Infotainment

How To Sell Without Really Selling (And Why Giving Away Too Much Value Is Bad For Business)

Ever heard of the Rule of Reciprocity?

Lots of business owners love it. In fact, a good number of them use it as a foundation on how they do business.

Here’s a quote I saw that explains the rule well:

“If I give you something of value that you perceived to be valuable, you’re going to feel an obligation to return back to me something of equal value in return.”

Sounds good, right? But it can actually harm your business — without you even knowing it.

You see, based on the rule, if you give me something valuable, then I’ll feel obligated, compelled, forced to buy from you.

Uhm…

Heck, no.

If I don’t need your product or service, then why would I buy from you?

Now, for the record, I’m not saying that the rule is a total sham — because to some degree, it works.

But IMHO, this rule caused a lot of business owners to lose their balls when it comes to selling. A lot of people nowadays can’t sell shyt unless they’ve provided enough value to their prospects.

Sounds familiar?

They became marketing wimps who don’t know how to make people buy without giving away the farm along with the kids.

More:

You can even see this phenomenon in emails…

People try their best not to sound ‘salesy’ because they’re afraid their customers might get annoyed and leave their list.

So they sugar-coat their pitch or bury their link in the PS.

Not knowing that they only harm their business doing this.

But who can fault us?

We were made to believe that the Rule of Reciprocity is a universal law — just like the law of gravity.

We were taught that people won’t buy unless they receive value from us first.

Gwurus and shexperts sing in unison, telling us that we should give away dozens of free content first before selling anything.

But after handling dozens of email marketing campaigns, I realized that this is not the case.

In fact, you can sell in every email you send to your list. And your readers would even thank you for selling to them.

How?

By using ‘infotainment’ when writing your emails.

Which simply means combining information with entertainment. Just switch on your TV to see great examples of this concept. News shows that present information in a way that is fun and entertaining.

Now, does it take a lot of time to write infotaining emails?

Not really, as long as you know what you’re doing.

Interested to learn more?

Then, you should download a free copy of my book, Email Copywriting Handbook where you can see actual examples of ‘infotainment emails’

Download it today. It’s totally free.

Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/RomEmailCopyBook

The #1 Most Dangerous & Costly Mistake That Can Sabotage Your Email Marketing

Here’s some great advice I got when it comes to writing emails:

“The goal of your emails is not to satiate the thirst and hunger of your reader. Because if you do, they would no longer feel the need to buy your product. After all, he has just been fed. Instead of being teased to the point that he’ll pay for his meal, he’s been given enough that he’s forgotten he was hungry or thirsty in the first place.”

That advice literally changed the way I write emails and my entire email marketing approach.

Before learning this, I thought that I need to give good info on my emails.

After all, if they were to buy my product, then they need to know that I can deliver the goods, yeah?

In fact, let me know if these ‘beliefs’ sound familiar…

“I need to give valuable content to my subscribers for free.”

“I need to give away some of my stuff so they’ll be confident that my product is even better.”

“I need to teach in my emails so they’ll see that I know what I’m talking about and I’m really the go-to expert.”

But people who have this mentality often run to the problem of people not buying their product because they already received some great stuff.

Just like this poor woman I saw on Facebook:

Screen Shot 2019-04-12 at 9.00.46 AM

Now, if you’re not supposed to teach in your emails, then what are you supposed to do?

3 things…

#1. Inspire

The great email master Matt Furey believe that ‘inspiration sells.’

If you can inspire your subscribers to believe in themselves, in their abilities, and in their skills, then you can also inspire them to buy your product or services.

#2. Motivate

Motivate people to take action.

Give them reasons to get off the couch and start moving towards their goals.

You can also motivate them to go the extra mile by buying from you.

#3. Entertain

Tell stories. Crack some jokes. Make your emails really fun and entertaining.

Let’s be honest: Who earns more money? A professional teacher or an entertainer?

It’s the same with your emails — don’t teach.

Entertain the heck out of your subscribers and you’ll also see your bank account get fatter.

Now, think about it…

You don’t need to share hard info to do those 3 things, do you?

Yes, you can still teach — but make sure it’s not ‘hard teaching’ where you instruct someone, in detail, about how to do things.

If you want to see actual examples of this, then read Chapter 1, 3, 8, 10 and 15 of my new book, Email Copywriting Handbook.

EMAILCOPY

You can see how I teach without really teaching. Ironic much, eh?

Just go here to grab your copy for free: http://bit.ly/RomEmailCopyBook

Email Lessons From A Perverted Old Man

Back when I was reviewing for my Board Exam, I had an instructor that was so perverted every time he teaches us.

In fact, he can easily be charged with a sexually related case if anyone wants to.

Still, he always gets some good ole laughs from us, students.

That’s why even if he has one of the most boring subjects, we always look forward to meeting him.

…Or in his own words, ‘mating’ him. Perverted old man!

But one day, he just erupted angrily in class…

The reason?

Well, he caught one of the students texting during the lecture.

It’s something that my instructor had specifically prohibited before the beginning of the sem.

With angry veins showing on his face, he snarled at the student, “DO YOU WANT ME TO ERASE YOUR FACE WITH THIS ERASER?!!”

We were shocked.

Funny enough, that incident made us even more excited to get in his class.

Because we don’t know exactly what we will get — will he be obnoxiously perverted again or will he actually erase a face this time around?

This is the kind of reaction that you want to get people who read your emails.

You see, your customers are bored.

And if you can be a source of entertainment for them, then they’ll always be on the lookout to hear from you.

No, you don’t have to be perverted like my instructor. (In case you’re wondering!)

But you need to learn how to do these three things:

  • Communicate well
  • Entertain your readers, and;
  • Build a strong bond with the people inside your email list.

Do that and see a positive impact on your sales as well.