What’s the biggest difference between telling a story through a movie, sharing a story on stage as a comedian, and broadcasting a story via email?
Go ahead, give it a guess…
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I guarantee it’s different from what you think.
I’ll give you a few more seconds.
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Most people would say ‘length’, but the right answer is:
Expectation
People walk into the theater ‘expecting’ to turn off the phone, eat popcorn, and spend the next 3-4 hours watching ONE story.
(btw – what’s the deal with all these 3.5 hour long movies these days…)
People buy a ticket at the comedy club ‘expecting’ to have a good night, enjoy jokes, and walk out late in the evening—half drunk.
BUT
When it comes to email…
People are not expecting to spend half an hour reading one email.
People might not even expect a story at all.
Many people think emails are boring, salesy, with lots of flashy images, and not worth 3 seconds of their lives.
(which is why I never do these poster ad style emails for my clients)
That’s why you don’t have the same ‘luxury’ as a movie or comedy.
You have a split second to capture their attention… or they bounce.
You have a minute (or two) to finish your story… or they bounce.
You have one or two lines MAX to make a worthy transition… or they bounce.
You have one or two shots at making a compelling call-to-action… or they bounce.
No, this doesn’t mean you can’t write longer stories in emails.
Some of my bestselling emails for my clients are 500 to 1,000 words long.
BUT
You are one too-boring story away from losing the precious attention.
For a 3.5-hour movie, I’m okay if there are 32 minutes of filler.
The worst case? I take a restroom break.
For a 2-hour comedy, I’m okay if 30% of the jokes didn’t work.
The worst case? I drink another beer.
However, when it comes to email…
If you “lose” me for 5 seconds, I’m gone.
That’s why email storytelling… or email story-SELLING… is so different.
And that’s why almost everything you hear about “how to tell a good story” is wrong when it comes to email.
On the flip side…
Email storytelling has its unique advantages, too.
Because it’s only a split minute in your prospects’ lives.
Because the cost is so low to send another email.
You can easily (and cost-effectively) trial and error a lot of new ideas.
If one story flopped, you send another one tomorrow.
(or the day after)
You won’t have to worry about losing 100M in production cost.
Not to mention –
It can be so profitable when you do it right.
After all, email marketing is STILL the single channel with the highest return-on-investment. Guaranteed.
(and yes, email marketing isn’t dead yet)
To your success,
– WYH