\u201cI wish I could make a living just doing this.\u201dhttps:\/\/ff478b0f1237d2941631b083cf1abc53.safeframe.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-38\/html\/container.html?n=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s what I used to sigh to myself when I was writing an email to a friend. (That is, back when friends actually connected by email rather than texts, DMs, PMs, and any other private messaging platform prone to \u201csliding in\u201d from creeps.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Writing emails to friends provided the same joy as writing actual\u00a0mail<\/em>-mail\u2014remember \u201cletters\u201d?\u2014from sleepaway camp. I could be personal, conversational, myself. I told funny stories and made casual observations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy croque monsieur is giving me the rumbles. But it was worth it.\u201d (From an actual 2006 email.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, with a twist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, instead of to my close, IRL friends, I write emails to a list of subscribers I think of<\/em> as my friends. Sometimes, those emails sell things\u2014in my case, mostly digital courses and mini-courses for personal brands and entrepreneurs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And the resulting revenue from those emails? Upwards of one million dollars per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is technically called email marketing<\/em>. <\/strong>The emails I send<\/a> might be called newsletters<\/em>. But to me, and to my subscribers, each one is still an \u201cemail to a friend\u201d\u2014because that\u2019s the style I write it in, and how the person receiving the email experiences it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They feel like it\u2019s just to them, because I keep the style and content as conversational and personal (sometimes TMI-level personal) as if I were writing them privately.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In these messages, which I usually send three times a week, I\u2019ve written about my:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve told them about the time I illegally split a gym membership, the bad investment I made in a boyfriend\u2019s instructional salsa-dancing tapes, my brother-in-law sending back his fish at dinner, my college roommate and her passive-aggressive Post-Its (Were you planning to wash these dishes? If not, I\u2019ll do them! {smiley face} <\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n You may have heard the wisdom that we buy from people we know, like, and trust. Writing in a style that reveals your personality and personal life\u2014or, if that\u2019s not appropriate for your business, your worldview\u2014creates that \u201cknow, like, and trust\u201d factor for your readers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over and over, subscribers tell me, \u201cI feel like we\u2019d be friends in real life.\u201d Some even say \u201cbesties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, I call this style of email an\u00a0EFAB: Email From A Bestie.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We all scan through our email inbox deleting the business-y junk and looking for something that feels like it\u2019s just to us. Something from a person we know. In other words, an EFAB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s the email we click on\u2026and buy from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you write an EFAB?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are my top tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, you need permission\u2014from a list of people who\u2019ve opted in to hear from you. They\u2019ve submitted their email to receive one or all of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding people to your list without their permission and emailing them in a group is called spam. Don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider also collecting email subscribers\u2019 first names when they sign up for your list so you can address them by name in future communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a best practice for all copywriting, and it can be counterintuitive. Most of us have learned in school or a corporate job that it\u2019s \u201cunprofessional\u201d to write conversationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But what human says to another human, \u201cYou are never going to believe with whom I am going on vacation\u201d<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019d say, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re never gonna believe who I\u2019m going on vacation with.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Write the way you talk, namely the way you would to a friend, and you\u2019re in business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m often asked, \u201cBut what if my business is B2B (business to business), and my audience is more corporate?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re never a business writing to a business. You\u2019re always a person writing to a person. How would you speak to the client or customer if you were sitting across from them at a coffee shop? Write like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t matter how great your email is if nobody opens it. The #1 key to getting an email opened is\u2026 the subject line<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start with the informal part.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Few Years Ago, I Discovered I Could<\/em> Make a Living Writing Emails to My Friends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Do These Stories Make Money?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
No. 1: Make Sure You Have Consent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pro Tip<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No. 2: Write Like You Talk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
No. 3: Use Informal, Curiosity-Driven Subject Lines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n