Why a Would-be Subscriber Transformed from Hesitant to Happy

The meeting with my new friend, Erica, was rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ along.  

We agreed to promote each other’s businesses. We discussed ways we might work together. We hit it off.

But when I asked Erica if she’d like to join my daily(ish) email list…

…we went from rollin’ to reelin’. 

We went from “Yes! Yes! Yes!” to “Whooooh! Not so fast!” 

Erica asked: “Do you have a version that’s less frequent?”

“No,” I said. “Why do you ask?” 

“Because I get overwhelmed by the number of email newsletters that come in,” she said. “And then I end up not reading any of them.”

(Gasp!) I felt the panic rise like fog, cold and clammy. My mind was racing. But I couldn’t see the light.

The voice in my head hollered: “Wha-do-I-say? Wha-do-I say? Wha-do-I-say?” 

And then I remembered…

…Nancee already said it. 

Marketing coach Nancee Johnson joined my email list a few weeks ago, and earlier this week, the day before Erica and I met, she said this: 

“When you originally told me how often you were going to send me emails, I was automatically like, “Oh, no, no, no. This is not going to work for me.” And then I started seeing them come in. I actually had a folder that they would go into, and I think, “Oh, man, that’s a lot of emails.” But then I started reading them and I was like, “Oh my gosh, these are fantastic.” So now I’m one of those converts. I can’t wait to get my email from you. It starts off my day just great”

With Nancee’s permission, I posted her testimonial on my website:

And when Erica hesitated to join my email list, I read the testimonial and encouraged Erica to do as Nancee did.

Set the emails aside. Read them at your own pace. You don’t have to read every one. But you may find you want to.

“I understand the feeling of overwhelm,” I said to Erica. “All I ask of the people who subscribe to my list is consume as you will.  My promise is that when you consume, you’re likely to be far more entertained and informed than you are with the next email over.”

Erica replied: “I promise to give it a whirl.” 

(Yes! From whoa to woo-hoo! Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ again.) 

A few hours later, Erica received her first email from me (the one about cassette-loving radicals), and she replied moments later:

“OK, Tom. This is brilliant.” 

(Brilliant!? I’ll take that. After all, that’s the Story Power Marketing promise —  transform your content from boring to brilliant.) 

So…why have I told this story? 

Because, like Sally Field, I have a deep-seated desire to declare, “You like me. You really like me.” It stems from that time in first grade on the Conway School playground when I asked Linda B. to marry me, and she replied, “Ooooh, yuck. Get away from me.” 

Because I’m one of those big-shot, braggy, bro-marketers who loves to say “Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.” 

Because this story is loaded with lessons. I’ll share two: 

1:
When you send brilliant,
info-taining emails,
subscribers tune in.

Most marketers fear their emails will overwhelm and turn off subscribers. So they send fewer. Big mistake.

I’m not saying you have to send daily emails. But I am saying you must resist the urge to send fewer emails. 

You’ll turn off subscribers not because your emails are too frequent. You’ll turn off prospects because your emails are too boring. 

Boring is boring — whether you send daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. 

Brilliant is brilliant. And when you send brilliant emails, subscribers will tune in and say, “Oh my gosh, these are fantastic!” 

2:
Testimonials are
the most powerful way
to answer objections.

When Erica objected to daily(ish) emails, I could have flown solo and answered.

But when we answer objections ourselves, we often sound reactive, defensive, combative, pitchy. 

I let Nancee answer the objection. 

I shared Nancee’s testimonial, her story.

And Nancee’s story (“When you originally told me how often you were going to send me emails, I was automatically like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. This is not going to work for me.'”)…

…is Erica’s story.

Erica can relate to Nancee. 

Nancee isn’t pitching.

Nancee is authentically describing how she transformed from hesitant to happy. 

It was easy, then, for Erica to “give it a whirl.” 

One last thing…

Everything I describe above happened because I have systems to make them happen.

Systems to write brilliant emails.

Systems to collect, publish, and cite, testimonials. 

Systems to answer objections. 

You don’t have to be a creative unicorn or “storytelling genius” to do this.

You just have to master the systems, develop the habits. 

I’ll show you how in the Story Power Content Transformation Academy (see #3 below)

Lemme know if you’d like to learn more. We can discuss what’s working for you, what’s not, and what you need to attract more prospects and inspire them to hire you.

Reply if you’d like to schedule a call.