How I’m Prioritizing Email Marketing With Colie James [Business-First Creatives Podcast]

Andréa Jones [00:00:00]:
If social media sometimes feels like a part time job that you didn't even apply for, then this episode is for you. I'm excited to bring you an interview that I did with the amazing Colie James on Business First Creatives. We talked about a topic I know I feel deep in my bones. It's this shift from social media burnout and really focusing in on more sustainable practices. Specifically for me, it's been email, those things that are just super high impact. And yes, social media has a place in my marketing system, but it's weighted and I talk all about that in this episode. But first, a word from our sponsor. Riverside is the all in one podcast recording and editing tool that I use for this right here show.

Andréa Jones [00:00:45]:
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Andréa Jones [00:01:17]:
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Colie James [00:01:32]:
Hello. Hello and welcome back to Business First Creatives podcast. I have yet another repeat guest. We are talking to Drea Jones today and I just want to say, y' all know sometimes I get these ideas for these podcast episodes. I'm on threads, I'm on Instagram, I someone says something and I'm like, I have shit to say about that. So I immediately email them and are like, do you want to come on my podcast? And with Drea, like, I don't have to beg. We're good friends. So I'm like, come talk about this on my podcast.

Colie James [00:01:59]:
Here's the link. Like, I don't even really ask you if you want to. It's here. Pick a time. But she is here today and we are going to be talking about the shift that both of us have made from social media into email marketing as our primary form of communication. And so I am so excited for this conversation and I hope that you are too, girl. Welcome back to the podcast.

Andréa Jones [00:02:21]:
Thank you so much for having me on here. I always love chit chatting with you and just, like, getting the. Getting all the real tea that's happening in the business world.

Colie James [00:02:30]:
I mean, I think it's really funny that before we started this and I'm asking you about the email stuff, you're like, well, but there's a controversial part. And I'm like, oh, really? What is it? And then you tell me, and I'm like, no, that's not controversial that we do that all day, every day over here. So I'm even more excited about this conversation than I was originally. But, Drea, why don't you tell the listening audience who you are and what you do? Because that is going to lean us into the transition. I feel like we. Most of the time, when I have repeat guests, I don't have you repeat that stuff. But I think that it's, like, front and center for your transition. And so let's start with that.

Andréa Jones [00:03:03]:
Yeah. So I'm formerly a social media strategist. I now call myself a mindful marketing star strategist, because a lot of what I teach my clients and customers is about holistic marketing ecosystems. Even though. And I've been teaching it this way for years. But even though that is still the thing people still, their entry point into my world usually is, you know, man, I'm trying to edit this Instagram reel, and I can't get it to work. And it's like, once we start peeling back the layers, I realize over time, it's like, it's not the Instagram reel that's the problem. It's like the weight and the pressure that people put on the Instagram reel, that's the problem.

Andréa Jones [00:03:40]:
And, like, once they shift around to, like, focusing on the main thing, which today we're talking about email, then things become easier. And so my new tagline is simpler, smarter marketing for busy people. Because my people are like, we've got kids. We live lives. Maybe we have chronic illness. Maybe we're taking care of our parents. Maybe we're going back to school. Like, we have stuff going on, and we don't have time to follow the quote unquote traditional advice of, like, post three times a day and live in your stories.

Andréa Jones [00:04:08]:
Like, that doesn't work for us. So what else is there? That's kind of where I land.

Colie James [00:04:12]:
Yeah. And for me, I know a lot of people don't like to be in their stories because they don't like to be visible. They don't like to make videos. And that's not me. I love making videos. I love recording podcast episodes. I Love taking those clips and putting them everywhere that I possibly can. But I am tired of Instagram.

Colie James [00:04:28]:
I am tired of stories I have not posted on my feed since the inauguration, which, I mean, it's a picture of me with like, some Disney people. Like, pick your emotion and anger, sadness. I don't remember which one, but anyways, that's my last post on Instagram. I posted a story this weekend. I was at a podcast retreat and so many people responded and said, oh, my God, you're in a story. I'm like, yeah, I'm not coming back. Don't get excited. Like, I just wanted to share my chocolate martini with everybody.

Colie James [00:04:56]:
But recently, in the last year, I have had a lot of health problems. I have been, like, mentally weighed down and. And so I didn't have the energy to show up on social media as I have in previous years. And so I have really been going in all in on marketing, email marketing. And I felt like when I saw your post talking about you doing the same, or maybe it was a podcast episode, I was just like, no, girl, come talk about this with me because I need somebody to chat with.

Andréa Jones [00:05:24]:
Yeah, I think, honestly, I do think this is a collective experience right now. I swear there's going to be studies on us, like, post pandemic fallout or something, because there are so many people I'm talking to. We're all going through the same thing. We're like the. The very idea of, like, creating content to post on social media, just even thinking about it, we're like, ugh, do we have to? And so it's like that feeling that I'm trying to bottle up because a lot of what I like, I've been doing it this way for years. But a lot of people assume that the way that I teach social media is social media first and social media focused. And while I have had a heavy emphasis on it, my approach has always been like, social media is content repurposing and then like, connection. I rarely make custom content for social media.

Andréa Jones [00:06:14]:
Very rarely. Almost everything I put on social media, I said somewhere else first. Usually either my podcast or my email. So for me, and I've always taught it this way. So even, like my OG writer die, like, they've been in my membership since day one, people. When I rebranded from savvy social school to the mindful marketing lab, they were like, oh, yeah, that makes total sense because you've been doing it this way for years, right? And so, yeah, I'm totally with you on this. This feeling around social media, it just we're not excited about it anymore because we've just all been here for so long.

Colie James [00:06:50]:
And I feel like I've even seen, like, in the last month or two, I have seen, like, this transition on Threads because I feel like when Threads first came out, it was where everybody went to post their hot takes. And it wasn't like, I'm selling this. Come buy it. But I feel like in the last month or two, the people that I really used to enjoy just reading what they had to say that day, it is. Here's one of five posts about this new thing that I'm selling. And it's like, sales post, sales post, sales post. And I'm like, okay. So people, I feel like, are, you know, exiting Instagram, and they're just bringing those sales vibes over to Threads, and I'm just like, okay, it's kind of ruining it for me, but I'm not posting on either one of them.

Colie James [00:07:32]:
I'm, like, consuming, but I am not sharing. I mean, I'm really only sharing on my podcast now. And then that is what gets repurposed everywhere. And I will say, it's one of the things that I really love about you because every time I've had a conversation with you, every time you've been in a podcast recording with me, it's been, no, like, there are so many facets to your marketing. Pick the one that you love and go with it, and then when it is appropriate, repurpose it to other places.

Andréa Jones [00:08:00]:
Yeah. And, you know, the big aha moment for me was so every year I sit down, I, like, look at my analytics from the previous years. I compare them. And what I noticed last year when I sat down to do this right before my rebrand was I have more email subscribers on my list. I have about 19,000 people on my email list than any individual social media channel. So here I am, like, oh, I'm a social media strategist, when in fact, my largest community, let's call it, is my email list. And it's like, duh, this is what I've been trying to do since I started my business, and it's working clearly. But if you go look at my Instagram, that number isn't reflected there.

Andréa Jones [00:08:47]:
I think I have, like, 10,000 people on my Instagram. So it's one of those, like, aha. Moments where I was like, oh, like, I already knew this, but seeing the numbers, just like the cold, hard numbers, I was like, oh, yeah, it's not about social media. It's about what social media can do for my email list.

Colie James [00:09:03]:
Yes. Well, and I mean, there's a couple of other different facets that first of all, everybody should be looking at their numbers. Our good friend Dahma put out this is it Traffic tracer. I don't know, but you have to fill out a report every month. And so I've started doing that. I mean, I was looking at my numbers before. You and I are both huge fans of Metricool. I love that I can go in there and like, you know, see my data, see how many followers I've gained and, or lost every single month or whatever period of time I want to do it.

Colie James [00:09:29]:
But looking at your numbers is essential to figure out where people are coming from. Just having come back from my podcast retreat, I have been talking more and more about my podcast being my first and foremost marketing channel because I am starting to see sales not just of small templates, but of like entire like one to one services where people are like, oh, I heard you talk about that on the podcast. That's what I want. And then they're booking a sales call and I'm like, okay, it is working now. Like, it is supposed to be working. And I'm like, you, like, it's not about the number of followers per se or subscribers for my podcast, but when I have hard data of how much money I made off of someone saying, I heard you say this off the podcast and this is why I bought. I mean, that's just data that you can't ignore.

Andréa Jones [00:10:16]:
Yeah, yeah. And same for me when I was looking at conversion metrics, my email is my highest converting platform now. That's not to say like, social media doesn't have a role and my podcast doesn't have a role. They all play a role in the marketing ecosystem, which is why I like talking about it, like, working together. And a lot of people who talk about email are so anti social media. And I'm like, we can have it all. It's just not equally important. So to me, it's like if you're, if you're planning out like Thanksgiving dinner, like, to me email is like the turkey.

Andréa Jones [00:10:48]:
You gotta have the turkey. But like, you can't not have side dishes. And that's where I cheese. Right? Social media to me is a Mac and cheese. And it's like, how can you, you can't not have it, in my opinion. But it's not like if you didn't have the turkey, then you're not even having Thanksgiving dinner. Like, you're just having a Mac and cheese. So that's kind of how I see social media, and especially for business owners, there's a lot of advice out there for people who want to be content creators and influencers.

Andréa Jones [00:11:16]:
And it's not the same for us. Like, we're not looking at the same metrics, we're not going after the same goals. We're not trying to be viral, we're trying to run our business. And so, yeah, that's, that's kind of how I look at it.

Colie James [00:11:26]:
And email is the only place that you are in control of who sees your content. Like you put it on Instagram and It's what, like 1% now? I mean, the percentage is so low, I don't even care what it is anymore. So many people who have raised their hand and subscribed to you on Instagram, which to me is the same thing as subscribing to an email newsletter. But when I send out an email newsletter, I can tell every single person received it. I can see every single person that opened it. You don't get that same kind of data or metrics on Instagram. And even when you do, you are not in control of everyone seeing your things. As you say, it's the Instagram gods or the algorithm, Mr.

Colie James [00:12:06]:
Al. The algorithm that controls whether or not people see your content. And I am just super tired of playing that game like it is. It is beyond me at this point.

Andréa Jones [00:12:15]:
Well, okay, I may have to disagree with you just a little bit because it's, it's getting more complicated. Right. And I don't have the right terms for this yet, but I think there's something to creating like a brand identity rather than a platform focused one. So even in our inboxes like Google and Gemini, they're. They're really in the AI, right? And so like, even in your inbox now, you open an email, it has a summary at the top of, like, when the email is about. To me, as someone who's like, I love my email list, I'm like, I hope people read my email. I don't want them to read the summary at the top. I spent a lot of time writing.

Colie James [00:12:53]:
Because you don't control the summary. Yeah, right.

Andréa Jones [00:12:55]:
I don't control the summary. It's adding in things that I didn't say or it's summarizing it in a way that just like boils it down to nothing. You're missing the story. Right. And so that piece of. It's like we're losing control on that piece as well. And so this is why I'm a huge Fan of the ecosystem. Like, it's not just the email thing, but to me, I hope that the way that I write my emails, people don't even care about the summary at the top because they're like, I need to hear from Andrea.

Andréa Jones [00:13:25]:
And so that's kind of my whole goal with my email list is I use a lot of storytelling. I try to make it fun and insightful, I guess. And so I hope that even though this little AI summary at the top is there, they still feel a connection to what I have to say. Enough to, like, read the whole thing.

Colie James [00:13:45]:
I read the whole thing just so that, you know, I read the whole thing. So even if it's just me out of 19,000, we're all good.

Colie James [00:13:53]:
Yes.

Andréa Jones [00:13:54]:
Yes. Well, there you go.

Colie James [00:13:56]:
So tell me about this transition for you. Because again, it's, it. It isn't as hard of a transition as I'm making it out to be, but I do feel like it's the first time that you, like, said it out loud. No, Email is my queen now. Like, everything else is secondary. So tell me what that looks like for you in terms of when you are making your marketing plans.

Andréa Jones [00:14:14]:
Listen, I went through a whole identity crisis. I had a therapist and a business coach work me through this because it's. It's hard. Like, I've been doing this for 11 years, and even before that, when I worked in corporate, I was on the social media teams. Like, I. I was very in into it. And even though I knew that this was me, listen, I bought the domain name Mindful marketing community in 2020, and I didn't rebrand until 2024. So even then I knew.

Andréa Jones [00:14:46]:
But it's one of those things that's freeing too, because there's a lot of updates happening on social media just constantly, and it's. It's hard to keep up. And this is my job, and I still keep up with all of them. But I found myself, I was giving the updates that didn'.

Colie James [00:15:01]:
Right.

Andréa Jones [00:15:02]:
Like, oh, you know, Instagram's gonna be taking notes away, or now they're bringing it back, or they're taking away. They're bringing it back. Like, they, it kept going back and forth with little updates like that where I was like, I'm not gonna bother my people with this anymore. Right. And so for me, it was more about looking at what actually matters. Looking at, like, my consulting calls with people, sitting down with them. I remember sitting down with a doula. She wanted to, you know, expand her reach.

Andréa Jones [00:15:32]:
And so we started off talking about social media but turns out she wasn't even emailing her potential client list. Like people would fill out the contact form and then after talking with her, they weren't taking the next step of booking a call is all automated. And I was like, you could literally add just one or two more emails here and potentially you know, start closing more business. And like, I know we're talking about social media, but this is like the low hanging fruit. And so it's like moments like those where I notice going into consulting calls and like talking with my people, they can make more money faster by focusing on email first. And then that's the turkey and then we can, we could talk about the side dishes, right? They, they add, they make a beautiful meal. But like the focus, the focus of this is email marketing. And I think that's such a huge thing.

Andréa Jones [00:16:22]:
And even taking one of my clients took the same vibe of email marketing into her SMS marketing. She's a local business. It makes so much sense for her to have basically an email list that's just text messages. She was like, text her people like a spa kind of scenario. And so for her it's like, hey, time to book your next appointment. Or hey, I saw you were on our website. Here's 15% off. Like it's, it's low hanging fruit, right? And so when I start my consulting and I'm like working with people, I just noticed that we were going to email first.

Andréa Jones [00:16:52]:
And so it just makes more sense for me to kind of start leading with that in the conversations versus leading with social because people then put an extremely high level of importance on social media. And I'm like, okay, it's kind of important but like really it's not that important. Like there's, there's other things we need to figure out first.

Colie James [00:17:11]:
I mean I, I also feel like in the, in the situation where you were mentioning the sms, I feel like that's like a direct connection, like you're sending it to them. It's very specific. Versus on social media, Instagram, I mean even LinkedIn, you are throwing up all of these ideas and you're kind of hoping that they're going to catch with someone instead of like this is my crafted message, I'm specifically sending it to my entire email list. Or maybe it's segmented because I also think that's when a lot of people miss the ball is yes, there's times when you should email your whole list, but how much further could you get if you started sending emails that were more segmented so that you could make your messaging even more specific to that group of people. Like, you might talk about your offer differently with segment A than you would with segment B. And so why not craft two versions of the same email and do it both ways? Which I think is a perfect segment to start talking about AI. What do you think?

Andréa Jones [00:18:08]:
Yes, please. I'm pro AI. I'm a fan.

Colie James [00:18:13]:
I am also pro AI listening audience. The thing that we were talking about before we hit record, Liz, she said that it was going to be controversial because she uses AI to write her emails. And I'm like, no, girl. I got a whole course coming out where I built an AI tool that will help you write your client experience emails faster with AI based on templates that I'm giving you. Like, that is the thing now. And it's really funny because I was getting like an email audit kind of thing from a coach a couple weeks ago, and one of the things that she mentioned was that I had AI tells in my emails. And the first thing that I, when I looked at them, I was like, I don't care. I don't care if everyone knows that I wrote this email with AI.

Colie James [00:18:50]:
And I mean, it was like the emojis, it was the EM dashes, okay? But it sounds like me. It has my thoughts in there. I don't care if people know that AI wrote it. I think that pretty soon we're going to get into a space where people are going to assume that everyone is using AI to write everything, versus I feel like for the last year and a half, it's been like, oh, if you use AI to write your sales page, like, it's not really you or your emails. But I do feel like we are getting a shift now. Do you agree?

Andréa Jones [00:19:22]:
100%. I think that it's going to be. So I always tell this story with my. My opinion of AI. I was in the third grade or fourth grade, and we had to do math. And y' all remember math? Third, fourth grade. You got to show your work. You got to do the whole thing, okay? You cannot use a calculator.

Andréa Jones [00:19:40]:
And y', all, math and me, we do not get along, okay? I do not. I need my calculator. And my teacher sat me aside and was like, listen, it's not like you're going to be able to carry a calculator in your pocket for the rest of your life. And now look at me. I got my calculator in my pocket, Mrs. Anderson. So for me, it feels like that conversation, it feels like people are assuming what the future will be like. And they're like, oh, AI is going to take over.

Andréa Jones [00:20:11]:
But I think it's going to be more like the calculator on your phone scenario where you're just like, well duh. Of course we all have calculators on our phone and we use them all the time and we carry it around with us. And so right now we're in like this weird in between space. But I definitely see it in the future. That being said, I do think there's still a premium on human stories and human experiences. So I use AI as my assistant, not my brain. Okay, so for me, when I write my emails, this all started because I have a one year old who would not let me go. She l will latch onto me and will not let me go.

Andréa Jones [00:20:46]:
And you know what? I'm the same way. So girl, I understand. However, it was really hard to get work done with her versus my first kid was like, bye, I mom okay, you're fine. So I was like, I I could work in between stuff because she did not want to play with me. She she wants to play with other kids or by herself. My second daughter was like, I don't care who else is in the world, I only want mom. And so I started using voice to text a lot and then I started using Voice attacks on ChatGPT and Y'. All this changed the way that I write my emails because it would it used to take me about two hours to like sit down, write, edit, put everything together.

Andréa Jones [00:21:21]:
Now it takes me like 10 minutes because I created a custom GPT for myself and I literally will tell it this story. Like this is the story that I want to tell in the email. This is the point that I want to make. I want to make sure to use these words and this is what, how I want it to end. And then Chatty. That's why I call ChatGPT Chatty. Chatty will write the story for me and it's like 90% there. I go in and edit it and yes, on the M dashers like it goes wild with that.

Andréa Jones [00:21:49]:
I just remove a few of them, use my own emojis, whatever, and like I edit it to sound more like me. And then away we go and it's like so much faster and I love it.

Colie James [00:21:59]:
No, I mean I do think that what you said, it's your assistant, not your brain. And it didn't really I feel like we're still stuck when people, when ChatGPT came on the scene like a year, two years ago, I can't even remember how Long. We've had it now. See, I mean, it's been so long in my brain, but I feel like there's a subset of people who tried it in its first iteration and they're like, oh, my gosh, like, that sounds so robotic. That is crap. You know, I went back and forth and at the end of the day, it would have just been faster if I've written it myself. I feel like there's that subset of people that just can't let go, that the AI has evolved since then, and so they're still stuck in this. Oh, everything that it gave me was generic and crap.

Colie James [00:22:41]:
And yes, if you are not giving it you, when you start, it is going to give you something generic because if you and I ask it the exact same question now, taking away our memory and, and like all the other things that you and I would have in our ChatGPT accounts. But if you and I asked it for the exact same thing, it is probably going to give us something that is extremely similar. But what changes it is when each of us gives it our context, gives it our words, gives it our personal storytelling. And when it starts with that and then it performs the task, that is when what it gives you is very different than what it gives me. And so if everybody can just kind of wrap their brain around, hey, it is not my brain. You need to tell it what it is that you. Your story as a baseline, you know, an outline of the email. Or sometimes, like you said, I will just word vomit.

Colie James [00:23:35]:
Whether you're doing the dictation or you're doing the straight talking to it, because a lot of people don't know you can actually talk to chat GPT now. Like, you talk to it with your voice and it will talk back, back to you in a voice.

Colie James [00:23:49]:
So if we could all just wrap our heads around you, give it a task with your context, your words, all of these things. The rough draft that it gives you is going to be what she said, guys, like, 90% of the way there. And you are spending like, let's say you're spending seven minutes giving it the context, it spits out the email. You spend another five, maybe seven minutes doing the edit. That's way less time than what she said it was taking her two hours to write an email before. Because it's always easier for us to start with a first draft and fix it. I mean, I like telling people what I don't like. I will do that all day.

Colie James [00:24:26]:
Yeah, but if I'm sitting in front of a blank screen and I Have to start writing. I mean, what I write sounds like shit from the beginning, right? I mean, I don't know. Maybe it's just me.

Andréa Jones [00:24:35]:
Yeah, no, same thing. And, like, literally, I was hiring a copywriter to do what ChatGPT is doing. Because even when I had my copywriter, I would sit down and record a loom video, and I would say, this is the story that I want to tell in my email. And then I'd send it to my copywriter, and then he would write it. Very well, mind you. And then he would send it back to me, and then I would edit it and I publish this. And this was pre chatgpt, Right. And so, like, my process was still very similar back then.

Andréa Jones [00:25:03]:
And then when I sold my agency, I sold my. Like, my team, went with the. With our clients, and so I didn't have my copywriter anymore. And I was like, well, now what? And that's when I'm like, sitting down. Yeah. I'm trying to write it, and I'm like, this is taking way too long. I'm not a writer. I shouldn't say I'm not a writer.

Andréa Jones [00:25:21]:
I'm a talker first, writer second. And so a lot of the writing that I do today, it almost always starts as talking first. Like, even in Riverside here, I will record, like, videos and things and then take the transcript, put that in ChatGPT, and be like, can you summarize this for me? Because I gotta put this in an email because I need to send it out to people, Right. And so it's like, even that, it's like, it makes it so much faster than having to sit down. Like, I'm like you, if I have to stare at that blinking cursor. Ain't none coming out.

Colie James [00:25:57]:
Nope. And it's funny to hear you talk about your process versus my process, because you're like, this is the story that I want to tell, and that's what it's using as the context. For me, it's usually like, these are some thoughts that I had about, you know, client experience, systems, whatever it is. And then after it writes it, I'll be like, oh, that reminds me. This is a story that I want to infuse it. So I actually do the opposite of you. I get, like, the first draft, and then I think of what storytelling is appropriate for that email, and I stick it in after. And I think I've done it that way just forever.

Colie James [00:26:34]:
Like, it never really occurs to me. I shouldn't say never, but it's very rare that I start from, like, this is a story that I want to tell. Like, even the other day, girl squirrels have cost me $6,500 in the last two weeks. I know. You should see her face. Guys, squirrels. So two died in my townhouse attic. And apparently they've been up there like.

Colie James [00:26:53]:
Like, squirrels have been having a party. They have been chewing on wires, chewing on wood, chewing on insulation, disgusting stuff everywhere. I mean, the first visit is today, when they're coming to, like, cleanse Everything. But $6,500. And I wrote an email the other day that was like, hey, I am migrating from kit to end charge, and I know that you guys love me. And when you switch email marketing providers, they automatically think you're a scammer, so you have to prove that you're not. And, like, can you guys please click in this email? And so I got a first draft, and I was like, okay, but it needs a story. Like, something funny.

Colie James [00:27:27]:
So I was like, oh, I have two stories in mind. So one was the squirrels cost me $6,500. So, you know, I got to. I got to make sure that my email is working so that I can pay for the 6, $200 bill. The second thing was that morning James put my. Have you ever seen the pattern bottles shampoo and conditioner from Trace Ross? Okay. Yeah, they're identical. There's nothing different.

Colie James [00:27:47]:
The color, nothing. He put them together next to each other where I keep them opposite, and so I couldn't tell which one was which. So I told Chat GPT both of those stories, and I was like, stick this in the email. And I did a great job. Like, I came back and I was like, no, this one should come first, they should come second. Like, you know, I did my thing, but I started with, hey, I need them to click write this email. And now let me put some storytelling into it. Yes.

Colie James [00:28:11]:
Even though you and I are going about it in an opposite order, the end result is the same. An email to our list that sounds exactly like us and says what we want it to say in way less time.

Andréa Jones [00:28:24]:
Yeah. And the thing that I love about AI is it helps me focus and be organized. I am realizing that I may be on the ADHD spectrum because same, I do a lot of things and my brain is like, ooh, and how about this? And so when I'm writing, yes, very much like a squirrel. And so what I'm writing a lot of times now, I'm like, okay, chatgpt, tell me how many emails I have with these stories, because I'll just Start talking. And it's like 10 minutes later and I'm still talking and I'm like, this is entirely too long for one email. And so lately I've been like, okay, how many emails are these stories and how can I relate them to marketing? Because I created my custom GPT, knows everything about me. And so I'm like, how does this relate to my, my offers, my marketing? And so then it will then go, oh, here are three stories here, you could actually do this way. And then we can relate it back to this, that, the other thing.

Andréa Jones [00:29:21]:
And usually I'm like, yes to that, no to that, yes to this. And then away we go, right? And then I can batch my emails. And so that's what I really like too is like the organization piece because I get a little rambly and then it can like tighten things up a little bit and make it more succinct for the email marketing. And the most important thing is like, it still keeps my story and my perspective. And that's really important to me. Especially when you just go into. If you just go to Blank chatgpt and you ask it for marketing stuff, it will. It's not my perspective.

Andréa Jones [00:29:56]:
Like, I have a very unique perspective on this that's not about, you know, post a TikTok six to eight times a day or whatever it is the TikTok experts are saying now. Like, I can't even say it because as I say it I'm like, I literally feel like I'm getting the chills, like sweating. Like it's like it's too much like who is doing this? And so I have to be very careful about any advice because Chatty will give me the wrong advice. So for me, I'd be very careful about that. But the storytelling, the writing, it can help shape all of that for me and that it's such a beautiful thing. I can get through so much faster because of that tool.

Colie James [00:30:35]:
So you talked about organization. I want to add one more layer because I do feel like it keeps getting left out of the conversation. Yes, AI is great for helping you write your content. Yes, the content is better if you start with like something that's a long form piece of content from you or a personal story that you're starting with. Both of those give you a really good direction for your content. It's going to sound like you because it technically is you. But the part that I think we're migrating towards and I don't think people are moving as fast along as I am, but like analysis and synthesis. So that's where you were going with the hey, I've got these different stories.

Colie James [00:31:11]:
How many different emails have they been in? Or how many emails can I create? I do think that using ChatGPT or the AI tool of your choice, because let's be honest, there's lots of them. But like, I'm in love with chatgpt girl. I recently said that it's my favorite team member even more than airtable, and I felt like that was blasphemy. I felt like I needed a drink after I said it. But it is totally true. I talk to ChatGPT every day even more than I go into my airtable hubs, which I never thought that was going to be a thing. But like feeding it more information to help it synthesize and help give you strategy. It's game changer.

Colie James [00:31:49]:
Not because I want to treat it like it's my therapist, which I know there's a lot of people that are using it for therapy or to replace your coach. No, but like Dama is my current coach for the quarter, by the way. I don't get responses from her at 3am When I have an idea. But guess what? My custom GPT that I fed, all of my offers and my ideas and what I think about things, it will give me an answer at 3am so content creation organization, but also moving it along to help you analyze the things that already exist in your world when you are trying to like see the big picture and you can't quite get there on your own. Like that is what I am currently using AI for a lot. And hey, strategy and emails is high up on that list.

Andréa Jones [00:32:36]:
Yes, absolutely. And I've written so much too that you know, I've been in business for 11 years. I've been really focused on email marketing for, for about eight of those 11 years, right. And so I have so much content that's available, so much context that I can feed it and data too, right? Like I can take a screenshot of, you know, my ConvertKit and say, okay, so here's my numbers, here are my subject lines, here's my open rates. What similarities do you see in these subject lines and open rates so that I can improve my subject lines in the future. This sort of analysis would have taken me hours to do manually and it's minutes in chatty. And so for me, seconds, moments. I think it's so cool.

Andréa Jones [00:33:30]:
I did this recently with my Instagram as well. Took a screenshot of my Instagram data, my account, and I was like, okay, pretend you're Me, I'm too close to this. What are the commonalities in my top posts? And they're all personal storytelling stuff. Like the stuff I already know, but I forget because I'm too close to it. Right. And so you'll notice if you go to my Instagram right now, it's more storytelling, personalized stuff. It's still repurposed, though. What I've been doing lately is if I say something in an email, especially the moments where, like, people respond back, I'm like, oh, people liked this one.

Andréa Jones [00:34:07]:
So I recently wrote an email about our fantasy marketing calendar versus, like, real life calendar. Because sometimes we go, oh, I'm gonna do an email, a podcast, a YouTube video I'm gonna post to Instagram four times. And then we just get the one email done. And then we're like beating ourselves up over it. Like, it's just that it's not matching and people are like, oh. And so I recorded a video saying the exact same thing I said in the email in video form, and it worked really well. And so for me, it's like email first to test the idea, but then I use all this information that I've been able to synthesize through chatty to then repurpose it in a way that's more resonant on the other platforms as well.

Colie James [00:34:48]:
Yes. And I think you and I have had a conversation previously about repurposing and how one of the pitfalls that people do is they take piece of content from, like, Instagram and they just try to slap it on LinkedIn and it's like, no, the people on those platforms are completely different. They are consuming content completely differently. But your AI tool is going to help you keep the messaging and keep the content idea, but actually reshape it for that secondary third marketing channel. Like making sure that you're saying what you want to say, but you're saying it appropriately for where you are posting it.

Andréa Jones [00:35:24]:
Yeah. And this is why I think having, like, a weighted approach is key. So, like, I have my primary platforms, which for me are my podcast and my email. They're not even social media.

Colie James [00:35:33]:
Okay.

Andréa Jones [00:35:34]:
Podcast and email come first. And then my secondary platforms, Instagram and YouTube and then LinkedIn threads. All the others, they're like tertiaries. The third. Third, they're not. So for me, I think of this as like star, co star, ensemble cast. Okay, so like my ensemble cast, y' all are gonna get the straight up, repeat reposted. Okay.

Andréa Jones [00:36:01]:
Like it. I don't even have time. Like, you. You should be Happy that I'm even posting over here right now. Okay. So that's, that's how I use my content repurposing. But my secondary platforms do have a space. So when I have time, space, and energy to create content there, it's semi, semi homemade, semi custom.

Andréa Jones [00:36:21]:
It's like the Rachael Ray. Like, we're gonna, we're gonna make, you know Rachael Ray.

Colie James [00:36:25]:
I do.

Andréa Jones [00:36:26]:
I'm like, I'm losing these analogies.

Colie James [00:36:27]:
I don't know if people know I know Rachel Ray. I don't know about other people, but you and I are in the same age category.

Andréa Jones [00:36:33]:
So she had all the tricks for like making a homemade meal that was like, not all the way homemade.

Colie James [00:36:39]:
Semi homemade.

Andréa Jones [00:36:40]:
Semi homemade. That's how I think of my Instagram. So it's not. If you look at it, you may think it's custom content. It's not. It's all repurposed from somewhere else. Okay. But some of it is like the video that I just talked about.

Andréa Jones [00:36:54]:
I, I wrote an email, I said it on a video. And so that's how I look at it. It's like my custom channels email podcast. Those are my original thoughts. Everywhere else is repurposed. My ensemble cast. Just be lucky if I just like straight up repurpose. So if you look at my LinkedIn right now, it isn't entirely optimized for LinkedIn.

Andréa Jones [00:37:15]:
That's because it's my ensemble cat. It's my tertiary platforms. And so, yeah, some of them I do just straight up repost, but then some of them semi homemade, semi festive.

Colie James [00:37:24]:
Yes. I'm thinking to myself, I knew that I needed to do a shift when, if I, like, if I'm sitting in my car or whatever, I had a content idea. So, you know, I start plugging it into airtable. But I noticed more and more that when I had an idea, I was like, ooh, I need to go home and record a podcast episode, or, ooh, I want to write an email. And then I would start writing the email. And I was like, this would be so much easier if I just talked about it on the podcast first and then fed it the transcript and then my email would be written. So it was really like a difference in how I was thinking of creating the content first. And I know that a lot of people do the opposite.

Colie James [00:38:00]:
And that's okay. They're not us. Like, they might get an idea and be like, ooh, that would make a really good carousel post. And then they're like, okay, let me take that carousel and write an email from it and send it out to my email newsletter. Hey guys, there is millions of ways to do everything and we're not telling you that you have to be podcast email first. Like we are. We just happen to be twinsies and I love that. But if you are different, that is okay.

Colie James [00:38:25]:
I just think that all of us should recognize what our primary marketing channel is. Create content for that primary channel that makes you happy and then figure out who your ensemble cast is and give them the little leftovers. I'm gonna use that again. That's gonna be on Instagram if I ever go back to Instagram and post again.

Andréa Jones [00:38:43]:
Use it, use it. And if you wanna do the Thanksgiving analogy, this is the leftover. This is the, this is the Thanksgiving day soup that you make the next day.

Colie James [00:38:53]:
And guess what? That soup is delicious.

Andréa Jones [00:38:54]:
It's so good.

Colie James [00:38:55]:
Sometimes I make the turkey just to be able to make the soup. We're actually a ham family. I know that sounds really weird, but just to put our business out in the street, James hates turkey. So if I make a turkey, it is with the sole idea that I am going to make soup the next day. And that is what I love. But my husband wants ham. Every day, all day I make a turkey and he just kind of looks at me like, I don't even know why you made that. Like, are you going to eat that 20 pound turkey? Because I'm not.

Andréa Jones [00:39:21]:
Yeah, we, we eat it out of obligation because of our ancestors basically at this point. Yeah, it's like. So I, I think that the big thing here, that I think why this works for me is it really leans into my own preferences. I think this is something that a lot of marketers don't acknowledge because it's. They're in their own lane. Right. So if you go get advice from like a LinkedIn marketer, they're going to give you something different. There are tick.

Andréa Jones [00:39:48]:
Yeah. Than a TikTok marketer. They're get something different from an email marketer. And so it's like a lot of what I talk about now is like, okay, we're feeling a lot of feelings about marketing. We're feeling shame that we're not everywhere. We're feeling self conscious because we're not putting like we put ourselves out there. We feel exposed. And so we have to acknowledge like the human behind the marketing first.

Andréa Jones [00:40:12]:
And this is where we, where I start my work with my clients. It's like, okay, just forget everything everyone else told you. Focus on you. How do you want to Feel. How do you want to show up? What's your natural state? And so I was doing this with a client recently. She came to me because she said she wanted a TikTok strategy. And I felt like we were in therapy because she does not like recording videos. And like, to her credit, her content would absolutely be dynamite on Tick Tock.

Andréa Jones [00:40:43]:
Okay. That's why she came to me because somebody else told her she would crush it at Tick Tock and she would. But when I tell you she records a video and like her shoulders are up to her ears, she's like dead eyes staring into the the camera. Like she's taking hours to record this video. And after working with her, I was like, listen, we need to forget about this because she has a whole substack and it's like bumping and, and popping and she's very long form. And I was like, you're a writer. Like TikTok isn't going to work for you as much as we think. In a hypothetical, there's that fantasy calendar again, in a fantasy world.

Andréa Jones [00:41:20]:
Yes. But like it's not translating, so let's find something else. And we landed on threads for her as her secondary platform. So long form content on substack, she's still repurposing because substack has its own social element too. You can create posts, taking those posts, putting them on threads. Done. Done. And she's happy.

Andréa Jones [00:41:38]:
We'll forget about the fantasy idea of TikTok and we'll move on.

Colie James [00:41:42]:
Yes. Okay, girl. I want you to tell me about Big Inbox energy before we end because you and I know that we have to at some point pick a cutoff because you and I could just sit here and talk for hours and so for the, you know, listening audience, we love you. We are not gonna make you sit here and listen to us talk for another hour and. But tell me about this training because I know that I saw it in my inbox, the little information and I was like, oh, I probably need to watch that.

Andréa Jones [00:42:06]:
Yeah, Big inbox energy. So this is exactly what we talked about today. It is a three part structure to writing and sending emails that don't feel salesy, but you're still selling at the end of the day using what I taught here today, the storytelling, the drawing people in subject lines. We talk about preview text, we talk about my before you go strategy, which is really where I make all my money. And of course I built a custom chatgpt. Of course you did. That goes with the training. So like go through the whole thing.

Andréa Jones [00:42:37]:
But even if you're like, I'm gonna skip straight to the custom GPT, go for it. I call it the fast pass. Okay? Like, all of my products now have fast passes with custom GPTs where you can do the training. But if you just wanna get to the meat and potatoes of it all, you talk to Chatty and it'll spit out an email with the three part structure. And so that is in big Inbox Energy. You can find it at bie onlinedrea.com.

Colie James [00:43:01]:
Bie okay, I wish y' all could see my face. So I was looking at her a little crazy, and here's why I looked at you, crazy girl. He talked about my Disney obsession. Do you know that FastPass comes from Disney?

Andréa Jones [00:43:14]:
See, I didn't even know that. And I've been saying it in my stuff for like six months now.

Colie James [00:43:19]:
Ah, okay. It's okay. So the funny thing is, they're technically not called FastPasses anymore. They are called Lightning Lanes. And I hate it because everyone will like default to saying fast pass, but basically it's like skipping the line. It's like getting it done faster. And so I'm sorry, I just thought it was really funny that you call it a fast pass. And we had this whole conversation before we hit record on Disney, and I was like, I bet you she don't know that's a Disney term.

Andréa Jones [00:43:43]:
Okay, you know what? In my. In my fantasy world, we're a Disney family. So maybe this is just the writing on the wall.

Colie James [00:43:49]:
Oh, my gosh. If you guys ever go to Disney, I'm gonna need you to invite me to go along. Which I will tell you that story after we stop hitting record. Because I have invited myself on multiple vac when people tell me that they're going to Disney, I'm like, don't you need a guide? Don't you just want me to come with you? I mean, those trips were fabulous. One time, one of the people said that I saved her marriage because she was going to divorce her husband after the trip, and I was not. Not really. You know what I mean? Like, it was tension on the Disney trip, and I just made it so much easier. But no, I mean, you know, I love being at Disney, which your kids are almost the perfect age to go in the worst time.

Andréa Jones [00:44:22]:
I'm just saying, you heard it here.

Colie James [00:44:25]:
All right, girl. Thank you so much for joining me yet again. I mean, every time I have a reason to bring you on, you know that I will do that.

Andréa Jones [00:44:33]:
Yay. Thank you for having me.

Colie James [00:44:35]:
All right, everyone. I hope that at the end of this episode that you have gotten a little bit more inspired to take a look at your email marketing, whether it is an email marketing first approach or whether or not it ends up being your repurposing. But also hear what we say about AI being okay to write those emails and give you the fast paths of getting there quicker. All right, that's it for this episode. See you next time.