Unopened Emails: Unlocking the Inbox Mystery with Riveting Storytelling Techniques!

Are your emails lost in the digital void, unopened, and ignored? Do you cringe when your email software shows more unsubscribes than clicks? Guess what, my friend? You're not alone.

I still remember a day in the early stages of business when I checked my email marketing analytics. I saw an unsubscribe and freaked out so terribly that I emailed the person individually to ask why they were unsubscribing. Of course, I did my best to sound like an exit interview collecting general data, but as I replayed the interaction, it smelled like desperation.

As a real estate pro or small business owner, email marketing can often feel like screaming into the abyss, with little to show for your efforts. On top of this, you vacillate between the messaging that says "email marketing is dead" and your own annoyance when you get a spam call or unwanted political fundraising text. What do you do?

What's the solution, you ask? Stories. Yes – storytelling isn't just for books and movies. I use it to make my email marketing more relatable, personal, and valuable. Most of the emails I receive are informational, telling me about an upcoming event or something going on sale soon...if I don't act now, I will miss it! Sigh!

But some years ago, I began incorporating stories, and my open rates jumped from 7-8% to 39 or 40%. Yes, I incorporated storytelling, and to do that, I also adjusted two key elements.

First, I adjusted my headlines! For example, I changed "Weekly Wednesday Newsletter" to "Turn Hump-Day to Hooray Day with These 5 Business Game-Changers!" OK, that may be a little corny, but it's like a dad joke—it's so bad it's good. You can't help yourself!

Think about what causes you to click or pay attention. Is it just an informational headline, or is it an exciting phrase or sentence that grabs your attention?

Second, I began to think in terms of characters and their challenges. In the beginning, many of the emails were about me and my experiences. However, I realized my audience wanted to hear about more than just me. What experiences were others having with me or due to the techniques I shared? My readers needed to be drawn in with narratives that featured relatable characters conquering relevant challenges. For example, if you're in real estate, rather than an email titled "House for Sale," add a character and a challenge... "How Jane Overcame the Market to Find Her Dream Home Below Her Expected Budget."

Readers identify with struggle and want to know how to do what Jane did.

Here's another headline example..."The Bizarre Encounter That Crushed My Saturday House Viewing!"

The character is me, but the reader is interested in the crazy encounter.

As a small business owner, I might use this example: "The ONE, Small Decision that Supercharged Our Sales In 3 Days!"

Final example: On February 14th, I received a boat-ton of emails informing me it was Valentine's Day. Most asked, "What are you doing for Valentine's Day?" or simply, "Happy Valentine's Day" with an emoji!

I sent an email to my list with the headline, "My wife HATES it when people do this on Valentine's Day!"

Even if you don't know my wife, you're somehow interested in the unnamed behavior she hates. What is it? What's this disgusting, mystery behavior?

** CLICK **

Will every opened email result in a sale? Of course not. But closed emails don't, either. Email marketing is part of your sales strategy; great storytelling enhances the possibility of your audience moving further down the road with you!

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This article is derived from an episode of Robert Kennedy III's Story 2 Sales LinkedIn Audio room. Check out this episode and others in the Story 2 Sales Vault.

** Check out the Story 2 Sales on Wednesdays at 1:30p ET **