I’ve been watching Love is Blind… purely for research purposes.
Whether or not you enjoy this sort of entertainment, you can learn a lot by studying the content people have strong emotional reactions to, positive or negative.
(This is why a Netflix subscription should be tax deductible for marketers.)
We’re going to tackle the show’s most captivating aspect:
How can people fall in love & decide to get married in 10 days or less?
Because we want your should-be customers to fall in love with you enough to give you money… as quickly as possible.
The dynamics at play are FASCINATING — useful for your marketing efforts, too.
I’d like to share 5 actionable insights to make people fall for you fast.
These insights will be valuable for you even ifyou’ve never seen an episode of the show.
Check them out in the following video or read about them below.
Or both.
1. Pick the right folks (or let them select themselves)
One of the biggest reasons Love Is Blind “works” is that the producers have curated people looking for the specific outcome:
They want to find the love of their lives. They’re frustrated with the polluted dating pool and they’re actively looking for a solution.
As a marketing concept, this seems basic. But it’s shocking how often we lose sight of it.
In the first place, make sure your offer is something people have a strong desire for. It should help them achieve a dream they already have… or eliminate a pain point they’re already frustrated about.
You don’t need everyone to buy your product/service. Concentrate on the small percentage of the population that’s actively looking for the transformation you produce.
You could argue the Couples on Love Is Blind don’t really fall in love in mere days. Which is probably true. But they certainly develop strong attachments at warp speed.
And they do so based solely on the words they hear in their conversations.
One of the comments you hear on the show constantly is that cast members feel that their future fiancé knows them better than anyone else in their lives.
They feel understood. The feel seen. (Ironic, right?)
Humans crave that feeling… and we attach ourselves to those who make us feel that way.
You can use your words to have a similar effect in your marketing.
And that’s exactly what you need to do to make your prospects fall in love with your business or offer.
It’s more than just using “power words” or hyping up your product or service. It’s communicating a deep understanding, shared values and painting a vivid picture of the beautiful future that’s possible with you.
There’s another theory I feel like we need to address.
Another reason cast member fall in love so quickly can at least be partially explained by a psychological theory called “object relations.”
To keep it easy-breezy, object relations theory describes how someone can instantly form a deep emotional bond with a new person because the new person reminds them of an important emotional experience or relationship from their past.
Most people are constantly looking to recreate that feeling (even if they don’t consciously think about it) in the present.
Now…
It’s impossible to predict how this will work, especially when marketing to groups of people who each have their own unique pasts.
But what you can get close by going for nostalgia.
When you understand your ideal customer, you can predict certain things from the past they likely have strong feelings about.
Work these into your marketing… and even into you own personal brand.
For example, if you know your best customers loved Axel Foley in the 80’s… see if you can embody some of his characteristics in the way you present yourself.
It’s more powerful than you might think.
Google shared data finding that 75% of GenXers watch YouTube to relive the good ol’ days.
Think about ways you can add nostalgia to your marketing to attract prospects, hold their attention and (hopefully) win their business.
3. Use scarcity to position yourself as “The One”
One of the biggest motivators for cast members on Love Is Blind is that they have limited options… and they know it. There are just 15 men and 15 women in the group – and there’s plenty of potential competition.
Having too many options can prevent you from ever moving forward. You may always be looking for the next best thing.
Scarcity helps you focus.
There’s two ways you can use scarcity to help your ideal customers fall in love with you quickly.
Position yourself in a niche where you have few, if any, competitors. No one else delivers exactly what you do… for the exact people you do it for.
Use real limits in your business. Produce a limited quantity of a product… work with a limited number of clients… put a cap on the number of attendees of an event.
Don’t make up fake scarcity to trick people. Honest scarcity can be a spectacular motivator.
4. Commit to spending “Quality Time”
No matter how fast they fall in love, couples on Love Is Blind have to spend quality time together. The more time, the faster they build the bond.
You don’t really see it on the show, but the reality is that cast members can spend as much time as they like in the pods with the people they want to talk to. They don’t have to cram everything into 60-minute daily sessions or anything like that.
The same thing is true for you as an entrepreneur. Your prospects and customers need to spend time with you. It may be less time than you think, but you can’t expect to maximize your relationship with (and profit from) them with just an occasional text message.
You need to be consistent & frequent in your outreach.
The more “love letters” you send… the more marathon phone conversations… the more moonlit walks on the beach… the faster they can fall in love with you.
If you need help coming up with more ideas about topics to write about for emails and social content, check out Inbox X-Factor.
You’ll get access to weekly content plans (so you’ll ALWAYS have a timely topic to write about), proven subject line templates, video trainings and more.
5. Urgency
The Love Is Blind experiment would fall apart if cast members were given an infinite amount of time to propose marriage.
Cast members know they have a short amount of time – just 10 days – to get what they came for. They have to be decisive & take action to avoid missing out.
Urgency also works in marketing. Set real deadlines. Use (honest) countdown timers.
Let people know they don’t have an eternity to make a choice
Using urgency the right way can help everyone get what they want faster, both in relationships and in marketing.
There you go.
I hope you’ll take time TODAY to think about how you can put these insights into practice in your business.
Because they really can maximize the speed with which prospects become paying customers… the amount of money they’re eager to spend with you…
And the positive impact you’re able to have in their lives.
It’s also going to make some people a pile of money.
You get to decide which group you’re in.
(Hypothetically, you can be in both groups. Be angry and sin not.)
I’m going to share one surprising statistic (which you may have heard by now)…
One high-impact implication of that statistic…
And two action steps to leverage the current state of things into that pile of money I mentioned a second ago.
Here’s the startling statistic:
TikTok is now the #1 website on the planet in terms of traffic.
Maybe you aren’t surprised. I was straight-up flabbergasted.
But I shouldn’t have been.
Because, this lines up precisely with one of the lessons I’m constantly promoting:
Entertainment (which is so much more than just humor) is increasingly essential if you want to get and keep people’s attention.
And you can’t get anyone’s money legally without getting and keeping their attention.
Next point.
Google has FELT unbeatable as the world’s top website. People need to know stuff or find stuff, and Big G dominates as a provider of answers and information.
I’m no TikTok expert, but it doesn’t seem particularly search-based (that’s standard for social media).
The platform intentionally and aggressively serves you novel content… and although your interactions inform what the algorithm delivers…
The masses – probably including your should-be buyers – are making time in their schedules for this content… at the same time as complaining there aren’t enough hours in the day.
Think about it.
That doesn’t mean you need to start a TikTok account. That’s up to you to decide.
If you go that route, just watch the ROI on the time you spend there and make the right decision for you.
(Entertainment/enjoyment IS value, so you gotta factor that in, too.)
Here Are Your Action Steps
1. Your potential clients crave entertainment. And they’re going to get it somewhere. Might as well get it from YOU.
Again, that doesn’t just mean humor. It definitely doesn’t mean you have to dance on camera.
Don’t expect people to pay attention to you for long when there are more entertaining options out there. You can be more qualified, more intelligent, more honest… and still lose.
2. Millions of people open TikTok every day… to see videos from people they don’t even follow. The algorithm FORCES videos on users.
So when people say they only want one email a week from you…
Don’t just believe them.
Most of your readers will likely consume your content (email or otherwise) every single day… as long as you’re sending them stuff crave as much as their next TikTok binge.
Shoot, you could even send them an email linking to your latest Tiktok video.
It’s not time to be shy.
It’s time to step up to the plate and consistently deliver valuable marketing and content in packaging your people will devour.
A smart entrepreneur asked me a question you might be wondering about right now:
“What are some subject lines to use for my Black Friday emails?”
I had some ideas and examples to share. I thought I’d share them with you.
(What can I say? I’m thoughtful like that.)
Depending on your offer, here are a few ways you can approach your Black Friday subject lines (that’s plural because I hope you’re sending multiple emails):
1) Only 3 hours left for [offer]
Lead with strong urgency. A screaming deadline is a great motivator.
I usually prefer more intrigue in a subject line, but for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, people are actively looking to spend money. So I have no reservations.
Don’t offer a discount on a product/service — offer a discount on that transformation.
The distinction is huge, even for e-commerce store owners.
Example:
Oh So Silky Smooth Hair: 40% Off thru Friday
“Goat Herder to Royalty” Blueprint: special discount
#1 Secret for Meeting Good, Good Clean Girls (and save 50%)
3) Lead with guarantee
If you’re feeling enthusiastic, maybe you come up with a unique Black Friday guarantee. If not, you can use your regular risk reversal as a unique way to grab attention for your offer.
Example:
Find Love in 40 Days, Guaranteed (ends at midnight)
30-Days Risk Free: Mop Stick Self-Defense Mastery
Special Guarantee: 200% Money-Back until 11/24
4) Specific amount dollar savings
It’s easy to forget this one.
The truth is, most people can’t instantly do percentages in their heads. And they’re probably not pulling out calculators.
Make it plain for them, especially if your discount is less than 50%.
Example:
$10 off Cleo’s Delicious Pigs in a Blanket
Save $400 on tickets to Zamunda
5) Testimonial subject line and email body copy
If you can find a one-liner from a customer success story or review, you can probably make a strong subject line.
Then use that testimonial to tell a story demonstrating the value of your Black Friday offer. Let your buyers do the bragging for you.
I recommend using quotation marks catch the reader’s eye and signify there’s a story inside.
Example:
“To be loved… Oh, what a feeling!”
“That’s when the BIG bucks start rolling in.”
Success Story: “My son works!”
6) Announce video demonstration plus special offer
Or they’re not clear on exactly what they’re getting.
Can you answer those questions and erase those doubts with a video demonstration.
Example:
[Video] Finding Queen’s Common Parts – plus a special offer
LIVE: Marrying an African Prince (and a limited-time discount)
— — —
I know, that was a lot.
Hopefully there’s something helpful in there.
Again, you should be sending several emails, so you can try a few different angles.
If you have time, I encourage you to A/B test, so you can try 2 version for each email touch. Send them to 20 or 25% of your list and let the winner go out to everyone else.
Interested in seeing my best, most swipeable subject lines? Check out my Subject Line of the Day videos. Here’s the latest addition:
What’s a subject line that works to get people to sign up for a webinar?
What are the best subject lines to sell high-ticket coaching?
What’s a good subject line I can use to invite people to my nephew’s bar mitzvah?
There’s rarely one clear-cut winner that works in every situation, but I can usually share a handful of suggestions based on my experience.
But since entrepreneurs and other copywriters are constantly asking me that question…
I came up with an easy way to share some of the best subject lines I’ve written… and some of the best I’ve read from other top marketers.
Sharing My Top “Subject Line of the Day” Candidates
… as Youtube Shorts.
I’ve committed to uploading a video every day for the next 100 days… so this is going to become a valuable resource over time.
This has been the most popular one so far:
I want to point out another one I think deserves special attention.
Everyone’s heard of “fearof missing out,” right? This subject line example flips FOMO on its head and addresses the lesser-known “fear of holding on too long.”
Check it out:
Get a bunch of email marketing ideas, inspiration and insights in a flurry of 1-minute videos.
If you take my suggestions, you’ll have more than 3 months worth of subject lines — and that’s if you email your list daily. If you’re mailing weekly, that’s 2 YEARS of subject line templates.
Email less than once a week… shame on you.
I encourage you to subscribe to my channel to decrease the chance that you’ll miss any of these copywriting nuggets.
Full disclosure: I may not share any good bar mitzvah subject lines in the first 100 days.
This will also be a great opportunity for you to see every shirt I have in my wardrobe. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
**Update: Here are all the subject lines in swipeable format**
I decided to do 101 videos — and a few of them highlighted 2 or 3 subject lines.
Several people have shown me their open rates shooting through the roof…
… and one brother told me he’s ADDICTED now.
But I know it takes a long time to watch 101 videos — and it’s impossible to quickly scan through and see if one fits for the email you’re sending out today.
So I’ma hook y’all up…
Here are all 101 subject lines from my Subject Line of the Day series:
A tour of my $200k office
Is THIS the missing piece of your [BLANK]
The Rise & Fall of [BLANK]
Since you didn’t watch the video
Steal these Subject Lines
[Name], here’s your private invitation
5.99… SERIOUSLY, [NAME]
Real estate ISN’T the best investment right now
Have you given up on this, [NAME]
Getting revenge in marriage
Your advisor would NEVER show you this chart
3,000-year old tonic melts 33 lbs in 28 days
A six-figure shortcut for rookies
The “more sex” shortcut for horny husbands
I made a grown man cry on Christmas Eve
… and they left the cocaine
Are you on Facebook, [NAME]?
Know, Like & Trust is a LIE
The $7 Biden Survival Blueprint
3 Email Secrets from My $17M Year
My #1 Rule: Don’t Buy Options
[NAME], did you mean to miss this?
Homeless folks need Netflix, too
Another Pawnshop Christmas
The Truth About [Well-Known Person]
The Stupidity of Going Vegan
Copy-Paste JPMorgan’s 99.52% Winning Trades
Cooking video goes BAD
It took lots of wine to make this happen
Grant Cardone is an idiot
This is why your cold emails get ignored
He earns $500 a Day from YouTube
don’t EVER do this
The most dangerous idea in finance right now
A Nice Guy’s Guide to Manipulating Others
Breaking: 4 shampoo brands cause Alzheimer’s
Thank God for Russian hackers
10X More Valuable Than the Internet?
Final hours to save 27%
Get Drunk and Make 4X Your Money
Reverse Engineering a ??? Real Estate Biz
If I could only buy one book this year
Top 10 Stocks for 2022
Do Not Take Vitamin D (unless…)
The Almost-Perfect Sales Call Script
10 Reasons to Stop Picking Stocks
Oops! (I can’t believe I let this happen)
Urgent: Don’t file your taxes just yet
5 Reasons Your Man Is Tired of You
Email Copy Secrets that Are Better than Sex
Do you make these mistakes with cold calling?
[NAME], You’ve Been Upgraded
Thank You, [NAME]
“You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid”
Time Flies When You’re Having Rum
This family has 6 billionaires. Here’s how they did it
Are you coming, [NAME]? // See you tonight, [NAME]
Scam of the century, Paris 1925
How the richest get richer every single day
Nearly Triple Your Profits… Automatically
“The Best Strategy I’ve Ever Seen”
Your First Profits from Stock Options
Airline CEO confesses… the end is near
Being broke on Mother’s Day sucks
Freedom First. Safety third
Tired? Stop overdosing on coffee
[Name] Get Your Free Book Today // Should I Give Your Copy to Someone Else? // Where Should I Send This? ($0 Shipping)
The 1 Reason Why I Make 300 Times More Money Than Most Kindle Publishers (Just This 1 Thing)
The “top secret” Google-military play
Dept. of Energy calls this a game-changer
Bill Gates Wants to Nuke the World
Sell These Stocks By 9:30am ET Monday // Sell These Stocks Right Now // Dump These Stocks ASAP
Almost anyone can “cash in” on real estate now
WARNING: This New Tech Could Be Hidden on Your Phone
The noise. It’s not going away
Free Ticket for [NAME]
Ooh, you’re expensive [NAME]
Why So Many Women Cheat on their Husbands
You’re Taking Viagra and Don’t Even Know It
“Bazooka Jay” breaks all the rules
Leaked Game of Thrones Episode Reveals Controversial Marketing Truth
This is SO screwed up, [NAME]
The Lies that Hold You Back
Death by Lottery Win
The George Costanza School of Client Attraction // Clark Kent Guide to Sneakily Strong Copy
1000s of companies are BEGGING for this tech
President’s Secret to Protecting his Prostate
10 Commandments of [BLANK] // 7 Deadly Sins of [BLANK]
They’re Spying on Your Children
Alert: West Nile Virus Reported
My Life As a Psychopath
How Often Should You Email Your List
My boldest prediction yet // 7 Shocking Predictions for [Event]
How to murder your perfectionism
5 tips to get over your fear of writing
I Sent This to the Vatican 10 Minutes Ago
Bitcoin isn’t the bubble. It’s the pin!
This should change in your marriage every 90 days
You have $20 in your account
Why most people are constantly REBUILDING their business
What if the open rate on your next email hit 67% within minutes of sending it to your list?
Seems like a reason to get excited.
You might start thinking about all the orders that are about to start pouring in.
Guess what. There’s a good chance you’ll start seeing numbers like that in the near future. But it’s not because two-thirds of your subscribers are opening your emails…
This is one of the immediately apparent effects of Apple’s soon-to-release iOS 15 update.
Every one of your readers who checks email from Apple Mail (even if they have non-Apple emails like Gmail or Yahoo) could have their emails marked as open…
The most recent data I’ve seen indicates that could be almost 50% of your list!
Source: Litmus’ Email Client Market Share in July 2021
Here’s What You Need to Know
I recorded a video about iOS 15 back in June. It reveals some insights and actionable tips to help you navigate the coming changes.
Here’s the gist of it: starting as soon as mid-September, you won’t be able to trust open rates AT ALL…
And any marketing efforts you’re doing based on open rates will have to go back to the proverbial drawing board:
split testing subject lines…
segmenting engaged vs. unengaged (a ton of E-com store owners live by this one)…
resending to non-openers…
triggered emails…
…and more.
One of the shifts email marketers will have to make is focusing on clicks rather than open rates.
And one of the skills you (or your copy team) will need to is the ability to write emails that get clicked.
This has ALWAYS been important to drive sales.
But post-iOS 15… clickthroughs will be essential for testing, tracking and segmenting.
Otherwise, you’re sending emails in the dark.
For the unprepared, it’s about to be pandemonium out here.
If email makes up any percentage of your revenue, you have to start getting ready NOW.
On September 6, 2021, I’ll gave a live training on Zoom to show you how I write click-magnet emails. We even wrote one live during the training! Watch the recording here.
In recent emails, 19.3%… 26.1%… even 33.6% of my readers have clicked through.
(That’s a lot of sales opportunities, and it gives me a lot of engagement data I can use for testing, tracking and segmenting.)
I’ll also walk you through 4 more critical steps you need to take to navigate the new reality.
If you struggle getting clicks, this training will be good for you.
If you rely on 30-day or 60-opens to segment your emails list, this training will be good for you.
If you’re a copywriter or marketing strategist whose clients or potential clients depend on email to make sales, this training will be good for you — and could really make you stand out from your competitors who know nothing about this topic.
“I haven’t consistently emailed my list for a long time. What can I do to revive folks who’ve gone cold?”
The question came up again in mastermind I do copy coaching for. A mastermind member asked how to reengage subscribers who hadn’t opened an email in 180 days or more.
I thought you might get value from the response I shared.
One note before I get to that.
As you know, most of those inactive subscribers are probably out of the picture. Make sure you’re using your best ideas on the engaged portion of your list, where you have the greatest chance of success.
That said, how do you save the small percentage of inactives you may still have a shot with?
Here’s how I normally play it:
1) Come up with the most enticing offer you can make.
Plan to send a short (2 or 3 message) sequence to the unengaged segment. I’d consider subs unengaged after 90 days.
2) Communicate the crazy offer with crazy subject lines.
As we’ve discussed around here someplace, subject lines like the following tend to get noticed and opened at a high rate:
I’m sorry
DANG! I messed up
I can’t believe I let this happen
You can also try more direct, emotional subject lines like:
Did I do something wrong?
Do you hate me?
Or more aggressive challenge-type subject lines like:
FirstName, should I give your spot to someone else?
Should I take you off my list?
I’m kicking you off my list in 48 hours
These can work like a charm. They make people mad, so you may have some blowback from that, but at least the angry folks will make a choice to reengage or get lost.
Also, specific subject lines about the offer itself, mentioning super low cost, free offer, etc. can generate lots of interest.
A recent example that worked incredibly well was
“5.99…SERIOUSLY, FirstName?!” (It also worked with $497 as the price point.)
3) Again, I’d make this a 2 or 3 message sequence.
Mix up the subject lines to hit them from multiple angles: (ex. Email 1: I’m sorry; Email 2: offer-based; Email 3: you’re toast in 48 hours)
4) I’d probably ignore them after that.
I usually delete super old people from the list, but clients sometimes keep them on an inactive file for ad targeting purposes.
5) Going forward, treat people as unengaged after 60 days (90 days worst case).
Because anyone who’s ignored 2 months of consistent communication is unlikely to suddenly get re-engaged without switching up tactics (like we’re talking about in this thread).
Now…
There are a couple other tricky moves you can use, but some of them are more likely to get people’s attention for the wrong reason.
1) Try an unexpected FROM name instead of what you usually use.
There are differing opinions on this tactic. I don’t think you want to change it up all that often. It’s a solid tactic when used in moderation.
You can put the offer in the From line. A client of mine used “Your Free Book” as the From line (sending to the regular list, not unengaged) and found it boosted opens and total sales.
I’ve used the Easter Bunny…Santa Claus… my son’s name… just weird stuff to catch people off guard and generate curiosity.
Or you can try something like “Support” or “Customer Service” generically. The subscriber may think it’s more of a transactional email and pay attention as a result.
Which leads me to…
2) Use a transactional-sounding subject line.
The kind of subject lines you get from a service you subscribe to, or from your credit card company or bank.
“About Your Account” has gotten huge open rates — but if the subscriber feels like you’ve tricked him, he may not be in the buying mood.
This is a bit of a dirty trick. Use your discretion when considering rolling it out.
3) One of my best parting subject lines…
I used this one many times and it consistently performs well.
“Have you given up on this?” is a great subject line when you’re getting ready to end a promo… or the relationship with an unengaged subscriber.
It’s a bit of an ego challenge and definitely a FOMO reminder.
Stole that one from Chris Voss’ book, Never Split the Difference.
— — —
That’s it.
If these subject lines suggestions and email ideas were helpful and you’d like more content like this, check out Inbox X-Factor.
In addition to subject line templates and a weekly email calendar to save you time and effort having to come up with topics to write about…
You get video trainings to help you make your emails even more profitable.
I’m working on a brand-new video outlining my Consumption Maximization sequence, which I recently used double total click-throughs and nearly 5X total consumption of the content I wanted my list to see… with almost no additional effort.
(If you’ve been on my list since March, you were part of the experience and didn’t even know it.)
You’ll get all that and more inside Inbox X-Factor.
I could talk about email all day. But I know you have things to do, so I’ll leave you to it.
When people say “email is dead” you can pretty much always ignore them.
They’re probably selling a new shiny object (or they’re just mad they haven’t figured it out).
Recently, you may have heard a bunch of conversations with a similar apocalyptic tone.
Many entrepreneurs and marketers are freaking out about how Apple’s coming iOS 15 update will affect your email marketing.
If you haven’t heard these conversations yet, you soon will. Because the impact will be big.
I recorded a video explaining what iOS 15 and Mail Privacy Protection are, along with insights and actionable tips to help you navigate the coming changes.
If email makes up any percentage of your revenue, you have to prepare NOW
Because soon, the split tests you’ve been doing won’t work.
Most of the segments you’re building for your email list will be scrambled.
Your re-engagement campaigns will be pointless.
The iOS 15 update will turn the email world upside down — and it looks like the changes could go live as early as mid-September.
I’m revealing 5 steps you need to take to protect your profits on Monday, September 6th.
None of the email experts I’ve seen are talking about the most important adjustment you need to make. I’ll show you what it is AND how to do it on during this training.
