Most brands (& marketers) are doing email storytelling completely wrong.
(like that person reading this article right now)
(just kidding, he might be reading my emails and doing things right)
So, here are 15 tips for email storytelling:
1) Hero’s journey sucks – BIG TIME! (Yeah, the medium matters. Every channel is different. Nobody has time for the hero’s journey in the email.)
2) The best emails focus on the small moments, and your readers will fall in love with you for those small moments. [crediting Chris O.]
3) Using images to tell your stories is lazy and ineffective. Discover how to tell your stories using plain text… by “showing” people what it looks like in a movie scene. (once you master the skill of word painting, then you can start playing with images or GIFs)
4) Email storytelling is NOT about giving value.
5) But it can still provide “value.”
6) Just not in the format of education.
7) It’s about making people smile. (Look, people are so bored with their lives… if you can make someone laugh, you have their attention forever.)
8) whew, I got away with 4 tips using one idea
9) FIVE
10) Most of the time, you’re better off saying less. (try cutting out 10% word counts, and you’ll do better)
11) Don’t worry about running out of story ideas. The media will give you unlimited ammunition with the stupidity in the world.
12) You can always throw rocks at your competitors
13) Just make sure you have a valid point that can break their window… or you might hurt yourself. (if you don’t have a strong enough argument, you can always doodle and run 😈)
14) By the way, you don’t always have to tell stories in every email. (e.g., you don’t need a story in the first email of your Cart Abandonment Sequence.)
And most importantly…
15) You can hire someone to tell your stories for you – better! He can find the right stories, write them in a way that connects, and build out all the campaigns – without you having to crank the handle yourself.
Here’s the good news:
I know a guy who knows a guy.
You can find him here 👉 https://wuyenhsu.com/epe
Cheering for you,
Wuyen