Curious and curious…
Since launching my print “Email Players” newsletter — www.EmailPlayers.com — last year, several people have suggested (or asked about) it should be delivered via email (instead of hard copy) since it’s about… email.
Could they be right?
Is there a disconnect?
Is it smart sending an email newsletter via snail mail, not email?
I kinda see why one might wonder this.
And so it deserves an answer.
But worry ye not.
Methinks this’ll be educational no matter what you sell:
1. Do what works
Saying I should deliver paid content about email via email instead of snail mail is like telling someone they should only use sales letters to get clients for writing sales letters.
Mayhaps that makes sense on the surface.
But, not when you look deeper.
For example:
During the 8-9 years when I did client work, I don’t think I’d ever gotten a client by sending them a sales letter. Instead, they were almost ALL gotten via the phone (especially my top 3 paying clients).
Yes, I could have used sales letters.
Not saying they don’t work.
But the phone always got better results.
In fact, one of my friends built his entire copywriting business attending seminars (not sending anyone a sales letter). And the fact is, a lot of top sales letter writers get their best clients with the phone… not their keyboard.
So you do what works.
And the print format has been extremely successful so far.
Yes, even teaching about the Internet.
And speaking of format…
2. Format
Some say format doesn’t matter.
After all, if the info is good, who cares about format?
One guy used the analogy “if a hot super model gave you her telephone number written in crayon on a wet used napkin, would it matter???”
I dunno, Spanky.
Did she SELL it to you for $100 bones per month?
If not, it’s comparing apples to oranges.
I’m sure you’ll agree, if you want to sell a $50 steak dinner, you probably would not put it on a dirty garbage can lid or cheap paper plate, and say, “yeah, but it tastes good!”
The point?
Email is not a high quality format to deliver premium priced info.
If you want to convey quality, “dress” accordingly.
This goes whether dressing your body for appearance or dressing your product for purchase.
Which brings us to the next reason…
3. Impact
Hey, I loveth email.
And I have profited from it tremendously.
But for having impact, it’s not even in direct mail’s league (it ain’t even in the same sport). It’s almost like Christmas when a piece of valuable snail mail arrives. It generates good feelings in people about you and your business. But most people don’t exactly drool over downloading “air.”
More:
There’s a neurological reason for this.
It’s now a documented fact your body dumps a “pleasure chemical” in your brain every time you get an email (this is why people check their emails compulsively, and why it’s such a great medium to sell with). But what most web marketers don’t realize is that, with direct mail (like a print newsletter…) that “pleasure effect” is amplified 100 fold!
After all, there’s a physical presence.
You’ve entered their home.
You’re now sitting with them in their most secure and intimate environment — and they’ve actually paid you to be there.
It’s not quite the same with email, is it?
No sir, it ain’t…
4. The pain-in-the-ass factor
The first person (a good friend) who suggested I should deliver Email Players by email (instead of direct mail) said there might be a disconnect.
And, maybe he’s right.
For some there could be a disconnect.
But you know what?
Anyone wound up so tightly they wouldn’t subscribe because it’s in paper & ink format instead of digital “bytes” in an email would be such a pain in the ass customer I wouldn’t want them anyway.
I hope it DOES turn them off.
Those types suck the life right out of you.
Anyway, that’s it for now.
Those are four reasons why I’m right and the people who think I should email the content are simply…
Wrong.
The next “Email Players” issue mails soon.
It covers all kinds of info, too.
Including:
- A secret subject line “swipe file”
- How to sell without citing benefits
- How to convert vintage ads into hot selling emails
- Bill Clinton’s email secret that got him elected
- And a ho’ bunch more…
Subscribe while you can, here:
Ben Settle
