When it comes to internet marketing, we all know that getting people onto your list is the most important thing you can do.
Well in this copywriting example I break down one of the best-automated email sequences that I have ever read.
It is created by top copywriter Jacob McMillen and I am going to show you the tactics used, what happens during the sequence and also breakdown the mechanisms used within the emails.
Ready?
Let's dive in.
Grabbing Emails Through Education
Everyone knows why you want their email address.
They know that you want to sell them something at some point.
So, to be able to gain an email address more easily, we have to give something away.
Jacob McMillen handles this by offering a free course.
The home page of Jacobs site follows the same system that I use for Copy Warfare.
It is in essence 'one page, one goal' (ie. to get sign ups).
This means that the home page is 100 % geared towards gaining people onto his free course.
He encourages this with a strong headline:
"Build A Six-Figure Freelance Writing Business In The Next 12 Months"
And this is supported by 3 bullets of what you will learn if you sign up.
- Learn the three types of writing that can easily support a six-figure income.
- Learn how to land high paying gigs, even with no connections.
- Learn how to bring a stream of quality clients straight to your digital door.
The interesting thing about the 3 bullets is that they all lead with the word 'learn'.
The 'what' you will learn is concentrated around the 3 most significant pain points of his audience.
Finding the type of copy that pays well, landing clients that will pay and getting clients to come to you.
This 3 x bullet formula is super powerful, and I can see it working for numerous businesses and SAAS products too.
The Welcome Email That Explains What To Expect
While I am not going to break down every email (feel free to sign up and see them for yourself), I will break down some of the emails and the mechanisms of the sequence.
The first is the welcome email.
Welcome emails are a real pain to create.
An excellent welcome email leads the conversation and prepares the reader for what is about to come into their inbox over the coming days.
A boring welcome email can gain unsubscribes and reduce open rates.
I am pleased to say that Jacob delivers one of the best welcome emails I have read, and any business type could model his approach.
How Long Are The Emails?
The email stands at around 500 words, and this is the same for almost all of Jacobs emails.
I have spoken to numerous copywriters and although some will often go into far more text. 400 words to 500 words is generally considered the sweet spot by most copywriters (although I will share an example of someone crushing it with far more words in the coming weeks).
The 4 Key Parts Of The Welcome Email
Jacob uses a 4 part sequence for his welcome email that is an excellent one to follow.
1. Thanks, And Welcome
Many people forget this part, but it is good manners.
Jacob thanks you for signing up and also welcomes you to his course.
This part is great for reminding people of what they have signed up for as well.
2. What To Expect
The next segment is where Jacob tells the visitor what to expect.
He tells them it will go on for over a week and he leads with a huge transformational line of how he went from writing articles for $15 on the most boring topics to averaging $15k a month through freelance copy.
3. Testimonials
Jacob then dives into what I rarely see inside a welcome email, testimonials.
I think this is a real hidden gem technique.
In a previous copywriting example, we looked at how Drayton Bird uses testimonials on his home page to fantastic effect. And here, we see Jacob maximising their use on his first email.
This tactic is something I will taking and using for my clients and my own sign-ups.
4. Links To Products And Profiles
One famous copywriter (who we will cover in another example) sells with every email.
And Jacob does the same in this welcome email.
Even though it might be too early for most to buy, Jacob links to 3 external resources.
The first is his blog and the second are two products.
A paid community and his copywriting course.
This is an excellent strategy because it sends traffic to his blog and lets people have those products in mind.
I guess you could call this 'showing your hand' early.
But by laying his cards on the table, the following emails he sends all re-enforce what is on the sales page of whichever product took your fancy.
And of course, Jacob also allows you to connect with him on LinkedIn which is cool because it adds for another chance to communicate with him and this effortlessly builds his LinkedIn connections.
The Email Sequence That Educates
The email sequence used by Jabob is as follows (these are his subject lines).
The Email Sequence Subject Lines
1. You made it! Here's what's next...
2. these THREE types of writing will make you the most money
3. these THREE practice projects will get you ready for PAID work
4. how to land your first paying clients
5. the difference between a $10 article and a $1,500 article
6. how much should you charge?
7. my secret weapon (aka the reason I haven't had to cold pitch in 4 years)
8. how to turn $2,000 into $30,000 PER MONTH
9. why do so many writers struggle to succeed
During the email course, I sometimes received 2 emails each day because I was now also on Jacobs email list.
Sure, to some that might be too much but I wasn't bothered, and I was happy to receive them, which shows you how well written the emails are.
But let's break down the emails.
The Starter And The Main Course Tactic That Helps SEO
The course consists of several emails, but in each email, Jacob gives a link to a further resource.
These are all resources contained on his site in the form of a long-form post or even sections of posts.
This is great because it supports SEO for his site and again, gets people going through his content.
I call this the 'Starter and The Main Course Approach'.
Jacob uses his emails as a 'starter'.
It whets the appetite for the subject in the email and then he invites you to devour further information on his site.
He doesn't use this on every email, but the tactic does appear on the majority.
But the other part of this process, is that it trains people mentally to click on his links.
This is something I think is vital if you want to sell something at some point (which let's face it we all do).
The Engagement Reply Mechanism
Here Jacob asks people to hit reply and communicate with him.
This tactic isn't anything new as a lot of people use it, but still, so many don't try it or add it to their emails.
Jacob cunningly drops this segment into the base of his email.
I love this because it helps with engagement rates, and I am sure that it assists with open rates long term.
I am no email delivery scientist, but common sense tells you that if people reply to your emails, there is more chance they will get the next ones.
The Final 'Show Me Your Money' Email
The final email in this series is a short but sweet one that encourages click through to his sales page.
This is what I call a 'show me your money' email.
It isn't designed to educate but designed to sell, and it is a great sales page.
(It didn't tip me over to buy, but I did later buy another one of Jacobs products, so it shows the power of this email sequence).
It was a great ending to the course and having had fun reading the emails over the last few days I was primed to buy and nearly did.
My main reason for not buying is that I am already a copywriter and already have clients.
So I don't think it would have been right for me, but I did pick up his Clients Now Masterclass at a later date, because, well it's always good to learn how others get clients.
And I can report that the course is really useful.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my breakdown of an automated email sequence from a 6 figure copywriter.
Today, with our inboxes full of rubbish, it is nice to get emails that you enjoy to read.
I place Jacobs in that category.
They were easy to take on board, easy to digest and also easy to learn from.
And, Jacob showed that you can get a free course up and running quite quickly, especially if you have the blog content up on your site already.
So, head over to Jacobs site by clicking here and sign up to take his superb free course.
Oh. Before you go, I need a tiny favour.
Right now, I know you want to keep this site to yourself.
You are guarding this content like a prisoner eats his food in the canteen.
But the Gods of Copy are not happy.
They shouted down to me last night with this one command:
"Share it they must".
So, unless you want to be wiped out from the copywriting universe by my plastic Infinity Gauntlet, you must join our email list and share this content across your kingdom.
Or just social media will be fine.
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for the share.
Andrew Holland