How I Made Over $250,000 From Just 1,988 Email Subscribers

At the time of recording, I have exactly 1,988 email subscribers, and over the last few years I've generated over $250,000 from those contacts. I'm not sharing that to brag. I'm sharing it because you don't need a big email list to make a decent income.

I run a one-person business with no paid ads, no team and no daily social media grind. I walk you through exactly how I grow a small, targeted email list from YouTube and how I position my offers to it.

Key Takeaways

• A small, targeted email list built from search beats a large, untargeted one.
• Every video should offer one logical next step: a free resource in exchange for an email address.
• Automate the follow-up so your evergreen videos keep feeding an email sequence that positions your products and services.

Step 1: Make Videos People Are Already Searching For

It starts with keyword research. Type your main keywords into YouTube and it will autocomplete with what people search for. My rule: if nobody is searching for a topic, ask yourself whether you should make that video at all. Get in front of what people are already looking for.

For example, I help entrepreneurs build a business off the back of YouTube. My research showed people needed help with the YouTube Studio editor. Using Keywords Everywhere, I saw "YouTube Studio editor" gets over 5,400 monthly searches, so I knew a video on it could find an audience. More on this in my post on finding YouTube video ideas.

I made a 16-minute walkthrough and put the keyword in the title, the description and what I say in the video. It now ranks highly for that search. Here's the YouTube Studio editor post that came from it.

Step 2: Grow a Targeted Email List, Not Just a Big One

This is the key. I'm not trying to collect anyone's email, only people I could genuinely help. Someone who searched "YouTube Studio editor" and watched my video is exactly that kind of person.

Where I offer the next step in every video:

• A link in the description.
• A card that pops up during the video.
• A mention at the end of the video itself.

For YouTube videos, that next step is my free YouTube Jump Start guide. People land on a simple page, enter their email and get the guide. I explain the whole process in how I turn YouTube viewers into email subscribers.

Expect Some People to Leave

I've actually collected over 3,000 email addresses. About two-thirds stay subscribed, which leaves my 1,988 contacts: the people I can market to and position my products and services with.

There's also lead decay: the longer someone sits on your list, the more their interest fades. That makes what happens straight after someone opts in really important.

Step 3: Automate the Follow-Up

I run everything on Kajabi. My YouTube opt-in form uses single opt-in, notifies me when someone signs up, and adds them to my contacts automatically. Then a few automations kick in:

1. An automated email delivers the free resource, such as the guide or training.
2. They're tagged and subscribed to an email sequence.
3. The sequence adds value in the first few days, then introduces my products and services.

If you put the logical next step in front of someone, then the logical next offer, the chance of them buying is much higher. Once the videos are live, most of this runs on its own until I'm on a call with someone talking about exactly how I can help. I cover the email side in Kajabi email sequences.

Why This Keeps Working

I keep the whole system simple: someone searches for a solution, finds my video, clicks through to my website and swaps their email for a free resource. Then my email sequence follows up.

The videos are evergreen. Ones I made one, two or three years ago are still bringing people in. Because the videos and the email sequence are separate, I can keep updating the emails to position whatever's most relevant now. I break it down further in the only online sales funnel I use.

What I Actually Sell

It's a digital business, so I sell digital products and services. I think about them in terms of proximity to you: the more access someone gets to you, the more you can charge.

• Free content: YouTube videos. This is the marketing.
• On-demand course: people work through it in their own time, with little input from you.
• Membership: a bit more access to you, perhaps with live calls.
• Coaching: the most access to you, at the highest price.

I also promote the tools and services I use as an affiliate, and my channel is in the YouTube Partner Programme, so I earn some ad revenue too. Having more than one income stream helps, but ad revenue is only a small part of it.

Conclusion

You don't need a big email list to make a good income from your online business. Make videos people are already searching for, offer one logical next step in every video, and automate the follow-up so your evergreen content keeps working.

Focus on a small, targeted list of people you can genuinely help, and position the right offer in front of them.