How to follow up on your emails without annoying and eventually burning your list

What do most of us do when sending out an email sales campaign? 

And it's exactly what we SHOULDN'T do...

Unless the goal is to be the dude on the picture... trying to stalk our way to a sale.

It's not going to be for long until people start unsubscribing, marking your emails as SPAM, and to be honest, they will probably cuss you out as well (have you seen people punch a laptop before? Well, I have. Don't make them go buy a new one instead of whatever you're trying to sell).

Seriously though... why are we doing this? Let me show you what I mean:

If selling a flashlight, a typical email broadcast sequence probably looks like this:

Email 1:

Subject line: 30% SALE on our Dynamite-Flashlight 

Copy: 

"Hey [Name],

Good news for you: we are having this huge sale going on... save 30%... blablabla...

Our product is so awesome... our brand is even more awesome... bla bla bla

BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY

BYE."

Email 2:

Subject line: Only 48 hours left - huge sale

"Hey [Name]

Just wondering why you haven't taken advantage of the flash sale of our flashy flashlights yet... 

Well, if you really dream about flashlights all day, THIS is the time to make it actually happen while saving 30%! 

Click here bla bla urgency bla bla we only have 4.3 flashlights left... bla bla some more fake scarcity... 

"Sincerely" 

Guy selling flashlights"

Okay so by now you may have some sales coming in. Or not. 

And you may be wondering how they DARE not to act on this incredible offer? I mean...the only intelligible reason could be that they aren't serious about flashlights. 

So now you think to yourself: "I know what to do! I'll make them feel GUILTY for not being serious enough about having a flashlight!"

And you may decide to send them something along the lines of:

Email 3:

Subject line: [Name], are you serious about flashlights? 

Copy:

"I noticed that you haven't taken advantage of our current IRRESISTIBLE offer. I cannot understand how you can resist an irresistible offer... so what I'm thinking is... you can't be SERIOUS about owning a flashlight.

All this time you have just been PRETENDING... But I can see through those lies!

Enough! Buy a flashlight or be judged by me!

[Insert a few more insults, shaming, and pressure].

Oh, and because you're a loyal customer, you'll get an additional 5% off, if you order your flashlight now."

I know.

I'm exaggerating here to make my point.

But I'm not too far off, am I?

I mean... I should know. I've been sending these types of email sequences out myself. Because I see some of the great ones doing it and then I think to myself "Hey if HE does it, it must work."

Not a good idea.

Let me show you what has been working far better for me:

Email 1:

Subject line: [Name], are you taking the kids to a camping trip this weekend?

Hey [Name],

"Long weekend coming up! It's the perfect chance to take the whole family camping. I took my boys to [cool place] 2 months ago and we had a blast!

Now if you're considering going this weekend, make sure you pick up our AllNightArcher Flashlight with its firefly mode (it's currently available at a whopping 30% discount).

While camping at night, the firefly mode is incredibly useful. This is because your eyes will have adjusted to the dark and a 0.2-lumen beam will be plenty for most camp chores.

On our trip I found myself reaching for this flashlight every time and using the firefly mode almost exclusively. It works well for all typical camping scenarios, such as:

• Leaving the tent to use the bathroom
• Reading a book or looking at a map before going to bed
• Looking for something in the tent without disturbing your tent mate with a bright light

Also, the Archer has the brightest strobe mode (aka flash mode) of any light we tested, emitting 500 lumens at a rapid flash rate.

While this feature will be unnecessary most of the time, it means this flashlight can act as an emergency blinker in emergency situations where you need a highly visible signal.

Yada yada yada...

Click here to get the AllNightArcher Flashlight at a 30% discount."

See the difference?

Now you may say: "But Hamoon, I can't write stories! I'm not creative!"

Please go back and take a look at my email example. ALL I did is to write a single sentence of "story" about how I spent some time with the kids. That's it!

That's all it takes. It's about putting some context around your product. Now if you want to go further and really dive into storytelling mode, do that, by all means. As long as the story is relevant to your offer.

You need to find a way to tie it in. But I've given you the example above on purpose to show you how easily the effect of storytelling can be accomplished by a single sentence or two.

"But Hamoon, what if they don't like going camping?"

Well, that's the beauty. Instead of sending a follow-up email in which you keep talking about your product...

And burn your list quicker than a 19-year old rapper burns his advance on his first record deal...

What we could do is this:

Email 2:

Subject line: Are the kids having a sleepover? Here's how to keep them busy...

Hey [Name],

If your kids are like mine, they LOVE having their friends for a sleepover.

Now if you're looking for some fun games to play with them...

Or to keep them busy while you can finally read that book, here's a game my kids absolutely love:

Hide and Seek in the Dark

Grab a favorite stuffed animal or toy, turn off all the lights, and “hide” it somewhere on a shelf, in a plant, atop the refrigerator—you get the idea. Then, together with your little detectives, take a flashlight, and go looking for it.

Take turns doing the hiding and seeking to keep things fresh. Warning: Young children will want to play this with you again and again…and again.

Now one thing to consider is: your eyes will get used to the darkness quickly... and the flashlight - especially in the hand of kids, may end up turning hide and seek into a blinding match.

What you could do is to pick up my favorite flashlight - the AllNightArcher. It has a firefly mode that does not hurt a bit when meeting one's eyes but is bright enough for all activities around the house - and most when going camping.

Also, if you should decide to let them play outside, it's powerful 500-lumen lights will come in handy if - God forbid - somebody gets hurt or loses their keys, smartphones, wallets, favorite marble... you get the idea ;)

Pick the AllNightArcher Flashlight up at a 30% discount. Prices will go up again in 24 hours.

And oh... if you're looking for more flashlight games, here's a cool selection:

[insert link]

Name"

The next email could be about hiking. Repairing their car outdoors. Keeping the house safe from intruders. You get the picture.

Each of these emails will only be interesting to a group of people on your list. But you are sending out content. Personal content. You're handing out value instead of talking about your product all of the time.

Your product isn't the protagonist of the story. It's just the sidekick.

And with each email, you'll cover another group of people who may be interested in your product for THAT reason. There may be overlap, too. Because somebody may like camping AND hiking.

That sort of overlap is actually perfect, as you're giving the same person more reasons to buy your product.

You are making your customers actually think and envision owning and using your product.

And that's one of the most important triggers if you want them to make a purchase.

Questions?

Hit me.

Hamoon Green