Many of us try to act like the sage on the stage or appear super buttoned up and polished. We worry our content’s not good enough because it doesn’t look professional.
But the reality is that the more we aim for picture-perfect, the less relatable we become. And then we wonder why our audience isn’t growing!
Today’s Member Monday episode proves that the real path to building a creator business is paved with transparency and persistence.
We’ll hear from Neha Nautiyal, who treats every failure as just another data point. And this is the exact mindset that led to the viral moment that changed everything for her!
Neha also breaks down her awesome Instagram strategy. As you’ll hear, she’s all about balance and posting when inspiration strikes, instead of forcing daily content. And with ManyChat and Kit, she has her list building on auto! [affiliate links]
So listen in to hear why small, imperfect steps add up to big growth!
Today’s Guest
Neha Nautiyal
Neha Nautiyal is a certified macro nutrition coach who helps busy women lose weight and gain confidence without dieting, food rules, or guilt. A former chemistry teacher and software engineer, she blends the science of nutrition with simple, sustainable habits that fit real life instead of restrictive diets. Her writing on food and health has been featured in Real Simple.
- Connect with Neha on Instagram
- Grab Neha’s Anti-Diet Fat Loss Guide
You’ll Learn
- Why sharing your real journey is relatable and builds superfans
- The importance of being able to pivot in entrepreneurship
- How Neha’s Instagram strategy proves you don’t have to post daily
- Growing on Instagram with twenty-one posts and Trial Reels
- Turning followers on socials into email list subscribers
- The ManyChat and Kit combo for automated email list growth
- Maintaining high open rates as your email list grows
Resources
- Subscribe to Superfans Secrets—our weekly newsletter on the strategies behind building real relationships with your audience, delivered free, straight to your inbox
- Connect with me on Instagram
MM 005: From 250 to 5,000 Email Subscribers in One Reel with Neha Nautiyal
Liz Wilcox: What’s up? Liz Wilcox here, your host of the Smart Passive Income podcast. Ah, it still feels so absolutely incredible to say that. And you’re listening to a Member Monday episode, where we highlight community members of SPI. And I am so excited about this. But I also realized that I’m still new to Smart Passive Income, and you were listening to Pat for, like, the last 16 years, right?
And you’re just been listening to me maybe the last 16 episodes. So I wanna kinda start out, ’cause I’m a new member of SPI, and I wanna share just something, like a fun fact. I know Pat, when he started this podcast, he would do, like, you know, “Coming in at seven pounds, ten ounces as a baby, Pat Flynn,” you know, like fun little facts.
So I wanted to share a fun little fact with you today, but I, I hit record before I actually figured out the fun fact. So I will tell you that I have run over 50 miles more than one time. I’m an ultra-marathon runner. I actually haven’t run but, like, a few times in the last year. I suffered an injury about a year ago.
But I’ve been running since I was about 12 years old, seventh grade, shout-out middle school cross-country. And I find that it really helps me in my business, because if you can run 50 miles, surely you can send an email. And let that be a lesson. Like, there are hard things in your life that you have done, and so keeping some perspective, allowing yourself to have some perspective when it comes to your business, like sending an email or posting or sharing your ideas, speaking on the stage.
You know, whatever part of the journey you’re at right now, remember, you’ve done some hard things. Like, I remember I’ve run 50 miles. I can start this podcast. I can try to fill in for the Pat Flynn, ’cause I’ve done, I’ve done some hard things. So that’s my fun little fact, and maybe a mini inspiration. Uh, speaking of inspiration, Neha today is giving it to us.
I am so inspired. I’m so fired up. I’m literally shaking my fists right now. The tenacity, the persistence, the methodical nature of going through the motions, seeing what works, and going deeper into that, that our guest today shares. I don’t know why my throat is going a little crazy right now. Leave that in, Paul. Uh, why not?
I want you to listen to how excited she is, but how sort of matter-of-fact she is about what she has done. So she’s gonna share the story of how she went from 250 email subscribers to 5,000 with just one trial reel. Or was it just one trial reel? Let’s listen in.
Neha, I am thrilled to have you because, like I just told you before we hit record, we need examples of people that are just doing the dang thing, and I think you are really embodying that right now.
And the little story, maybe you can fill in the gaps for me, ’cause I’m chronically online, is I saw you posting in my Facebook group about, “Oh my gosh, I had a reel kind of go sort of viral, and now I have all these email subscribers.” So I love, love, love that, but I wanna take it back. First, who are you, what do you do, and why were you posting on social media in the first place?
Neha Nautiyal: Yes. Well, first, I’m so excited to be here and talk to you. And so I grew up as a chemistry nerd. I thought I was going to be a high school, I mean, a, a professor in college. I ended up teaching high school chemistry. And then fast-forward, I am a macro coach, and I teach women how to lose weight without dieting.
So they eat everything that they love, and I especially have never given up my weekly Taco Bell, and I lost over 30 pounds after two C-sections. And so when I learned about macro tracking, I felt I had to share it with the world, and I decided to post on Instagram. I picked Instagram because my coach was on Instagram.
That’s how I found her, and I decided, okay, let me just share my journey. So this was a few years ago, and that, later that year I decided, okay, let me just get some email addresses. I started with 100 subscribers. Over the course of six months, I had maybe 20 to begin with, which were basically friends and family.
And I kept trying to figure out, well, how can I get more emails? How can I get clients? I ended up being really successful with one-on-one coaching, and then that’s when I realized, oh my gosh, maybe I could do this full time.
Liz Wilcox: I’m so sorry. I… The way she just very, “I, I ended up being really successful with one-on-one coaching,” we need to unpack that.
We’re, the, the real… Well, wait, I’m sorry, this is so awesome. Like, tell me how you got into the one-on-one coaching then. Like, what… Were you just talking with those friends and family you just mentioned? Were you charging? What was the, what was the thing? I’m excited.
Neha Nautiyal: Yes. So in the beginning, I’m gonna also backtrack a little, I studied chemistry.
I was a high school chemistry teacher. I did a coding boot camp, became a software engineer. I think the number one thing I’m good at is pivoting And, and transitioning into doing new things, taking risks. So when I started posting about my weight loss journey, I was really highlighting that I’m just a mom.
I’m trying to make it work and do my best, and I think my audience really resonated with that. And thinking of, I’m not an expert, I don’t have huge credentials, I’m just one or two steps ahead of them, and so they could really relate to me. And so when I said I was willing to take clients, I just started charging people what I thought I should charge, and I ended up using up all my free time that I didn’t have any m- any more time to market myself.
And I really had to think, wait, how do I grow the business further on top of my two kids, on top of taking care of the house and working full-time as a software engineer? Because I lo- the business really fueled me. I loved it so much. And so that’s when I had to really think like, okay, something needs to change.
And as a teacher myself, or I feel like life is for full of learning. Mm. There’s always things that you don’t know. So I, I learned about marketing, I learned about business a little bit more and realized, oh my gosh, maybe I could do this full time. Oh, yeah. Because I didn’t have any more time to market.
Liz Wilcox: Right.
Neha Nautiyal: I was like, how do I grow this business?
Liz Wilcox: That is a good problem to have. So I think you, you said two words that kinda stuck out that I wanna highlight here. I’m really good at pivoting. ‘Cause I find that being an entrepreneur, maybe this is something as you’re listening you haven’t thought of quite yet, and I say it with love, I say it with so much love, and I know you can do it, but you’ve kind of got to, you’ve got to be able to pivot.
You’ve got to be able to be really firm on the vision. I want to help other moms like myself lose weight without losing the Taco Bell. Boom. Got it. Really firm on that. But we’ve got to be flexible on the details. If Neha had said, “Oh, I’m gonna sell courses,” she might have missed out on all of that one-on-one service that taught her so, so much.
So I love this. And y’all, I am here to tell you, you know, I am hosting the Smart Passive Income Podcast. When I first heard of the SPI podcast, I was an RV travel blogger, and I was also a teacher, and a mom, and, and, and. And so I have pivoted quite a bit, but I always … I look at it less of like, oh my gosh, I’m pivoting, meaning, you know, I’m making a complete 180 and, you know, I’m really firm on my vision.
I know where the top of the mountain is, but there’s many different paths to get there. You also mentioned relate. My clients could relate to me. I’m constantly, you know, I teach a framework called the Fresh Steps. First you have follower, then you have a fan, then you get funded in your business. Like, fans, in the words of Pat Flynn, right, are, are people that they can relate to you.
Like, okay, I’ve got NSYNC in the background, and there’s … You always, as a, as a prepubescent teenager, you, you pick your favorite of the boy band, the one you can sort of kind of relate to. I mean, of course the cute one, but the one that you relate to or you want to relate to, right? And Chris Kirkpatrick of NSYNC was always my absolute favorite because I could relate to him.
He grew up incredibly poor. He started NSYNC, he started the group because he wanted to make money to get his mom out of poverty. You know, and he was really good at singing. Like Neha said, “Oh, I’m actually really good at this. It lights me up, and it’s gonna help me with my goals.” Great. So I love that you mentioned being relatable, ’cause a lot of people try to be the sage on the stage, or, oh, I’ve got to be super buttoned up and perfect and polished, and my videos have to look like so-and-so’s, and, uh, y’all, I’m nothing if not semi-professional.
I think that makes not just Neha, but me and probably you listening super relatable. So don’t, don’t wash out what makes you relatable because that’s how you’re gonna get into Neha’s predicament of “Oh my gosh, I have no time to market. I’m actually making money with these clients, but I gotta take it to the next level.”
So anyway, I would just … I’m, I’m getting so fired up. So let’s fast-forward. We’re now on Instagram. You said, oh, the person you were learning from is on Instagram too. Talk to me about Instagram first. What do you like about it as a platform now that you’ve been on it for a while? What are some of the things that bug you, and what keeps you on the platform?
Neha Nautiyal: I love the fact that you don’t have to post every day. People say you have to post all the time, and I agree with that. You need to be visible, but there are more ways than just posting every single day. So I- You’re
Liz Wilcox: blowing my mind. Talk to me about this.
Neha Nautiyal: I have, I have hired marketers. I have a mindset coach.
I subscribe to your email marketing. I have really tried to learn as much as I could, and at first, I’ll be honest, I tried to copy because I didn’t know that it’s not the strategy, it’s actually you, and what feels good to you that, that works rather than another strategy. So I, in the beginning, tried so many different strategies, and I realized I found one that really aligned with me, and, and I, I am committing to it, of having a set number of Instagram reels or posts on my profile, and all I do is I post stories and trial reels.
So anybody hitting my profile is seeing the same 21 posts, and it encompasses really my, my philosophy with my macro coaching and who I am, and that doesn’t mean that I can’t post if I, if I want to, but I don’t feel any pressure. And so I get to post what I want to post, not what I feel I have to post, and there’s a big difference with the energy of that. And it allows me to focus on my emails, focus on serving my current clients, focusing on new offers.
So I, I like Instagram a lot.
Liz Wilcox: Yeah. Okay. I’m, I’m quiet because you literally just blew my mind, and maybe you listening, you’re driving, and you just ran off the road because this, like everybody and their mother, including, you know, we just launched the Superfans Content Calendar, which is literally five days a week where I give you an entire reel or carousel or post, and I’m telling you every day.
So you’re blowing my mind. I’m gonna repeat it for the people in the back. So you got a set number of reels on the profile, which is 21. Love that. Yes. Ooh, I feel so much relief. 21 reels, I can do that. Okay. Okay. Then we’re posting to stories. Totally makes sense. You know, when you open Instagram, the first thing you see are your people’s stories.
So that makes total sense, and I love watching people’s stories because I’m nosy. Okay? I wanna, I wanna see what people are up to today. And then the trial reels. So if you don’t know what a trial reel is, it’s Instagram’s sort of like backdoor, and I think it’s, it’s a, it’s a solution for creators to keep people on Instagram, right?
So I’m posting, but it’s like, “Oh, I can’t find any new followers.” So Instagram created this thing called trial reels, where you post the reel, but it only, Instagram only shows people that are not following you. So it’s a way of getting new followers. So is that the main way you’re, you’re finding new people right now?
Neha Nautiyal: Yes. Trial reels, and also I do have a $5-a-day meta ad.
Liz Wilcox: Okay. Cool. And so with the trial reels, ’cause you said, “I’ve got tw- I’ve got 21 sorta like baseline reels, set it and forget it,” which I love because if y’all aren’t aware, there was this trend, I don’t know, it had to have been three or four years ago now, where it was like, “I’m done posting on Instagram.
I’m just gonna have this grid.” They called it the grid, and it was like a set of nine. When somebody opens your profile, you just have nine posts, and these were the posts that Oh my gosh, if you just follow me, like these are the things I want you to know about me, my products, my services, what I teach, et cetera, et cetera.
So it sounds like this is the 2026 and beyond version of the grid. So I love this so much, but are you posting those trial reels, like, or those grid reels we’ll call them, the ones that live forever? Are you just reposting those to trials, or are you constantly creating new reels for the trials?
Neha Nautiyal: Whenever I feel inspiration, so usually it’s maybe three to five times a week, and in one sitting I’ll post maybe three to six reels, because all I’m changing is maybe a wording here or there, or the B-roll For example, I know I should be posting talking head, but I’m not comfortable there.
Maybe one day I will be, but right now I’m just… I have a bunch of B-rolls, and I just post them over and over again. And I just change a word here or there, and I don’t feel any pressure. It’s literally when I feel inspired.
Liz Wilcox: Y’all,
Neha Nautiyal: I- And that-
Liz Wilcox: This is so awesome.
Neha Nautiyal: Keep going. I’m sorry. It just feels… It feels so good to me and my lifestyle.
So it’s working right now, and so I’m sticking with it. That doesn’t mean that it works for everybody. Like I said in the beginning, I tried so many different things. I at one point was posting five times a day because that’s what I thought you had to do. But then I realized I don’t have to do anything. I have to do what feels good to me, and also look at the data and figure out a way to keep my, my business moving forward.
Liz Wilcox: So Neha is an actual genius, and if, if you didn’t quite catch it with the trial reels- What she’s saying is doing it when you feel inspired. I love that. So doing what feels good and then assessing the data. That is really what is gonna get you to the next thing, to fine-tuning the business and figuring out what works for you.
Because it’s so true, like what works for me is not gonna work for you. There’s a guy, Brock Johnson, that I follow, and he’s a friend of the podcast. He posts every day, all day. But guess what? He’s got like a team of like 30 or something like that, and he’s the face, and everybody… He’s not the engine. Like, he’s the headlights.
Okay? Uh, so maybe you are the whole he- engine, headlights, gas pedal, brake, all of that. So do what feels good, but assess the data. I love that you brought that up, and then with the trial reels, you know, creating the B-roll, which is you set your camera over there, and maybe it’s a different text every time.
That’s something that I’m learning from Jun Yu. I’m, I’m observing him and seeing him and checking out what he’s doing, and it’s like, oh, he’s got B-roll where it’s… he’s in the kitchen, but sometimes he looks surly. Other times, he looks joyful. Maybe he looks ticked off. But it’s clear to me if I’m, if I’m paying attention like, oh, he probably filmed all of that in two minutes or whatever, and he’s using that over and over and over again.
And I, I, I love that you’re doing something incredibly similar. Okay. So I wanna go to the email list because I love email. I love that you’re growing your email list, and I find that something like ManyChat or DM automations is really changing the game for us creators to create a business that we actually own ’cause we don’t own Instagram.
They could turn off trial reels tomorrow. Oh, that’s too generous and we’re gonna cut it off. Or, oh, you know, we flooded the platform with too much B-roll, you know, we’re gonna turn it off, whatever, right? But we always own our email list. So I’d love to hear from your perspective, I just sort of waxed poetic, but, but why did you, or what made you realize Okay, I can’t just do Instagram.
I need an email list
Neha Nautiyal: I have heard about having an email list for years, and I think it was someone who lost their account on Instagram, and they were just so thankful that they had built an email list. And I’m a rule follower, and so I heard from multiple people have… You know, collect emails, collect emails.
I’m like, “All right. Let me just start somewhere.” And you have to start somewhere. And I literally, what I did in the beginning was I just asked the people who were viewing my stories on a daily basis, I asked them, I said, “I’m starting an email list. Would you like to be on it?” That- that’s literally all I said, and 20 people said yes.
Half of them are friends and family. That’s okay.
Liz Wilcox: Sure.
Neha Nautiyal: But that’s how I started.
Liz Wilcox: Sorry, I wanna backtrack. When you say you asked them, did you ask in a story, or were you just, like, clicking on their profile and-
Neha Nautiyal: Clicking on their profile and actually asking.
Liz Wilcox: We’re gonna… A round of applause. Hang on, I think I can do sound effects here.
I’m gonna p- put in a… Did you hear the applause? I did. Yes, round of applause. Y’all, we’ve got to be brave. Nothing that Neha is doing is, like, blow-your-mind rocket science. The mindset is. Like, you’re literally blowing my mind with just, “Oh, well, good at pivoting. I can see that I’m relatable. Oh, I’m posting trial reels when I’m inspired.”
You know, ev- everything you’re saying is just, like, the- the mindset of, “I’m gonna do this, and it… I’m gonna do it my way.” I, I’m just so flipping inspired, and it’s, it’s so brave. A lot of people get stuck in their head. “Oh, I don’t wanna ask my family and friends. I don’t wanna bother people,” or, “Why would they join my email list?”
But you’re just going for it, so I love this. So you ask. We got 20 yeses. We’ve started. Then, then what?
Neha Nautiyal: Then I created a lead magnet, and I realized that I had like 20 pages in my lead magnet, and nobody wanted it. And that’s okay, because another lesson I learned is failure is just another data point. And it just taught me that, okay, let me try a different lead magnet.
So I have, like, 20 different lead magnets. Fast-forward a year, maybe I have, like, 100 people on my email list. Fast-forward another year, maybe I have 200, and then just six months ago, you know, my 21st lead magnet, my 100th trial reel, a reel goes viral. And later that week, I have 5,000 email subscribers Because I used the ManyChat DM automation for them to comment and get my f- my lead magnet.
Liz Wilcox: Oh my gosh. So I have to ask, because I’m nosy, right, what was the trial reel? Was it something you had already posted? Was it… Like, what, what do you think… Well, what was it, and what do you think made it more relatable to go viral than others?
Neha Nautiyal: It was a B roll of me twirling around in a really nice dress, and the text said basically the result that my, my, the, the audience that I serve wants.
“I lost 30 pounds after two C-sections without dieting. Here’s what I did.” And I had an arrow pointing to the caption, where I had told them, “Comment ‘simple’ and I’ll send you my guide explaining exactly what I did.”
Liz Wilcox: Oh my gosh, so flippin’ simple. Take that Yap Challenge. Oh my gosh, I love this so much. It’s so simple.
You just said your 21st lead magnet. The tenacity of this woman right here that we are listening to, ah, gosh, I am just so … I’m just celebrating you. I hope that you are so proud of yourself. Like, I have worked, and this is no exaggeration, at this point, it’s gotta be tens of thousands of people. You know, I’ve had tens of thousands of people on my email list.
I mean, if you’re on my email list, if you’re on the SPI email list, you know I’m replying back. If you email me, I am emailing you back. I’ve answered hundreds of emails just in the last five days, I’m not even kidding. And it’s, it’s so … It takes, and again, I say it with love, like, it, it takes a special character trait that you c- you can develop, or, or a skill that you can develop to be tenacious, to not give up, to just keep moving.
I, I met a guy, I think his name was Frank, like a bajillion years ago when I first started, and he said he changed his book cover, just, like, the picture on the book cover, like 72 times before it started selling on Amazon. It’s, y’all, go back to the baby days. It took you, like, 12 to 24 months to start walking and do it without a wobble.
So I love, love, love that you weren’t afraid to take all of those baby steps to just try, try, try. You know, if that’s your 21st lead magnet, it probably was who knows how many trial reels you had posted, right? So I just love how simple that is. So talk to us about the, well, you said the ManyChat DM automation, which again, if you guys aren’t versed in that, it’s, she put, “Type ‘simple'” in the chat, and ManyChat is a software that it’ll, will read that.
If I type “simple” on her reel, it’s going to send me a DM so that I can click and sign up. Is that accurate?
Neha Nautiyal: Yes. And to take it one step further, I realized in the beginning that I was getting subscribers from India, and that’s a different market, and they need a different offer that I, that I don’t currently have.
And so I, I even took that data and added another step in my ManyChat where I asked them to tell me where they’re from so I could tag them appropriately. And so Back to your point of really looking… Like, you have to assess the data. You have to see, so yes, my trial reels were working, but then what about the next step?
Okay, I need to know where they’re from so I can serve them with what they actually need. So I have 5,000 email subscribers, but email subscribers don’t equal buyers. Amen. And I need to know how to best serve them even when they’re on my email list. So then f- tagging them where they’re from, that has really helped.
And then I realized, okay, what if they give me the wrong email? Or what if- Mm-hmm … there’s a typo? Or what if they’re not even opening? What if they say they’re interested in the moment, but then they’re not even actually opening my emails? So then I also implemented an automation that if they don’t open my email in two weeks, they’re out.
They’re off my list. And I love, I love having a clean list. I will say that when I had 250 email subscribers, my open rates were, like, 50%. And that has dropped to, like, 20% after getting so many, now 5,000. Now I’ve cleaned it a little, so it’s 4,500, which is still pretty good.
Liz Wilcox: Very good.
Neha Nautiyal: But I, I need to slowly get back to my higher open rate.
That’s definitely … And, and your email marketing membership has really helped me with that too in increasing engagement, increasing sales, increasing replies, what metrics to look at. Before it was just get more people on my list. Now- As you grow your business, you have to look at more things.
Liz Wilcox: Right. So I won’t turn this into an email coaching session, y’all, but you know that I’m tempted.
So I mean, I’m, I’m like, “Oh, send her this.” But I will say when it comes to … ‘Cause I’m sure people are like, “Oh, well, how do you fix that?” Because I don’t believe in the old adage of, well, the more people on your email list, your open rate is just naturally going to drop. Like, when I took over SPI’s email list, which was at the time, like, 90,000, Pat still had, like, a 50% open rate.
Now we’re, we vary between 40 and 60%. But what I want Neha to do is look at her welcome sequence. So the higher the open rate in those first few emails is, the higher the newsletter or that weekly email is gonna be. So I believe we’re, we’re gonna have her back on the show, and she’s gonna be talking about, “Oh, I have 50, 60% open rates.”
So start with the welcome sequence, ’cause people are never more excited than when they first start, and so those open rates are gonna be super high. Also, working with ManyChat to create those automations of, like, “Don’t forget to check your email,” stuff like that can really increase it, and then making the subject lines like, “Neha from Instagram,” so they’re making the connection, because that’s the thing.
ManyChat will grow your list really, really well, but you’ve gotta just be a little strategic to make sure they’re going from one platform, Instagram or social media, to the, the email platform, Google, Yahoo, whatever they’re using, right? So I wanna go back, though, ’cause you mentioned data a few times, and I
Y’all probably don’t know this about me, but I’m a data nerd. I actually have a master’s degree in leadership and, and instead of having to do, like, the typical, like, dissertation, I got to do, like, a, a project based sort of dissertation situation, and I did it on, like- All of the data for, like, I, I can’t remember so long ago, it was like 11th grade science testing in the state of New York.
Like, super nerdy. Like, I l- I l- and I analyzed it, and got to present it to a school board with how 11th graders can improve their science scores. So I’m super data nerd, but a lot of us didn’t have the privilege of doing a data project like that. And so where, and this might be simple, but where are you getting this data?
Where are you going for the data? Is it I’m just looking at things, or are we going into metrics somewhere? Where are we getting the data to even find, like, oh, these people are from India, et cetera?
Neha Nautiyal: So Kit, I use Kit also as a, as a email provider. They are able to figure out the region, and they have it listed under each subscriber.
And so I was noticing that a lot of people… When I went from 250 to 5,000, I was like, “Oh my gosh, okay, let me just look at a couple of people and see, are they opening? Where are they from?” And I could see that a lot of them were from India. Instagram also has insights on their trial reels or on all of their reels, and then you can see where the audience is from.
And so I could also see from there they were from India. So then I adjusted as quickly as I could to have them tell me where they’re from so that I could tag them.
Liz Wilcox: Amazing. So how did you do that? You just sent an email out?
Neha Nautiyal: So I asked a question. I said, the first message that I send them when they comment is, “Hey, I’m so excited you commented on my post.
I just wanna make sure that you, this is what you want.” And it’s the, the freebie on how to lose weight eating everything. And they say, “Yes, I want it.” And then it says, “Okay, great. Just so I send you the right guide, let me know where you’re from.” And I have three buttons. And then depending on the button, I tag them in Kit.
And then I said, “Great, what email address should I send it to? And then what’s your first name?” And then, “I sent it to your inbox. Please check your email.”
Liz Wilcox: Okay. What I wanna point out about that is we’re, we’re breaking things down into, like, the babiest of steps, right? Hey, we didn’t say like, “Oh, fill out this form.
Oh, click here,” and then the landing page has name, email, where are you from? You know, like, people need steps. It’s not a bad thing, but especially coming from social media, social media is a really passive way of interacting on the internet. I’m moving my thumb, and that is it . You know? Like, maybe if I wanna write a comment, I might pull it out the old pointer finger, right?
Like, it’s a very passive way of interacting online. So when we’re using DM automation, and as Neha has very clearly pointed out, step by step. It’s the same way if I’m teaching you how to write an email, I’m not like, “Oh, well, just write a welcome sequence.” I’m like, “Open up your computer. Pick your email service provider.”
Like, going step by step, so I love that you’re doing that. You’re j- I’m sure, I’m sure, I could almost guarantee you’re seeing a lot better results than someone who is doing it maybe the opposite, like one link, and then on that other page they have to fill out a bunch of stuff. So I love, love, love that.
Neha Nautiyal: And then to jump in for a second, ManyChat also shows metrics, which is really nice, of how many people get delivered the message, how many people open even the first message, and I have about 60 to 70% opt-in rate from that first message that they’re clicking, confirming that, yes, I do want that freebie. And then it drops off a little bit as I ask them for their email.
But I love that Kit has an integration with ManyChat- Mm … so that I don’t have to send them to a landing page. They can just put their email right in the DM, and Instagram loves that, ’cause they stay in Instagram.
Liz Wilcox: You know what? I gotta be honest with you, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know… So I haven’t used- Well, I’m starting to use ManyChat again.
So when I, I started using it, I would say w- I don’t know, it was a few years ago, so kind of in its infancy or whatever, when it was, it was a rising star. Now it’s a supernova. I didn’t realize it was doing that, like it was integrating, and I can just type in blah, blah, blah, Gmail. Wow, what a game ch- We are living in a time, y’all.
We are living in a time. It has never been, like, more accessible. This is s- I’m so flippin’ excited, and I love that you have unlocked all of this. So we’ve, we’ve gone over so, so much, but I’d, I’d love to hear, now that you’ve got these 5,000, 4,500 subscribers, you mentioned sales, getting replies, things like that, but what are you hoping, and I’m also remembering you did one-on-one services.
So what are, what are your offers right now, and, like, what are you hoping happens with your email list and your audience at large nowadays?
Neha Nautiyal: Yes, I would love more sales. And I was a software engineer. I did actually get laid off in February, and that was really hard. I took it personally, but I feel really lucky that I have this business to rely on, and so I can go all in on my business.
And with that, just realizing that there are so many things you can do, but again, just picking what feels good to you. So I, while I have a group coaching, I have one-on-one, I really, really wanna make macro tracking and being able to eat for your health without dieting more accessible, so I created a digital course.
I have a course that explains everything. It is really tough to market something when you’re not used to marketing yourself and selling yourself, and so while it’s a really comprehensive course, I took the data. I know that it’s a really good course, but I, I, for example, I even have Meta Ads, three weeks of Meta Ads, and I had zero sales.
So instead of taking that as a failure, I decided, okay, maybe my audience needs something a little bit smaller. They need to see a quicker win And so I actually am continually trying something out. This week is I’m, I’m hosting a beta round of a seven-day macro tracking challenge. And so we’re gonna see.
I have 11 women that wanted to opt in, and I’m really excited to hopefully use their testimonials and continue and have that as a, as a lower ticket offer. And so just continuing to survey my audience and figure out what problems they have that I can solve.
Liz Wilcox: I’m so excited for you. The macro challenge, is that free or paid?
Neha Nautiyal: For the beta round, I’m, I’m making it free just so I can get people in, get their feedback, and then I… it will be paid, but it’s gonna be low ticket, like 15-ish.
Liz Wilcox: I just love that you are willing to, like, set aside the ego and just look at the data and make your next move. It could be so easy, oh, well, no, I, you know, I ran ads, I wasted this money, I got laid off, blah, blah.
Not to put all that in your head, but I just, I just love that you’re like, “Well, what does this tell me?” And it really is that, that quick win that people need. Even coming into SPI and looking at our paid community and, you know, I’m working with David, our community manager, right now on the onboarding, and I’m like, “No, cut it, cut it smaller, smaller, easier, easier.”
You know, going from Team Flynn to Team Wins to win what’s important now, like really focusing on those small wins is the only way I’ve been in business for 10 years. You know, it’s like, okay, well, what can I do today? What can I even… what can I look at? Like, okay, I need to look at the ManyChat metrics today.
What does that tell me? Okay, I need to run these ads. Well, that didn’t go exactly the way I wanted it to, but it did go, and now I can use that what happened to inform my next decision. Wow, she is a genius. Oh my gosh, I’m so excited for you. I really think that this seven-day challenge is gonna go so well.
You’re gonna help those 11 women in a way that they haven’t been helped before, and that just, I don’t know about y’all, but that is lighting me up. I am so excited. I’m excited for them. I’m excited for you. I, I was going to ask, and you kinda, you kinda already answered it. I was gonna say like what feels hard in your business, but I, I feel like it’s like, well, I think the hard part is just managing all, figuring out what’s important.
Is there anything else that feels hard right now that you’re working at to get better?
Neha Nautiyal: It’s continually the marketing, for sure. Because I know that my offers and my products are made with love and with my audience in mind, but talking about the value of them and having other people wanna trust you and buy from you, I think that is a different skill that I’m continually working on.
The messaging.
Liz Wilcox: Yeah, let’s talk about this really quick, and I was just on a Zoom call this morning with Sandy, our, our marketing lady, and we were going over Black Friday. The time of this recording, we’re still, like, 40 days out, and I’ve t- I’ve tasked her with, like, “Hey, I trust you. Let’s… You can…” We’re, we’re…
Honestly, we’re kind of doing a little bit of a competition, ’cause I still have my Liz Wilcox brand, and we have SPI. So I was like, “Okay, I’m gonna share our Black Friday offer.” We have one Black Friday offer, lifetime deal, 800 bucks, never pay again for anything I create. It’s a, it’s a great deal. And so I said, “Okay, I’m gonna sell over here. You’re gonna sell over here.” But she wanted some advice and to kind of see what my strategy was so she could make sure she was on track over here, and I said, “One thing that’s really underrated in marketing is exactly what Neha just said, the why. Why did you create this product? Why do you believe in it?”
She said, “I, I know it has value. I know it’s gonna help women.” Leaning into that in your marketing, it’s the same as that trial reel that blew up. They saw themselves in you or their future selves, and so how can you, in your emails, et cetera, share more of yourself, more of that why? I don’t give up Taco Bell, and I’ll be danged if you have to.
I am on a mission for you to buy more quesadillas. You know? Like, what- whatever it is. Shout out, Baja Bla- Right? Um, and so sharing a lot of that, and I think that’s, you know, I don’t have a ma- marketing background. I was the same as you listening, and Neha here of, “I, I don’t know what to say.” But I just found the more transparent I was about why I was doing something, about why I created it this way or that way, and even sharing like, “Hey, I’ve got a degree in leadership. I know how to get behind people and push them to the finish line. You know, hey, I’ve got 10 years of email experience, and I’ve already sold two businesses before I purchased SPI. You know, in fact, SPI is not the first business I’ve bought.” Sharing that expertise and sharing, you know, I bought SPI because I’m on a mission to help more people, and I know Pat, he, he loves you, but he was dropping the ball because you can’t host two big businesses at once.
And so I said, “Hey, man, pass the ball.” And so a lot of that will resonate with your audience, and I think make marketing a lot more fun. So I hope that is helpful because I know you’ve got a lot of people that need your help. I’m so, I’m so excited for you to find them and to find that right messaging.
But I think of marketing more as like, how can I make people aware how much I care?
Hey, that rhymes. We need, we need mugs. How can I make people aware of how much I care? I think that’s really the key there. All right. So let’s wrap this bad boy up. Super exciting. Tell us if we want to learn more, if we want to see your amazing not so trial reels, and we want to follow you, we want to join your email list, we want to get in on that challenge for 15 bucks because we know you’re going to be selling it soon, how can we follow you?
Neha Nautiyal: Yes, I’m on Instagram @macrofriendlydesi, and literally everything is there.
Liz Wilcox: Love it. Love it. Thank you so much, and congratulations on all the steps you’ve taken and all the success that’s to come from it.
Neha Nautiyal: Thank you. It was so wonderful to talk to you.
