Today, someone unsubscribed from my mailing list. And I smiled.

Why?

Because I know my Marketing Elimination Diet is working.

Why those unsubscribes make me happy

When I see someone has unsubscribed in my email software, I glance over at my total subscriber count. I confirm that it’s growing.

And I know my marketing is doing what it’s supposed to.

Even though I’ve lost someone, I’ve gained many others. And over time, the number of people I’ve been able to reach with my content and course has grown, and grown, and grown.

At first, it’s hard to say goodbye

I didn’t always feel this way.

When I was first growing my email list, every person who unsubscribed felt like a stab in the heart. Why didn’t they want to hear from me? What did I do wrong?

But I realized pretty quickly that you can’t take it personally. People unsubscribe for any number of reasons. It might be that:

• They don’t need or want what you offer, at least not right now.
• They have absolutely no budget, and your solutions cost money.
• They might resent the fact that your helpful information occasionally mentions your paid offerings, especially if you market online. They’re not happy you’re running a business.
• They don’t “like” you. They don’t actually know you, of course, but they’re not drawn to the way you present your business.

I have unsubscribed to many email lists for the most innocuous of reasons. I wasn’t trying to send a message to the list owner. I unsubscribed because what they offered just wasn’t a good fit for me right then.

Courageous business building means doing a Marketing Elimination Diet on a regular basis

As you market your business, you lose some people along the way.

But the ones who stick around? They’re so much more valuable because they’ve demonstrated they have a sustained interest in what you offer.

Having a large, engaged group of prospective buyers is worth the pain of saying goodbye along the way to those who aren’t a good fit.

After all, wouldn’t you rather market your business to people who are truly interested in it? And not waste time and effort trying to reach people who will never, ever become your customers?

I shamelessly (because really, what’s there to be ashamed of?) promote my paid solutions here, and in presentations I make.

And I encourage you to do that same.

You are running a business.

Be proud of the offerings you’ve developed. Don’t be afraid to put them out there.

But here’s a promise …

Every time you make an offer, people will drop away. Every week, dozens of people unsubscribe from my email list. But every week, many more dozens subscribe.

As new subscribers begin to receive my free materials, and to interact with our community, some won’t be a good fit. They’ll drop away. And that’s perfectly fine.

Don’t be afraid to shake up your prospects to find the best ones

Years ago, I wrote a post called Shake It Baby, Shake It for Real Good Marketing!

In this post, I recommended you work to narrow down your list of prospects to only those who are a good fit.

In the end, it’s not about how many prospects you have. It’s about the quality of those prospects.

In the years since that post, I have lost thousands of people from my mailing lists. Thousands.

But I’ve gained many, many thousands more.

I used to mourn every unsubscribe. Now, I see the people who go away, and I see the many more who come in, and I know my marketing is working as it should be.

I encourage you to embrace this attitude. 🙂

How to begin your Marketing Elimination Diet

To shake up your marketing and narrow your prospects list to people who want what you offer, I recommend that you:

• Establish — from your very first contact with a prospect — that you run a business. Don’t hide this fact. You don’t need to hit them over the head with an offer, of course — a link to your online store, or a reference to your store’s physical location will do.
• Weave offers into the content you create. Again, no need to be overt about them, but make sure they’re there. You’ll lose some people, but those who stick around are worth their weight in gold.
• Occasionally reward your most-loyal prospects with a big discount or first-chance access to a sale. Let them know you appreciate their sustained interest.

Don’t be afraid to create marketing materials that eliminate prospects on a regular basis. That’s how the Marketing Elimination Diet keeps your business healthy.

In the end, I only want to offer solutions to people who resonate with my work.

Don’t you?

Not sure who you’re trying to reach?

I have an article that will help you with that.

Related: Create an Eye-opening Ideal Customer Profile [Free Worksheet]

See what I did there? 😉 The Ideal Customer Worksheet will show you how to build your business on the foundation of a deep understanding of the customers you want to reach.