I have some light reading for you today, because I’ve been really busy working on finishing up some housework this past weekend, and I’m not talking about dusting or vacuuming. I mean like – cabinetry, painting and putting up a new fence.
Don’t worry though, because on Wednesday, the 3rd Session of the Smart Passive Income Podcast goes live and it has some of the best “how to make money online” content I’ve heard in a while. Our special guest gets into extreme detail about what they do, so look out for that next.
To start off today’s light reading, I just wanted to confess something: I’m on a lot of email lists…and I love it. Over 20 to be exact.
You might think I’m crazy, but I purposely find the top internet marketers and immediately join their email lists, knowing that I’m going to be bombarded with emails and offers left and right.
Why?
Because each email is a free marketing lesson.
All of these marketers know that “the money is in the list” (their email list), so all of their best marketing techniques are put into their emails. I love to get these emails because I get to see first-hand what is working for them, so I can apply it to my own businesses, if applicable.
I take note of two important things:
- The subject line they use in the emails. This is the most important element of an email, because whatever is written in the body doesn’t matter if the email is never opened. From being on these lists, I’ve learned a great deal about the kind of copy that should be used in a subject line.
- The copy used in the body of the email. Each of these emails have a call to action (i.e, a link to click on), and what I’m interested in is how they’re trying to get me to take that action.
I know you don’t like to get emails like these from people, but the next time you do, spend a moment to look past the offer and discover the strategy within. If you do this enough, you’ll begin to see patterns and understand what works.
I’m not expecting you to go out and subscribe to every newsletter out there. I’m simply sharing a technique that I use to learn about what works and what doesn’t, from those who know a lot more than I do.
There are a ton of other ways to learn marketing tricks for free, we just have to keep our eyes open.
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{ 54 comments (Click Here to Leave a Comment Below) }
Hi Pat,
Excellent idea!
When you think of it that way, I think I will be subscribing to some of the top Internet Marketers too.
You are right about the subject line. If people are not opening your emails, the subject lines could be the problem.
You are right that the top internet marketers have already tested out the stuff, so it would be really useful if we find ideas and inspirations from their emails.
Kindest,
Nabeel
Hehe, just be careful of not getting too sucked into some of their promotions. It can be tough, especially with the compelling copy they write. Sometimes, I get a preview of “new” marketing techniques too using this method.
Exctly Pat,
That is exactly why I subscribe to a lot of this marketers too.
One great thing is to do what they do and not what they say
Thanks a lot for the great post,
-Onibalusi
“Do what they do and not what they say.” – Love it! Thanks Onibalusi.
I totally agree with you. Just follow the simple system and don’t reinvent the wheel. Copy what successful people are doing and you will be successful as well if you take action.
I also subscribe to some of the best marketers out there to see how they send an email, how they construct their words, how they make an offer etc..
Agree. It’s about the selling the ‘sizzle’ not the sausage.
Thanks for sharing.
Haha – cool quote. Now I want a polish sausage, maybe at the Padre game I’m headed to in a few weeks. Not sure if it’s in my diet though
Cheers Michael!
Great Idea,
This is the best method to know methods of marketers – an observation what they do. I hope that you will share with us your observations.
I’ve been sharing for a very long time now
Good tips, Pat….
There’s no need to re-invent the wheel, but, at the same time, it pays to inject uniqueness and originality (Your own personal brand) into everything you do. I’m not a huge huge fan of his, but, John Chow has a video up, on his blog, essentially about his blog’s business model….It runs about an hour long, but I’d highly recommend it to you and your readers, Pat….
Wow, one hour long – was that a video he took himself or what it a recording of a presentation? He’s one of the newsletters I follow actually.
Hey Pat,
It actually looked like a video that was done at a conference he had spoken at (it was off of a Powerpoint-like presentation). The sound quality was a little hit or miss, it seemed…but, he covered some good points….
I don’t mean to bad mouth another blogger, but there was one part where he talked about sending out a ton of sales emails, with the last in the series meant to hammer down the sale of blog mastermind (I believe that runs for $500, or so…he mentioned the price in the video). I need to rewatch this part, but, when someone in the audience had asked if it had really worked, he nonchalantly said something like “it makes money” and moved on to his next point.
If it works for him…that’s cool…but, with a price tag like that, I kind of think he should have at least purchased or somehow tried it before he recommended it to readers. …that’s just my point of view….I remember being a bit put off at that point in the video…besides that, it was fairly decent material he covered.
This is great advice. I’ve greatly increased my online marketing knowledge in just a few weeks by listening to every free call and interview and reading every free ebook I can get my hands on.
Nicola
Good stuff Nicola, now all we have to do is turn this knowledge into action and we’re all set! Cheers!
Yeah, I hear you! 2 nights ago, my girlfriend and I were watching tv, when this infomercial came on ranting about these shoes that could help you lose 10-20-50 pounds! I told her that I am going to watch these in my free time to understand how they target the customers and what kind of strategies they use to lure people in. I’m guessing the same can be applied to mailing lists, just the way you pointed out. Great read as always. Thanks!
Cheers
Patrick
Exactly, Patrick. You can do the same thing with infomercials, which I’ve talked about before (See link at end of post). Those shoes – totally don’t work, but they still have sold a bazillion of those, and it’s because of the marketing behind it. Cheers!
I’m a big fan of this technique too. You can learn some great things that way. It’s always worth to watch what other marketers are doing not what they say they’re doing.
Exactly – do what they do, not what they say.
I agree with you on this one too, because I do it too. One of my favorite newsletters is John Carlton’s he’s really a great marketer and copywriter. I advice any new blogger or Internet marketer to get on that list, it’s a great learning experience and he does give out some great free content.
Ahh – good stuff, thanks for that list. That’s actually one I’m not on. You know what else is interesting is that many of the lists I’m on promote the same product at the same time, so it’s interesting to see who is in the “inner circle” and how they are all working together.
that’s true, I’ve notice that too.
That’s awesome Pat..I heard about other marketers doing this in the past. Frankly I never thought about doing this until now Bro.
You can never have enough education of Internet marketing.
“TrafficColeman “Signing Off”
Nope – there are always things to learn, especially because there are new strategies and techniques being tested all of the time. These guys know what they’re doing, so it’s smart to follow suit.
Cheers!
Hey Pat,
Good tips here. I do the same thing (except I’m probably only subscribed to 12 or so). The one thing I noticed a lot of bloggers/IMers do with their list e-mails is format it for “no HTML,” with the narrow text width. I can’t exactly figure out why people do that, when Aweber clearly gives you the option to have an HTML and non-HTML version of your e-mail (and they recommend preparing both).
Yours would be an example of one NOT like this, and mine is as well. The full width, the use of bold/italic text, etc…any idea why these features seem to be lost on many IMer newsletter e-mails? The no-HTML, narrow-width e-mails just seem to scream “I’m selling you something” to me.
- Eric
Haha, that’s true, I never thought of the narrow text like that.
The exact reason is because the plain text version can be read by all email readers. For example, in my cPanel when I read my email using SquirrleMail, I can’t see any html.
Back in the day, only some could read html, so the narrow, plain text was the way to go to get the most opens, clicks, conversions, etc. Now though, html can be read on almost everybody’s email program, which is why I’ve decided to only use html. It just looks better and “normal” to me too.
That’s a great point – although you really should point readers to your newsletter as an example
I only subscribe to a few that I actually like but you can really see a style that I wouldn’t think of on my own. In the past a few have annoyed me enough to leave but honestly I had no interest in buying anything from them and didn’t even think I could learn from them. If you find people who are interested in one of the two and give them value it’s something they will want.
I believe internet marketers don’t use any formatting because they know an audience that spends the majority of their day online already won’t put up with much and likes to see something that stands out. Another good one is Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich emails, which have a nice design and heavy use of HTML. He has great writing too – I can’t think of a better idea of reaching out to young people who want something but don’t want to devote every waking hour to it.
Hey Richard – thanks. I think my newsletter is different than the ones I subscribe to, simply because I’m not trying to sell anything. If anyone wants to know how to engage their readers and build a community though, i think my newsletter is doing a fairly decent job at that.
Ramit’s email list is great, he has some wonderful stuff on there, and it definitely is one of the most vibrant of the newsletters I’m subscribed to. He definitely knows what he’s doing.
It does pay to pay attention, and who better to learn from than people who are already where you want to be?
Yep yep! It’s like job shadowing…learning how things work from exactly what they do.
Hey Pat,
I agree with ya’! I subscribe to some of the top marketers for that exact same reason as well.
Good luck on the cabinetry!
Brandon
Good stuff Brandon. Do you ever notice how many different newsletters will promote the same product at the same time – so interesting!
I recently came to the same conclusion. I just signed up for 5 newsletters over the weekend from a variety of sources. What better way to see how other people do it?
It’s the next best thing to actually joining their membership or coaching programs.
I recently did the same thing. I am now following the newsletters of my favorite bloggers and internet marketers (including you). I hate spam, but thought that a study of how people are effectively using their lists would make me a better marketer. Oddly enough I’m finding myself really loving the content people are sending out. I’ve cut a few people who push their products too much, but most experts are really providing excellent content.
So, I’m dieing to know. Which 20 do you subscribe to?
Jared, I’m curious. Can you tell any difference between my emails, and the emails of some of the other marketers you’re subscribed to? The reason I’m asking is because I’m doing my best to be different, and I’m hoping that comes across in my emails.
Here are some of the email lists I subscribe to:
JohnChow, Shoemoney, Yaro Starak, Josh Spaulding, Ritoban, Internet Business Mastery, Andrew & Steven, John Reese, Eban Pagan, Ryan Deiss, and there are a number of others who I don’t even remember when or how I got on their lists.
Thanks – I’ll add some of those guys to my list.
What I’ve found most valuable is the in-depth information that you provide. Like your blog posts, your emails have provided solid info that I will use in my work. Your link to your podcast interview was an excellent idea. It introduced me to Yaro and helped me better understand your experience.
So Pat… how about a list of these 20 that you subscribe to, eh?
see above
Excellent ideas Pat. I’ve been doing this for awhile now, although not with 20. I find guys like Eben Pagan to be exceptional at creating headlines that compel you to look inside. I also follow a few internet copywriters as well, being the master word magicians that they are.
If you get a minute, check out Lawrence Bernstein’s blog. It’s a copywriting, direct-response marketing goldmine for everything. The guy archives the stuff that works, from headlines that sell to winning copy that compels.
http://www.infomarketingblog.com/
Pat, Just want to comment on my admiration for your enthusiasm and work ethic. Often times, I don’t really “get” the content on your blog, but I keep coming back because you inspire me to work harder and love what I’m doing.
~Mike
This is definitely an interesting take on newsletters. I only sign up to ones that I really truly am interested in (like yours and just a few others) and don’t like to be inundated.
I have never thought to use these ones as a learning tool instead of being annoyed with the massive email numbers. I will try to reassess my thinking. Thanks Pat you are ever the optimist.
I am subscribing to a lot of Internet Marketers and I confess I’ve been annoyed by most of them. However, I resist unsubscribing because of the same reason – I might get to learn something new. Yet, I must say, that there are very few from whom you can really learn something valuable. Most I think around 90% just send you really annoying sales pitches.
I am forced to unsubscribe. But yes, you can learn what does not work for sure from these people. I did learn that certainly.
Hi Pat,
Yep, me too! Sometimes I get a little bogged down when there is a big launch going on and everybody is trying to get in on the act – my inbox can take a hell of battering, but there is such a lot to learn from those emails. And yes, it is hard to say no a lot of the time!
I’m on tons of these newsletter… i think i have more than 20. As Stephen says, it is dangerous though, it’s like putting alcohol in front of an recovering alcoholic every week or so..
Twenty! I’d suggest you would get just as much good stuff from picking the 5 – 10 best ones and you would save a lot of time?
Hi Pat,
Sometimes I feel a bit guilty about spending so much time reading my daily mail from the many sites I subscribe to, however, I ALWAYS learn something. Starting our blog has been a real education for me. As a marketing professional, I find that social media has changed the way I market my business and offer my services to my clients. Fortunately, there are so many great resources available on the web..and they’re free!
Hey Pat, I am sure that you have others like me, but I really enjoy following you on here and Facebook. I have learned a lot just by watching what you do and have changed my model several times. Thank you very much for providing so much valuable information to your followers.
Hi Pat,
I have actually never thought of it this way…cheers for the idea.
I suscribe to a lot, but often, because they give something to start with and a lot of their “great” content goes out in their email newsletters. for example yours has specific actionable items that will help me straight away.
Cheers for that.
Schmidty
I find that your newsletter are radically different (and refreshing) than the other ones I am subscribed to. Instead of selling stuff you provide quick insights that can actually help us (without a fee). Thank you for doing what you do.
It also sometimes shows you what NOT to do! Some of these guys throw out 5-6 offers per week with absolutely NO content!
Simon
Hi Pat,
This is a really great point that is often overlooked. I’m just starting this strategy as I know how beneficial it can be to my online business. There’s no reason to re-invent the wheel here. These guys obviously know what works, so why not take what they know and apply it to our own businesses? Keep up the great tips!
I totally agree with with you, and this is perhaps why i have subscribed to many online newsletters. How can I thank you for this informative post.
I’ve read many times that wealth often comes down to mindset – taking your surrounds and making them work to your advantage and this is a spot on example. I would say that post taught me not jus tto subscribe and use for reference but also to think outside the box in all these aspects, thanks for the learning curve Pat!
I have seen many mails like this but normally ignored them. Didn’t think of this strategy. Now will definitely have a look at them and try to discover the idea behind them. You have mentioned a nice point.