There’s a beef noodle place 20 minutes walk from my place.
They have a tiny menu.
2 flavors – original and tomato.
2 types of noodles – thin and thick.
That’s it.
But I LOVE this restaurant.
Why?
Because they make everything just right. The noodles are bouncy. The meat melts in your mouth. The soup? To die for.
The deliciousness comes from mastering a tiny menu — focusing on only a few things that matter. Doing less, but better.
Same for your promotions.
Yesterday, I shared with you the 5 phases every successful promotion has.
The next question is…
How do you write the actual emails in each phase?
After working with dozens of e-commerce brands across too many niches, I’ve concluded that 99% of the brands fall into 2 categories:
ONE, the boring brands that send:
Last Chance for 50% off
[slap a big image… repeating the same ol’ 50% off]
A bunch of buttons and SM logos
Another boring footer that says 50% off (yet again)
There’s a reason these brands typically send only 1-2 emails a week — even during BFCM week. Because…
These aren’t emails.
They are flyers (poster ads) disguised as emails.
Prospects spare one look, roll their eyes, and delete the emails for good.
TWO, the cookie-cutter brands that use:
24 different templates. One template for each email.
Template works until it doesn’t.
Because prospects are becoming increasingly sophisticated. People see through soulless templates and learn to ignore them for good.
I am neither
I don’t use images in promotions because they hurt deliverability AND attract the wrong customers. (Trust me, your best customers are the ones who READ longer emails.)
I don’t use templates… because then you sound like everyone else.
I don’t have 24 different ways to write emails.
I have ONE formula –
The simplest 5-part story-based email:
~ Subject line: Bait ‘just enough’ curiosity
~ Opening line: Give people a compelling reason to keep reading
~ Story hook: The “meat” of the email
~ Transitioning Insight: Presell ONE thing about the product
~ Close: What to do next
I use this structure for EVERY email in EVERY phase… with slight modifications.
For example:
* I will copy & paste the Close in every Open Cart Phase emails
* I will make the story shorter and shorter the closer we get to the deadline
* I might rearrange the order… such as moving the story into the PS Close Cart Phase
But the core stays the same.
Why?
Because I believe in keeping marketing (stupidly) simple.
Now that you know the 5 phases of a successful promotion… and how to write the emails inside each phase…
Tomorrow, I want to give you a few pointers to make your promo pop.
To be continued…
– WYH