You’re probably wondering if any of the AWeber team uses AWeber for their own business. Well guess what? We do!
I’m a cosplayer - been playing dress up for 20+ years. I’m also an event and wedding photographer. I recognized an opportunity to help other cosplayers get professional photos of their costumes. Creating dynamic high quality images showcasing all of their hard work. I also found, most needed some help with posing, because posing can be a struggle - seriously, try it. (“Where do I put my hands!?”) Clients started rolling in and I was on my way as a small business owner.
Well, before I started using AWeber, my booking and communication processes were completely manual …and a total time sink. I fixed that by using AWeber to automatically book, plan, and follow-up with each of my clients.
My customers now book their shoots using an AWeber Landing Page with our eCommerce element in use. I also automate the follow up communication directly after someone books a shoot with me. I gather more information and specifics about the shoot and the location where they want the shoot to take place. This way when I’m pulling up to the New York Comicon - I’m fully prepared to deliver their ideal experience.
About a week before the event, I send Broadcasts to everyone and let them know where we’re meeting up and I include an FAQ list. Believe me, I’ve heard all the questions and I can save myself and my clients ample time in advance.
A few days after the event, I’ll send a follow up broadcast to everyone to let them know when they can expect to get their edited photos. My clients will remain on my mailing list, and I send out updates about other events coming up that I will be working. This is how I maintain relationships and secure repeat business.
I’m curious and I’d love to know what kind of workflows you have set up for your business? Want some advice or have questions about how to better optimize your flow? Have some advice for me? Let’s talk about it below!
I am a Zumba instructor and use my AWeber account to promote Zumba classes and stay in touch with my audience. I also write a weekly newsletter to keep in touch and promote my blog content.
I’ve used landing pages with an ecommerce element to sell tickets to special classes. I set up an automation to deliver the receipt / ticket.
I recently created my first onDemand virtual class as a lead magnet. I’ll be using automations to deliver a coupon to try my class for free. I am getting started with Facebook ads and working on my lead magnet page to help attract new people to my list. Wish me luck!
I use AWeber for a variety of personal projects and experiments. Some of my favorites are:
Getting Referrals for my Pickleball Paddle Company
I started a pickleball paddle company, and I use AWeber for some of the traditional ecommerce thing you’d think of - sending promotional emails, welcoming new customers, sending tips to keep my customer segment engaged and encourage upsells.
But the biggest unlock I’ve found is to ask for referrals through email. I’ve been sharing my story building the company, and folks who I’ve met and have bought from me are really invested. From time to time I’ll ask them to refer me when I offer a new product or have some sort of special going on, and a group of my superfans is always willing.
Personalizatizing these messages using custom fields goes a long way to making this feel like one to one message when I can reference the person by name and where I met and played with them.
Building my Personal Brand
I love to teach folks about design, email marketing, and building digital products. To make it easier for people to learn about me and sign up to hear from me I created a link list landing page.
I share that list on social media and in group and one on one chats when I see an opportunity to connect.
We have a template right in our landing page builder so these pages are super simple to set up.
Pushing Automation to It’s Limits with a Virtual Email Pet
When we first launched our automation tools, I wanted to see how far I could push the system. So I built a virtual pet for email. Every day you get a choice. Your email the next day is different based on that choice.
This might seem like a silly thing, but it’s a concept you could use to make ever more personalized onboarding sequences for your prospects and customers.
Thanks for sharing your story, Amanda! As someone who is subscribed to your mailing list, I enjoy your content and following along with what you’re up to!
As a small business owner, I also use AWeber to communicate with my buyers and prospects. I run a small online art print and stationary shop. I’ve been using AWeber Landing Pages as a digital art portfolio. I’ve showcased pieces from 30 day art challenges and prints from my online art shop. Additionally, it includes a testimonial section from business owners, community leaders, and customers that I’ve had the pleasure of working with!
I’ve set up a few campaign automations set up in the past year that have helped me promote the secret shop access, my official launch and special discount codes to drive sales.
As a creative person, I really enjoyed creating my branded message templates using our Drag and Drop message editor. In a single email folks are able get a progress update on the shop, preview products + pricing, content from my YouTube videos using the Feed Element and my social media!
I use my AWeber account for sending monthly newsletters to my Condo Association. It’s been a great tool for helping neighbors get engaged in our building. We also spotlight local events and restaurants in our neighborhood, and let them know what’s happening in our community.
I use my AWeber account for sending monthly newsletters to my Condo Association. It’s been a great tool for helping neighbors get engaged in our building. We also spotlight local events and restaurants in our neighborhood, and let them know what’s happening in our community.