Write Stories, Not Sales Pitches
Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash
Email marketing is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, but let's be real for a hot minute.
It can also be pretty damn boring
Everyday you open your inbox and it's just a bunch of dry, bland emails trying to sell you something.
You know what I'm talking about… and it’s been just like that everyday of your life for the last decade or so.
So, how do you stop boring the living shit out of your email subscribers… YOU TELL STORIES
Storytelling in email marketing is all about using the power of stories to connect with your audience and make your message more memorable.
Let's face it, who doesn't love a good story?
Whether it's a heartwarming tale of a customer's success or a relatable anecdote about a common problem, stories can help you build a deeper connection with your subscribers.
But how the heck do you go about
using storytelling in email marketing?
Well first things first, you’ll need a story. and just to be really safe it should probably be a good one that people can relate to.
It doesn't have to be a novel or anything, but it does need to be something that grabs your reader's attention by the scruff of the neck and makes them want to keep reading.
It could be a customer testimonial, a behind-the-scenes look at your business, or even a personal story about how your product or service has helped a client.
Take some time, grab a pen, and write down just a few of the things that have happened to you, or your business, that you could tell to your audience.
Ok so you now have a story, and it’s a good one
Time to weave it into your email, but here's the thing… you don't want to just throw it in at the end as an afterthought.
It needs to be integrated into your the overall message, but what is the message?
So, for example, if you're promoting a new product, you could use a customer story to show how it's helped them solve a problem.
Let's imagine you're a clothing brand and you
want to sell a new line of winter coats
Instead of just listing the features and benefits of the coats, you could tell the story of a time you were caught in a snowstorm without a proper coat and how your new line saved the day, and perhaps even your life!
This not only makes the email far more interesting to read but also creates an emotional bond to the product, making it more exciting and also more likely for the recipient to buy.
See, while people will probably forget your product (there are a bajillion winter coats on the market), and your brand may slip right out of their head…
But Stories? People remember stories.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words but it’s the
RIGHT picture which really resonates with your audience
By including images, videos, or even GIFs in your emails, you can help your story come to life and make it more engaging.
And don't worry, if you're not a pro at graphic design, there are plenty of tools that make it easy to create professional-looking visuals.
Last but not least, don't be afraid to be a
little sassy and sarcastic in your emails
Now I'm not saying you should go out and be a jerk, but a little bit of injected personality can go a long way in making your emails stand out from the crowd.
People are much more likely to remember an email that made them laugh or smile than one that put them to sleep with another boring update or offer.
So the next time you're writing an email, think about how you can use the art of storytelling to be more relatable, add a sprinkle of emotion, and a whole lot of sass make it far more impactful and really connect to your reader.
