This is the first installment in a new series I’ll be doing each week on my blog.

I’m calling it:

Email of the Week

Here’s the gist of it:

Each week, I go out into the wild to find a super-effective e-commerce marketing email… and I break down what made it work. My goal is for you to tune in each week, so I can teach you strategies and best practices YOU can use to make your own emails better.

I find these emails in my inbox, but I also accept suggestions from readers who have a remarkable email they’d like to share.

If you recently received an email that was so awesome it made your jaw drop, I wanna see it. Forward it to me (chris at theemailcopywriter dot com) with a brief message about what you liked about it. If I choose to do a breakdown of the email you sent, I’ll give you a shout out and link to your site.

Now, then… without further ado, let’s check out the first Email of the week!

ConvertKit’s Awesome Email Marketing Strategy for Webinar Show-Ups

So a few months ago, I switched my email software for my The Email Copywriter site from Drip to ConvertKit.

I had a heard a lot of good things. I had heard ConvertKit was specifically built for people like me, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

It’s a great software. I really love it.

But one of the things I really love about it is the strategy they use for acquiring paying customers.

They do a lot of educational webinars.

An invite for one of these webinars found it’s way into my inbox. It was for freelancers, who want to save time by using email automation… which is right up my alley. Brennan Dunn was going to be presenting, alongside Isa Adney (from ConvertKit).

So, I signed up.

The sign up emails were good.

But those didn’t really blow me away.

I’ll tell you what DID blow me away…

They Had One Of The Best Webinar “Show-Up” Emails I’ve Ever Seen

Now, for some context…

I’ve written a ton of webinar funnels. One of the webinar funnels I wrote was literally responsible for tens of millions of dollars in revenue over the course of a few years for one of my clients.

So I am not stranger to writing these intricate, behavior-based email funnels for webinars.

But the first “confirmation” email I got from them was so incredible, I just had to share it.

Let’s take a look:

 

Let’s start off the with subject line.

It’s simple, straightforward and to the point.

Notice how Isa did NOT try to wow you the craziest, most Carlton-esque headline you’ve ever seen.

It’s just not necessary.

Remember… timing emails based on behavior is often more important than worrying about marginal increases in copy.

The subject line is meant to capture the attention of someone who just signed up for a webinar… and is scanning their inbox to make sure they got the confirmation. It confirms that they’ve received the email… but it also opens a loop by promising to share “How to join” instructions.

As savvy as YOU might be with webinars and software and all that… most people are not.

So she did a good job of meeting people where they’re at with the subject line, so she can lead them to where she needs to be.

Ok, enough about the subject line.

The email starts off meeting them exactly where they’re at. She provides the date and reminder right in the very first line of the email. Then, she does something really smart.

Isa acknowledges their objection.

If you’ve done a lot of webinars before, you know that getting people to show up LIVE is one of the most important factors. After all… you can’t sell to an empty room.

She says: “Because I know you’re busy. And yet, you took a chance to register for this workshop; that means you’re a creator. It means you’re someone who is willing to do the work. I like that.

The next step? To show up. Live.”

This is called pacing and leading.

(I learned the importance of this concept from Scott Adams.)

First, she meets with reader where they are at, mentally. She does this by letting them know that she knows how they feel (busy).

She also begins to build a bond by acknowledging their identity (being a creator). And she furthers the bond by recognizing that they work hard. When you compliment your readers, they tend to like you more.

Brilliant pacing.

She then switches from pacing… to leading when she instructs the reader that their next step is to “show up live.”

The whole next paragraph is awesome too… because she doesn’t just say “Show up live, it’s important, blah blah blah…” like most people do.

She writes like a human.

She dimensionalizes why you should show up LIVE.

And she shifts focus back to YOU, the reader… your business and your goals.

Awesome opener.

But, here’s where this email really shines.

This Is The Part That Sold Me On Attending

Holy chit, mang.

That hit me right in the feels.

I know a little bit about ConvertKit’s avatar.

They are people who are just like me (obviously).

They probably had (or still have) a job. They are people who want to make a big change in their life and do big things. And they are people who have a lot of hope for the future… but aren’t sure if it’ll ever really happen. Or if this kind of transformation is even possible.

They also know that this is probably NOT your first webinar. And that you’ve probably sat through a few snoozers. And that you’re probably a little skeptical that this one might be a snoozer, too.

(It definitely was NOT, btw. But most people come into these situations with that preconceived notion.)

So… how does she combat these objections?

With an emotional, personal story.

Re-read that last copy block.

I dare you to try and tell me you can’t relate to that.

I remember being a school teacher, taking client calls on my lunch break. I also remember being in Kevin Roger’s mastermind, sneaking out to my car in the dead of winter… with the engine on… joining the call 15 minutes late and only being able to stay for a half-hour because I had to scarf down my lunch before my prep was up.

I WAS that same person… who was giving themselves a second education, squeezing it in whenever I could find the time.

So I immediately related to Isa’s story, on a cellular level.

Now, what’s really cool is the next part.

Because what Isa does here is she tells the rest of her story. She explained how things started to take off for her after attending a training like this one.

When you read about all the things she accomplished, you can’t help but imagining yourself following a similar path. It’s almost impossible to NOT put yourself into that story, and imagine good things happening in your future.

This. Was. Brilliant.

And it was the most effective “confirmation/show-up” email I’ve ever seen. Hands down.

Because after reading this story, how do you NOT show up?

How do you turn your back on the possibility of a similar future?

It’s pretty damn hard to ignore.

Another cool thing is the way she pivoted out of this story.

She goes right into handling objections.

  • She handles the objection about needing a big list. (Size doesn’t matter, the relationship does.)
  • She handles the objection about needing to be sleezy to sell stuff.
  • She pre-frames you by saying there’s going to be work involved.
  • And she also counters the objection that you’re going to need to do a million different things.
  • Then, she goes into making an even stronger emotional connection by talking about your “why.”

She also attaches the thought of “your why” to showing up for this webinar. And by asking “What is your why”… it forces you to think about it. When the brain is asked a question and directed in this way… it’s very hard to block out all of those thoughts.

This is all brilliant persuasion, in my opinion.

Masterfully done.

More Meta Pacing And leading

So, once your brain made the decision to sign up for the webinar, you first went into an emotional state to make that decision.

Now, once you’ve read the first half of this email, the copy furthers your emotional high. You’re experiencing the effects of a lot of feel-good chemicals… as you start to future pace and imagine what life could be like after you attend.

Now, it’s time to link those positive emotions with some important action steps which have been shown statistically to help increase response on webinars.

 

Here come the super-important nuts and bolts.

Add this to your calendar – that’s important because a lot of people have some sort of automatic reminders that ping them for ALL of their appointments. Sliding this event into the mix is easy, almost seamless.

After that – and this is something that few people ever realize they should do – Isa instructs people to show up on a desktop.

This is something I’ve always done with my “confirmation/reminder” emails… because more people buy on desktops with webinars than they do on mobile during webinars.

And if they don’t buy, you can’t help them.

She provides all the relevant links, in one easy to find place.

And then… she explains “what happens next.”

Few People Do This. And It Hurts Their Sales.

One of the places people drop the ball in their copy is explaining to people “what happens next.”

This is something I started becoming very deliberate with not only with webinar registrations… but also with sales letters, which launch emails, and even with my sales call scripts.

People are always fearful of what surprise is waiting for them on the other side of a click.

So you need to alleviate that fear and take them by the hand… walking them through everything they should expect AFTER they take a desired action.

Check out how Isa did that here:

 

After she unpacks the next steps, she gives one little piece of homework.

I don’t know for certain… but I’d have to imagine that the people who actually do the homework and bring ideas and questions to the webinar tend to by at a much higher rate than those who don’t. She gets them to make a micro-commitment… and I bet it pays off big-time.

Ok, last part…

She wraps up the email with some social proof: a testimonial from some guy named Tony who explains how you’re not going to listen to a bunch of bullshit before hearing some elongated pitch.

Here’s why they do this, they want you to understand that: if you show up to this webinar, you will learn cool shit that will help you.

And as someone who attended this actual webinar, I’d have to agree with Tony. It was super-valuable.

The Big Takeaways From Isa Adney’s (ConvertKit) Webinar Confirmation/Show-Up Email

  1. Don’t screw around with the intro, remind people what they just signed up for.
  2. Don’t just tell people to show up live, SHOW them what’s in it for them if they do.
  3. Remember: pacing and leading.
  4. Create an emotional bond with your reader with a personal story.
  5.  Handle objections without being confrontational.
  6. Once you’ve established an emotional bond, provide people with actions to take.
  7. Clearly lay out ALL important links and details about the event.
  8. Remove doubt and mystery by explaining what they should expect from the experience.
  9. Offer social proof that differentiate your webinar from the other snoozers they’ve attended in the past.
  10. Give a little piece of homework so that people micro-commit and start “thinking past the sale” (if they do the HW, they’ve probably already convinced themselves they wanna buy whatever it is you’re selling).

Sneak Peek For Next Week

I really hope you liked the first episode of Email of the Week!

Next week, I’m going to be breaking down an email that went super-viral and helped put one company on the map. The funny thing is… the “type” of email is probably one of the most boring, transactional style emails you could think of.

You’re going to be blown away when you see how a few paragraphs can trigger massive word of mouth and virality… and turn one-time customers into superfans who want to share your brand with everyone they know.

To make sure you get next week’s installment of Email of the Week, make sure you sign up for my email list at the link below!

What You Should Do Next

  1. Subscribe to my email list so you can get ALL of the Emails of the Week delivered straight to your inbox, automatically.
  2. Leave a comment for me below and let me know what you liked about this email.
  3. Send this breakdown to someone you know who sells with webinars. They will thank you… and it’ll help them writer much better webinar emails.
  4. Get a FREE trial to ConvertKit. This is MY email software of choice and I think you’ll love it too.

2 thoughts on “[Email of the Week #1]: ConvertKit”

  1. Hey Chris.
    Thanks for taking the time to dissect and explain why this email works.

    I also appreciate you actually useful information. I’ve been on so many lists that continuously try and sell something.

    I’ve purchased your book. I’m having to cold email my market and your strategies give me a great place to craft them.

    Thanks again.

  2. As a noob to copywriting, I’ve been doing some googling and ramblin’ around the Innerwebs.

    Anyway, that brought me across your “email of the week” and this blog of yours.

    I’m starting at the bottom (#1) and working my way up.

    Anyway, nice breakdown. Thanks for doing this.

    I’m looking forward to reading all the others.

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