Three years ago I started this email list on a whim after I sold my previous company.
I didn’t know what I was going to write about…
All I knew is that I loved talking about marketing and entrepreneurship, so I wanted to write a daily email about it.
So I emailed around 100 of my closest friends in the industry and asked them if they wanted to be on the list.
Nearly all of them said “yes”.
So I sat down the next morning and cranked out my first email.
Since then I’ve written this email almost every day (once in a while I re-use old ones).
Over the past three years Ive learned a lot about what people want to hear and what they don’t want to hear…
So I’m gonna breakdown a few of my learnings today…
– People on my list want to learn from ME
This one is incredibly obvious to me now, but took me a long time to realize.
Whenever I promote affiliate offers of friends of mine they don’t do near as well as products that are created by me.
Why?
Because one of the reasons you’re on my list is because you like, know and trust me.
So you want to learn from me.
Like I said, this is very obvious to me now, but took a few years for me to grasp.
– People want a look inside my life
One thing I like to do is share what’s going on in my life.
This could be a look inside my business (like this email), or it could be me talking about a dog rescue I’m helping with.
Humans are incredibly voyeristic by nature.
It’s why reality TV is so popular.
We like to see inside people’s lives.
This is why I tend to share a lot of personal stuff from my own life in my emails.
– People want to be entertained
This is probably the #1 law of email (especially if you have a personality-driven list like mine).
People want to be entertained.
Yes, you want to learn new things…
But only if it’s in a fun and easy to digest way.
If I focus too much on teaching the nitty gritty of upsells or email, people tune out.
It’s boring.
And not nearly as interesting as what you can see on Instagram of Facebook.
So there has to be some entertainment.
Hat tip to Ben Settle for really shaping my mind around this one.
– Know your core teachings, and keep repeating them
I have a Google Doc on my computer with a list of the top things I want to teach.
So under the category of entrepreneurship, I have listed out…
* You have to build your business and your lifestyle together
* Working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week “works” until it doesn’t
* Don’t chase money at all costs. Some money is easy, but some money comes with a lot of time required and added stress
So I have a bunch of these “core teachings” laid out.
And I have them for different categories – entrepreneurship, marketing, money, copy etc…
And I teach them over and over again.
Why?
Well they’re the most important things.
And I want to drill them into your head.
So I simply find new ways to talk about each concept (usually with a new story).
When I started my email list, I didn’t have a llist of core teachings.
But overr time, I built it.
And now it’s a huge time saver for me when I write.
So highly suggest having one if you write emails that are similar to mine.
Alright, let’s do one last one…
– Never look at your unsubscribes
When I started this list I always looked at the names of the people that unsubscribed.
Which is a terrible idea.
Why?
Because you’re gonna take it personally.
It’s a very strange thing when someone you’re friends with unsubscribes from your email list.
You wonder what you did wrong…
Or if your emails are complete shit…
A whole lot of stuff goes through your head.
I can tell ya from experience, it’s best to not look at this stuff.
People are going to unsubscribe…
That’s just the nature of email.
Hell, I’ve unsubscribed from lists I LIKE simply because I don’t want more emails in my inbox.
It had nothing to do with the person…
Or the emails they wrote.
It was just me wanting less emails in my inbox.
So if you’re running a personality driven list like I do…
I highly suggest not looking at who unsubscribes to your list.
Nothing good will come from it…
And your sanity will thank you for it.
Make sense?
I hope so.
Cause that’s all I got for ya today…
Enjoy your Wednesday.
– Justin
If you want to hear more from Justin, he has a private email list for top marketers, copywriters and business owners. To apply to be on the email list simply click the button below that says “apply now”.
