This “secret” dates alllll the way back to the 1690s…
Yes, you read that right. It comes from the late 1600s, not the mid 1900s.
Anywho, here’s the story:
Human beings have struggled—and asked for advice for their troubles—dating as far back to the 1690s. I’m sure it started before that, but the 1690s birthed the first documented proof of what is known today as an advice column.
Troubled mfs write in, and an “expert” on their problems gives them advice.
These advice columns still exist today, albeit more so on the internet than a newspaper.
And y’know what?
They’re wildly profitable for your brand. Plus, they give you an infinite amount of email ideas that you can be certain you’ll profit from.
How do I know this?
Well, basically human psychology gives us the answer. But I recently rolled out these “column advice” emails for one of my clients.
Here’s the sitch:
Our customers regard this particular client as the authority in the alternative health world. This is partly because of my help and emails, which frame him in this light. And it’s partly because he is, well, an expert and constantly flexes his expertise when talking to clients, on podcasts, etc.
Since we help people get rid of their chronic pain and complicated health problems, many of our customers have “embarrassing” health problems that they feel bad about. This stops people from calling or asking for help. They’re embarrassed, and many would rather live with their suffering and pain then ask for help. That’s just human nature, as unfortunate as it is.
That’s where the “advice column” emails come in.
We take a customer question about a particular health topic—knowing that there are more people with the same troubles, suffering in silence—and write an email Q&A style where we keep all the names anonymous and provide advice.
These emails have been a hoot to write for, and generate an absurd amount of cashola.
Checky:
We’ve sent 5 of these emails over the past couple of months, and have created an extra $31,498.18 in revenue.
Now, we make a different amount of revenue depending on the question and the content. Questions with a broader solution generate more revenue, our highest grossing email clocking in at $10,449.20. Whereas our lowest grossing email had a more “niched down” (for lack of a better word) solution, only clocking in at $3,751.29.
But this is an easy email series idea, which you can implement as soon as today. I have mayhap 20 new email prompts sitting in my inbox from this client as I type this. Given our same rate of averaging $6,299.63 per email…
…we have an untapped $125,992.72 in revenue sitting in my inbox right now!
(Not to mention, these emails only take 20 minutes—at most—to write.)
That’s the good news.
The bad news?
It takes time to become the expert of your industry, which is a prerequisite for this kind of email.
Nobody likes unsolicited advice from people they don’t know, like, or trust. (There’s that KLT Factor I oft yap again showing its head again.)
The better news?
Helping your customers see you as THE expert in your industry is something I excel at as a copywriter. In fact, this is one of the many benefits of a plain-text approach. I’d go as far to say that it’s impossible to try to replicate this if you’re sending nothing but lame, graphic-heavy emails.
Just some food for thought.
Anywho:
Wanna become the go-to expert in your industry through email and create a series that could unlock an extra 6 figures of revenue for your brand?
Grab a time here to set up a quick call, and we'll go from there.
John