This week in our online event, Joe shared the three underlying principles that can help you to build a foundation from which to send really great emails.
I’ve pulled out the key insights for you to have a scan through today, but I do recommend watching the webinar for yourself too. It’s 59 minutes long and filled with newsletter philosophies, jokes, and tactics.
Plus, James and Joe clearly had a lot of fun making this one and their energy is infectious. Below are the most important bits, and here is a link to the video.
🔧Email is just a tool, it’s how you use it that makes a difference
Before you even think about opening your ESP (email service provider), you’ve got to consider the context and the purpose of your newsletters.
Mark Ritson’s ‘Diagnosis, Strategy, Tactics’ model is a marketing game changer. Watch Mark’s‘On The Contrary’ talk to learn more.
Until you’ve understood the market you’re going to be serving, and know the message that you want to send to them, there is no reason for you to start writing emails. Email is just a tactic. Get your diagnosis and strategy sorted first.
🔓What you’re trying to achieve, and for whom, makes the world of difference. The approach is not ‘let’s just do some emails’.
Once you know what you’re trying to achieve, you’ll have more clarity on the purpose of your emails. Let’s revisit our age old friend, the marketing funnel.
ℹ️ What’s in it for the people you’re helping?
Make like Penny Ferguson and remember, it’s not about you! Great email communications always keep in mind the needs of the reader.
Does your sign up form say something like ‘Sign up to receive the latest updates and news’? We’ve all done it. This is about as uninspiring as it gets when it comes to asking people to subscribe to your newsletter.
Instead, focus on explaining how your newsletter can help the reader, in language that feels true to you. Apply this reader-centric language to all of your comms.
😎 There is no silver bullet for writing good emails. The only way to connect to your reader and add value for them, is to make it your own.
Whatever the purpose of your email, view it as an opportunity to communicate who your business is and what you stand for. We want our emails to not only look and feel like us, but to actually resonate with our customers and community. So share some personality.
There’s no one size fits all, but if you think that every time you hit send you’re actually just getting in touch with another human being, you might find you start writing like one.
📝 In summary, before you even open your ESP, there are 3 things you need to consider to create emails that matter.
- Where email fits in your strategy
- It’s not about you
- How to make the email ‘yours’
Here’s some other newsletters you might like:
- Harry Dry’s Marketing Examples
- Eddie Shleyner’s VeryGoodCopy
- Dave Harland’s The Word
- James Sandbrook’s Being Human
- Louis Grenier’s Everyone Hates Marketers
- Katelyn Bourgain’s Marketing Psychology
- David Hieatt’s Scrapbook Chronicles
Some parting words… ‘A community is not defined by how large it is. It’s defined by the people in it, how they’re engaged and how they feel.’
And those are your takeaways! If you enjoyed it, do tell your friends on Linkedin! [This part of the newsletter now serves both retention and advocacy functions!]