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Email marketing has always been the underdog of a marketing channel. Maybe because it’s easy replicate and that’s most that’s a giant snooze fest. But while I was reading Ben Settles Crypto Copy on how to write sales letters, the thought of email marketing and sales letters go hand and hand. Sort of like how bread and cheese go together. Sure, they’re both tasty on their own, but together… you get a grilled cheese. A nice warm, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, ooey-gooey sandwich.

But you got to butter the bread and cook it on the right temperature or else it’ll burn. The same principles apply when you’re email marketing. Granted, the concept is a bit more than just buttering bread and slapping a slice of cheese up there and calling it a day. No, with email marketing it’s there’s a bit more nuance to it.

So, without a doubt I give you:

The Five Finger Email Marketing Death Punch That Fortifies Your Positioning to Your Prospects on Your List.

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1. Strip heavy HTML and use plain text to land in the inbox every time.

The reason why most of your emails tend to go to SPAM, is because you riddle it with oversized images or fill it with 20 different links. But the best preforming emails are the personal emails that contain zero images, banners, or logos, they’re just words.

Retail emails contain flashing gifs, tracking scripts, and giant header images, which over-fill the ‘gas tank’. Google and Yahoo view the first as a real message. Then they view the second as a digital billboard and throws it into the spam folder.

Heavy HTML code triggers spam filters. By using large images, it bloats your message and the complex design drags your email away from the primary inbox.

Strip the code to bypass the gatekeepers with plain text, as it loads instantly and lands where your readers look.

• » Heavy HTML screams “commercial pitch” to the reader and acts as a giant red flag for spam filters, practically begging to be treated like a digital pariah

• » Plain text is your “secret weapon” because it slips into the inbox looking like a personal note from a friend, ensuring you are treated as a welcomed guest instead of an annoying pest

• » Corporate templates act as “10-foot walls” of boring professionalism, killing the “warts and all” authenticity required to bond emotionally with your audience

• » Clean text turns your business into “talk radio on glass,” opening a direct conversation that makes your emails the highlight of your reader’s day

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2. Segment your current list and send a direct offer to extract hidden cash in 72 hours.

Unsegmented lists contain dead weight in still water. By sending the same broad offer to everyone, you lower your response rate.

When you divide your audience into a specific group, you pull out your buyers from the last six months, and isolate subscribers who opened your last three messages, creating a hyper-focused segment.

Sending this group a raw, direct offer, doesn’t include a story or a long buildup. Instead, present them with a specific solution to their exact problem and give them a clear reason to buy right now.

Set a strict (48, 32, or) 72-hour deadline, because a short window forces a decision, and as the clock ticks down, the cash will start to move from their pockets into your business.

• » A massive, unsegmented list is a stagnant pond of “new product junkies” and “do-nothings” who ignore your expertise because you’re trying to be all things to all people.

  » A targeted segment is a high-pressure fire hose that lets you speak directly to your reader’s specific “crab grass” pains, entering the conversation already going on in their mind.

• » Vague offers are ignored like background noise because they fail the “Who Cares?” test and don’t provide a “meaningful specific” reason for a skeptic to act.

• » A direct offer with a fast deadline acts like a magnet for hidden revenue, creating a “sense of emergency” that forces “hemmers and hawers” off the fence and into a buying decision.

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3. Write short, compelling personal messages that turn cold contacts into hot appointments.

It’s no secret that cold prospects will ignore long paragraphs and corporate pitches. Because they look like a wall of text from a stranger.

Picture your text message to a friend. It is brief and it asks one specific question. In return they answer it immediately. Your outreach does the same thing. Drop using the company bio, a long introduction, and don’t include the attached slide decks. It’s the exact problem you solve and ask a simple, low-friction question.

Short messages break through the clutter because they take five seconds to read and it doesn’t demand time, starting a conversation instead of making a sales pitch.

• » Long, rambling pitches are “bloviated” roadblocks that reek of neediness, practically begging the prospect to rack a shotgun and tell you to get the hell off their digital lawn

• » Short, “bite-sized” messages act like a “woman’s skirt”, just enough to get attention and force the prospect to “kidnap” you inside their mind to tell them more

• » Walls of text signal a “boring textbook” or “corporate memo,” lacking the “shotgun rack” impact required to stop an indifferent reader from hitting delete

• » One sharp question enters their “world” and creates a “neurological itch” they are hard-wired to scratch with an immediate reply

4. Mail daily but use infotainment to keep subscribers buying without burning out your list.

Almost everyone and their mother think sales emails resemble a late-night television commercial. Screaming for attention and demanding a credit card. And if you send these daily, readers hit the unsubscribe button. (which is mostly false)

Think of a good radio host or a late-night talk show, like Howard Stern or Johnny Carson. They share strange stories, weird facts, or personal lessons. They get you to listen because you want to know what happens next. Right at the end, they tie that story directly into a product.

This is infotainment. Combine a quick piece of entertainment with a lesson, then pivot to your offer. Daily mailing builds this habit and if you only pitch, you burn the list. When you entertain, readers look for your name in their inbox every morning.

• » Pitch-heavy emails are like those loud, obnoxious commercials that viewers mute; they are a boring “chore” and an imposition that signals to the reader your message is just another “refined turd” to be deleted on sight.

• » Infotainment is the favorite show your fans wait to watch, serving them a “hotdog that nourishes like broccoli” so they eagerly “tune in” to your emails every day while ignoring the rest of your niche.

• » Constant selling is “marketing malpractice” that turns you into a (as Ben would say) “mush-cookie” salesman, eventually causing your leads to snap their wallets shut and “black-ball” you from their world.

• » Good stories build an “open loop” cliffhanger in the brain, creating a “heaven and hell” tension that humans are hard-wired to find closure for by purchasing your solution

5. Ask for three specific warm introductions the exact moment a new subscriber buys.

The moment a new subscriber buys is the exact moment they trust you most. Their excitement peaks and they just swiped their card and committed to your solution. Sort of like an unholy vow of loyalty.

Most businesses send a generic receipt and walk away, leaving money on the table. Instead, leverage this immediately and ask for three specific warm introductions on the thank-you page or in the welcome email. Don’t ask for vague referrals… Ask for people who face the exact same problem you just solved.

Since the buyer is already in motion, they just said yes to you, and you need to capitalize on that energy before they cool down and forget you.

• » Generic receipts are a “consumption killer,” missing the critical opportunity to pre-sell the buyer on the rest of your Marketing Universe.

• » Immediate referral requests leverage Self-Aggrandizement, turning customers into “berserkers” who recruit others to join your exclusive Mission.

• » Vague questions allow whiners and “junkies” to evade your Curation protocols and infect your business with their excuses.

• » Specific profiles turn your leads into a Cast of Characters, making your brand a unique culture that no copycat “expert” can replicate

Phew, that was a fun one. But there you have it. Five stupid easy ways to help you get better at email marketing. But hey, I get it. If it’s too much for you to handle, since you’re already wearing 17 other hats and you can afford the time to create a new email every day…

I got a sure-fire way to help you achieve that without hiring someone. Instead, you should get my Shawshank Automation book that is jammed packed with everything you need to know about email marketings technical side.

Click the button below, go to my shop and click the Shawshank Automation PDF for your download. Which will save you countless of hours, speed up the list building process, refines your positioning, and you can start generating income today.

Break Free from Your Email Restraits