Story-Selling: Email & Content Marketing That'll Boost Sales

The purpose of this course is to share clear and specific ways to make your email & content more effective when it comes to your bottom line... REVENUE.

Take this course because you're tired of talking theory, and want to improve at what you do.  Or, because you want to add more to your next conversation. Use my sound bites or create your own.

Expect to learn more and quickly because course is split into 2 sections lessons averaging 60 minutes each.  Each lesson contains a minimum of 3 things you can do now to make your content stronger.

The course is produced by me, so it's fun, heavy on the visuals, and shares most of its lessons via stories. It's designed to inspire, but more importantly to leave you with specific things you can start doing (as early as today) to make your content work harder for you.

The people who will benefit most from our lessons include:

- anyone with content in their title, responsibility, or general interests

- marketers at companies large and small

- sales groups, pr teams, and communication types with an interest in content marketing

- students of content both new and old

- anyone who wants the money they spend on content, to come back to them via the sale of their product/service/solution/etc

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About the Topic

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While there are far more channels than ever before and far more ways to approach marketing, we live in a world where people can opt in and out of content with at any time with just one click.

This means that the only people reading your content are people that have explicitly given you permission to contact them. This alone goes to show just how important it is to share positive and engaging content.

Once you lose a contact by sending them unhelpful content, you’re likely going to lose them forever. However, one of the easiest and best ways to keep your users engaged is through storytelling, and more specifically, sharing stories through email marketing.

The 'SOAP Opera' Email Sequence

Also known as the SOS method, Soap Opera Email Sequences (thanks Russell Brunson) are a unique and incredibly effective series of 5 email messages used to "warm up" your brand new leads and email subscribers. The SOS message focuses on building a relationship with a new lead, creating trust and interest in you personally, along with your brand and product.

Everyone knows how a Soap Opera works, right?

Whether it is daytime TV or your favorite prime time thriller, you watch with bated breath until the last 5 minutes for the cliffhanger. We all know it's coming, week after week, and that's exactly what keeps you settling in at 8pm every Thursday for the next episode.

We all need to see how our favorite character, the one we've come to love and are rooting for, survives the latest challenge.

SOS email operates exactly the same way. Your company is the main character and by the end of the email sequence, these new leads are going be ready and waiting for what you have to offer them.

Here's a closer look into each of the 5 emails in the sequence:

EMAIL 1: SET THE STAGE

Lights. Camera. Action!

If the first scene of the show is boring, you change the channel. The same thought applies to the first email. It can't be boring and it needs to form an immediate connection with your user. This first email is the welcome email, so do that! Introduce yourself.

One great way to get them hooked is to present a secret.

Let's take an example from a real estate agent:

"I've been in the real estate business for over a decade. But it's only been in the last 5 years that my business has really exploded. I sell every house I list within 30 days. And do you want to know how I do it? I've got a secret and it works. Every. Single. Time. Watch for my next email and I'll share it with you."

EMAIL 2: HIGH DRAMA

Now you've got them hooked.

What is the mysterious and valuable trick to quickly selling your home?

Odds are high the user will open the next email and this is where the selling process begins. Start with a back story. In the case of the real estate agent above, the discussion could cover an economic downturn that really hurt the real estate business. The agent was in a dire position and managed to turn it around.

But wait! The user is waiting to hear that secret.

Here's how to start the sales process: Add a P.S. or a final paragraph and mention your product or service.

"And before I conclude, I realize it's time to share my secret. Take a look at my website and check out how I've managed to grow my business and sell my clients homes faster than any other real estate agent in town."

EMAIL 3: THE EPIPHANY

You're now halfway through the soap opera. The users are hooked and want to know more.

They've been introduced to your product but more importantly, they like you.

They want you to win and they want to learn how you overcame your problem and accomplished so much. It is time for the Epiphany email. This email ties right into your business. The real estate agent can explain how they came to build the amazing website that showcases homes like no other: "My epiphany was that I needed a website that..."

Users not only understand the value of the product but they have an emotional connection to it.

EMAIL 4: THE HIDDEN BENEFITS

This email is ideal for honing in on your customer persona. The reader now realizes your product works.

But have they realized how it can work for them?

Using customer persona as a starting point, list all of the ways your product can directly help your leads. This is the email where your reader starts thinking, "This is what I've needed all along!" Go ahead and provide links for them to contact you and purchase.

Oftentimes, readers are prepared to do that right now.

EMAIL 5: THE CALL TO ACTION

It's May Sweeps and everyone knows the cliffhanger is about to arrive.

How do we conclude the SOS?

This is the last email in the series, but it isn't the last email they will receive from you. By now, readers will be familiar with your product and connect on a personal level with you and your brand. Include a great offer and a sense of urgency. Consider a mid-funnel offer like a scheduled webinar. "Sign up by 5PM for a limited attendance webinar tomorrow."

We all know they'll hear from you again, but attaching a real sense of urgency can drive some readers through the sales funnel more quickly. And go ahead and ask for the sale! Construct a killer campaign around a serious offer and kick off the next phase of the buying process.

What Is The Seinfeld Email Marketing Method?

The Seinfeld Method serves as a follow-up form of communication to "The Soap Opera Email" – which is typically a story-arch of emails designed to build a relationship with new leads, while introducing them to your products and services. It's primary goal is building trust."The Soap Opera Email" – which is typically a story arch of emails designed to build a relationship with new leads, while introducing them to your products and services. Its primary goal is building trust.

Subsequently, the Seinfeld Method is short-form storytelling with the goal of entertainment. If you've ever watched the hit TV series, you may recall it was fondly referred to as "the show about nothing." There was no story arch; each episode stood on its own. One week, the storyline may have been unbelievably whacky and the next, undeniably mundane.

Russell uses the same approach when writing for subscribers who have already gone through his Soap Opera sequence. Each email is like a self-contained Seinfeld episode.

He candidly tells stories of prospect interactions, random life events, and personal observations. And, at the end of each email, he finds a way to tie the story into his products and services.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT FOR YOURSELF

• Begin thinking about your daily life in terms of story.

• Keep a log (mental or tangible) of the interactions you have each day.

• Pay particular attention to those aspects that surprise, delight, or challenge you.

• Choose one such event and write a marketing email as if you were talking to a friend.

• Ask yourself: How can I tie this story back to a particular product or service that we offer?

• Create a Call to Action that links to a related blog article, sales offering or piece of gated content.

For more details, let's meet inside !