How do you integrate Soap Opera Sequences (SOS) & Persona into your "regular" emails

Sorry about bumping this, but I really need some help with this from someone who's familiar with the story-telling or soap opera system.

How do I transit from my regular missives to this style? Or do I just start making myself the persona and ease into more of a story-telling mode, complete with cliffhangers?

Thanks so much.

Elisabeth

As I look back on my more successful email campaigns they were all written like this. I was just broadcasting things that were really happening and connecting with old stories I told in previous emails. People said it was engaging and they always looked forward to my emails. I can't remember the last email broadcast I looked forward to. Some even sent me emails (like they would any friend) asking "how did that thing go you were talking about last week?". Now that's engagement.

I would say that if you're building a list that you care about (as opposed to the burn and care less approach of the solo ad model so often used these days) it would be hard to see it becoming a solid success without your personality. You might make it with bland factual emails (sometimes they're a relief) but if you want people to buy from you because they like you as well then I'd say bring yourself into it - absolutely.

Don't make anything up, be yourself and tell them stories about your life. People love to peer into other people's homes and over their fences. I think that's a very powerful thing to tap into. People crave freedom and connection, you can at least give them a connection while trying to deliver freedom.

The problem with stories you often read in emails is there is no emotion. You don't have to make things up, but avoid just describing the sequence of events: "Then this happened, then that happened, zzzzzzzz."

Part of what makes it a good story is your reaction to what is happening.

You might talk about how you've been waiting for years for your favorite band to go on tour, and now they are! You can't wait to get tickets.

But why? Because they are your favorite band!

We know that.

Tell me about the first time you heard your favorite song from the band on the car radio your senior year of high school, the same night your school won the state football championship.

You REALLY want those tickets, and now I know why. I'm much more interested.

Readers get invested when there is more at stake. That's why movies spend the first half hour getting you to fall in love with the protagonist's kids. So when the kids get kidnapped by the bad guys, you feel the parent's pain. You feel it deeply when Mel Gibson yells "Give me back my son!" in Ransom (extra points for the phrase "rain of s***):


No, you don't have to have your kids kidnapped to inject emotion in emails. Just don't be a robot. Tell us what happened, and tell me why that is important to you. If you just tell a story without attaching some emotional anchors, we don't care.

It's also why it pays to show vulnerability.

For example, Gary Halbert was an ace at self-aggrandizement...

"Listen, I don't want to ramble on and on about this so let me get to the point: You may never be able to ride a bicycle like Lance Armstrong. You may never play golf as good as Tiger Woods. You may never become as wealthy as Bill Gates. You may never be able to play a guitar like Dickey Betts. And... let's face it... you'll probably never be able to...

Write Copy As Good As Gary Halbert!"

One reason he was able to pull it off so well is he showed vulnerability as well...

"...I think it's time I socked away some money to prepare for my "golden years". It's a funny thing but, I seem to be somewhat of an optical illusion. Not long ago, I was on stage in front of approximately 200 people who didn't know me from Adam. I told them I was going to give one of them a valuable prize. To win this prize, they had to guess my height, my weight, and my age.

Well, when I averaged up all the answers, it turned out the average guess of my height was exactly right. It turned out the average guess of my weight was 29-pounds less than my actual weight. And when averaged all together, they had guessed I was 15-years younger than my actual age.

The truth is, it doesn't matter how young and thin I actually look to other people. The calendar and scales don't lie."

Let readers in to your world, and you'll likely get more response when they are ready to buy.

I'd suggest starting with the subtle messages you want to communicate through the story.

For example, a good marketing story will illustrate seven things:

1) That the thing they want is achievable
2) That their past failures are not their fault
3) That their biggest obstacles or frustrations can be CURED
4) That you have mutual enemies and that their enemies are big bumbling idiots
5) That their suspicions about the forces working against them are accurate and justified
6) That you can identify with their present frustrations, their past failures and their future hopes AND that you've overcome the bad and achieved the good and are confident that they can too
7) That you're sharp as a tack, that you care about them, you stand by your promises and that you're a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, you don't say these things, you imply them by describing scenarios in vivid detail.

That's good for at least 7 emails.

Start off with one itty bitty story. Then go from there.

Perhaps something like this:

It feels good! (yeah James Brown... it does)

A couple days ago, I was on one of the forums I go to sometimes when I'm on a break or a little bored.

I came across a post. Again, someone looking for a little help. Cool.

She wanted advice on how to work a particular strategy into her marketing. She got some good answers. I didn't think I had much to add.

Brain was only 2nd gear. It was still early - 8AM.

Flipped through a couple other threads...

Then BAM!

It so happened I was flicking through a course earlier... something must have stuck in the brain cells because I got a jolt of inspiration (a bit like them triple shot espressos - hard core)

Anyway, I went back to her thread and posted an idea from the course, slightly tweaked.

She loved it.

Best part?

She posted back earlier today with an awesome result... apparently she got 2X her typical sales using that 10 minute tweak. Sweeet....

I feel good.

Hope you're having a good one.

PS: That idea that helped her so much it doubled her results? It was inspired from a great course on writing emails... ARM - can't say enough awesome stuff about it. You can check it out here [LINK]

That's kind of rough. But I trust you get the idea.