Email Marketing

“What Should I Write About?” 3 Newsletter Ideas for Financial Advisors

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In many cases, the struggle isn’t a lack of topics to talk about.

It’s figuring out which of the dozens of possibilities you should write about today.

There’s one ultra-helpful filter you that can help you make that choice. I’ll illustrate with an example from last week.

The mail carrier dropped Valpak in my mailbox on Tuesday. If you’re not familiar, Valpak is a collection of ads/coupons from local businesses. Goes to every residence in selected zip codes.

You get offers from restaurants, cleaning services, auto mechanics, whoever wants to pay to insert their ad in the mailing.

I’m a nerd, so I enjoy looking through ads.

Got this from a bank with a branch down the street from my house…

Blue advertisement from bank offering $300 dollars to open checking account

Nice offer, right? Anyone looking for a new checking account may be tempted.

Problem is, the very next ad is from another bank in the neighborhood…

Blue advertisement from bank offering $450 dollars

At first glance, it looks like a stronger offer by 50%. And depending on your specific situation, it may be a better choice.

How many homeowners completely forgot about the previous ad?

They’re even visually similar, so there’s no good reason for the first one to hold onto real estate in your memory.

So perhaps the second ad has the advantage. But there’s another problem.

Valpak arrived on Tuesday.

Here’s a self-mailer that landed in our mailboxes on Monday…

Green and black advertisment from local bank offering $600

See what’s happening here?

Everyone’s doing the same thing! These ads don’t hint at anything different about the banks making the offer.

It’s very difficult to win under these circumstances. And advantage you get may not be sustainable over time.

Don’t get into this kind of competition!

Make your messages (and offers) different. Make them uniquely YOU.

It’s much harder for the competition to undercut you or rip off your idea.

That’s the filter. When you’re deciding what to write your email newsletter about, try not to say what everyone else is saying.

That includes just sending out market updates.

Want some more specifics? Here are 3 ideas you can use to pick unique and compelling ideas for your future newsletters:

Financial Subject Lines: Pt. 3 (The Lie)

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working for free stairs to nowhere

If you’re following along with our “2 truths and a lie” game, you’ll recall the truths we’ve covered:

  1. Repetition kills readership.
  2. Fear/anxiety is good.

The Fed’s rate cut yesterday (September 18) gave us an interesting illustration of how you can play with fear.

Here’s a subtle example.

screenshot of subject line: Important information regarding September 18 enclosed

It doesn’t indicate something bad is going to happen, but it makes you wonder what you don’t know about Jay Powell’s looming decision.

Here’s a more in-your-face angle:

Screenshot of subject line: The Fed's Panic Cut is a Sign the Worst is Yet to Come

For the reader who was certain the rate cut would boost his portfolio, this email may be a bit of a surprise. You have to read it to find out what’s coming your way.

Now, it’s time to talk about…

The Lie: You can educate prospects into buying.

This is a sticky one.

Because education is a good thing.

We want to have well-informed audience. And the rising tide of financial literacy/intelligence lifts all boats (especially in underserved segments of the population).

But as you’ve probably heard many times before, humans make decisions emotionally.

You’ve seen it happen countless times, right in your face. You explain a product, service or even just an idea to someone… give them an airtight logical argument for why they should move forward…

And they choose a less beneficial option. Or they decide not to do anything at all, even though their situation is likely to get worse with each passing day.

The issue isn’t education. It’s motivation.

So as uncomfortable as it may sound to some, it’s your job to help your potential clients get out of their own way and make the decision that’s best for them.

Your email subject lines can be the tip of the spear.

Appeal to motivational emotions. Grab your subscriber’s attention and trigger a motivated state by speaking to their:

  • fears and frustrations
  • pains and problems
  • dreams and desires.

Not just new information, lessons and strategies.

Again, I’m not telling you to avoid education. Rather, I’m telling you to use education as a motivational tool.

This may be a big shift in your approach, but it’s worth doing.

I’ve unpacked a whole lot more insights, examples and templates in my book Subject Line Science: 11 Made You Look” Secrets to Getting Emails Opened & Read.

I also recorded 120 YouTube shorts breaking down some of my favorite subject lines in 60 seconds or less. You can see them all free here.

Does it seem like I’m failing to follow my own advice by giving you a lot of education here?

Let’s fix that.

If your email marketing hasn’t been bringing in as many clients as you know it should, let’s discuss how I can help.

Or, if you’re just stuck when it comes to marketing your firm, hit me up. We can discuss ways I may be able to help.

Financial Subject Lines: 2 Truths & a Lie (Pt. 2)

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Let’s jump in.

Truth #1 is that repetition kills readership. If subscribers think they know what you’re going to say, they won’t open your email.

You can avoid that by using various different angles and appeals in your subject lines. Highlighting relevant benefits is great, but it can get repetitive.

Check out Part 1 here.

Truth #2: Fear is good.

I know this is an uncomfortable truth for some. We want to keep things positive. To educate and empower.

But there are some legitimately worrisome realities out there. You know it and so does your reader. It’s a good idea to talk about those things.

Now, I’m not telling you to try scaring your readers pants off.

I’m encouraging you to tap into the fear and/or anxiety your subscriber is likely already feeling.

Here’s an example of creating a little fear without paralyzing the reader:

Firstly, there are few things that get our attention like fear. The human brain dedicates a significant portion of its energy to keeping us safe.

Our senses are fine-tuned to detect and respond to danger.

Secondly, humans hate losing… anything. Behaviorial studies show we’re twice as likely to take action to prevent a loss than to secure an equivalent gain (when the stakes are high enough).

That means fear gives you leverage when it comes to moving people to make a decision.

Don’t leave the reader in a state of fear, though.

Use fear to win attention and focus his mind, then shift into the solution he can take to minimize or eliminate the issue.

Part 3 will be ready for you next week.

Need a set of eyes on your subject lines in the meantime? Send me a message and let’s talk.

Financial Subject Lines: 2 Truths & a Lie (Pt. 1)

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In my last post, I dissected a subject line similar to what lot of financial service professionals might send out if they wanted to try something “edgy.”

We discussed why that subject line may not accomplish what the sender hoped to do and explored some ways to make it stronger. You can read that post here.

Let’s expand on that idea a little more today.

I won’t take up too much of your time, but this information deserves to live in your head for a while. Let it marinate.

Truth #1: Repetition kills readership.

Variety is the spice of life. Including the inbox.

Here’s a screenshot of emails a really smart financial professional sent out recently.

This isn’t meant to embarrass or shame the man. He’s doing a lot of things right. But he’s fallen into the trap a lot of us are ensnared by when it comes to email marketing.

(He’s an accountant, but the lessons apply to financial professionals of all stripes.)

These subject lines call out the reader (I’ve blurred a few key words to further protect anonymity)… promise relevant benefits… and include “power words” like maximize and wealth.

So what’s the problem?

They all look and sound the same. A subscriber swiping through his inbox — which is what they’re all doing — may not be able to tell the difference between them.

He may think he’s seen today’s emails before. As recently as yesterday.

Also, highlighting benefits is important. But listing benefits nonstop starts to feel like either salesy or scholastic.

And what tells the reader that the email contains something he can’t find with a quick Google search or a scan of Yahoo Finance headlines?

You need to mix things up!

  • Tell intriguing stories.
  • Address pressing, pertinent problems you know your ideal client’s thinking about.
  • Give unique or contrarian perspectives on trending topics and news stories.
  • Share your personal/organizational philosophies so your reader can connect with your values and worldview.

This is especially important when you email as often as you should (weekly at minimum).

I said I wouldn’t take too much of your time, so let’s stop here for today.

You can read Part 2 here.

Need a set of eyes on your subject lines in the meantime?

Send me a message and let’s talk.

Most Financial Subject Lines Are Boring (and the Sender Doesn’t Even Know It)

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Is this a good a subject line for a financial professional or educator?

Why or why not?

I’d say in most cases, it’s NOT a good one, and not because of what your compliance officer might say.

Here’s why.

Listen, I adore my wife. Marrying her was the smartest — and luckiest — thing I’ve ever done.

But when I read that subject line, my instant reaction is “OF COURSE she could.”

No one gets your blood pumping more (in good ways and bad) than the person you love most. So this idea isn’t as shocking as it seems at first glance.

The curiosity factor is weak, too.

A little specificity about how or why s/he’s going to make your heart explode could have gone a long way. For example:

  • Your spouse’s money habits may cause a heart attack
  • When you spouse buys THESE, heart attack risk goes up

Those aren’t better, even though they’re too long. But they’re still not great.

What would make it a great subject line? Maybe something like this:

  • 3 money habits that can (literally) kill you
  • “The heart attack was your wife’s fault”
  • Money move deadlier than clogged arteries?

It’s aggressive, but the subject line would be even stronger if you implied you could be the one giving your spouse a heart attack…

That said, there are 2 things that I like about the original subject line…

1) If you’re sending the email to an audience that’s nervous about their heart health, they’re more likely to open and read because they want to know about anything that can stop them from having any issues.

2) It’s likely different than any other subject lines you’ve been sending. Predictability is not your friend in the inbox, so there’s good chance a subject line like this will spark some renewed attention from your subscribers.

We’ll going to talk more about email subject lines for financial service pros, educators and coaches in the next few posts.

Stay tuned.

The Best Email I Ever Wrote?

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Are your emails boring? How do you know?

If you’re even a little nervous that your subscribers yawn when they get your messages, you’re going to like what we’re talking about today.

If you’re confident your emails are interesting and you’d like to crank up your must-read rating to an even higher level, this will be good for you, too.

I’m going to show you one of the best emails I’ve ever written.

It’s from a few years back, but you can’t help but learn something from this beauty.

And if you’re writing financial copy, there’s no reason you couldn’t use something like this right now.

Here we go.

(Eeesh! I just spotted a typo. Hilarious.)

Quickly, there are 3 main ideas you can take from this:

1. This email is essentially one big pile of PROOF.

Four high-caliber economic experts are all saying the same thing at the same time.

A large percentage of emails make claims and just expect readers to believe them.

Another sizeable percentage of emails make claims and explain them… but don’t offer actual proof.

Now, proof doesn’t automatically make copy interesting.

But overwhelming proof creates a forceful argument that’s hard to ignore (even if it’s unpleasant).

2. There’s a hint of conspiracy at play.

If all the former Fed chairs are talking about recession, why is the current chairman sweeping it under the rug?

And why is no one else talking about this? And why isn’t the current Fed chair Bazooka Jay Powell addressing it?

When your emails evoke meaningful questions in your reader’s mind, you give him reason to keep reading, clicking, and even buying.

And when you regularly create that experience for readers, they give you endless opportunities to sell them.

By the way, it’s worth pointing out that ANYONE could have written this email. The quotes are in the public record. Zero claims are made about the company sending the email.

So when people ask, “how do I sell my services when I don’t have much or any experience.” This is a decent place you can start.

3. It oozes urgency.

The danger this email talks about is just around the corner. You can’t really afford to think about this later. It demands immediate action.

Investors don’t want to get crushed, so they’ll pay attention and consider taking the action recommended.

Your emails are most effective when you address an urgent opportunity or danger. If your reader can push off a decision until later, he will.

You can’t always control that. Still, I encourage you to make every effort to add urgency to the ideas you share in your emails.

During my guest appearance on The Financial Rebel Show, this email came up:

Of course…

No one knows how brilliant and urgent your copy is until they open the email.

In my book Subject Line Science, I share 11 “made you look” secrets and dozens of examples to help you entice more subscribers to open you emails – and open in the right frame of mind to take action.

Worth checking out if you’d like to write hard-to-ignore emails.

(The “made you look” secrets also work for social media, video hooks and other places you need to grab attention.)

Boost Your Email Marketing with Subject Line Science

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I’m excited to announce that you can now preorder my brand-new book…

Subject Line Science: 11 “Made You Look” Secretes to Get Emails Opened and Read.

iphone displaying "Subject Line Science" bookcover

Seems like everyone’s been asking for this.

It’s a quick read, but it dives deep into my process for creating impossible-to-ignore subject lines.

When you devour the lessons in this book, you (or your marketing team) will have the tools to write must-open subject lines that win attention, make subscribers excited to read and open the door for big sales.

You’ll also get some of the AI prompts I’m playing around with to give you even more fresh subject line options.

One of the 11 “made you look” secrets revealed in the book is what I call the “Tootsie Roll center of persuasion.” Here’s an example:

You’ll get a whole lot more insight about this in the book.

Subject Line Science will be officially released on November 17.

But when you preorder the book now for just $9.99, you’ll also get access to 3 exclusive bonuses for free:

  1. The audiobook (also on November 17)
  2. 104 Steal these Subject Lines templates
  3. Big Ideas for Unforgettable Emails video training

If you take action, this information can transform your email marketing results AND your business as a whole.

Get more details and preorder Subject Line Science now to take advantage.

Have a productive day!

The Attention Game Starts Here

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Hooks that snag your reader instantly

Some days it seems like an impossible task, but…

Before you can accomplish ANYTHING with your copy, you have to win your reader’s attention.

Once you pull him in, you can take him wherever you want him to go.

With email, the subject line starts the attention-seeking mission.

On social media, you start with an arresting hook.

(As you may know, this falls under the category of Instigation, the first “I” in my 4-I Formula.)

Great hooks focus your attention, sparks strong curiosity and makes it hard for you to NOT invest a little time to find out what’s going on.

I recently did a training on copywriting for social media for a high-ticket coaching group.

I’d like to share the segment about writing hooks with you.

In the video, you’ll discover 12 hard-to-resist hooks ideas.

The training was specifically geared towards social media, but the ideas also work for email copy, articles, videos, etc.

I hope you find some inspiration – and that your engagement increases when you use these hook ideas.

Have a productive day!!

4 Copywriting Triggers for Instant Sales

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There are 4 triggers that instantly turn someone into a buyer:

Trigger 1: His wife says/implies “Bring home X and you’ll get… something special.”

Or on the flip side, “Bring home Y or I’m going to cry.”

Trigger 2: He sees your offer as an easy way to step into the identity he craves or amplify the part of his current identity he’s intensely passionate about.

You can make your reader connect the dots between your offer and his identity on his own…

Or you can make it more obvious.

Not enough copywriters intentionally appeal to identity. Most are too busy thinking about features and benefits.

I encourage you to be one of the elite few that leverage its power.

Trigger 3: When your copy reframes his problem in such a way that he realizes he’s been looking at it all wrong… but now that he understands, the solution (your product/service) is obvious.

Trigger 4: The Stack. There’s a lot of focus on what’s known as a value stack. I’m a fan of the lesser-known desire stack. Both work.

In the following video clip, I discuss these 4 triggers with copywriting expert Maria Lloyd.

Maria has written six-figure email campaigns for more than two dozen brands (you’d definitely recognize more than a few of them), with an average boost to ROI of more than 400 percent.

And now, for a limited time, Maria is teaching copywriters and ambitious entrepreneurs how to create and launch their own six figure email campaigns in her program, Crash Course to Cash.

To be more specific, the deadline is Friday, March 31 at 11:59PM Central.

When you sign up (for as little as $75 down), you’ll get access to a collection of deep-dive trainings to help you sharpen your copywriting sword and leverage those sales triggers we just talked about.

The, starting April 7, you’ll get 8 weeks of live, hands-on training with Maria and her team. She’ll work with you to help you learn the skills you need to write effective email copy AND you’ll actually be working as you go.

There’s no doubt in my mind this will be a life-changing training.

I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with Maria to help make Crash Course to Cash even more valuable. When you become part of this first cohort, you’ll also gain access to my Inbox X-Factor course.

Inbox X-Factor gives you 365 days’ worth of email ideas and inspiration… 100+ subject lines… and 10 video training modules revealing my personal strategies for writing emails with maximum selling power.

When I do make it available for sale again, I’m planning to charge between $200 and $300 for it. That’s a value stack for you.

You can’t buy Inbox X-Factor anywhere else right now, so if you’re interested in getting access, sign up here, plus get all the details about Crash Course to Cash.

Have a productive day!

13 Ways to Be Entertaining In Copy

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In my previous article, I mentioned that entertainment, experiences and escape are a priority for pretty much everybody…

And I kinda proved it’s true… but I didn’t really show you how to do it.

I’m not going to show you today, either. I just pulled an all-nighter finishing up a 68-page sales letter…

So I’m barely typing these words right now.

Here’s what I will do, though.

Let’s discuss what it means to “entertain” your readers with your copy – because it’s almost certainly different than you think…

And probably simpler than you think.

“Entertainment” in copy doesn’t necessarily mean trying to be funny, although that’s one option.

Entertainment, as I define it, is generating a desirable emotional reaction in your reader at some point in the copy.

So it can be humor, but it can also be:

  • Excitement – Most people are painfully bored all the time. Give them a jolt!
  • Connection – Reveal something you likely have in common with your reader. Growing affinity is a great thing.
  • Inspiration – Who doesn’t like feeling inspired?
  • Validation – People love finding out they’re right and/or that the right people agree with them.
  • Discovery – Education can go too far, but you want to help your reader feel like he’s stumbled across something valuable (especially something others haven’t discovered yet) when he reads your copy.
  • Nostalgia – I think everyone over 18 years old has fond memories of the “good old days.” Bring those memories to mind and your reader will associate you with those good feelings.
  • Curiosity – Curiosity creates its own discovery and positive emotional payoff when discover happens. Plus, once it’s sparked, curiosity is one of the hardest feelings to ignore.
  • Desire – Gets your heart pumping. Desire feels good, even before it’s satisfied.
  • Anger – Admit it, sometimes you WANT to be angry. And it feels good to be angry together.
  • Relief – If you can take away anxiety, pain or frustration, your reader will love you.
  • Story – An engaging story is an experience people gladly join along.
  • Hope – Help your reader believe his (immediate) future looks bright.

And the idea is to generate these desirable emotions consistently in your messaging over time that the reader WANTS to read before he even knows what your message is about.

He just knows he enjoys the experience of hearing from you, even if during those times he doesn’t buy from you.

Like Pavlov’s dog… ready for his tasty snack.

The good thing is, he’ll increasingly believe (partially unconsciously) buying from you or working with you will be even more emotionally fulfilling.

So that’s a quick overview of how I define entertainment in copy. Want more details? Check out this livestream recording:

See? There are lots of ways you can work it into your copy.

Now, have a productive and entertaining day!

P.S.

Next month, I’ll be speaking at Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever’s Black Millionaire Coach Live event in Washington DC.

It’s going to be an incredible 3-day event.

During my presentation, I’ll reveal the secrets to writing copy that attracts and converts high-ticket buyers.

(Previous copywriting experiences not required)

I’m excited to see lives and businesses TRANSFORMED and to be in the room with expert entrepreneurs on the verge of realizing their dreams.

Plus, I haven’t been on a physical stage since just before the pandemic. It’s good to be back!

If you’re a coach, consultant or service provider in the knowledge economy… and you’d like to add another zero to the end of your revenue number…

I encourage you to be there October 14-16.

It will be one of the best investments you ever make.