LIST BUILDING LIVE: Restarting After Going AWOL with Kat Surtz

LIST BUILDING LIVE: Restarting After Going AWOL with Kat Surtz

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: Okay, Miss Kat, this one I know is gonna be really, really good. Tell us, how are you growing your email list?

Kat Surtz: Oh my gosh, Liz, you know I have had to restart my list multiple times over my many years in business because I got scared sometimes. Sometimes life got in the way. I took a lot of time off for caring for family or husbands. I spent some time in a coma, which kind of derailed things for a while. And every time, I’ve been able to rebuild it, doing the same pre-work before you send out those lovely welcome sequence things like you suggest.

So…

Liz WIlcox: All right. Tell us how you do it.

Kat Surtz: How I do it? I go back to old school relationship building and common courtesy. I reach out to my best friends and my best business contacts individually, like singles, not single people who are single, but one at a time through regular email or text or Facebook Messengers, and I tell them what I’m doing, that I’m gonna be restarting my program.

“Is it okay if I put you into a segment that goes out first before I blast my whole list?” Which has been as many as 1,000 people sometimes when I went AWOL. And those people are hot commodities at that point, because they’re going to open the email, they’re going to respond to the email. And my email list service provider, which happens to be ActiveCampaign right now, is happy because things aren’t going into spam because people are expecting the email, and it gives a b- boost to me emotionally.

It gives my email program a great boost on the credibility level. And then the third thing I do, I always say it’s single segments and socialize. I go into my best communities online or in person and let people know what I’m doing a few weeks before I plan that first big launch promotion, that, that re-engagement c- campaign, and that’s been a lifesaver to me.

It helps calm the fears that nobody’s going to open anything or wanna hear from me. I get a lot of advice about what they want, because you can do some asking for what they’d like from me, or what they like best from me, or what they wish I’d restart, or what programs I’ve got coming. So that’s great, and it really helps my business, which is rockingyourpath.com, and I’ve been around for a while.

Liz WIlcox: Okay, Kat. So I never would have thought about this. So what Kat is saying is, you know, her list has gone dormant, and I like to call them the internet gods, right? The internet gods get kinda ticked off if you email a cold list, if you, you know, ghost– if you post and ghost, so to speak. They really like consistency, and they really like people to open your emails.

I say, uh, the more emails get opened, the more green flags you have on the field, right? And if you have too many red flags, AKA unopened emails, you know, the internet gods, that’s when they start to throw lightning bolts at you, right? So what Kat is saying is she’s reaching out to folks and saying, “Hey, can I add you to my email list so I can email you, and I can get that email deliverability.

I can appease the internet gods.” So I love this so much, but I’d love to know, Kat If you’re, let’s say you’re reaching out to me, you pitch me that, I say, “Yeah, sure,” right? Do you also ask if they want to, like, if I want to stay on your email list? Are you only-

Kat Surtz: Absolutely.

Liz WIlcox: Right. Are you reaching out to just anybody, or the people that you think would be a good fit to be on your list anyway?

Kat Surtz: I reach out to the best fit. So it’s not just your best friend from high school who’s off doing something else. It’s my best business-related friends and contacts, and I will set up a simple new opt-in that tags them. So this year, because my husband passed last year, and for over a year I s- scaled back my business more than 90%, because I chose to take care of him.

I kept on with some of my private clients just to keep an income coming in, and I should have kept up with email. It’s one of the easier things, but I’m much better handling client emails than I am sometimes my own. So I set up a simple new opt-in form that say, “If you’re willing to help me out, please fill this out,” and it tags them for the new launch with just that segment, and I called it this year Engage 2026, because it’s now.

So it helps make that second step to email that segment that you know are going to respond from your email provider.

Liz WIlcox: Kat, you are such a genius, and I gotta give a little behind the scenes. Number one, as we just heard, Kat is an absolute saint, and, you know, we just love her, and she’s just a person that takes care of other people.

But I first heard her… She first told me about this strategy, her and I actually went to Applebee’s about a month ago, and she said, “Oh, have I got an idea for your people.” And I said, “Oh my gosh, I, I thought that I was the fresh princess of email,” right? I like to think that I come up with the freshest ideas on how to engage, and, you know, deliverability and content and list building and all that, but I was like, “Whoa, Kat, you know, here, here’s the tiara because that is such a genius idea.”

It’s a great way, number one, to keep yourself accountable, right? To say like, “Okay, I’m gonna make this list of people. I’m gonna reach out to them.” And no, this is not scalable, right? But we’re not, we’re not looking for scale right now. We’re looking for clients. We’re looking for help. We’re looking to just get restarted, right?

So not everything that you has- you have to do has to be scalable, right? So I, I love this for the personality in it. It, it shows who you are. It shows your attention to detail. It shows, you know, that you’re really paying attention to, you know, who would be a good fit and who wouldn’t, and you’re growing your list full of, I think Kat said, hot commodities.

Yeah, so yes, very hot leads. I love this so, so much, Kat. So if we wanna learn more about your business and get on your email list today, how can we do that?

Kat Surtz: Well, I’ve got a brand-new freebie for you that’s called Five Steps to Stress-Free Networking that takes this system to the next level, and I give you exactly how to figure out who to contact, how to contact them, what to say and what not to say.

For instance, nobody likes a sinking ship, so don’t beg people to, to accommodate you just to get your email going. You want people that are truly invested in what you do, and I want people that I can also help, either because they’re stumped, stuck or stalled, or they know someone who is. So while they may not be a perfect client for me, I’m hoping to get referrals from what I’m doing as well.

And they know from the get-go that I’m doing this for business purposes, but I’m reaching out personally because of the personal connection we’ve had

Liz WIlcox: Okay. I have never done this on an event, and I’ve hosted many, but I want you listening and everyone else to get this lead magnet. Networking is it when it comes to growing your business.

How the heck do you think I got on the Smart Passive Income podcast? I was just a lady 10 years ago living in an RV without an, without an email list, without even an internet connection, y’all. Literally, I had to go to libraries, Lowe’s parking lots, you know, work in the margins of my life with a toddler, and networking has gotten me where I am today, which is right here on this podcast with pretty much the OG of internet marketing, Pat Flynn, right?

So get this freebie. I– Kat promoted it, but I, I’m gonna reiterate because networking really… Every, every little episode you’ve listened to this week, it all comes back to, you know, not just who you know, but who knows what you need, and that’s what Kat is really, really good at. That’s what this freebie is going to help you with.

And, uh, yeah, I, I… Get it now. Link in the show notes. Thanks so much, Kat.

Kat Surtz: Thanks, Liz. Wonderful seeing you. We’ll have to do another Applebee’s sometime.

Liz WIlcox: Yes. Amen.

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.