I love seeing experimentation, innovation, and “outside-the-box” thinking in email marketing. It keeps things fresh, preventing email marketing from sliding into a stale, stultified, and stiff state.
Usually, the best email innovation comes from a combination of:
- A deep understanding of your market
- A willingness to let your personality shine through
- Mastering the rules of email marketing…
- And then breaking those rules in an intelligent fashion
The email I break down in this article highlights all four of these.
So keep reading for an example of an “outside-the-box” email and some lessons you can apply to your own email marketing efforts.
About Marketing Secrets
Marketing Secrets is an online marketing education company founded by Russell Brunson.
Name sound familiar? He cofounded the wildly popular ClickFunnels marketing funnel software which now has over 100,000 users. Actually, he’s the one who popularized the concept of the sales funnel (according to the Marketing Secrets website).
He’s also the author of several marketing books, has created a bunch of courses, and hosts coaching groups and masterminds. These can all be found on Marketing Secrets’ website, alongside several free resources.
Mr. Brunson eats, sleeps, and breathes marketing. According to the about page on his website, he’s been collecting junk mail since age 12. He also looked forward to commercials and ads on TV because marketing fascinated him.
This is all relevant because, well, he knows marketing/sales/copywriting/business quite well. As you’ll see in the email copy below.
The Email: AI, New Webinar, and… Hacking Russell Brunson’s Email?
This email aimed to get people to sign up for an online event — Russell’s “Birthday Bash.”
I can’t remember exactly what the Birthday Bash was, but if I had to guess, Russell and his team leveraged his birthday into an event that could make sales for his business.
Unique idea, but that’s not the point. What’s important is the copy and the context the copy existed in.
This email was part of several emails I received regarding the Birthday Bash, pushing people to sign up. And the copy is fantastic — personable and funny without wasting a word.
Let’s get into it.
The Subject Line and Preview Text: Hacked?
I love this subject line. Just look:
Trust me: THAT catches your attention.
Obviously, I’m skeptical to the point that I only half-considered this to be true.
But that’s the thing: there was still doubt in my mind. What if he was hacked? There’s always the chance, even if hackers don’t often talk like this (or maybe that’s what they want you to think.)
And even if it’s a joke, you want to find out why this funny subject line is even here.
The preview text starts to give us an answer:
It doesn’t directly tell us why or how the email was “hacked”. But it manages to hit a HOT topic in the marketing world:
AI.
So now you have the “hacked” theme and the promise of AI or marketing-related content.
What subscriber wouldn’t at least peek inside?
The Body Copy
Right away, the writer resolves some of the curiosity-based tension in the subject-line-preview complex:
We now know who’s “hacking” Mr. Brunson’s email… and we’re about to find out why.
I like how Russell is struck through and replaced with an italicized Todd. It adds some cheekiness. It also makes it feel more “friend to friend” because it’s almost as if Todd physically “crossed out” Russell’s name and is still writing this email himself. Even if he’s not writing it at all.
Russell wastes no time in resolving the other burning point of curiosity by revealing the “big announcement”:
Now that’s an interesting and exciting announcement.
The use of ALL CAPS and bold is tasteful. Enough to get the point across and highlight important information without going overboard.
At this point, the reader might start imagining all the possibilities AI could bring to their marketing and sales efforts.
However, these thoughts are also questions. How will AI play a role in marketing funnels, and how will Marketing Secrets help?
Todd will tell you, but he uses a classic technique to keep you reading: the Open Loop.
An Open Loop takes advantage of the Zeigarnik effect, or our tendency to want closure. To want to resolve some incomplete task.
Kind of like how I introduced the term “Open Loop” before the previous screenshot and defined it after.
And also like how Todd doesn’t tell you how he’ll bring AI into your ClickFunnels right away.
He instead establishes a deeper connection with the reader by entering the conversation in their head. Everyone’s talking about AI, and everyone’s talking about how everyone’s talking about it. So Todd’s meeting the reader where they are mentally.
The comes another vital element:
Social proof worked seamlessly into the copy.
Todd says he’s a software developer and then (with bold) claims AI will cause a massive shift.
This isn’t yet another copywriter talking about AI. It’s a guy who does this stuff for a living. When he says it, the reader feels more validated in their concerns about AI. That subtly strengthens their bond with Todd in this email.
AI is gonna take all our jobs, or is it? Todd immediately addresses that fear:
Todd spins that fear on its head and turns it into a benefit for the reader. This is a concept called “belief shifting,” and it’s a classic way to structure an entire email.
This does a few things:
- Eases the reader’s fear — Important for keeping the reader, well, reading
- Promises a benefit — The reader will learn how to take advantage of this trend to enrich themselves
- Builds a feeling of “exclusivity” — The reader feels smart because they’ll learn about this stuff before anyone else
Once again, as an average bold/italics/underline enjoyer… the tactical use of bold and italics is excellent.
Now that Todd has the reader thinking about how to use this “scary” new trend to their advantage, he begins to introduce the offer without giving up what it is:
More benefit-driven language. He also keeps things grounded by discussing how he’s been working on this.
The reader can trust him more because he’s not just selling something someone else built.
Then, of course, Todd promises he’ll reveal it all at the Birthday Bash.
Onto the CTA section:
Clean, simple, and personable. I like the long CTA — CTAs don’t have to be short. Adding some variety keeps things fresh, as long as the copy isn’t full of fluff.
We aren’t done, though. How about the signature and PS section:
Todd once again crosses out Russell’s name for that humorous touch.
Going further, though, he even “messes with” Russell’s typical signature by telling you he wants to replace it with his own.
It’s almost as if he’s actually talking to you and joking around with you.
Real quick is the standard Social Links/Product Block Section:
Never hurts to link to your socials at the bottom of emails.
Same story for other courses. The reader can register for the event, then reopen the email and see if any of the books (or the webclass) are worth considering.
Takeaways
The main ideas to take away are complementary.
First, use your personality in the emails. Your personality will turn some people away… but it will bring your best customers closer.
Building on that is the other takeaway — once you infuse your brand personality into your emails, you can get creative.
Experiment. Test. Try new things. Think outside the box. That’s what’s awesome about email. You can try whacky ideas (like “hacking your boss’s email”) without much risk.
The worst thing that happens is that you make little to no sales off one email. Maybe a few angry replies if it’s a touchy subject (but words on a screen shouldn’t hurt you anyways).
But you don’t spend any money.
The best thing that happens?
You discover email marketing GOLD.
What to Do Next
- Get on my email list using the signup form below.
- Reach out to me if you want help writing emails like this one.
- Check out Marketing Secrets for a one-stop shop on all sorts of marketing tips, education, and other great stuff.