I told you

Published: Wed, 08/03/16

See?

I told you yesterday's subject line was crap!

"Please read"

And nobody did.

Well, a few of you did.

But the vast majority of you didn't. In fact, it was the lowest-opened email I've sent in a long time.

Because it had a crummy subject line.

Of course, all of us who use email want our audience, friends, and RECIPIENTS to read our emails.

Lesson?

Your subject line is the first key in getting people to open your emails. But you knew that.

Working backwards, you want somebody to take an action:

Click a link
Do a thing
Read a sales letter
Like a page
Whatever

In order to get your reader to take an action, they have to read your email.

In order to read it, they have to open it.

Before that, they need to SEE it.

It has to show up in their inbox. Not spam. Not "the ether" which is what a lot of ISPs do to your emails - they get to your readers' ISP (internet service provider), but their ISP deletes it before it gets to your inbox.

YOUR email service provider is the key here. I know most of my emails get delivered. I use Aweber. They are solid. They work with all the players and intermediaries between when you send the email through them all the way through delivery to your subscribers.

To sum up:

Write your email in Aweber.
Press send (kicks off the delivery).
User gets it in their inbox.
They see it.
There is a compelling subject line. They want see what's "inside."
They open.
They act.
You get what you wanted.

Each step along the way, you "lose" people. If your subscriber list numbers 1,000, by the time your subscribers take the action you wanted them to take, you'd be fortunate to get 20 people to click on that CTA (call to action).

Seems like a losing game, right?

That's why selling low-priced stuff is tough. 20 people buying a $5 product doesn't add up to much (do the math). But imagine if you were selling a $200 product...again, do the math.

You'd think a lower-priced product would get more conversions...but that's not always the case.

In fact, sometimes it's easier to sell a high-priced product. It all depends on your subscriber list.

Which is the real crux of the issue...

If you attract freebie seekers and low-price product buyers, then you're going to have to build a huge list - so that 20 people who take your CTA turns into 200.

Get it?

Now, if your list is comprised of buyers who purchase higher-ticket items, you don't have to work as hard. You can get 20 people to buy a $500 product and you'd be happy, right?

So think real hard about that audience you're building. That is the key to email marketing.

And don't be shocked by your results (or lack thereof) - choose whatever buyer persona you want - but be prepared for what happens. It shouldn't be a surprise.

Kevin Kelly wrote a seminal post on this a long time ago here.

Until next time,

Bill
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