First testing and tracking and now this! I know … most people hate copywriting. Let's face it — most people suck at it. Why?
- Fear
- Inbred hatred of "English" class in grade school
- Lack of practice
- They don't know the secret…
I'm not a copywriter … and you don't need to be a expert copywriter to write emails that produce sales.
Here's the big secret…
Tell A Story!
That's it. That's the monster secret.
That said — the style in which you write your emails will vary from niche to niche. Some markets can handle non-stop promotions. Others not. In those markets you'll need to be more subtle with your marketing.
It's all about testing, of course.
Frank Kern, in my opinion, is probably the best email writer in the business. His style is so "by the way" it's just not funny — and he pulls it off so damn well.
Let me give you some Frank Kern advice — hammer your list!
Send them one or two emails a day. I know this goes against all the warm and fuzzy Internet marketers out there that want you to send 7 messages spaced out every 2-3 days — but Frank and other great email writers have done countless test after test and shown that usually being aggressive makes more money.
We aren't looking for friends. We are in this for conversion. That's money for those of you that didn't read the previous chapters on testing and tracking and AdWords landing pages.
Tsk, Tsk…
It's certainly true that some markets and niches won't respond well to a hard sell. But that doesn't mean you can't email them daily necessarily. The only way to know — is to try it out.
When in doubt — start with daily emails and work up or down from there.
A good, simple practice is to make 5-7 messages and have that be your initial sequence. Send those out daily one at a time. Test the response and add more messages either spaced out or daily from there.
If you have a back end (i.e. another affiliate product in the niche) you can send a broadcast periodically promoting the back end product(s).
NOTE: It's all well and good to say "hammer your list" but that means you have to have more emails in your autoresponder sequence. This can be tough if you aren't used to telling a story and writing email copy. At the end of the day, only practice and some pointers will help. So work your way up to hammering your list — even if you have to start out smaller.
Single vs Double Opt-in
I typically (but not always) start off with a single opt-in list. I then test for profitably and what "style" (hard sell or soft sell) works best.
If I find the magic formula then I'll more than likely switch to double opt-in. (And then test some more.)
My Autoresponder Messages
Here are the three autoresponder messages I have written so far. Here are the subjects:
Subject: {!firstname_fix}, KILLER WoW Tip #1...Subject: {!firstname_fix}, KILLER WoW Tip #2...Subject: Indisputable *PROOF* is in the results, {!firstname_fix}
Here is the copy…
You'll notice that I continue the story that I had started on the landing page.
I try and keep autoresponder messages short and punchy. (Certainly in the beginning at least while I test stuff out.)
The first two emails are a little longer than I normally write — but that's because I included two real "from the guide" tips — which I'm using to build a relationship with the reader.
Email 3 onwards will now just be promotion, promotion, promotion.
Here is what I did to get to the point to be able to write these emails…
- Got a copy of the guide. (More about this later.)
- Read it.
- Asked the author if I could use two tips in my AR sequence. (He said "yes".)
- Wrote the emails around a story that I started on the landing page. Emails 1 & 2 were about me giving something of value. (Reciprocity.) Email 3 (and onwards) is all about getting them to CLICK the link. (Using social proof and scarcity.)
- Hopefully at this point the traffic I'm sending the merchant is pre-qualified … and hopefully the merchants' sales page will then do it's magic and convert the prospects into sales.
The process is pretty simple.
Notice the point of having some emails provide "content" or direct value and others being more promotion slanted. This is a common way to warm the person up to your list and get them into a buying mood.
In The Whole Truth, Stephen Pierce talked about "breathing in and out" with his emails — one offering some content, the next a promotion, then content, then promotion, etc.
The alternating way works better in some markets depending on the barriers that people have in the niche. Don't be afraid to test and tweak your autoresponse sequences. It can add lots of money to your bottom line.
Just remember:
- Tell a story in every email.
- Ask for the order in every email. (Content or promotion.)
- Typically — mix some content into the earlier emails and tail off to promotions.
We're now ready to turn the AdWords traffic switch on.
