3 Keys to Writing a Powerful, Personal Email

3 Keys to Writing a Powerful, Personal Email

Every element of your product launch is important, but every single one of your emails to your launch list is critical.
You have to remember that on the other end of every email you send is a living, breathing person. They’re checking their email in the den, while the kids scream in the background. They’re checking their email on their iPhone in line at the bank, with three more stops to go before getting home to their family.
You could have a list of 1,000… 10,000… even 100,000 names or more, and it will still be the same: you’re not just writing to email addresses on a list, you’re writing to people. They’re individual people, they have individual situations, they have individual needs and desires.
But here’s the critical thing to keep in mind the next time you sit down to write an email:

Even though they lead vastly different lives, they all share one thing in common: they’re
all far too busy, they’re all far too distracted, and they’re all getting far more emails than they’ll ever have time to read!

That’s why your greatest asset in email marketing is your relationship with your list.
You want to be in a situation where, when your email pops up in their inbox, they associate such a profound level of confidence, trust, and value with your name that they immediately want to open your email to see what you have to say.
Last week on our sister blog, I wrote about the 3 key elements for writing an effective “headline” for your emails and how to make your emails leap out of your prospect’s inbox. This week, I want to share with you a simple 3-step process for writing powerful, personal emails that our leader Jeff Walker uses every time he sits down to write.
It all starts with a simple Venn diagram with three concentric circles.

Circle #1: Story

A story about you or someone you know, talking about an experience that is closely related to the action you want your prospect to take.
Sometimes that story will take up significant space in your email, sometimes it will be relatively small, and sometimes there will be no story at all. But most of the time you’ll want to try and have a story, even if that story is covered in just one sentence.
This should often include what we refer to as “revelation of self”. That means telling people a little bit about yourself… opening up to them… talking about things that are happening in your life (without being boring)… letting them get little glimpses into your life. People love that. In fact, the greater your stature and positioning becomes with the people on your list, the more that comes into effect.
People like quick-hitting tactics, so those are good to share from time to time. But people will not stick with you for tactics, and people will not stick with you solely for content. They’re going to stick with you because they feel a connection with you. That means that overwhelming them with content is not the answer.
You win by sharing yourself… being an inspirational figure… celebrating wins (your wins, but more importantly, your reader’s wins)… being a good listener for your readers, and then sharing what you hear, sharing their successes… speaking to a bigger vision for their lives.
Those things are always going to be a win.

Circle #2: Aspirations or Pain Points

You must be clear on who you are publishing to.
What are their hopes, dreams, fears? What keeps them awake at night? What do they aspire to become? What are their biggest obstacles or pain points? What’s holding them back? The more clear you can be on these things, the better you can craft a message that hits them squarely in the heart and mind.
You don’t have to have a perfect understanding of your ideal client and their aspirations when you’re just starting out, but you need to get that understanding as quickly as possible.

Circle #3: Goal or Outcome

You also must be clear on the expected outcome of each email you send.
Generally, it’s getting them to click a link and land on a page, predisposed to taking some kind of action; whether it be to opt-in on a squeeze page, to visit a sales page and buy something, or to make a comment on a blog or Facebook page.
Whatever that expected goal or outcome is, you need to be clear on it and have it firmly in mind at all times. Your entire email needs to guide them towards that expected goal or outcome.
Once you have those three key elements clearly in place, your task then becomes a matter of asking yourself: how can I weave my personal story in with my prospects’ aspirations, so that it naturally leads to a link at the bottom of the email that my prospect will want to click on.
As with anything in life and business, there are no guarantees. But if you get these three key elements right, you’ll be positioned to knock it out of the ballpark more times than not.