Email Hacks #1: Sell Yourself with Authenticity

But….I don’t know what to write…

I don’t have any interesting stories…

Making up entertaining stories is hard…

These are a few (of the many) excuses I hear from biz owners and entrepreneurs who DRAG their feet when it comes to email marketing. Done right, building an email list is the most profitable business asset you can ever create. When you stop and think about it…it’s the only true form of “push button” or “autopilot” income in existence.

Why then are so many of us frozen in bewilderment when it comes to typing up a simple email and clicking send?

You Don’t Need to Live the 007 Life

It’s amazing to me how many people think they need to live a high-profile life of mystery and intrigue to be worthy of sharing personal stories with their subscribers. I can tell you firsthand you don’t need to race across frozen tundras in tricked out Aston Martins chasing super villains to connect with your audience. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes I see marketers make is trying too hard to be funny or clever in their emails…

Always assume your subscribers are savvier than you think. Their BS meters work well, and if you’re being fake they’ll sniff it out in a heartbeat. That’s why when I work with my copywriting clients, I always strive to use real, authentic stories whenever possible.

Sell Yourself First

Marketing and Sales 101: People love to buy, but hate being sold.

Yeah yeah…you’ve heard this a million times, right?

But how often do you follow this advice in your email marketing?

This is why hard selling subscribers (who haven’t purchased yet) is one of the quickest ways to destroy trust and trigger a whopping unsubscribe rate. The trick is developing a connection of respect and mutual trust with your audience…and the best way to do this via email is with a carefully-crafted nurture sequence.

Key word here being nurture.

And what’s hands down the best way to quickly nurture this relationship?

Through AUTHENTIC story-telling!

Authenticity is a rare commodity in the online business space today. That’s why baring your soul and being honest with your audience is one of the easiest ways to build a tribe of loyal fans…

And stand out in an overcrowded marketplace…

People appreciate you taking the time to share mundane details from your daily life. It reminds them your a REAL person…not just a faceless, money-hungry business.

Celebrate Failure and Weakness

Wait…what?

It may seem counterintuitive, but the truth is people love reading stories of failure and mistakes. Especially if you can tie in a lesson you learned from this experience to make it relevant to what you offer. This is a great way to deliver tremendous value to your tribe. And here’s another thing to remember:

EVERYONE identifies with instances of failure or embarrassment. We all make mistakes and we all have weaknesses. Owning these experiences and openly sharing them forges an unbreakable bond of trust and intimacy. Get this right, and you won’t have to worry about selling your product or service…it’ll happen as a natural byproduct.

Example:

Towards the end of last year, I wrote a nurture email sequence for a client who sells a health supplement. This particular supplement has demonstrated benefit for a variety of medical conditions, including anxiety.

I have personally struggled with social anxiety my entire life. So for one of these emails, I shared an embarrassing story of meeting my ex-girlfriend’s parents for the first time. I won’t relive the whole story here but here’s the gist:  Her mom baked me chocolate chip cookies. I was so nervous I couldn’t choke down these tasty treats…and as a result I had to sprint into the bathroom and yakked all over. Oh…and the bathroom was like 10 feet from the kitchen. My Ex and her parents heard everything.

Yep…pretty much the definition of embarrassing. And here’s the funny thing: I never shared this story with anyone…not my best friend, not even my parents. For whatever reason, I decided to finally unload this cringeworthy experience in my client’s email, and it was very well-received.

His subscribers who also suffered from anxiety could actually identify with my struggle. Powerful stuff. Start thinking about how you can use experiences from your own life to connect with your subscribers on a deeper level. Let yourself be vulnerable. I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the response you receive.