Why I go Against the Grain

You’ve probably noticed that the emails I send you are a bit longer than what other brands and individuals use.

Often, I’d take at least the first half of a 1,000 word email just to get to the main point… which, if you listen to most gurus, goes completely against every rule - such as you need to get to the point immediately, to have a call to action above the fold and so on.

Well, this email doesn’t even have a call to action.

And you know what else?

While this might go against some rules… the most important rule of marketing in my opinion is to first, stand out.

Preferably, stand out in a way that furthers the process of the sale.

Because just standing out doesn’t matter - there are plenty of the so-called influencers out there who have half a million followers, but can’t drive 2 sales in a single promo. They’re good at standing out, but not too great at furthering the process of the sale.

One way to do that in online marketing is to do what everyone else is too lazy to do.

For example, writing a longer email without even selling something is what most marketers don’t bother to do.

Because it takes a lot of time, research, and thinking.

It’s no different for me.

Which is why I’m smart about it.

I have these created for me - and it doesn’t even cost me that much because it’s just a part of a service in an exclusive membership I’m a part of. One day I’ll tell you all about it.

The lesson here is that you don’t have to work hard to get results.

Sure, if you want to really go all in, you can do everything yourself… but if 20% of the effort (which is the level of effort it takes me to review these and add some ideas of my own) gets me 80% of the result (in reality, it’s closer to 95%), why would I?

Now, here’s another point.

If everyone starts sending longer emails and providing value (instead of just “buy this thing from me”) you know who will be the first to send shorter ones? Me.

Because standing out and grabbing the attention comes first.

If you can’t grab someone’s attention, you can’t provide value to them.

There’s a lot to be said about grabbing attention the right way, though.

For example, you could grab everyone’s attention in a crowded movie theatre (as if we have those anymore…) by yelling “FIRE!!!”...

But if your goal is to sell popcorn, well, I don’t think you’ll sell much.

Bottom line is...

First, stand out - if everyone zigs, you zag. Do it in a way that helps to get your message across.

Then, provide relevant value. As much as you can.

And watch out for how you grab people’s attention - make sure it’s congruent with your message.

To Your Success!

Steve.

Master Online Entrepreneur