I'm an email marketing agency founder who shares what's learning right now from sending over 10 million emails a year (not writing ten million emails, mind. Imagine that π).
"I'm scared to be myself - what can I say!?"
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Want an easy & fun way to quickly come up with stories for email? Read the P.S. Mornin' Reader, Someone replied to one of my emails the other week (please do that, btw - reply with your thoughts and questions, etc). She said: "Iβve started building a list. But Iβm scared to be myself β what can I say?!!" Packing your emails with personality terrifies people. Why? Because people think three things: β β There's nothing 'special' about me Often there's some deeper stuff going on that makes you fearful for 'being yourself'. I'm not a counsellor or therapist so I can only share my own experience. The more I've put myself out there (and gradually just been a bit more weird on LinkedIn π)... ... loads more people have connected with me and sent me positive comments and messages. Yes, there's a small handful who have said negative stuff... But they were all mostly people I couldn't f*cking stand anyway. There have been some comments from randoms, but I'm not arsed what they say/think and their comments usually give me a good chance to rip the piss out of them, making the people who do like me (who I care about) laugh. If you be yourself you'll naturally attract the types of people you want to know and work with. β β You MUST try to be funny No. Personality in marketing does not have to = funny. If you don't think of yourself as a funny person, don't try to be in email.
Have a think now: what three words would someone describe you as? Lean into that. β β You must share personal stories When you share stories about yourself, it can feel like you're leaving yourself open to scrutiny. If you share a deeply personal email and someone unsubscribes, it's hard not to take it personally π So here's a way around that -> Just don't π€·π»ββοΈStick to sharing value. But put your own spin on it using your own experiences. (Instead of saying "How to..." say "Here's how I...") β β Ultimately... Being scared to be yourself comes down to worrying about what other people think. Something that helped me was realising this: You can't control other people's thoughts, feelings and opinions about you. No matter how hard you try. If someone just doesn't like you, the more you try to get them to like you, the more they won't. So stop trying. Whether you're just starting out with email or on LinkedIn... start small. Share your expertise. Share some not-so-personal stuff. Don't try to follow trends or feel pressured into 'being funny'. Take a deep breath and (as my client, Yasin, would say)... β JUST POST THE F*CKING CONTENT β Alex P.S. If you do want to start sharing more stories, here's a quick way to come up with ideas: Look back through old photos in your phone. Often, the photo will trigger a memory. Spend an hour or so reminiscing , and keep a folder/doc of the story starters along with the photo (people like seeing photos with you in them). Again, stories don't have to be deeply personal - here's an example of when I did this. β β |
Alex Thompson
I'm an email marketing agency founder who shares what's learning right now from sending over 10 million emails a year (not writing ten million emails, mind. Imagine that π).
There's a slim chance you noticed. And an even slimmer chance you care. But I've been a crap email marketer and not emailed YOU β the lovely people on my list β for AGES. There's actually a big chance you've forgotten who I am. You might be reading this email with a frown on your face thinking: "Who TF is this guy? I didn't sign up to this list!! SPAMMER!" Well... Reader... you did sign up. At some point. I promise. I don't buy data/lists. Anyway, that's besides the point. You're here. And...
Are we scared to make jokes these days? I forgot to grab a basket. Again. So carrying ten bottles of deodorant across the supermarket to the cashier had been a mission in itself (I kept dropping them. An old lady even picked one up for me as I had them cradled in my arms - not my finest hour). But it was 50% off the only deodorant that keeps me smelling fresh(ish) all day, so I wasn't giving my savings up for the sake of some Pensioner's spine. (Okay - I admit. Even I felt a little bad...
Brackets (or parenthesis, if you're posh) are a good way to get more personality into your emails, but only if you use them properly . In this short email, you'll learn how. Mornin' Reader, Have you ever watched the Director's Commentary version of a film? Yeah, me neither. What I'm told happens is, the film plays while the director talks about their experience of making the film etc. And that's the best way to use brackets (or parenthesis, again, if you're posh) in emails. Brackets give the...