Doctor Who fans will enjoy this
post!
I’m not affiliated to the BBC,
but this dalek prank video they
made is quite funny:
People walk into the BBC offices
and are accosted by a dalek
shrieking “EXTERMINATE…
EXTERMINATE… EXTERMINATE…”
at them!
Some people freak out and take
evasive action, but most enjoy
the surprise.
You should be a bit of a dalek in
the first few emails you send
your subscribers.
I don’t mean the full on evil
cyborg type of dalek – I don’t
really want you to “exterminate”
your new subscribers!
Instead, be a good dalek and
do these three things in the
first few emails you send:
- Indoctrinate…
- Educate…
- Facilitate
Indoctrination Email
This is the first email you send.
In the email you tell your new
subscribers what to expect from
you and what your email list is
all about.
Tell them clearly what you are
going to write about and what
kind of programs, products or
services you will offer them.
Yes, some people won’t like it.
Yes, they’ll unsubscribe from
your list.
You “exterminated” them as soon
as they entered your funnel.
Why on earth would you do that?
Because by being open about your
intentions from the beginning you
create a stronger connection with
those who do NOT unsubscribe.
The ones who unsubscribe were
not your real target market anyway.
But the ones who stay now know
what to expect from you and are
OK with it. Most likely, they
find your honesty refreshing.
If you read my first email again
you’ll see that that’s what I did.
I wrote, “I want you to join my
programs” and that if you didn’t
like it you could unsubscribe.
This approach is deliberately
“polarizing.” You are calling
out to your REAL audience and
attracting them to you more
strongly by defining them
against the type of people you
don’t want in your audience.
Frank Kern puts it like this:
“The more repulsive you are to
people you don’t want, the more
magnetic you will be to the
people who you do want.“
(The Ultimate Offer Formula)
That is the purpose of your
indoctrination email.
Education email
Use the next 1 or 2 emails to
educate your readers about the
content of your course.
In those emails tell them what
you are going to talk about and
who your target audience is.
For example, in my second email
to you I explained the contents
of my training course like this:
“This course will teach affiliate
marketers in the MMO niche how
to build an email-marketing
funnel that gets results.”
Those who identify as affiliate
marketers in the MMO niche will
be more motivated to stay with
me. Those who do not will be
more likely to unsubscribe, and
that’s okay because they are not
my target audience anyway.
Facilitation email
This email is the first one in
which you offer a specific tool
or service that will help your
subscribers to move towards
their goal. In doing so you
“facilitate” (i.e. “help”) their
success.
Since we are still close to the
top of the funnel, it is best to
offer a tool that’s free or has
a free membership level.
The tool should be useful for
your readers and relevant to the
topic of your email training.
For example, since this is a
course about how to build a
marketing funnel, I put a link
to the Sendsteed autoresponder
in my faciliatation email.
Sendsteed has free and paid
membership options. If you
can’t afford to pay for an
autoresponder the free
service can help you build
a list and send your emails
as “broadcasts” until you
can afford to upgrade.
So a service such as
Sendsteed is a good fit
for an email training course
such as this one, and it is a
good service to offer close
to the top of your funnel
because the free option
comes with a lot of value.
Lead With Value…
This is an important point:
Instead of trying to sell
your offer in every email
you should lead with value.
Give good value first. Value
builds trust. Give your readers
time to get to “know, like and
trust” you.
Another way to do that is by
inviting your subscribers to
enter your world through your
social media platforms.
Before the faciliatation email,
the only links I had included in
my emails were to my social
media channels and my blog.
Check the first 3 emails I sent
you again. This time, read them
critically, as examples of how
to write the first few emails of
a marketing funnel and adapt the
style to your own needs:
- [FYF] Welcome to the “Fill Your Funnel” training course with David Hurley 🙂 (Indoctrination email)
- [FYF] What type of marketing funnel do you want to build? Are we on the same page? (Education email)
- [FYF] Why affiliate marketers don’t make money with a typical “marketing funnel” (Education email)
Notice how I both “push away”
those who are not in my target
market and reach out to those
who are. That’s me being like a
dalek by “exterminating” those
who I don’t want on my list!
But since you’re still reading
this I guess you’ve passed the
“dalek test.”
Best wishes,
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus
P. S. Here is the link to the LeadsLeap program which includes the SendSteed autoresponder service.
