Does that sound more than fair?
Cool—then go get your ticket for our upcoming event (it’s happening this Thursday) here:
www.ExpertSecrets.com/freeaccess
Thanks,
Russell Brunson
Email #5: Urgency and CTA. This is usually the last email in my Soap Opera Sequence. It’s NOT the last email I send people, it’s just the end of my introduction. The goal is to give the reader one last push to go take action right now. You do that by adding urgency into the equation and then using a call to action (CTA). Up to now, you’ve been casually using CTAs, but in this last email, you want to light a little fire under readers. What legitimate reasons can you come up with that would make them need to take action right away?
• Your webinar starts tomorrow.
• You only have ten seats left at your event.
• You only ordered one thousand books, and most of them are gone.
• You’re pulling the video offline.
Whatever the reason, it needs to be real. Fake urgency will backfire on you, and you’ll lose all credibility. Just think of a reason why you might “run out” of whatever you’re selling. If it’s an evergreen product, then create a special sale that ends soon. Or give readers a coupon that expires in twenty-four hours. Be creative! There’s always some way to create real urgency.
Here’s an Example:
Subject: [DCS] Ch. 5 of 5: Last Call.
Body: I’ve been talking about my “Expert Secrets” class this week, and how you can get a ticket for free. . .
But that special offer is going away TODAY. . .
Yes, if you read this email tomorrow, then I apologize, because it will be too late. If you take this class later, you’ll have to pay
AT LEAST $300, but I might put it back to its full ticket price of $3,000 by then as well (haven’t decided yet).
But—if you want to take me up on my “try before you buy” offer, and go through the entire 51/4 hour training BEFORE you spend a dime. . .
Then go get your ticket ASAP here: www.ExpertSecrets.com/freeaccess
You’ve been warned - I don’t want any emails tomorrow saying I didn’t warn you.
So, go get your ticket, and I’ll see you on the training.
Thanks,
Russell Brunson
THAT’SHOW THE SOAP OPERA SEQUENCE WORKS:
Email #1 pulls the reader to Email #2 . . .
Email #2 pulls the reader to Email #3 . . .
And so on.
The emails themselves should be easy to read and fast to scan. So, use one or two sentences per line. Add in lots of white space. Do not use long paragraphs that slow people down. I like to write out the basic structure elements first. Then I fill in the juicy details and emotional hooks.
You probably noticed a couple of other things in the example emails. First, I use loads of personality. This is the reader’s introduction to my Attractive Character; I want people to bond with me and be entertained. I don’t try to hide who I am. And along those same lines, you may have noticed some grammatical errors. Why didn’t I fix them? Remember, your Attractive Character needs flaws so people can relate. That goes for your emails, too. I’m not telling you to put errors in on purpose, but if they happen, don’t freak out. And please don’t let fear of making a mistake keep you from sending out the emails at all.
If you follow the Soap Opera Sequence style, you’re going to be amazed by how much more successful you are—early on and as long as you continue to send emails to your list. To make it easy for you to get the hang of this, I’ve created a special Soap Opera Email Template you can download and use over and over again. By using this template, you’ll never forget any of the major elements, and you’ll save a ton of time when writing emails.
To download: Go to www.DotComSecretsBook.com/resources/soaptemplates
Up Next: So, you’ve got your Soap Opera Sequence set up. Now what? How should your Attractive Character communicate with your list going forward?
I’m glad you asked! You’re going to use what I call Seinfeld emails. That’s the next secret!
SECRET #8:
DAILY SEINFELD SEQUENCE
RUSSELL (an NBC executive): So, what have you two come up with?
JERRY: Well, we’ve thought about this in a variety of ways. But the basic idea is I will play myself.
GEORGE: (Interrupting) May I?
JERRY: Go ahead.
GEORGE: I think I can sum up the show for you with one word: NOTHING.
RUSSELL: Nothing?
GEORGE: (Smiling) Nothing.
RUSSELL: (Unimpressed) What does that mean?
GEORGE: The show is about nothing. JERRY: (To George) Well, it’s not about nothing.
GEORGE: (To Jerry) No, it’s about nothing.
JERRY: Well, maybe in philosophy. But, even nothing is something. (Jerry and George glare at each other. The receptionist enters.)
SUSAN: What’s the premise?
JERRY: Well, as I was saying, I would play myself, and as a comedian living in New York, I have a friend, a neighbor, and an ex-girlfriend, which is all true.
GEORGE: Yeah, but nothing happens on the show. You see, it’s just like life. You know, you eat; you go shopping; you read . . . You eat; you read. You go shopping.
RUSSELL: You read? You read on the show?
JERRY: Well, I don’t know about the reading. We didn’t discuss the reading.
RUSSELL: All right, tell me. Tell me about the stories. What kind of stories?
GEORGE: Oh, no. No stories.
RUSSELL: No stories? So, what is it?
GEORGE: (Showing an example) What’d you do today?
RUSSELL: I got up and came to work.
GEORGE: There’s a show. That’s a show.
RUSSELL: (Confused) How is that a show?
JERRY: Well, uh, maybe something happens on the way to work.
GEORGE: No, no, no. Nothing happens.
JERRY: Well, something happens.
RUSSELL: Well, why am I watching it?
GEORGE: Because it’s on TV.
RUSSELL: (Threatening) Not yet.
GEORGE: Okay, uh, look, if you want to just keep on doing the same old thing, then maybe this idea is not for you. I, for one, am not going to compromise my artistic integrity. And I’ll tell you something else. This is the show, and we’re not going to change it. (To Jerry) Right?
Yes, that was the dialog from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Seinfeld. This was the episode when George and Jerry were trying to pitch their idea to NBC about starting a show about nothing. It was funny because the show Seinfeld actually was a show about nothing.
When I first started growing my list, I really struggled to send emails. What did I have to say that was important enough that people would want to open and read it? So I started focusing on writing great, content-packed emails that often took days to write. I thought that was the answer. But I later discovered that after someone had gone through my Soap Opera Sequence and bonded with the Attractive Character, content wasn’t what they responded to. What the readers responded to was . . . well, nothing.
My emails switched from 100% content to 90% entertainment and just 10% content, and my readership, opens, clicks, and sales all skyrocketed with the change.
You want your Attractive Character to be fun and entertaining. That’s how you’re going to write your daily Seinfeld emails. That’s right; I recommend sending them daily after your initial Soap Opera Sequence is finished.
I know a LOT of people get VERY nervous about how often they email their lists. I used to feel that way, too. I used to email once a month, and my response rates were horrible. So then I started emailing twice a month. And guess what? I more than doubled my income.
Then I decided to email once a week, then twice, then every other day, and what I’ve found now is that if I don’t email my list every day, I lose money every day. I strongly recommend emailing every day, and if you do it with the “Seinfeld style�
� I’m going to show you now, readers won’t get annoyed because they will be so entertained.
The secret to keeping your subscribers happy to hear from you every day is using the Seinfeld format. Be entertaining. Just talk about your day.
• What’s going on in your Attractive Character’s life?
• What happened that’s embarrassing?
• How are you getting through the holiday season?
• Where are you planning your vacation this year?
• What did you buy recently that you regret?
• What did you buy recently that you just adore?
• What made you scream with rage yesterday, that you’re laughing about today?
• What crazy antics did your kid or your dog get into yesterday?
• What funny thing happened in your past that teaches a lesson?
These are emails about nothing. Just random episodes and entertaining stories.
EXCEPT . . . they have a purpose. The goal is to lead people back to whatever you’re selling. It might be your core offer or some other product or service. It might even be someone else’s product. Every story needs to relate back to something you’re selling.
That’s the secret. That’s how you make money.
If you just send out entertaining emails and don’t tie in your products or services, you won’t make a dime. Not even if you’re the best storyteller in the world. EVERY EMAIL and each story must be tied back into some type of offer for your audience.
Let me show you an example of some Seinfeld emails and how I tie the story back into the product I’m selling. Both these examples made over one hundred thousand dollars each when they were sent out to my list. They are both great examples of emails about nothing.
EXAMPLE #1
Subject: [True Story] He FLUSHED $20 million down the toilet today
Body: So, yesterday we had a guy apply for my Ignite program
I saw his app come through, and I was actually really excited, because he is in the golf market.
Now, I’m no golfer, but I’ve got a lot of friends doing $20 million + in the golf market online.
I saw his product and KNEW it was a home run.
So, the coach who was going to call him back asked me for my opinion on his business before she called him, and I sat down for ten minutes and pulled up the following:
His three major competitors
Every site competitors were SUCCESSFULLY buying traffic from
The top three converting ads for each of his competitors
The sales funnels that WERE converting and the main reason his was NOT
I then showed her the two media buyers I would use if I were in the golf market (both can send over one thousand sales a day, consistently).
Armed with this information, she called the guy up...
He was a little cocky (and rightfully so—he’d sold over 100,000 units of his product on TV). Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t figure out this pesky Internet thing . . .
She started sharing some of my ideas with him, and then he stopped her. . .
“Look, I’ve read twenty books on Internet marketing . . . there isn’t a single thing Russell could teach me that I don’t already know. . .”
So she tried to explain, “Look . . . you could read a million books on Jiu Jitsu, but that’s not gonna help you in a street fight. . .”
I thought that was pretty funny, but what happened next was just sad.
He said, “Well, Russell doesn’t know anything about golf. . .” and then he hung up.
Now, while he was right about me not knowing anything about golf. . .
I know EVERYTHING about SELLING golf stuff online.
I’ve been doing this for OVER ten years now. I’ve personally trained over 2,500 companies in my office here in Boise.
I’ve worked with a LOT of golf guys . . . (and one golf gal).
I’ve worked with people in just about every market I can think of (except bowling . . . I’ve never had someone teaching bowling come to me, which makes me sad, because bowling Is my third favorite sport after wrestling and Ju Jitsu).
Anyways . . .
For about everything else I can think of, I’ve mapped out a funnel, shown the client what they were doing wrong, Introduced them to my media buyers, advised them on which sites to buy ads from, and instructed them on what they should be spending to acquire a customer in THEIR specific market.
I then usually introduce the client to the gurus I know in those areas. After speaking on Dan Kennedy’s stage for six years, I have met most of the “gurus” in most industries, and my position makes it easy to find connections for others.
Those are the things you CAN’T learn in a book . . .
Those are the things we bring to the table for our Ignite people.
My goal for that group is not to teach them more stuff . . . it’s to make them more money.
Anyway, if you’ve got a golf product, let me know, because I’ve got a killer twenty- million-dollar-a-year blueprint that this dude just flushed down the toilet because of his arrogance . . . or Ignorance. Either way, he lost out.
You can just plug in and run with it...
Or if you sell, well, almost anything else, I’d love to help with that, too.
Our next Inner Circle meeting is here in Boise in May. If you’d like to come, you’ve got to act fast.
You can apply here:
http://lgnite.DotComSecrets.com
Oh, and we only accept cool people. If you like to flush money down the toilet . . . PLEASE don’t apply.
Thanks,
Russell Brunson
EXAMPLE #2
Subject: Jiu Jitsu is like wrestling for old, fat guys (and other marketing stuff)
Body: So, tomorrow I’m fighting in a Jiu Jitsu tournament.
For those of you on my list who don’t know what Jiu Jitsu is, it’s kinda like wrestling for old, fat guys (which is GREAT for me because, while I still look like I’m thirteen, I am actually getting a lot older—34 yrs old now—and fatter—30 lbs. heavier than when I was wrestling).
Anyway, I have weigh-ins in a few hours, and as of right now, I’m still seven pounds overweight . . .
Good thing I’m a wrestler and have some awesome weight-cutting skillz. In fact, I just found my old weight-cutting clothes this morning. Check them out:
Yes, they are a little tight, but my three-year-old told me I look like a ninja, so they can’t be that bad . . . right?
Anyway, in about an hour, I’m gonna go to the wrestling room, and within thirty to forty minutes, I’ll lose all 7 lbs. Then tomorrow, I get to step onto a mat with a bunch of younger, faster guys whose
ONLY goal in life is to choke me out . . . (or to break my arm, whichever comes first).
I’m SO SO SO SO SO SO excited!
So, why do I tell you this?
Because this week, we did well over six figures in sales.
Not this month . . . this WEEK.
And we did it WITHOUT any product launches . . .
WITHOUT any affiliates . . .
And while that is a pretty normal week for us, this week was special because we also did it...
WITHOUT me actually being in the office . . .
Yup...
You guessed it . . . I spent most of this week in the wrestling room, getting ready for the tournament this weekend.
Yet, we still did six figures in sales while I was gone.
Would you like to learn how I did it?
Would you like to see how you build a business that can run just as well when you’re gone as when you’re there?
Are you ready to take your company to the next level?
If so, I’ve got good news for you . . .
As long as I don’t end up in the hospital after my match this weekend, I’m gonna be coming into the office next week.
That gives me time to work personally with two more people to help build out their funnels . . . (the SAME type of funnel we use to pull
in six figures a week like clockwork).
If you’re ready to take your game to the next level and create a business that can truly give you time and freedom to do other things you love, then let’s get on the phone and figure out how we can work together.
Sound good? If so, then you can apply here: http://lgnite.DotComSecrets.com
Oh, and if you’re looking for a “get rich quick” scheme, this Isn’t it.
If you’re looking for a “work hard and build an awesome company” scheme, then I’m your man!
Okay, I’m off to cut weight. . .
Wish me luck this weekend!
Thanks,
Russell Brunson
P.S. I already know that it’s not healthy to cut seven pounds in under an hour... so no emailing me telling me it’s not healthy.
I’m pretty sure that stepping onto a mat with someone 30 lbs. heavier is a lot less healthy than me losing 7 lbs. of water in an hour. Haha...
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