In comes a question from a new subscriber:
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does long form emails really convert? do people really read until the end?
the only call to action is 'reply', not even a button at the bottom?
i want to try long form emails to my customers.... tips?
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My answer?
Yes, and no.
Look up any HubSpot "article" (written by interns who just regurgitate poor information), and they'll tell you that you need to write short emails because we have the attention spans of mice. Yet, 3+ hour podcasts have never been more popular at the same time.
Since most people suck at writing, short is often seen as better. But if your writing is entertaining and personal (like the way I teach), then yes, you can "get away" with long-form emails. In fact, you'll notice that they even work better.
Why?
Well, on any given email list, there are 3 categories of people on it:
1. People who will gobble up every word you say, and buy every product you promote. (This makes up 20% of your list, and typically drives 80% of the revenue for your brand).
2. Skeptical people who need to be persuaded and reminded often that you are who you say you are (and your products work as you say they do). These are the people that long-form emails work best on, as they slowly build trust in you and your products. This group might not convert overnight, but when they do, they often become brand loyalists.
3. People who will never buy from you no matter what you do, will complain that you send "too many" emails or your emails are "too long," and will unsubscribe eventually without ever buying. This is the group most "email marketing 101" articles talk about. Again this makes up another 10-20% of your list. The trouble I see with brands is they base their entire email strategy around this group, shying away from sending emails that actually drive absurd amounts of revenue.
Of course, that said, every rule is meant to be broken. The best strategies combine both short-form and long-form emails to keep their audiences on their "toes," and looking forward to each email.
As for my call to action... It made you reply ;)
Jokes aside, I don't run my personal email list the same way I do for my ecom brand clients. In client emails, while I don't use buttons typically (because there's no point in risking lower deliverability for an HTML element that could simply be a hyperlink or a bare-naked link) I always include a clickable CTA, so that our audience can purchase whatever product I'm promoting in a particular email.
(/end answer)
Lots of insights embedded in my answer here.
Anyway, if you need someone to set up a revenue-driven email marketing strategy (and all the persuasive copy you need to generate 40-60% of your revenue from email marketing), hit reply, and let’s chat.
John
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