People who think they know everything can be very amusing.
They believe their personal opinions are what everybody else thinks, too… which is called “projection.”
So… last week we received an email from a subscriber (now a former subscriber) who said this about an email we’d just sent out:
“No busy CEO wants to read your case studies or these lengthy emails. Use video – email marketing is dead.”
It’s great when so many entrepreneurs believe this because it means less competition.
Or like my Mom used to say when I didn’t like something at dinner, “That just means more for the rest of us.”
I love it because we’ve been hearing this for the last 10 years, and worse, the particular email he was whining about was only about 550 words.
It’s like the argument about long versus short copy and the unfortunate folks who believe nobody will read long copy.
But as the legendary Dan Kennedy said (paraphrased): “If you’ve got a passion for blind, one-legged albino parakeets, you’ll read ANYTHING to feed your obsession.”
In other words, it’s not about the length, it’s about your level of interest in the topic.
And as further proof that this poor guy has a superficial understanding of marketing, coming right up is a case study from a campaign we did a couple years ago that brought in $400,000+ in just over 2 weeks.
How did we contact and sell these people during the campaign? Exclusively with email.
We created the campaign for superstar entrepreneur Jon Benson. Here’s what he said about it:
“Daniel dug far deeper into my list and quadrupled my sales—for real, that is not hype. It generated a tsunami of orders I had no idea were even there. In just two weeks, we pulled $300K in immediate sales for 3X SELLERATOR, plus another $100K in payment plan sales, all from a list of fewer than 25,000 names. People who had already been exposed to a recent launch for 3XVSL Generator. That’s well over $12 per name! Amazing!”
Today’s case study is the first in the series of 16 emails that brought in the big bucks for Jon Benson, and we’re going to dissect it in detail.
The Speed Formula
First, let’s take a look at the formula we teach our members.
It’s called the 5-step SOD-PC formula which we’ve been using for years to dramatically increase the number of emails you can send to your list about a given offer, while radically increasing the conversion from every email you send.
S is for the Subject Line
O if for the Opening
D is for Deepening
P is for the Pitch
C is for the Call-to-Action
Here’s how the email starts off:
Subject Line:
Cash Cow for Entrepreneurs Who Hate Marketing
Dear Entrepreneur,
If you don’t hate marketing, you should.
But only if you’re interested in the good life… with easier, faster profits, and you’re not being eaten alive by unnecessary stress.
And if you DO despise marketing, welcome to the club.
I used to hate it, too, when marketing had a chokehold on my profits.
There’s a lot going on in the subject line and these first few sentences, which are the “opening.”
The subject line kicks it off with a paradox that grabs attention.
And a “cash cow” creates an instant mental image without saying something obvious, overused, or boring like, “make a lot of money.”
We’re also calling out to our target audience with the word “entrepreneur” in the subject line, but then we throw in “who hate marketing,” which is a pattern interrupt that derails your brain and makes you want resolution.
But it’s also something that resonates with most entrepreneurs who don’t really want to do any marketing in the first place, they just want to make more money.
That idea is repeated immediately with, “If you don’t hate marketing, you should,” then it’s quickly followed up with the benefit statement, “But only if you’re interested in the good life… with easier, faster profits…” which is setting up the expectation that there’s hope for a better way.
Then we add a quick bit of empathy to let prospects know that, “I’m just like you”:
And if you DO despise marketing, welcome to the club.
I used to hate it, too, when marketing had a chokehold on my profits.
The Deepening
Now that we’ve got our prospect’s attention and have them wanting more, we take them deeper with a true, heartfelt story:
“That was over 15 years ago when I was groping blindly in the dark, tearing my hair out as a rookie entrepreneur. (Easy for entrepreneurs to identify with)
Sure, money was coming in… but I was working 16, 18, and 20 hours a day, believing brute force was the obvious key to production and productivity. (We’re continuing to plant the seeds that less work and less stress is possible)
But it’s impossible to sustain that level of aimless intensity no matter how passionate and “on purpose” you are. (This is a knock on the guru’s who tell you you’re not successful because you’re not “on purpose” enough).
It was not only dumb, but dangerous.
A crazy-early heart attack was a jarring and terrifying wake-up call. (There’s an almost universal fascination with other peoples troubles, and a heart attack, which is truly what Jon dealt with, gives the story more drama)
And no amount of money matters to a dead man.
But being a prisoner to the mysteries of marketing is now officially obsolete. (Setting the stage for more good things to come–without the struggles)
Because AUTOMATED marketing is now your cheapest, most powerful, money-making ally. (Good things are in store for you)
You no longer need to kill yourself, churning out mediocre sales copy when AUTOMATION will produce already-proven marketing materials for you.
You see, that heart attack wasn’t the end for me.
I got lucky and lived to tell the tale.
I also got lucky when I struck it rich, entirely by accident, with a stunningly-original marketing discovery. (Jon was “lucky,” not necessarily smarter than you are)
I then went on to reverse engineer my priceless breakthrough by streamlining, systematizing… then AUTOMATING the process.
So now, there’s no need to torture yourself with revision after revision of the “perfect” sales letter. (A great benefit, less pain)
And you can save your cash… by NOT paying a copywriting pro when you can buy a new car instead. (Another benefit and added contrast–you don’t have to pay those ridiculously expensive copywriters and can use the money for something you actually want–like a car)
As you can see, the shift is starting from Deepening to the Pitch.
That was X years ago when I introduced my 3X VIDEO SALES LETTER GENERATOR, which has gone on to crank out $800 MILLION in sales for my clients and customers. (This could also happen for YOU!)
That’s right, I said $800 MILLION… and I’m not including the copy-cat rip-offs by some of the biggest players in the corporate world. (My stuff is so good that even the big shots want to steal it)
BUT despite its unimaginable success at creating cash out of thin air…
… When it comes to making money repeatedly, I saw a potential problem with the VSL generator.
OK, that’s plenty of food for thought, and if you’re intrigued with the “potential problem,” it’s exactly the response we want from our target audience.
We’ll finish this up in a couple weeks.
FYI, our members have access to 284 fill-in-the-blank templates that are just as sophisticated as this email (a new one every week) that they can immediately insert into their marketing campaigns.
These are not just one or two lines that direct you somewhere else.
They’re complete “sales letters” like the one above, that save you literally hundreds of hours or work and tens of thousands of dollars… without paying a copywriter or becoming one yourself.
And… if you want to see the NEWEST marketing innovation that adds interactive multimedia (video on steroids) and takes persuasion to yet another level, check it out right here.
Until next time, happy selling!
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