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…
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…
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…
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:
Email marketing results are measured in a few different ways: open rate, clickthroughs, revenue, etc. Open rate is one of the most widely-used and probably the one we have the most control over as marketers.
Emails that don’t get opened don’t accomplish much else, so it’s a good place to start.
I wanted to share the best email subject lines I used in 2014, as measured by open rate. These results are from my own email newsletter. Subject lines from my client work went as high as 81%, which is more of a testament to the quality of the client’s relationship with his audience than my copywriting abilities, all the way down into single-digit percentages. I don’t like to talk about that part.
Here are my top five from last year, and why I think they worked so well. There is also a quick summary at the end with key takeaways you can use right away.
#1: Kindle Book Giveaway from Two of My Favorite Marketers – 47.3%
No matter how overused it seems, “free” still works. But in a time when there’s so much information available for no charge, even free stuff needs to be sold.
Because I’ve earned the trust of my subscribers, and they know I won’t put anything in front of them unless it’s valuable (or fun), they listen to my recommendations most of the time. Pointing to a helpful free resource sounded like a good idea to them.
Note: the 3rd highest open rate I achieved in 2013 also pointed to a giveaway, also a Kindle Book. “One of the World’s Most Trusted Email Marketers Wants You to Have This” got a 48.6% open rate.
#2: Why You Should Stop Thinking Big – 45.7%
Taking a position opposite what is popular also gets attention and generates curiosity. Common advice is almost always to think big. Saying that someone thinks too small is an insult.
Bigger isn’t always better, as Volkswagen has proven.
Subtly, this subject line also implies that the reader is doing something wrong, something they never even thought to question. Curiosity and self-interest practically force him to open the email to find out if he’s making the mistake of thinking too big, and how he can fix it.
#3: <First Name>, This Is Probably the Main Thing Holding You Back – 44.2%
This subject line also speaks to the reader’s self-interest. If you’ve felt held back at all…if you you haven’t made as much progress as you had hoped…you want to know why. And how to fix it. This wording implies that there’s “insider information” as to what’s preventing you from being as successful as you want to be and offershope that there’s a solution close at hand.
I believe the body of the email offered some darn good insights that helped my readers move forward.
Adding the recipient’ first name to the subject line may have also had an impact. I rarely do that, so this subject stood out as extra personal.
Taken in isolation, this is the most profitable single email I wrote all year.
A lack of assertiveness is a major pain point for me. A good portion of my list share some of my personality traits, so quite a few of them have the same problem.
On the other hand, many entrepreneurs, leaders and people in sales positions (who make up the majority of my audience) have no problem with being assertive, but they may worry about coming on too strong. I wasn’t aiming this email at that crowd, but I’m sure some were drawn in anyway.
In fact, I wrote this email because of how much havoc my passive disposition was causing in the way I managed my time. Because a lot of my readers are a lot like me, I researched and wrote for myself, knowing it would help them as well.
A lot of your readers are a lot like you, too. Or, they’re a lot like the persona you’ve created for your business, brand or spokesperson. That perception of interpersonal similarity and shared values goes a long way. Make the most of that resonance.
#5: Writing Copy to Sell Your “Crazy” Offer – 44.1%
My newsletter supposed to be about copywriting. Most of my readers connect with me for that reason. So it makes sense that subscribers would open an email that explicitly states it’s about writing copy.
Also, everyone on my list would like to get more sales. I’ve made a promise in the subject line to help them out in this area.
This subject also connects this email to the previous one. Anyone who had read the previous newsletter (which was the 7th most-opened email of the year) would see a connection and probably want to follow the “continuing saga.” The tie back to the last email opens a loop that can only be closed by reading the current email.
Speaking of crazy offers, have you heard about this one from Art Van Furniture?
Who wouldn’t like free furniture?
This store is driving action (sales) by making a crazy offer: if it snows more than 3 inches on Super-Sunday, anyone who buys furniture during the promotional period will get a full reimbursement.
Key Takeaways for Writing Subject Lines that Get Emails Opened
— Freebies still work. But just because they’re free, doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard to sell them.
Speaking of free, Creating Business Growth, a book I’ve co-authored, is available on Amazon Kindle for no cost until January 5th. It has already reached bestseller status in several countries. Get your copy here.
— “Curiosity is the strongest human incentive.” Claude Hopkins
— Appeal to the self-interest rather than the coolness of the thing you want to talk about. (E.g., this email is about email subject lines that have worked well for me, but I’m writing it because I know you’re looking for ways to continually improve your email marketing results.)
— Solve problems. Offer hope.
— Remember the values you share in common with your subscribers. More than we tend to realize, people are looking to connect with people who are like them. When they see themselves and their values reflected in others, it’s naturally attractive. As C.S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…'”
— Email series work well. Leaving open loops from one message to the next increases readership. Talking about your chosen topic more than once also helps drive the point home.
— Make big offers. You can’t bore people into opening your emails.
For exclusive training to help you write better emails, faster than you may think possible, check out Inbox X-Factor.
I’m working on the December edition of my newsletter.
I feel the need to warn you. If you aren’t subscribed to the newsletter, you’re really going to miss out on a powerful lesson this month.
I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but let me say this: the information I’ll be expounding on would not usually be free. In fact, I’ve never shared these insights before at all. Nor have I heard them expressed anywhere else.
Frankly, I’m glad that my subscriber list is fairly small. Can’t have too many people walking around with this kind of info.
Nevertheless (always-the-more), if you really want to cram some dynamite into your salesmanship skills, you won’t want to miss this.
This will impact your ability to persuade, influence and sell
face-to-face
online
in print
over the airwaves
even from the stage.
See the subscription box on the right side of this page. Scroll down just a little bit. There you go. Just be aware that if you enter your email address, I fully intend to rock your world.