Are you sick of pouring your time and energy into creating email newsletters, only for them to be caught up in the 'Junk' folder?
I'm a busy millennial mother who loves learning, storytelling, and a good laugh and loathes click bait marketing. Despite what my old-school grandmother thinks, we younger generations can sniff out inauthenticity from a mile away! Honestly, nothing gives me the ick than marketing that tries too hard to grab my attention (Hello ChatGPT hook lines). So when I stumble on a good, authentic email marketing newsletter, I get a bit excited.
So how do you start one of these email list that isn't crazy annoying and has people excited when it lands in their inbox? Let's walk through one of my favourite email newsletters and the only one I've actively setup to bypass my 'unsubscribe' email management rule, The Barefoot Investor.
First, a little context. First some context. Scott Pape aka The Barefoot Investor, is Australia's most loved finance guy and best selling author. He's a fellow country boy from regional Vic, with a wife and 4 young kids and he knows how to keep seemingly boring stuff like finances, saving and investing money interesting and easy. He's sold millions of copies of his hilarious and easy to read book, The Barefoot Investor as well his books designed for kids and families. Oh, and he's LOADED (as he should be or we'd all be questioning his credibility)!
Turns out he's not just good at finance. He also has over 400,000 subscribers for his weekly email newsletter (including me). So what secret email marketing lessons can we learn to help us build and maintain a thriving email list?
1. No Annoying Automated Funnels
When you sign up for Scott's newsletter, there's no overwhelming automated email funnel. You get a simple email every Monday and maybe an occasional note about a new book launch. It’s genuine and avoids information overload.
2. Insane Consistency
His newsletter hits my inbox at 5pm every Monday. He openly talks about his editor helping him out and taking breaks when he's on family holidays. No newsletter is no big deal but there's generally an explanation as to the absence.
3. Storytelling with Humour
What is it about his newsletter that has me and 400,000 others sitting down to read it like our favourite little book? Every newsletter tells a story and he does it with a sense of humour. And again, if I'm being honest it's usually an otherwise boring story about stocks or investing or the latest scam but man, it's delivered in an entertaining way.
4. Education Over Sales
Scott's emails are packed with education and relatable advice rather than hard sales pitches. There is usually the odd mention to buy this book or check out this offering right at the very bottom if you scroll far enough past the sign off but it's not in your face and by that time, he's got some serious credibility and you feel like the man earnt the right to sprook his product.
5. Aesthetics, or Lack there of
It's probably the most boring email visually to look at BUT, it leans in to the lack of fancy formatting like a black dress on a night out. The less-is-more appearance leans well into Barefoot's brand and his no-nonsense, country boy roots. It's consistently structured and it's follows a predictable flow. I know there'll be something in there that I love so if I'm really not interested in the main subject, I'll just scroll on down to the Reader Stories section.
So what?
If you want to create email newsletters that are actually opened and generate genuine engagement, keep these key rules in mind:
Don’t underestimate the power of simple connection
Focus on consistency over conversion
Let your personality shine through by telling stories
Allow stories to do the selling; be clear about any desired actions
Don’t stress about structure or aesthetics
If you're sitting there thinking, 'this is all so great but can't someone just do it for me?' then I've got you. Let's chat about my email newsletters done for you package. Book a quick discovery call here.
Until next time, x Ri
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