EP79: Crafting Your Story - Part 2

As mentioned last week, stories are all around us.

They are told in your home, at work, and as we casually walk about in our day-to-day activities.

Stories give us the framework to teach and remember important things.

They endow us with principles and knowledge.

As a business owner, I presume that you have already done the hard work of getting to know your audience.

By doing that hard but necessary work first, you will have the knowledge you need to create stories that will attract your audience.

Without doing the “getting to know your audience” work first, you will struggle to find traction.

You will be spinning your wheels unnecessarily.

I’ve mentioned it quite a few times…

One thing that I hate seeing are boring, spammy emails.

So I thought it would be helpful to let you know how to make your emails a bit more fun to read, and maybe even something your audience will look forward to every time they hit their inbox.

My mentor's newsletter is always well received. As should all our emails.

But that just isn’t the case, now is it?

So let's get started.

But…

Let me ask you this first.

How are your emails going to stand out in your customer’s overcrowded inbox if there’s nothing unique about them?

Every day our inboxes are getting filled up with tired and boring emails, masking themselves as the good guys. If you are anything like me, and it's ok if you’re not, you’re probably pretty tired of them.

And most of the time … well-known and popular marketers profess to teach that very strategy. Fill up as many people's emails as possible to make as much money as they can.

And if you have been following my podcast, you well know, that I do not support such abuse of people's privacy.

So, why would you ever want to send similar emails to your audience?

The short and honest answer:

It’s easy.

#1 - It’s always easier to do what everyone else is doing, and assume that they’re doing what they’re doing because it works even though that might not be the case.

#2 - It’s also easier to send just one email to everyone instead of writing different emails for different segments.

But if you want to build long-lasting relationships with your audience and sell more, it’s not the right strategy.

When you have some time, look at the emails you are currently sending to your audience.

How do they look?

When you read them to yourself, are you motivated to do something [anything at all]?

If you can say YES, then I'm proud of you. Because most marketing emails do not motivate, encourage, or guide the reader to do anything.

They usually appear to be mid-way into a promotion and only care about sales.

Sales are good - don't get me wrong.

Sales. Are. Good.

Bad emails are Not Good!

So we're going to help you find YOUR way to make them work better for you.

And lest we forget, this is a series on crafting stories.

So your emails need to have some story included.

Even if it is just a personal tale to engage with the reader early in the email.

But it would be nice if you also tried your hand at crafting a 3 to 5 email-series type story to build curiosity and further engage with your audience.

This type of email series is great for asking questions along the way as you tell a story.

These questions allow your audience to respond to you. This is how you get to learn more about them.

[Once you have a list of people that respond to you and your message – it becomes easier to get to know more about them, and not in some slimy sort of way, either. They respond. They talk to you. They want you to know them. So you can help them.]

Let's talk about an email series that benefits you and your audience.

It can be a lead-in for you to talk about a new product you were thinking about creating.

You haven't done any of the hard work yet.

Instead, you ask your audience through the use of a story, if what you want to create, would be useful to them.

Of course, your story would describe the problem and how difficult it is for your audience.

You simply want to know if there are many of your audience experiencing it right now.

Being that we want to honor the reader's time and never push anything on them without their permission, I suggest using a “Bridge email” to allow the reader to raise their hand. Doing so they acknowledge the problem is theirs as well.

If you were using a 3-email series, let the first 2 emails tell the story of the struggle that is being felt by those living with it.

Then on the 3rd [or final] email, let the audience/reader know that you are working on a solution. Go ahead and mention just a few things that would be remedied.

Then let them know that if they are interested in knowing how they can benefit from this solution, they need to click on a LINK to learn more. This is the LINK in the Bridge email.

The Bridge would then take them to a promotional series of emails.

NOTE: possibly they could just receive a segmentation, showing that they are interested. This would happen if you had mentioned in the Bridge email that you are looking for interest only.

Only those that click will receive the next promotion email. This can be 1, 2, or more emails long. They will also be segmented in your email service provider, so future broadcast emails for this product would include your reader.

Of course, if they chose not to click, nothing would happen.

Being they had no interest, they would NOT receive any further information. Showing respect for the reader.

Because that is how email marketing should work in a perfect world.

Based on the problem's difficulty, you may need several emails to walk the prospect through your thought process.

Along the way, answer all their questions. You know, the ones you would have asked if you needed help with it yourself.

Let them know that you have not created the product YET! If that is the case.

If it is a single PDF product, let them know what the price will be. $17, $47, or $97. Full transparency. Just let them know. You may be surprised by a reply email letting you know it is priced too high, not high enough, or just right, and they want to buy right now.

If it is going to be a course, and you know how long it will be, let them know. If you're not sure, say so. Tell them it appears to be 4 or 5 modules long, but maybe even more. It is important to be as accurate as possible.

Tell them what you are thinking of charging. Maybe $197, $297, or $397.

Be straightforward and honest with them.

If the product is already created, such as an ebook, include a link to the product purchase page.

If it is still being developed, or you're still waiting to see if there is enough interest, let them know to CLICK to show their interest.

Believe me, they will appreciate that you cared enough to ask.

Most marketers would just send an email with the link to purchase.

But not you…

You're different.

You care about your audience.

You want to serve them for a long time.

So that takes care of a multi-email type of email.

But most of your communications will probably be just a one-page email.

And after your nurture sequence, most emails will be those you broadcast to them weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, based on your newsletter schedule.

Next week, we will talk about those newsletters and special one-off emails we see all the time.

How can you get personal, with and without a story in those as well?

That’s our mission next week.

I’ll see you then.

Talk to you all, next week.

James "Mastering Story" Brown

P.S. - In the event, you DO find that once an episode has been produced and posted, that YOU really would like more information, just let me know. Use the Podcast Questions link, click on the link here. Or you can just leave a voice message here.