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.
Wanna know why you’re not closing more sales than you are right now?
I haven’t dug into your business, but I can tell you one reason.
Imposter syndrome.
Quick story.
I recently had a conversation with a guy I’ve known for about 20 years named Allen. We kinda came up together. Even had the same job at the same company on two separate occasions.
Over the past few years, our incomes really started to diverge. I regularly offered advice and encouragement. But he never seemed to be able to change course.
During this conversation last week, Allen inadvertently gave me a hint about why he was stuck.
“I’m not like you, Donnie,” he snapped at me.
Which is just plain false for a whole bunch of reasons.
As I said, we kinda came up together, worked some of the same jobs, etc.
(And yes, I realize this sounds a lot like scene between Derek and Chi from Save the Last Dance, but this is real life.)
Anyway, the point is this.
Over the years, the greater the difference between our incomes, the LESS he paid attention to the advice I gave him.
In his mind, he believed those ideas, strategies and resources wouldn’t work for him… because he’s not like me.
Imposter syndrome rears its hideous head.
Guess what.
The moral of this story applies to your marketing and your business.
Because YOU suffer from imposter syndrome.
There’s the twist.
I didn’t say you HAVE imposter syndrome.
But you almost certainly suffer from it…
Because your should-be clients have it.
They may listen to your advice. They may respond well to your encouragement. But many of them simply cannot bring themselves to change course.
They don’t believe your ideas, strategies and resources will work for them.
Because they’re not like YOU.
This Amazon review is a funny example… and sad at the same time.
This reviewer’s own self-doubt is blocking him from getting valuable information from the very people who have achieved the results he’s looking for.
But he just can’t see it.
How Do You Defeat Their Imposter Syndrome?
The brutal truth is that you won’t be able to beat in for a big chunk of your audience.
I get nervous every time mention this. But I trust you to do the right thing.
2) Tell more stories that illustrate that you really ARE like your reader. Or, at least you used to be.
Again, some people won’t be able to clear that hurdle. Don’t worry about it. The ones who get it will get it. And you may compel a brave minority to take action in spite of their self-doubt.
3) Show them examples of other people who really are like them. Detailed testimonials can go a long way here.
4) Make it insanely easy and low-risk to take the first step.
Offer a sample. A free or low-cost trial. A courageous money-back guarantee.
If it makes sense, maybe even offer to partner with them to get the result they’re looking for.
Get them to take the first step and they may come to see that, “hey, maybe I AM like you, Donnie.”
Knowing, liking and trusting the seller can help. But it plays a supporting role, not the leading role.
Don’t act like you’ve never bought merchandise from a hustle man who you’ve never met and have no reason to trust.
If you have what someone really wants, they’ll talk often themselves into buying regardless of other considerations.
That’s the reason Know-Like-Trust is dangerous.
You spend an inordinate amount of time, money and energy trying to get “known” rather than creating a desirable offer.
You postpone making an offer until you feel you’ve built up enough K-L-T first.
Truth is, many of your would-be buyers are bored with you by the time you’re ready to make an offer.
Trust is important. But no one buys something they don’t want just because they trust the person selling it.
If you offer something that improves people’s lives, you don’t have to “earn” the right to sell it to them.
The longer you wait, they longer they’re missing out on the benefits of your offer.
Imagine Moderna (a company you don’t know) and Pfizer (which NO ONE likes and few people trust) waiting to make their vaccines available until they’d crossed some arbitrary Know-Like-Trust threshold…
Doesn’t work like that.
People begged to get those jabs. Stood in line for hours to get them.
Because they desire protection — and getting back to “normal” life.
What does your ideal customer really want? Show them how to get it.
And whoever paints the clearest picture of a specific desirable outcome wins.
P.S. Share this revelation with your business buddies. They need to know the truth too!
Your life is about to get a little easier, my friend.
Starting today.
I’m going to remind you about something you may already know…
Then I’ll share a distinction you may have never thought of. One that could seriously simplify your sales and marketing efforts.
Let’s dive in.
As a student of the persuasion game, I’m sure you already know that emotions drive buying decisions.
If you have never heard this before, today’s your lucky day. Because now you know.
If you thought the air-tight logic of your sales argument is what seals your deals, today’s your lucky day. Because now you know better.
(If you feel the need to cling to this theory, check out where you swipe your own credit cards. You’ll see your feelings’ fingerprints all over the receipts.)
Here’s an old video covering this in greater detail, along with 5 specific emotions worth targeting.
The question that naturally comes up is…
How do you create emotion with copy? – especially when your product or service is “boring”?
Which is just one way we make sales and marketing more complicated than it needs to be.
The solution is simple.
Talk about topics your ideal customers are already emotional about. The stronger the emotions, the better.
To make it even simpler, I refer you to Body, Bank and Boo.
Everyone already has strong feelings, positive or negative, about their:
Body (physical, mental and emotional health)
Bank (making or saving money, other work-related stuff)
Boo (love life and other relationships)
They already have:
dreams and desires…
pains and problems…
fears and frustrations…
…about their Body, Bank, and Boo.
Get familiar with your should-be customers. You’ll discover which Body dreams… which Bank problems… which Boo frustrations they have the strongest feelings about. Which they’re most desperate to address.
See how that works?
You don’t have to be very creative. You don’t have to be a Donnie Bryant-level copywriter. And you don’t have to resort to overhype or dishonesty to get your prospects in the buying mood.
So, this writer got tricked into watching Bridgerton a couple weeks ago.
Have you watched it? (If not, don’t worry. There are no spoilers here.)
Personally, I didn’t feel like it lived up to the hype.
That won’t stop me from getting a Duke of Hastings costume for Halloween. Think I can pull it off?
Seriously though…
There was one element I found really compelling, and it can boost your profitability if you can emulate it.
I’ve dubbed it the Whistledown Effect
A.K.A, how to get everyone in town to read your letters.
Now, if you haven’t seen the show, Lady Whistledown is the character who more or less drives the entire plot. She writes and distributes a gossip column that has the whole ‘Ton buzzing.
That column is the only reason the main characters get together in the first place.
So what’s the secret? How does Lady Whistledown get everyone to voraciously read every word she writes?
More importantly, how can you use the Whistledown Effect to get (and keep) more eyeballs on your copy and content?
Here are a few keys:
1. Talk about your reader
In Bridgerton, Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers are all about the people in town. You never knew when you’d see your name pop up.
When you write copy or content, it’s should be all about the reader. You may not be calling them by name (although it’s a good idea to use personalization where possible)…
You should write about the issues your reader is facing in his life today… the pains and problems he wants to get rid of… the dreams and desires he wants so badly to attain.
He needs to be able to see himself, his reality and his desired outcome in the copy you send him.
Too many entrepreneurs focus on themselves, their products or their business. The reader doesn’t care much about those things. And why should he?
If you want the reader’s attention and continued interest, talk about him and those things that concern him specifically.
2. Reveal juicy secrets
Whistledown also dropped bombshells about the hidden personal lives of Bridgerton characters — including the Queen herself. Humans have a hard time resisting secrets.
Your copy should at least at secret things. Lessons the reader won’t hear anywhere else. Hidden solutions no one else knows about. Facades that have everyone fooled… but you’re about to enlighten them about.
Of course, you may not reveal the secret until after the reader hits the buy button.
3. Be surprising
If the reader thinks he knows what you’re going to talk about, or he knows the secret you plan to unveil, he’s a lot less likely to pay attention. He already knows that stuff.
Be unpredictable. Be polarizing. Ruffle some feathers.
Think of the great marketers and communicators you know. You were never sure what they were going to say or how they might say it. But you knew it would be good.
Lady Whistledown rarely disappointed. That’s why her readers were so rabidly loyal.
Dear reader, make sure every message you craft has something surprising in it.
I honestly didn’t realize the big game was happening yesterday, but that won’t stop me from jumping on the “lessons from the Super Bowl” trend.
Here are a few marketing concepts you can better appreciate right after a public spectacle like this.
You can probably guess what a direct response guy like me is going to say. But you’d be wrong today. ?
1. It’s helpful to build an audience
Word on the street is that 30-second commercial spots during the game cost $5.5 million.
Why? Because there are literally millions of eyeballs glued to the screen to see them. And people are trained to actually watch these commercials. Where else does that happen?
The lesson for you, of course, is to start building your own audience — preferably an email list. Get intentional, even aggressive about it.
Your list (and the interest+trust you’ve earned from it) is your greatest asset as a business owner.
2. Focus on entertainment value (which makes #1 easier)
This is about both the game and the commercials.
All those millions of people watch because they want to be entertained. That’s really the only benefit they get from watching — especially for people who didn’t have parties this year.
People have been conditioned to pay attention to advertising messages during the Super Bowl because they’re designed to be entertaining.
How profitable they are is debatable (and in many cases impossible to determine).
But there’s no debate that entertaining marketing messages CAN be profitable. In fact, I’d argue that pretty much all entrepreneurs would benefit from adding some entertainment value to their marketing… and a majority are actively hurting themselves by neglecting to do so.
People have better things to do than be bored by your marketing in 2021
3. Leverage the “love-hate” in your target audience
The moment I realized the game was today was when my next door neighbor told me “I hope Brady loses tonight. I’m tired of that guy.“
A good percentage of Super Bowl viewers felt the same way.
That love-to-hate character is in itself entertaining. People will pay attention to your message if you talk to them about something or someone they’re ready to see eat some AstroTurf.
(I’d bet that 50% of the money Floyd Mayweather’s made in the past 5 years is from people who were hoping to see him get knocked out. His anti-fans have put millions of dollars in his pockets.)
Who’s the bad guy you can trash talk in your marketing to keep engaged — and spending money?
Think about it. Then do something with it.
Have a productive day.
P.S. It’s kinda weird I forgot about the game, considering Inbox X-Factor focuses on turning current events into email ideas. But I look more for the less obvious stories.
Anyone can tell you to write an email about the Super Bowl.
But how many people are showing you how to write an email about the couple who got married underwater in India last week?
What was your initial reaction to the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma — or even just discussions about it?
(I’m assuming you’ve had at least one discussion about it. Seems like everyone was talking about it a few weeks ago.)
Here’s a review I saw that captures a snippet of the conversations I had after the film was released:
“This exposes truths about big data, manipulation, & warnings from the people who designed Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Everyone should definitely watch this to understand how these social media platforms are using us and how Humanity will be destroyed by Technology in the near future.”
A lot of people are “mad” at the social media companies, which Netflix should be counted amongst.
As a marketer, what was YOUR reaction?
The proper response should have been inspiration.
Because the film is practically a field guide illustrating how to build an army of happy little addicts…
And we marketers should be taking notes.
Do you want your own army of happy addicts?
You can start taking notes right here, right now.
(BTW, I’m curious to know what your reaction to THAT statement was. Leave a comment and let me know.)
I’ll just briefly hit on a few points that are especially important.
What’s Wrong with an Echo Chamber?
One of the big criticisms leveled by the producers of The Social Dilemma is that Facebook and others feed you more and more stories to reinforce a particular opinion… one that you hold already.
News flash: humans already do this automatically. It’s called confirmation bias.
People enjoy the feeling of being right, smart, and on the right side. The crave it.
You should harness that reality.
When planning out your messaging, you must use your ideal customer’s view of reality as the starting point.
Don’t fight your prospect’s brain.
Stake Your Claim
To a certain extent, you have to own real estate in your prospect’s mind.
How do you do that? Through regular, consistent, engaging communication.
Our brains are biased towards information we’ve heard recently and repeatedly.
You’ve heard that a lie told often enough is believed. But it’s not about the lie. It’s about the repetition.
A few things you can do to claim more real estate between your prospect’s ears:
Frequent communication via email, YouTube, social channels. You don’t have to use them all, but the more you use, the more you can dominate your prospect’s time and the more opportunities you’ll have to reinforce your ideas.
If possible, be present in the physical environment. Get a book, a t-shirt, a printed checklist, something physical into homes or offices. When you can do that, you’re in a rare group — and as a result, people convince themselves you’re more important.
Studies also show there’s a stronger and longer-lasting neurological response to physical marketing (e.g. direct mail) over digital version of the same ads.
Impact ONE THING that’s part of your prospect’s daily routine. Now you own part of his day.
A recent poll found that 80% of people check their phones before doing anything else in the morning. It’s a routine set by social media (and email).
What part of the day can you own?
By the Power Vested in Me
A huge reason The Social Dilemma is so hard-hitting is that it’s filled with admissions from THE experts on this topic: the people who designed these addictive apps.
People are eager to defer to authorities and experts, sometimes without even realizing it.
I’ve talked about authority several times in the past, so I’ll just mention one important point.
Your personal story — how you came to experience and understand the idea you’re trying to share — is likely to carry more weight than scientific studies (which make fantastic supporting arguments).
Your story makes you an authority, whether or not you have credentials or position.
Now listen…
This topic can make some people squeamish. I get it. Most people don’t want to feel manipulative.
As a marketer, it probably happens more than you think.
(Civilians don’t really understand what we do.)
I remember sitting in church with my family a few years ago… when the preacher — who happened to be my father-in-law — started railing on the vile schemes of marketers.
Free trials, for example.
Marketers know some people won’t cancel before the free trial is over, so why do we “trick” people into spending money that way?
That part of the sermon probably only lasted 2 or 3 minutes… but it seemed much longer.
I know marketing isn’t evil — I dealt with that false belief long ago.
But it was still uncomfortable.
Good thing the preacher didn’t call me out by name.
The church is full of civilians who don’t understand what I do, so I’m pretty sure no one knew he was talking about me.
He probably didn’t even know he was talking about me!
Has anything like that happened to you?
(If you have a good story, please reply to this email and share. I’d love to hear it.)
Let me clear up a few things.
Copywriting and marketing are NOT evil.
You probably already know that or you wouldn’t have signed up to hear from me.
Marketing is leadership… and I know you’re using it to improve people’s lives
Better marketing = more lives transformed for the better.
If you’re selling something that helps people, promoting it aggressively makes the world a better place.
Free will always wins.
We marketers can’t force anyone to act against their own best interests.
All we can do is paint a clear picture of a specific outcome our should-be buyer already wants… and make it as easy as possible for him to say “yes”
Jonathan Edwards, an 18th century preacher (which makes him a little older than my father-in-law), wrote that people…
“…always act according to the strongest inclination they have at the moment of choice.“
You make the big bucks when you can create moments of choice where the reader’s strongest inclination is to buy your offer.
Email gives you the best opportunity to create moments strong inclination… over and over
I recorded a video describing a few of my best techniques for doing exactly that.
One of the strategies is what I call intense opportunity curiosity…
Which was the real secret behind the $218,337 5-email campaign I told you about last week.
This video training will be exclusively available to Inbox X-Factor members.
No big sales pitch. I still haven’t written the sales page.
But if you’d like to learn more about how I’ve been making MORE money with email instead of less (which so many people are complaining about these days)…
You’ll want to see the video I’m uploading tomorrow.
Plus, you get weekly email plans… winning subject line templates… and more.
$99 a month (no contracts) is a small investment to help you make your email list significantly more profitable — and to spend less time doing it.
Just one of the ways I’m striving to make the world a better place.
Your should-be customer or client has developed a sophisticated system for NOT buying from you.
(The system is deadly effective, even though he was hardly aware that he was building it.)
One of the main components of this system is disbelief. No surprise, right?
But what most marketers don’t consider is that disbelief comes in two flavors:
1. Disbelief about your or your product/service
and
2. Disbelief about his own ability or worthiness to experience the transformation you promise.
In other words…
Your prospect can believe that you help save marriages… and disbelieve you can save HIS marriage.
To neutralize this part of the anti-buying system, you have to
1. Prove that you can deliver a result
and
2. Prove that you can deliver a result FOR HIM.
I want to talk about #2
How do you do it?
Identify the B.S. stories he tells himself… about himself.
A significant percentage of your prospects will never buy from you — not because they don’t want what you’re selling or because they don’t believe you’re good at what you do…
… but because of their limiting (dis)beliefs.
*All figures are estimates
Some generic B.S. stories include
“I’ve failed before, so trying again is pointless”
“I’m not smart/handsome/wealthy enough”
“People who look like me don’t/can’t do that”
“I haven’t paid my dues yet”
“I don’t deserve to be rich/happy because I did XYZ in the past”
You can uncover more specific crippling B.S. stories by talking (or having your team talk) with people in your target audience.
Get on the phone. Send surveys (but take responses with a grain of salt). Spy on them online (social media, Reddit, Amazon reviews, etc.).
You’ll gain fascinating insight you can to overcome objections in your copy.
Showcase People Like Him Who Got the Result
Once you know some of the B.S. stories, find examples about people who contradict those stories.
The more unbelieving prospect see himself reflected in your marketing messages — including his dreams, challenges, and B.S. stories — the more your message will resonate…
And the weaker his disbelief will become.
Leverage A Unique Mechanism
Position your offer as a special, proven approach your prospect has never seen before.
Show him why it’s different — and why other solutions fail.
Your unique solution helps him understand why he may have struggled in the past. And it can give him hope for future success.
Make it Ridiculously Easy to Take the First Step…
Offer a sample. A free or low cost trial. A 7-day challenge.
One of the main reasons people fail is because they never MOVE. Get them to take the first step and you unlock optimism and even confidence by default.
That confidence can force your prospect to re-examine his disbelief — especially if you…
Give Him a Quick Win
Provide information or action steps that will give him some forward momentum.
It only takes a little… and you can deliver it right inside your marketing copy if you like.
This give the prospect more confidence and trust in you. More importantly, it builds confidence and trust in his own ability to reach his goal.
An obviously you’re the person best equipped to help him do it.
Now, there’s something to be said for not convincing anyone who’s not already sure he wants to work with you.
But no matter how you approach your own business growth, it’s helpful to identify the disbelief and B.S. stories that hold your prospects (and customers) back.
You can work that knowledge into your marketing or use it to improve results inside your paid offers.
I hope this helps you grow in one way or the other.
Have a productive day.
P.S. Overcoming a prospect’s disbelief in this way is part of “killing them softly” with their own song.
So an irresistible offer should be driven by “desire stacking.”
Which brings me back the offer I mentioned at the beginning of this email.
One of the most attractive, no-brainer offers I’ve ever seen.
A chance to rent out the mansion from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
You may have seen this. Airbnb posted the link about a week ago, and Will Smith gave a video tour on YouTube on Monday.
When you see this, what’s your instant reaction?
For me — and countless people like me — the response is…
1st: WHERE DO I SIGN UP?
2nd: Please, God. Let me get a spot before they’re sold out.
I did not wonder how much it costs (and I definitely didn’t try to compare price vs. other lodging in the area).
Flying cross-country in a pandemic didn’t dampen my excitement.
If I could have grabbed a spot, nothing would have stopped me from booking a night.
Of course, different people have different responses. But for the right people, this offer is totally irresistible.
And the core reasons the Fresh Prince mansion is a no-brainer… are the same reasons behind most offers that are too sweet to ignore.
Let’s quickly break down 4 of them.
1. Status
Your offer should raise your prospect’s status — in his own eyes or the eyes of others.
When he says “yes,” what does he get that instantly makes him feel better about himself… like he’s just jumped to the next level (or at least finally discovered the elevator)?
How will he look to his (future) wife? His kids? His golf buddies. His competitors?
What will he have that others WISH they had?
A few bonus ebooks ain’t gonna get it.
2. Story Factor
Does buying from you give the customer an exciting, envy-inducing story to share at his next dinner party or networking event?
Does it change the story he tells himself about himself?
Or the story his parents tell to brag to their friends about their son?
Does it give him content that will get tons of likes on social media?
You might be shocked how much people will spend or suffer through to have a good story to share.
Think of all the great stories you could tell after staying at the Bel-Air mansion! And unlike a lot of business stories, you can share this one with just about everyone.
3. (Aspirational) Identity
Every conscious decision we make is influenced by the way they see ourselves and our place in the world.
If your offer connects to your should-be buyer’s identity in a unique way…
Helps him express externally how he sees himself internally…
Or moves him closer to being the person he wishes he was, letting Clark Kent be Superman, as it were…
It taps the deep-rooted desire.
How can your offer link your buyer to that identity?
4. Exclusivity
You don’t have to convince anyone there’s a limited amount of nights to book a stay in a mansion.
And you don’t have to convince anyone there’s high demand for the available slots.
But only about 365 people will have the privilege of securing one in the next year — if Airbnb keeps it open that long.
That kind of exclusivity and scarcity amplifies desire that’s hard to replicate in any other way — as long as you’re offering something people want in the first place.
It multiplies the status and story factor. Being part of such a small group boosts the impact to identity.
Leveraging exclusivity makes your offer significantly harder to resist. Use it to your advantage.
So there you have it.
When you’re thinking about how to make your offer as compelling as possible, remember…
Put value on the back burner. It’s all about stacking desire.
***UPDATE***
When I sent this article out as an
I sent my broadcast email newsletter earlier this week, I tested two very different subject lines.
One promises a valuable lesson about a topic I hear a lot of questions about…
The other seems to offer a voyeuristic peek into the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
I have to admit, the split test results surprised me:
If you’ve read my emails before, you may assume the mansion I promise a tour of is my own home.
(That’s kinda deceptive, but not maliciously so).
After the first hour, the voyeuristic subject line was opened TWICE as many times as the benefit subject line. Honestly, I thought the “Anatomy” subject line would win.And I definitely didn’t think either version would double the open rate of the other. There are a few takeaways here:
TEST. You really never know what will work until you get it out to the market
I’ve said it a thousand times, but must have forgot when I sent this test..
Sometimes entertainment is the most valuable benefit you can provide. That subject line brought MTV Cribs to my readers’ inbox.
If you want to keep your open rates from dropping over time, entertainment value is practically nonnegotiable.
People really do want to go behind-the-scenes, especially if your business has a personality component. They’re curious about the non-business stuff going on with you and others in your industry.
One of the top copy rules is that the copy must be about the reader. And while the “mansion” subject line doesn’t seem to be about the reader, it really is. It’s providing something they want: entertainment… escape… scratching the curiosity itch… aspiration… connection.
