You think you really know someone...
You assume totally 'get' that person...
You imagine that they'll never do something so surprising that you'd have to sit down and ask some questions to clear the air of confusion that you just walked into...
And then they do something like this.
Yes.
The subject line is true...
I found my girlfriend on the couch with another copywriter...and laughing her ass off too!
Like, how could this happen?!
SHE DOESN'T EVEN LIKE THAT I WRITE COPY.
Once or twice, she's even mentioned that she thought a copywriting career meant selling your soul to the salesy devil with slicked hair and looks like he works at your local used car dealership, manipulating people to buy things that they may or may not need...
Plus, there's the fact that she wasn't a fan of my work in the past.
For example, there was that dating coach who I helped sell 100k worth of products in one weekend...(she hates dating coaches, but then we found out the guy is actually banned from the UK and Australia from something like 7 years ago)
And then there's the fact that I - your typical 28-year-old guy who is a little too obsessed with Gordon Ramsay and zombie culture - have been email ghostwriting for a well-known spirituality/mental health/relationship coach who has over 700k subscribers on YouTube - and currently making 55% of revenue through those emails...
She thinks it's ridiculous since I'm not that lady and not an 'expert' in that industry. (by the way, it's all my research process...but that's for a future email)
BUT.
Does that really mean she had to go and rock my world like this?
Here's the situation:
It's Friday afternoon.
I'm coming home after a less-than-stellar workout from my local gym. And I open the door...
I hear some giggling. I know that giggle. I like that giggle.
Then there' the rustle of the blanket I leave on the couch.
And yet, I hear no voices. Mo music. No YouTube. No Netflix. No nothin'.
I call out her name.
But still, no response...Just more giggling. I'm ALMOST worried.
I throw my shoes and slam my water bottle on the counter and walk straight into the living room.
Lo and behold there she is...
On. The. Couch.
Like this...
Yup.
She there is...
Just laughing her silly blonde butt to some copywriting swipe files from a book I inherited from a friend written by another copywriter.
Maybe you think I'm overreacting and it's a bit ridiculous that I decided to take this little event and create an email out of it.
Maybe you're right.
But let me explain and how this can help you:
First of all, she was reading an email on weight-loss.
I asked her why she was laughing so much and why she liked the email that she was reading even though she claims to 'hate copy'. Her reason should be no surprise to you...
She said the emails were entertaining. She liked the story. And that she never reads email likes that one anymore, so she couldn't help but keep reading.
Typically, she gets emails from coaches and bigger companies that are riddled with generic, templated copy and she has a hard time distinguishing anything between the people she gets those emails from. She said it was refreshing that the email was more than just an offer or some other message filled with, as she calls them - marketing words.
Finally, she said even though she knew it was a sales email, she didn't feel like she was being sold to...
Instead, she felt like the writer understood what was in her mind and wanted to help her.
Which I thought was awesome, since no one likes that feeling like they were sold to.
And I wanted to share this with you because I thought this little situation could help you write better emails for your business...
Take a look at your email copy and ask yourself these three questions:
1. Are your emails actually entertaining and bring more to the table other than your offer?
2. Do your emails sound too much like your competitors?
3. Are your emails based around helping your prospect or getting the next sale or lose?
If you don't like your answers, then takes a step back and see what you can to improve. I hope it'll give you a little clarity on how you can make your emails better.
Alrighty.
Thanks for reading my silly little story.
I hope you have an awesome one and we can connect sometime soon!
Francis
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