Hey Reader!

I'm always banging on about STORY, STORY, STORY when it comes to newsletters.

To be fair, so is everyone else I follow in the, ahem, email marketing space.

It's not just me! People who have bigger platforms and bank accounts than me agree; telling a story is the best way to engage your readers and get them invested in you and your business.

But to really work, the story you tell has to lead naturally into the main point of your email. 🤔

Like, you wouldn't tell a story about your kid almost falling into a duck pond and then pivot to "Here are my three best tips on teapot repair". 🫖

So how do you make that lovely segue from your story to your main point?

You ook for a similar feeling. Emotion is what captivates us. (And leads us to hit the BUY button.)

Maybe you're selling a tool that double checks that you're sending your email to the right person.

(Clearly I am making this up! But wouldn't it be helpful?)

You might tell the story about your kid and the duck pond, and then say that the relief you felt when a passerby grabbed kiddo's collar just as he was about to hurtle into the water was similar to the relief you felt when you almost sent a very personal message to everyone at work.

When I'm thinking about my own Consistency Club, for example, one of the selling points is that it's easier to do a thing when you have company and guidance. 😁 It makes you feel more confident, competent and successful.

So where else is this true in my life?

Well, fitness. For the past couple of decades I've really needed a trainer and a friend to make any progress. I'm about as likely to head to the gym by myself as free solo El Cap.

Having comrades and instructors makes me feel more confident, competent and successful.

Where else? I've been thinking about trying to learn sign language, and Instagram keeps sending me this ad for an app that is (apparently) just like Duolingo but for ASL.

But I'm not biting because I know that it's unlikely I will in fact get anywhere with it if I don't have an actual instructor and classmates to egg me on. I mean, encourage me.

That would make me feel more confident, competent and successful.

There are endless directions you can go with anything you want to impart to your peeps. Having trouble connecting the dots? Hit reply, I'm here to help.

Feel weird talking about your own life? You could use a story from a movie or a book; this stuff is universal.

But for real, telling a story captures people's attention in a way straight up information does not.

Speaking of Consistency Club, which I definitely was back there, if you'd like to try it out for free to see if you like it, hit reply and let me know! I'll send you the link.

Yours in being super smooth,

Julia

​Rob Thomas & Carlos Santana know a thing or two about being smooth, and so does this email! Forward it to your favorite klutz.