Author: Chris Pearson, Partner & Email Marketing Specialist at 3BM
Last year, I worked on a launch for a prominent doctor and figure in the parenting space.
Dave Ramsey called her “America’s Mom.”
It was a fun project, and I think it was on point for the market she targeted:
Dads.
There’s very little in the way of courses, information, or coaching for fathers in the market these days.
Which means launching an offer to dads doing their best to provide for their kids was a great idea.
Needless to say, the offer did great. Hundreds of fathers joined up and started deepening their relationships with their kids.
While I researched the market for this offer, I came across a brand that I bookmarked, because I really liked what they were doing for dads, too.
That brand (and the email we’re breaking down today)?
Introducing:
WonderDads is a subscription featuring “hacks” that help busy Dads embrace their kid’s childhood years.
94% of Dad-Kids bonding happens by age 18. This is the time to invest in your relationship with your kids.
Dads get to pick their “WonderDads Hack,” stick to it over the years, and know they’ve embraced the childhood years. Priceless.
Rules: The Email Muse
Each week, I venture through the marketing wilderness to find highly-effective ecommerce sales emails… and I shine a light on what made them work.
My goal with this weekly tangle with the email muse is to teach you strategies and tactics you can use with your emails.
Where do I find these magical electronic pieces of mail? My inbox, mostly, since I’m signed up to lists that I want to be on. I also take suggestions from readers who have a stellar email they’d like to share.
Did you get an email recently that made you smile, your eyes tear up, or flat out gut punched you? I want to see it.
Forward the email to me at (chris at threebeaconmarketing dot com) with a brief note about what you liked about it. If I choose to break it down, I’ll give you a shoutout and link back to your site.
And no forwarding me your own emails. That’s the only rule.
Capeesh?
Let’s get started.
Subject Line – An Invitation
Who doesn’t love an invitation?
Even if in a million years you wouldn’t accept, it still feels good to be included.
This is why I really like WonderDads subject line:
“Membership Invitation – Please RSVP”
A membership invitation? For me? And I’m being ask to RSVP?
I need to check this out.
Use an invitation style subject line/email to frame your offer up as something special, unique, and/or exclusive to the invitees. Even if you’re sending this out to 5,000 people, each individual will still feel a warmth in their chest when they see an specific invitation for them.
Opening Line – Real & Personal
Make it real. Make it personal.
Jonathan, CEO and Founder at WonderDads makes this follow up email feel like it’s from him.
It’s real. It’s personal. And he shares a bit of WHY he’s sending a follow up – to “share a little more about WonderDads.”
The Problem
This email follows the classic Pain-Agitate-Solution copywriting framework.
In this first paragraph, Jonathan talks about how his boys were growing up too fast, and how he could feel time slipping away. This is the problem most dads feel, right?
He backs up the problem with a little data. This confirms that the problem the dad-reader is experiencing is legit.
Jonathan really puts the problems dad experience into perspective by expanding on the problem with “they really do go from being in diapers to waddling around to wanting to spend more time with their friends in the blink of an eye.”
He pushes on that “time is slipping away” problem most dads experience when raising their kids.
This is a great example of identifying and expanding a problem for the reader.
The Agitation
Even though this generation of dads are different, there isn’t a whole lot of resources out in the world to help dads be better fathers.
Jonathan shares he wasn’t the only one feeling like he was “alone” in this being a father thing.
He agitates the “time is slipping away” by stacking proof because he talked to friend after friend who said the same thing about raising kids: they had no time for it.
Jonathan really digs in with the last two sentences here and pokes the problem directly:
“Between trying to balance work, home and our personal life, there is just so much going on. And even though work-life balance is impossible, being a Dad is the most important job we’ll ever have.”
The agitation here is the contrast between providing and parenting.
This is what agitates the problem even more.
The reader wants one thing, but they feel forced or obligated to do another.
This is “conflict” in the reader.
The Solution – The Membership
Jonathan ties this problem of not having time and being torn between providing and parenting to a solution he created. It’s one he did mention in the opening line, but he ties it back to the reader.
He transitions into the big promise:
“…to help our generation and future generations be even better and “funner” Dads and embrace our kid’s childhood years before they’re gone.”
That’s a big promise right? Especially if kids make their deepest bonds with fathers between 0 – 12 years of age.
Then, right after this big promise, Jonathan offers a CTA:
“Join us, you’ll look back someday and be so glad you did.”
What’s the one thing fathers who have grown children regret?
Looking back on their child’s lives and realizing they regret spending so little time with them as they grew up and matured.
The “looking back” language, here, I believe is on purpose. It taps into the primal urge to be an active person in their child’s life while still providing for the family.
Also, no one likes to look back on their life and feel regret.
The CTA – Incentive
This is a straightforward, simple offer. It stacks on top of the pain, agitation, and solution Jonathan’s already offered.
This CTA button is an objection handler.
What’s the objection?
What if I sign up and don’t like or use it?
Get the first month free and give it a try.
This takes the risk off the buyer and puts it on WonderDads.
Jonathan trusts that the membership is so valuable that dads who join won’t want to leave. In fact, they’ll recruit other dads into the community because it’s so awesome.
An incentive CTA is a great tactic, if you know how to use it.
I think WonderDads uses it here masterfully.
They address a major objection and reduce friction for a dad “on the fence” to hop off it and join.
Sign Off – Real and Personal
Jonathan’s sign off is a picture of him and his two sons, his name, role as a father, and his title at WonderDads.
The image is what I want to focus on, here. It makes this email feel and look more real. Jonathan shows vulnerability with this image. He shows that he’s a dad first, and a founder second, which ties deeply into why he started WonderDads in the first place.
This “realness” is what creates a connection with his ideal clients. They see Jonathan being a father, founder, and figure in the market. He’s walking the talk and leading by example.
This is a powerful way to position yourself.
What You Learned
Here’s the tl;dr of what you learned today:
- Use an invitation style subject line/email to frame your offer up as something special, unique, and/or exclusive to the invitees.
- Make your emails real and personal to create more opportunity for emotional connection.
- Use the Problem-Agitate-Solution framework to keep your copy straightforward and to the point.
- Use contrast to agitation the problem in the reader.
- With your solution, make a big promise. It’s what gets readers to believe you.
- Use an incentive CTA to increase conversions with “on the fence” prospects.