MINE allows me to share topics and insights close to my heart. In this week’s GOLD MINE, I just want to give you a mid-June boost to stay motivated through the summer. I know I need it too! When the days get longer, I find myself wanting to be outside instead of at my desk. The jewelry industry notoriously slows down as customers focus more on summer getaways than treating themselves to jewels—unless they’re buying those jewels on vacation! So, how do you stay motivated? It seems almost cruel that you need to jump back into marketing in September to plan your holiday selling strategies. If you usually experience a summer slowdown, try to see it as a gift. We rarely have time to step away from the daily grind to look at the big picture of our business and marketing strategies. Often, we’re on autopilot, just trying to get by. When we do get a break, we’re so burned out that we tend to forget about our businesses and eagerly dive back into the world. You deserve a break and a breather. You deserve a breath of fresh air and to put your toes in the sand. But you also deserve less stress in the fall and winter by planting some seeds now. Think of yourself as a farmer. You can’t expect to harvest your winter squash if you don’t take the time to plant it! Show up for yourself and tackle some of the foundational and strategic aspects of your business now, so you can reap the rewards later. And when you’re done, reward yourself with a cold glass of lemonade, a trip to the beach, or whatever brings you joy on a summer day. What do you think about planting those seeds? Let me know in an Instagram DM or YouTube comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Did you have any questions about today’s episode? You can always email me Laryssa at laryssa@joyjoya.com. If you loved this podcast, please share it with a friend who’d appreciate it. And don’t forget to subscribe as well as leave a review on Apple Podcasts. If you’re completely new to digital marketing, then you’ll want to purchase and read a copy of my book JEWELRY MARKETING JOY. Visit joyjoya.com/book for more information.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai