I was reading an article about how person X grew his newsletter to 250,000 in just 5 months.
An incredible feat - to most & for a split second, even I was impressed.
But as I read the details about their tactics, I realized something… If given the resources to emulate person X, I would not.
Look... I have nothing against that person or how they achieve a certain goal.
It’s more about how I want to work, live my life, and grow my business.
See, I love football and I have been following Liverpool FC since 2005.
Sure, there are more successful football clubs out there - bigger trophy collection, bigger yearly revenues, bigger brand presence, and some with even better playing styles - But I still prefer the style of my club.
Why?
Life is a Game
Everyone has a choice to play the game in the manner that they like.
Manchester City plays fluidly.
Real Madrid plays pragmatically.
Bayern Munich plays relentlessly.
But my club, Liverpool FC, play the game with passion & high intensity (dubbed as Heavy Metal football).
Do I resent the style of other clubs? Certainly not! Diversity makes a sport (and life) beautiful.
If life is a game then we as players have the option to choose our playing style.
Some like quick growth, some are long-term players, and most of us like the best of both worlds.
But GROWTH is not the goal. It’s the STYLE that matters - at least for me.
The Email Game
Emails are not so different from sports - regularly broadcasted, generates a ton of money for teams & players, and provides value to the audience.
Just like there are different playing styles in football, there are different styles of emails.
Broadly speaking there are 4 styles of emails:
Click-oriented Emails
Goal: Get the reader to click a link.
Player: Mostly used by affiliate marketers & e-commerce brands.
Style: open loops, creates excitement, does not reveal the crucial piece of information.
Example:
Informational Dumps
Goal: Get the reader to open your email.
Player: Mostly used by influencers & personal brands.
Style: A newsletter divided into sections; weekly update, sponsored section, affiliate links.
Example:
Marketing Brochures
Goal: Keep top of mind.
Player: Mostly used by ecommerce brands & SaaS companies.
Style: highly designed, heavy on the feature, & has a cosmetic feel.
Example:
Now these types of emails exist because they bring in the results.
Do I like these styles? No.
Does that matter? No.
What matters to me is playing the email marketing game the way I like & excel at…
Story-based Emails
Goal: Make the readers feel something.
Player: Mostly used by coaches, course creators, and service providers.
Style: plain-texted, conversational, personal, and interesting
Example:
Choose Your Style
Which style best suits your product or service depends upon how you want to play the game.
You could be a SaaS company yet send personalized story-based email from humans on your team; the CEO, Product Manager, Growth Marketer, or the Intern.
You could be a course creator and send marketing brochure type emails (even though I would advise not to).
The point is…
Email marketing is like sports. Choose a style that reflects your personality.
And if you have an interesting personality - you struggle with some shit, you fail, you deal with adversity, you laugh & cry, you can be both inspirational & depressed in the same week, and you still are considered successful - then you better share your story with your audience.
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all, and I stood tall
And did it my way
~ Frank Sinatra
P.S. If you want help writing story-based emails. Click the link below to schedule a strategy call with me.
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