If you are sending marketing emails to a list what’s the most important factor?

The information inside?       Nope

The time it was sent?       Nope

The headline?       Nope

Ask yourself this question: What is the #1 factor that makes me open emails from certain people without question every time?

If you’re an internet marketer, you’re probably on several other marketer’s lists, right? Why do you open some rather than others?

It’s the relationship.

 

The #1 most critical aspect of an email is the sender name.

 

Why do we open certain people’s emails every time? Because we have a relationship with those people. They’ve cultivated the Know, Like and Trust Factor with us. We don’t care what the subject of the email is, we just want to see what they’re up to. We love hearing from them. Just like we would a friend.

One of the senders that I always open emails from is Mark Hoverson. Sure, he’s a great copywriter and salesman but those are not the ultimate reasons that I’m opening his emails. The main reason is because I genuinely like reading what he has to say.

He tells great stories.

He inspires me.

I don’t care what he’s selling, I just like him.

I also trust what he says because he’s proven himself to me over time and if he’s selling something I want to know what it is because it’s probably awesome.

 

But isn’t the subject line important?

 

Yes, it’s important but not as important as the relationship factor.

Hoverson says that an email subject line should be written as if you were texting a friend.

U still up?

U wanna c this?

“The history of email… it was a colloquial, unacademic exchange of friends… if you try to professionalize email you lose it’s native tongue.”  -Mark Hoverson

Not all of Mark’s email subjects are like the above examples but the underlying theme of “this is coming from a friend” is still there. 

Here are some recent examples:

• are you still perusing lifestyle design? (2-min to read)
• a little trick to kill procrastination this week
• teenage dreams & modern romance (u got to read this)
• lakeside video- my 1-min productivity tip (& pop $25 on my stuff)
• why I stormed out of bed at 3:58am today…
• my morning epiphany (& 20 min of 1-on 1 w/me?)

Mark’s highest converting headline ever was this: staying in the loop

Why? Because the recipients know the sender and no one wants to be outside of the loop.

You may have a different way of getting your point across but as long as the “friend factor” is there that’s what matters.

Frank Kern sends emails with one word subject lines like, “Hey.” You better believe those get opened. He’s a guy who has built massive know, like and trust from his audience.

 

So really, the question is…

 

How do you build an audience who knows likes and trusts you?

That’s when you can have a list of 200 and pull in $15,000 (in 45 days) like my friend Andrea Goodsaid.

But that’s a story for another day (stay tuned).

If you need to build a list, here’s a great free tool that will get you started quick. But you have to get on my list to get it :) I promise that I’ll be as genuine and friendly as I know how. If I start sending you stuff you don’t like, just unsubscribe. No hard feelings.

Build your list and make every effort to be a friend.