Bitcoin was riding high earlier in 2022.
As an investor, looking at the price now (in mid-July 2022) makes me wince.
Don’t worry, I don’t own a ton. But boy did it crash over the past few months.
Still, crypto’s a hot topic. Not just in finance, but in the wider culture, too.
And when big market moves like that happen, it offers financial publishers and crypto-related companies awesome email opportunities.
Money & Markets offers one such example that I break down below. Keep reading!
About Money & Markets
Money & Markets is a financial publisher that provides financial news, commentary, and investment research.
It has a wealth of blog posts, a podcast, a YouTube channel, and an email newsletter — all for free.
Those email newsletters sprinkle in space ads — short, “clicker” ads that usually point to a video or text sales letter.
Of course, Money & Markets also runs promos to its list…
And we’re looking at an email from one of these promos in today’s Email Breakdown.
The Email: A “Lift Note” to a Video Sales Presentation
In old direct mail campaigns, companies would mail sales letters to people. A bit of enticing text on the envelope would encourage the reader to open the envelope.
This text was called a “lift note.” “Lifts,” for short.
Financial publishers carried lifts into the modern age through emails such as this one.
It’s a short, enticing email that builds curiosity and excitement, then sells the click.
As you can see, it also addressed a hot topic — crypto, right after a Bitcoin crash.
Let’s get into it.
The Subject Line: Curiosity and Social Proof… With Brackets
Bitcoin’s crash was on everyone’s mind when the email was sent.
The subject line addresses a huge question among the target audience. Then, it promises a benefit inside — an expert’s analysis.
I like the use of brackets. Brackets and parentheses draw the eyes and add a hint of extra curiosity. Plus, compare how these three look:
Buy the Dip in Bitcoin? Here’s an Expert Analysis
Buy the Dip in Bitcoin? Expert Analysis
Buy the Dip in Bitcoin? [Expert Analysis]
The first isn’t as punchy. It might be too long for the subject line.
The second looks unpolished. Like someone forgot to finish proofreading the email. It just looks odd.
The third one — the one Money & Markets used — is concise and complete.
Set the Stage
“Dear Loyal Reader” is a common way for financial publishers to start emails. The salutation is really up to you.
But let’s get to the next few lines.
The writer sets the stage by introducing crypto-related quotes from news sources.
This offers some social proof for the writer’s previous statement and adds specificity, which can be quite persuasive.
Also, like many financial publishers, a picture of the guru is included in the image. This gives it a professional, “newsletter” feel.
The readers are used to this because the regular newsletter includes the guru’s image.
“Taking a Stand” and Injecting Social Proof
Polarization pays when you do it right.
People don’t buy on logic. They buy on emotion and justify with logic.
Polarization is a great way to get the emotions going.
People don’t want milquetoast (look at political discourse LOL).
They want someone to “call out” the haters, naysayers, bad guys, whatever you want to call it.
People love an underdog story, also.
One man (or woman) who stands against the powers that be, yelling, “YOU’RE WRONG!”
That’s what we get here, although less dramatically than I portrayed it.
The writer paints the two sides: Forbes, CNBC (from the last section), and “others”…
Vs. the guru here.
It’s on readers to pick a side.
But remember: you have to provide logic so the customer can justify their emotions.
The writer delivers that, pointing out how this guru made a huge “against-the-grain” call previously…
Helping his followers earn big profits while everyone else lost money.
In short: Polarize for emotion, show proof to justify with logic.
Raising the Stakes and Seeding the Opportunity
Now that we’ve injected emotions with polarization and proved the guru outsmarted the establishment before…
So now we have to introduce the offer and raise the stakes.
This opportunity could potentially be like last time, but even bigger!
Stakes = raised.
Plus, the writer added some curiosity by saying, “It’s not bitcoin.”
Oh, and how could I forget the Elon Musk line.
Our boy Elon’s always in the news now — in general, and specific to crypto — and he’s known to be a smart guy.
Name-dropping Eccentric Elon adds a ton of social proof and curiosity. What is this new coin he owns? Why did he, out of all people, pick this coin?
Now, the writer says “experts” after trashing institutions that might be considered experts.
I think it works here, though, because it’s vague enough. The writer could be referencing crypto experts who understand the underlying crypto, not just the investing aspect of it.
The “First-Mover” Advantage + CTA
The first line in this section is yet another curiosity builder. What is this crypto he’s talking about?
But this single line offers another persuasion tactic:
Exclusivity.
In this case, it’s the “first-mover advantage,” as I’ll call it.
No one has discussed this opportunity, meaning it’s relatively new. So you could be among the early investors, which is an incredible feeling if the investment earns you a fat return.
This has some implicit future-pacing, too, and it plays on more than just the profit potential.
Sure, you could earn a lot of money if this crypto takes off…
But you’ll also look smart to those around you. Your friends will be jealous of your wealth and admire your investing savvy.
The finance niche isn’t just about helping the customer earn money. The customer also wants to look smart in front of their friends.
You correctly picked some little-known investment when no one else did. You look like some financial market genius.
As you can see, a LOT is packed into this single line of copy.
Finally, we finish the email with a CTA.
I appreciate the “grab a pen and paper” line. It’s specific. It implies the interview is so important to your potential future wealth that you need to take notes.
And then there’s the CTA link itself, which is more than just “watch the video.” It’s benefit-driven. It tells the reader they’ll discover the guru’s #1 crypto recommendation if they click that link.
What a powerful conclusion to this email.
Takeaways
This lift note is short and sweet… but when you unpack it, you discover just how much persuasion power the writer stuffed in.
There’s the timely and curiosity-driven subject line.
There’s polarization, social proof, and “underdog framing” early on.
There are references to popular cultural icons, from Bitcoin to Elon Musk.
There’s exclusivity — you could be among the few smart investors who jump in on this opportunity now.
The email sets the stage with all of these elements to pitch the opportunity and portray just how important it is for the customer to take action now.
And, assuming the video presentation was done well… I bet this email contributed a good chunk of sales/signups/whatever to whatever the presentation sold.
One last note: I bet this email went through a few revisions. I bet a lot of stuff was slashed or reworded. Writing crisp, clean copy that doesn’t waste a single word is harder than you think.
What to Do Next
- Get on my email list.
- Reach out to me if you want help writing emails like this one.
- Check out Money & Markets for market news and other educational investing/trading content.