Encore | E06: Joanna Wiebe - Writing Engaging Sales-Based Emails

Note: this popular episode was originally release on June 9, 2020.

On today’s show, listeners will hear how a renowned copywriter teaches others to sell and promote with email. For Joanna, email is the direct path to revenue for every business, especially because it is a much cheaper and less time-consuming way of reaching your audience than many other mediums such as podcasting and blogging. Joanna educates listeners on the difference between direct mail and email, what direct response entails, and she gets into the factors that make or break an email campaign, including the relevance of the content and the timing. She gives pointers for writing sales-based emails that are interesting and that keeps the reader curious without resorting to cheap tactics like clickbait. But she warns marketers not to let the fear of being sleazy stop them from writing groundbreaking emails and suggests they should test different approaches with their audience. Joanna also shares how you can use storytelling skills to write effective emails and explains why getting everything out on the page is better than editing in your head as you go. 

Key Points From This Episode:

Hear why email provides an instant payoff that is seldom seen in other mediums. Keeping in mind that, while other mediums could work, they will likely cost you more. The difference between direct mail and email and the role of our impulse to keep clicking. An explanation of what direct response involves in the context of marketing. Relevance and other factors that determine whether a sales-based email succeeds or fails. Find out about the crucial part that email has played in Joanna’s copywriting business. Advice for writing sales emails that aren’t sleazy and testing your audience’s response. Writing interesting emails by paying attention to what is interesting and current in the world. Using storytelling skills to keep your email audience interested and wanting to know more. Why you have to write down everything that comes to mind and do the editing later. 

Tweetables:

“There is a direct path between sending an email and making a sale. It is harder to make sales without sending emails.” — @copyhackers [0:01:52]

“The most ideal, if you are trying to get an email to convert, is increased relevance. Relevance is everything—but it’s hard.”  — @copyhackers [0:05:50]

“The fear of being sleazy keeps so many marketers from doing breakthrough work.” — @copyhackers [0:11:36]

“Great, readable copy doesn’t happen on the first take. The first take is supposed to be ugly.” —@copyhackers [0:20:15] 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Joanna Wiebe on LinkedIn

Joanna Wiebe on Twitter

Copyhackers

John Lee Dumas

Entrepreneurs on Fire 

Pushing Send

rasa.io