When most people think about building a list their first thought is:

“YES! I already have a ton of emails!”

… and their first reaction is to load them up in MailChimp and start blasting them messages.

This is a huge no-no.

But, in some cases, you may be sitting on hundreds (if not thousands) of email addresses that are a fit for your new list.

Example:

Let’s say you built a career as a lawyer and met with hundreds of law students, colleagues, and corporations and they joined your weekly newsletter.

But, you’ve since left the field and are in a new chapter of your life.

You could send a simple message out to your old list and potentially get tons of new sign ups for email list.

Here’s what that would look like:

“Hey friends,

I know it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me, but I just wanted to reach out and say ‘hi’.

Since we’ve last spoke, I’ve moved, left the legal field, and am embarking on a new journey helping people feel amazing through green juice smoothies.

What’s new with you?

Hit reply and let me know – I’d love to hear.

Interested in signing up to see what I’m working on? Click this link or let me know in your response and I’ll add you to my new weekly newsletter.

I’ll never spam you or sell your email address.

Cheers,

Jeremy Montoya”

Here’s what you need to do next:

Step 1: Evaluate your assets:

Do you have any previous businesses, industry lists, or past careers where you’ve built a database of names and/or emails?

If yes, then..

Step 2: Locate that database and send an email to your old list using your email service provider or by typing them out by hand using the template located in the assignment portion of this lesson.

Step 3: Take the people who responded that they want to join your new list and write them down or put them in a safe place with the rest of the list of new email subscribers you’ve been collecting during this lesson.

If not, skip this lesson.

Important Note:

Depending your relationship and how long it’s been since you last communicated with the old list, you may notice some people not too happy to hear from you.

Don’t take it personally and be sure to come from a place of “I’d love to know what’s new in your world. If not – no big :)”.