LIST BUILDING LIVE: The Substack & Kit One-Two Punch with Airial Re’Nal

LIST BUILDING LIVE: The Substack & Kit One-Two Punch with Airial Re’Nal

Pat Flynn: Hey, it’s Pat Flynn, and you’re listening to List Building Live, our first ever virtual audio summit right here on the SPI Podcast, where each day we release about six mini episodes to help you grow your email list. Why? Because you don’t own social media, but you should own your audience. So each day for three days in a row, we are bringing you people directly from Liz’s and my communities to share what’s working to grow your email list today.

That’s right, no quote unquote experts or eight-figure entrepreneurs talking about what worked for them years ago, just regular creators like you who are working towards making a living online. Enough talking. Let’s get into it.

Liz WIlcox: All right, Airial, I’m so excited. What is one way you have been growing your email list in the last six to 12 months?

Airial Re’nal: Oh, just one? Well, I’m gonna combine the two. Okay, so I’m gonna say recommendations, and that’s recommendations through Substack and recommendations through ConvertKit Creator Network. And also, I wanna say it hasn’t been a caveat. It hasn’t been, like, a huge, massive growth, like hundreds at a time, but it is, like, one or two or three a day.

So, you know, over time, that’s a lot of people, and that’s without me really doing anything.

Liz WIlcox: Okay, see, that’s what I’m talking about. This– We love a babbling brook. That’s how I’m looking at this strategy. It’s, you know, maybe it’s not a raging river, but sometimes, you know, we’re not ready for the raging river, right?

We need that, that trickle. So I love this. You mentioned recommendations, which a lot of people talk about the Kit recommendations, the Creator Network, stuff like that, but I haven’t heard anyone, and this is why I invited you on, anyone talking about Substack and let alone, like, the two together. So talk to me how those things work, maybe separately and in tandem.

Airial Re’nal: Okay, so you have the Creator Network, which we’ve heard about, and then you have Substack, which is great for building your audience, actually. There’s some tricks and ins and outs of it, but if you love to write, Substack loves readers. Readers love Substack. So when it comes to the recommendation, you can connect to different creators and join different subscriptions that creators have, and then they recommend you.

I mean, it’s, like, the easiest thing ever. So even if somebody just set it up, that’s great in and of itself.

Liz WIlcox: Okay, so let’s say Airial and I, we’re both on Kit, right? We use Kit as our email service provider, and so if you sign up for Airial’s list and she’s recommending me, it’ll pop up like, “Hey-“

Airial Re’nal: Which I do.

Liz WIlcox: Okay. It’ll be like, “Hey, you like this, maybe you’d like that.” It’s like when you buy something on Amazon, right? It’s like, “Customers also bought this together,” right? But we get to choose what we’re showing people. So like Airial said, she’s recommending me, right? So that’s super, super awesome, and so with Substack, is that similar?

I’m not super familiar with Substack. So is that something that’s similar over on Substack? Can I choose who I’m recommending, or does Substack just place me with other creators?

Airial Re’nal: Well, there’s different layers, of course, ’cause you have Substack Notes, and based on your industry and the relevant, it could show it to other people, and of course, whenever you get traffic on a note, it, you know, shows up for other people.

And then when it comes to the recommendations, yes, you get to choose who you recommend. You get to choose who shows up on your profile, and you also get to say, “Hey, I’m recommending these creators.”

Liz WIlcox: Y’all, I’m learning something new every day. I had no idea that that was a feature with Substack. I mean, when I think back on my Substack experience, I’ve definitely Added, you know, to my cart, so to speak.

You know, if I signed up for yours, maybe I signed up for Shahara’s too, right? So I do remember that. It wasn’t in the forefront of my brain as far as, like, growing my audience, growing my email list. So I love this k- sorta one-two punch, hit ’em with the left, hit ’em with the right. That’s so super cool. Thank you so much.

Airial Re’nal: Oh, and you… Sorry, you asked me how do I use them in tandem. So people in my Substack get automated automatically, automated automatically, added to ConvertKit or Kit. I still call it ConvertKit. They get added to Kit and then vice versa. When I first started Substack, I uploaded my subscriber list so that they could get those messages, ’cause Substack is really kinda like the modern blog.

So for me, blogs didn’t work, but Substack, that’s where I write longform articles, and then Kit is where I do sell sequences and welcome sequences and all that good stuff.

Liz WIlcox: Okay, I love that. And Ariel, what are your longform articles about?

Airial Re’nal: Email deliverability, so the ins and outs of email deliverability, and also I have some things on there about cybersecurity, and I’ll be beefing that up when October comes again, Cybersecurity Month, because I’m real big on that.

And a lot of solopreneurs, online business owners don’t realize, you know, the scary things that can happen on the internet. And when it comes to email, I especially focus on, like, the authentication, domain reputation, and security as well. ‘Cause I got spoofed, but that’s a whole other story.

Liz WIlcox: That is a whole nother story, but if we need to learn about email deliverability, we don’t wanna get spoofed, all of that, how can we join your email list to learn more about that today?

Airial Re’nal: All right, so I don’t think I said my name. Airial Re’Nal, and you can find me at links.yourtechangel.com, and that’s where you can find all of my latest offers. And then also for Black Friday, I have a special 90-day operation going on, and you can find that at yourtechangel.com.

Liz WIlcox: Love that so much. Thanks.

Pat Flynn: Okay, another great list building strategy from one of our amazing community members. I just love seeing people find ways to grow that I didn’t even think of.

That’s something I’ve always loved about being in communities with other entrepreneurs. It’s just so inspiring and motivating at the same time. If you need that in your list, a group of business peers to help you take what you’re learning here at this event and turn it into real action, come join us inside the SPI community.

Not only will you finally have people keep you accountable, you’ll have all the resources you need to make a living online, not just with email marketing, but content creation and monetization as well. And right now, we’re offering 50% off and some other fun bonuses just for List Building Live listeners, and that’s you.

Just go to SmartPassiveIncome.com/listlive and use code 26LIST, that’s 26LIST, to grab this special rate. SmartPassiveIncome.com/listlive and use code 26LIST.