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<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56798 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="324" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=122&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=207&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=156&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=311&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=415&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=119&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=79&amp;w=390 390w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-02.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>Tanya Harris was able to quit her job as a lawyer and became a professional creator once she got serious about email marketing.</p>
<p>This is how she used ConvertKit to grow her email list from 3k to 10k in 7 months, replace her previous salary, and continue to scale to over 67,000 subscribers today.</p>
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<h2>The challenge: Turning more blog readers into email subscribers</h2>
<p>In the beginning, Tanya started her food blog for fun: something she could do on the side when she wasn’t busy with her full-time job as a lawyer. Over a few years, she built up 3,000 email subscribers from her newsletter pop-up.</p>
<p>But when she got pregnant, she decided she wanted her blog to become a business, and went all in on growing her email list. Her goal was to replace her lawyer salary so she could quit her job and be home with her new family.</p>
<p>To gain more subscribers, and keep them, Tanya wanted to tailor her email opt-ins. Instead of having one general newsletter opt-in for everything, she wanted to create opt-ins like an automated air-fryer email course that popped up after people read her her air-fryer recipes. She then wanted to segment her list based on those specific audience interests.</p>
<p>But her email provider at the time didn’t have those features.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>I needed to segment my list and have it on autopilot, so ConvertKit was the best option for me.</p></blockquote>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56799 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="876" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=329&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=561&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=420&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=841&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1121&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=323&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=214&amp;w=390 390w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-03.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<h2>The solution: Switch to ConvertKit and leverage audience growth tools</h2>
<p>Tanya switched to ConvertKit and doubled down on building her email list using tailored <a href="https://convertkit.com/features/landing-pages" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landing pages</a>, <a href="https://convertkit.com/features/automations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">automations</a>, and pop-ups.</p>
<p>Within five months, her income matched her lawyer&#8217;s salary, and within seven months, she’d grown her email list by 7k subscribers, from 3k to 10k. In April 2019, she quit her job as a lawyer to run her creator business full-time, and has since grown her list to 67k and counting.</p>
<p>This is how she did it.</p>
<h2>The strategies: Tailored content, consistent emails, and Recommendations</h2>
<h3>1. Reframe list growth</h3>
<p>Tanya says some of the biggest shifts she made that catapulted her list growth were actually mental: she switched from thinking about “collecting email addresses” to thinking about “what does my reader want?”</p>
<p>She looked at each blog post individually and asked herself what her reader would most want <em>next</em>.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>Say you were looking for an air fryer recipe. That opt-in would be an air fryer guide.</p></blockquote>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56800 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="896" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=336&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=573&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=430&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=860&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1147&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=330&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=218&amp;w=390 390w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-04.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>When she later wrote an air fryer ebook, she was then able to launch it just to the segment of her audience who had downloaded the air fryer related opt-ins and made thousands from that first book launch.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56801 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="992" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=372&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=635&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=476&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=952&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1270&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=366&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-05.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>Tanya also made another significant shift in her mentality that she says made all the difference: she stopped thinking about email growth as only getting <em>new</em> subscribers coming in and instead thought of it as also about the subscribers who were <em>staying</em>.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>It’s not just getting new people on your list but making sure the people on it want to stay on it, stay engaged, and also tell their friends about it.</p></blockquote>
<p>Tanya used to send emails sporadically, but now sends a valuable email at least twice a week.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56802 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1147" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=430&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=734&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=551&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1101&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1468&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=423&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-06.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<h3>2. Create opt-ins that allow readers to “save” content</h3>
<p>Tanya worked with <a href="https://www.emailcrush.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Molen</a> to implement a strategy where people can now enter their email address on a specific recipe to “save” that recipe to their inbox.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56803 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="814" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=305&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=521&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=391&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=781&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1042&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=300&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=198&amp;w=390 390w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-07.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>Tanya wasn’t sure about this strategy at first; would people really care about having the link sent to them? But the feedback has been phenomenal.</p>
<p>People <em>love</em> having the recipe title saved as a subject line in their inbox because it’s so much easier for them to search for it later when they’re ready to make it.</p>
<h3>3. Tailored pop-ups</h3>
<p>When Tanya first started her blog, one general newsletter popped up for every page of her site, but now she has tailored pop-ups that relate to specific content.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>If you land on Air Fryer, your pop up is going to be “Sign up for this Air Fryer guide.” If you land on one of my Jamaican recipes, it&#8217;s going to be “Sign up for this Jamaican cooking guide.”</p></blockquote>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56804 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="873" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=327&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=559&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=419&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=838&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1117&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=322&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=213&amp;w=390 390w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-08.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>That pop-up then leads subscribers through an automated five-email sequence that serves as the guide.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56805 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="829" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=311&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=531&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=398&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=796&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1061&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=306&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=202&amp;w=390 390w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-09.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>Tanya also creates seasonal pop-ups based on the weather. For all of her pop-ups, she uses the ConvertKit features to modify and limit the number of times people see them so that they’re never annoying.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56806 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1284" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=482&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=822&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=616&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1233&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1644&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=473&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-10.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<h3>4. Recommendations</h3>
<p>Tanya also recently joined the <a href="https://creatornetwork.convertkit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Creator Network</a> and set up Recommendations and has received 6,892 subscribers so far.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>Recommendations has helped my list grow a ton. And I love that not only are other creators recommending me, but I also get to recommend other creators.</p></blockquote>
<p>She’s also given 2,628 subscribers to other creators.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>I like the idea that creators can help support other creators and help each other grow.</p></blockquote>
<h2>The results: 67k+ email list, consistent traffic, and six figures in annual revenue</h2>
<p>Tanya is grateful for how she’s been able to grow her email list over the years, especially when SEO or social media constantly shifts.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>Social depends on the algorithm. Google depends on where it wants to rank you in the search engine. So that&#8217;s one of the reasons why I think, especially in the content creation business, you have to have an email list.</p>
<p>If I get hit with low traffic, I always know that I have an email list I can email, and I always have an idea of how many clicks I&#8217;ll get to my website if I send them a link.</p>
<p>There are so many ways you can build an audience and engage, but email is the one.</p></blockquote>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56807 lazy" data-src="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1280" srcset="https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=480&amp;w=600 600w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=819&amp;w=1024 1024w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=614&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1229&amp;w=1536 1536w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1638&amp;w=2048 2048w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=472&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.kit.com/post/tanya-harris-11.jpg?fm=pjpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>As Tanya’s email list and business continue to grow, Tanya also sees each new subscriber on her email list as a person, someone looking for a new meal or comfort food for themselves or their family. She&#8217;s grateful for them, and the tools that keep her connected to them and help her run her business.</p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-sm"><p>This is my dream and I&#8217;m just happy that I&#8217;m able to do it.</p></blockquote>
<p><div class="end-mark mb-50">
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If you found this case study helpful, please show Tanya support by <a href="https://my-forking-life.ck.page/profile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subscribing to her newsletter</a> or learn more at <a href="https://www.myforkinglife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">myforkinglife.com</a>.</p>


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