Email Selling Formula
Selling through your words might be one the most underrated and underutilized tools out there.
Most people believe they can’t write. But that’s not true, you just haven’t tried.
When you first start something, you’re going to suck. It's a fact of life.
Every english teacher I ever had told me I was a bad writer. I even have an ex-girlfriend who is now an English teacher and she too told me I was a bad writer.
I guess the joke is on them now. But hey, thanks for the chip on my shoulder!
They chastise students and force them into a 5 sentence, 5-paragraph formula with intro and transition sentences that make you sound more like a monkey than a man or woman.
You should write exactly like you talk.
That’s what makes you relatable AND sets you apart from everyone else. We all communicate differently and that should be leveraged and celebrated.
The reason my writing works is because it’s short and choppy. I EMPHASIZE with caps lock on occasion. I speak in fragments.
I make line breaks because I can.
And you can’t stop me.
But it’s unusual and, more importantly, it’s engaging.
When people read my words, it’s like they’re hearing my voice right there with them.
I don't get fancy with my vocabulary unless I have to. The only reason for fancy vocabulary is if you’re really trying to isolate a feeling or emotion. Otherwise, you’re just being pretentious.
Here's the simple structure I use to craft emails that generate revenue:
Tell a relevant story from your life or current events - Keep it short and to the point. The older you get, the more you’ll be tempted to include extraneous, irrelevant details. Keep it to the most basic and vital information. Otherwise it gets too wordy and long and you’ll lose the reader. The entire email should be less than 500 words. Mega bonus points if you can do it all in 250 words or less, but that’s some elite level shit.
Figure out what in your story can be manipulated into a transition - How can you go from talking about your dog getting covered in mud and splattering it all over the walls to selling your product or service? It is possible, but this part is going to require the most creativity. It’s the hardest part of this formula. Sometimes this single piece can take me days to come up with (that's not common, but it can happen). Often, I'll write the story and have to step away. The transition usually comes to me when I'm in the shower, working out, or driving. Regardless of how you come up with this, if you can create a solid transition, you're in a great spot.
Describe your offer, price and then hit them with a strong call-to-action - If you saw my article yesterday then you know your CTA should NEVER be something simple like “ORDER NOW”. Get creative and make it personal and relatable. If Moe’s Southwest Grill would listen to me then their email marketing CTA's should be something like, “I WANT $2 OFF MY NEXT BURRITO”. That’s WAY more personal and engaging than “ORDER NOW," which sounds like it was written by a computer.
Sign your email - This is important. People relate to people. Even if you sign it "The YOURCOMPANY Team," that's better than no signature at all. I’ve written and sent emails in multiple formats. To me, every brand should be sending personal, text-based emails. Not graphics with images of products and a call to action. Sure, you can have those as elements, but they shouldn’t be the primary focus. I personally think EVERY brand would benefit from sending emails with stories written by real people.
Anyway, we’re getting into some philosophical stuff and that’s not the point here.
If you have a product or service to sell and an email list, use the formula above. I’d even be happy to proofread your email and give you some feedback on it (no charge) before you send it out.
Let me know what kind of results you see or if you prove me wrong and generate 0 sales. I'd love to hear about either experience!