In my first article about using email to market events, I talked about some of the self-induced obstacles you may have when it comes to emailing your subscribers to promote your events.
To recap: People signed up to your list to hear from you. So, talk to them. Earlier in my career, I worked for an organization where it was a mortal sin to exhibit personality in emails. Or send more than one or two emails to promote an event. “If people want to register, they’ll register.”
True story. So I wrote the dry event emails. One “save the date” and one “here’s the agenda.” If you received those kinds of emails, would that get you revved up to attend the event? Me neither.
And of course, the results sucked. If you’re having problems putting butts in seats for your events, here’s what you need to do…
Show how your event solves their problem
Everyone has obstacles they have to overcome. Whether it’s at home, at work, in a relationship, or dealing with a dog that barks every time a client calls (that’s me!). Your job is to identify that problem and show how your event is going to solve that headache.
A classic copywriting formula to do this is:
Identify a problem
Agitate that problem
Solve the problem
Let’s say you’re running a basic dog obedience training class. Most people will simply send an email saying “Hey! We’re offering this super cool dog obedience class next week! Come join us! Click the button to reserve your spot!” Meh. Running that through our magic copywriting formula, we should see something like this:
Hey John! Do you have a dog that doesn’t listen and does whatever it wants? (Identify a problem) Are you embarrassed to have friends over to your home because your dog is out of control? (Agitate the problem)
I had a dog just like that. His name was Rusty.
Rusty was a rescue from the local shelter, and I loved him. He was always affectionate and was a great companion. But Rusty would always do what Rusty wanted to do. He would listen to some commands and blow off others. I could never get him to stop barking or pay attention to me.
I realized I needed help.
I went to a couple of different obedience classes. They never seemed to work. Rusty acted like he was a good dog in class and then would return to misbehaving as soon as we got home. (Agitate the problem again)
I was starting to think about returning Rusty to the shelter and felt horrible about it. That’s when a friend introduced me to a training method that was different than the others. (Present the solution)
After going through the course, Rusty was different.
He listened.
Not because he was getting punished, but because he wanted to. We had formed a strong and positive bond with one another.
So, if you have a Rusty in your life, I’d love to help you on September 17 at Sunset Dog Park.
If you enroll in this course, I’ll teach you:
A proven clear and non-confrontational dog obedience training method
How to use body language to make your dog listen
The Five Basic Commands every dog must know
How and when to use the Four Pillars of Training: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Positive Correction, and Negative Correction
How to provide structure through adequate physical and mental stimulation
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
If you NEVER want to be frustrated by your dog again...
...I recommend that you get to enroll in our “Be Your Dog’s Pal, Not Its Pushover” course right away.
I will personally teach you the dog training methods that work...and make you and your dog best friends again.
Ringo
Super Dog Trainer
P.S. Keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow morning. I’ll share with you the rest of Rusty’s story and how we dealt with some of the inevitable setbacks that take took place when training a living, independent, and stubborn creature!
Now, there are a couple of things here that are also coming into play in this sample.
I interjected a personal story so the reader could connect with me. We share the same nightmare dog!
I used the P.S. to create an open loop. This is marketing lingo for a cliffhanger. It introduces a mystery that makes the reader want to continue reading to see how the story ends…
...like I’m going to do to you right now. Now you know the basics of how to position your message to get people to attend your event.
Stay tuned for next week’s article where I’ll show you what types of emails to include in your sequence and when to send them.
Want articles like this in your inbox each week?