Playbook: Session Three You ve got the 5-step formula. You ve got ways to change up your open and close. Now let s mix it up! Jump out of the box! And explore ways to break the rules, surprise your peeps, and have tons of creative fun. The Mix-It-Up 5-Step Formula Here s the cool thing about the 5-Step Formula. You can mix it up, shorten it up, or abandon it all together. Let s review those 5-steps: Cool. 1. Meet Em Where They Are 2. Empathy/Transition 3. Present the Possibilities 4. Hold Out the How 5. Show the Way Now, let s look at some variations. Like
The 3, 4, 5 Instead of starting with a Meet Em Where They Are lead, start with one or more What if statements: Hey [firstname], What if you could easily attract all the clients you want without implementing another marketing strategy, learning a new sales technique or investing in yet another get more clients program? In fact what if you could attract more than enough clients by doing a whole lot less and goofing off a whole lot more? Well, my friend and colleague Jeanna Gabellini (who happens to be a client attraction ninja and Master Business Coach) just released a truly revolutionary new way to instantly attract more than enough clients without even trying. And she s giving it away for free! All the clients you want. Right here. For free. Hey you re always talking about how you want more of the right clients. Now you can have all the clients you want without putting more marketing mumbojumbo on your plate or doing a bunch of stuff you hate. No hard hustle. No new-fangled marketing strategies. No slick sales tactics. Nothing that makes your head hurt or your skin crawl. Crazy-good. Totally free. [sign off] P.S. What I especially love about Jeanna is she makes it easy for you to attract your very best clients. Not just anyone with a pulse. You ll attract only those clients you absolutely love to work with. Check it out. In the 3, 4, 5, you start with the possibilities by using What if statements, follow it with the How (#4), then Show the Way (Call to Action). NOTE: In this example, there is a Take a Stand closer. And a Personal Reveal P.S.
The How = a Link In the regular 5-step formula, you Hold Out Your How by introducing your solution, describing what it is, and then including bullets or some kind of copy that talks about its value and how it will affect your clients. But sometimes, especially if your email is leading to a free offer, you don t have to describe your How. You just position it as the solution, and then provide a link. Example: It s wild, but true. Right now, as you are reading this, people just like you are freeing themselves from a dead-end career they hate. Like you, they ve felt trapped, stuck and incredibly uncertain about making a change. They had a million voices in their heads saying, No. You can t. It's too risky. It s impossible. But then they made the seemingly impossible, possible. They made a decision, took a leap, and new opportunities came rushing in to meet them. How did they do it? Here s how: Passion, Purpose, Profit: The 3 Surprising Keys to a Career that Makes You Feel like You ve Won the Lottery Stop telling yourself it s impossible and get what you need to make it real. It can be a lot easier than you think. [sign off] P.S. If you re reading this and thinking, There s no way. Other people may be able to but not me, then you must, YOU MUST, check this out now. You ll be floored by how easy it can be to have the career and life you really want. In the above example, the title of the How is given as a link. And that s it. We don t know if it s a webinar, a report, a live training, a program. All we have is pretty compelling title and a link.
Here s another example of a The How = a Link: Here s a bad situation I hope you don t find yourself in: You ve just created a beautiful page. You send people to your sales page and nothing. Not a single sale. What now? Read this... Talk soon, Derek Halpern Can you think of other ways to play with the elements of the 5-step Formula? Like maybe start with Empathy: I get it. I really do. I so know what it s like to have an intense passion for your business. A wild desire to serve those who need what you ve got to give. Yet when it comes time to actually tell people what you do, to put your value and genius into words, you just can t. It s as if you have a big, thick wall between what your heart wants to say and your ability to type it on the page. Or say it out loud. The above starts with Empathy, then moves into Step #1. From here, it could go to Step #3 Present the Possibilities, then #4 Hold Out the How (as either a complete description or a link), then Step #5 Show the Way.
What s Your Reputation? If you want your emails to get opened, read, and responded to you need to establish a reputation for sending emails that are valuable to your readers. Emails that pay off. Emails your readers wouldn t dream of deleting because they know they d be missing out on something great if they did. That pay off could be that your emails always make your readers feel something. They inspire, touch the heart, and give them hope. Or stir them up! It could be they always get them thinking about something new a new way of doing something, of being more productive or efficient. Or they simply provide a laugh, a story, some levity. Value doesn t always have to be some kind of mind-blowing information. In fact, these days, information has little value. It s free and it s everywhere. The real currency is in connection. Intimacy. I believe now more than ever, people value that which allows them to feel seen, heard, understood, and accepted. And encouraged. They value that which allows them to experience life more fully; to have more of what they want and less of what they don t. More laughter, more freedom, more opportunity, more love, peace and joy. So, what kind of reputation will you establish with your emails? What will your readers think when they see your email waiting in their inbox? What do you want them to think?
Examples: Ash Ambirge themiddlefingerproject.org This woman is insane, foul-mouthed, super smart, and entertaining as all get out in a low-brow, bawdy kind of way. I know when I see her email in my inbox that I m going to be fascinated by her writing style, tickled by her sense of humor, and slapped upside the head with a new way of looking at something. I know her email will be short, yet not short-winded. She has a writing style that tends to go off on personal tangents. But you don t mind because she s so good at it. Derek Halpern Socialtriggers.com When I was first introduced to Derek, I didn t like his style at all. He was snarky, insulting, arrogant and, sometimes, downright mean. But he mellowed with age. And right now, I m digging his YouTube videos. As for his emails, I know when I see his name in my email inbox, I m going to get some hard-hitting, in-your-face, you-better-do-this information. His email will either be short with a link to something long. Or it will try to sell me something. But I don t mind because Derek is always so liberal with his free, leading edge information that he can sell me all he wants! His personality shines through his copy. And he breaks the rules a lot. And I like that. Marie Forleo Marieforleo.com This woman is so dang consistent! And she s established a rock-solid, world-wide reputation for delivering massive value through MarieTV, her super-slick, Hollywoodquality videos where she either answers a question about biz, life and getting stuff done or interviews authors, experts and spiritual gurus. Every Tuesday, she sends an email that leads to her MarieTV video for that week. They usually start with a question or personal statement that leads into the message, and the CTA is always to watch the video and then make a comment on the blog.
Alexandra Franzen Alexandrafranzen.com Ah, Alex. She always sends emails that are written from her heart. They usually have a personal story with a touching or inspiring point, an encouragement something that dives a little deeper than the average email. Plus, she has a great writing style. I know when I open one of her emails I am sure to be entertained in a profound and inspiring way. I am sure to learn something more about her, for she is pretty transparent and revealing about who she is and what she s experiencing. I also know that at some point, she ll share a song she s been listening to, if not a whole playlist. And that she ll have multiple P.S.s, all with links pointing to something she loves or has recently discovered. Who s emails do you always open? And why? What kind of reputation have they established with you so you want to read what they have to say? Then, think about the kind of reputation you want to establish with your own readers. If there were a formula for figuring this out, it would look like this: What your peeps want to know or feel + What you love to share + The way you love to share it. When making decisions about the kind of emails you want to send, you certainly need to think about what your clients/readers want and need to hear... what they re hungry for. You need to enter that conversation inside their own head and the emotions charging through their own heart. But equally, you need to discover and honor your own way of expressing what you know. You need to feel excited and eager to share whatever it is you re sharing! Your excitement, passion and intention has to be IN your emails or they will be lifeless, boring and ineffective. And you will hate creating them. Experiment. Try different types of emails. Play with short, long, fun, serious, stories, personal confessions whatever feels easy, fun and true to you. By playing at this for a while, you will find a style, a way of expressing, that fits you to a T, and delights your readers. In other words
Break the Rules! Color Outside the Lines! Do Your Own Thang! Use what you ve learned so far to feel your way into your own way of writing emails that connect with your peeps. Use the 5-step formula as a jumping off point. Play with changing it up. Play with different leads and closes and P.S.s Have some fun being an Email Renegade! Your Turn! Your assignment is to: 1. Change it up! Write one email that either uses the Mix-it-Up examples in this Playbook, or one that comes straight from your heart without following any formula or example. Review the email examples I covered in this week s session/recording and see what ideas come to you. 2. Sit, breathe and ask yourself what kind of email reputation do I want to have with my peeps? What do they need and want and how does that dovetail with what you love to share? And how can you share it in a way that thrills and delights you? 3. Post your emails in the Facebook Group, and if you want, share your thoughts on your email reputation. See you there!