Author: Chris Pearson, Partner & Email Marketing Specialist at 3BM
Over the last few months, I’ve been attempting to streamline processes and production so that I can spend more time away from the screen and keyboard.
The goal is to build a business that fits around my life, not one that forces my life to fit around it.
My business partners, Aaron and Nicole, have been doing the same.
We’re staying small as an “agency” on purpose, so we can start checking off items on our bucket list way, way early while also helping mission-driven, purpose-guided brands help more people.
This is one of the ways we discovered the brand we’re going to break down today.
The story behind why this brand got started is pretty neat.
But, we’ll be breaking down a feedback request email from:
Magic Mind’s origin story centers around founder James Beshara.
After a trip to the E.R., he was diagnosed with a heart condition that ultimately required him to limit his caffeine intake and demanded he reduce stress, but…
James was running a company of 50 employees at the time, so the question had to be asked:
How was he going to keep growing this company while reducing his caffeine intake and lowering his daily stress?
He formulated Magic Mind:
“Scientifically designed to boost energy, enhance focus, create a sense of calm alertness, and increase overall productivity, Magic Mind might just become the best part of your morning ritual.”
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: Question Asking For Help
Simple. Clear. Direct.
This is how I like subject lines when it comes to feedback, surveys, or support requests.
Ask the question. Get to the point. And make it easy for the reader to take action on your email.
Also, a question that asks for sincere feedback on what the brand can do better creates space for people to actually respond.
Most people will have a good or bad experience and say nothing. They’ll simply chalk up the experience to an assumption or belief of their own without letting the brand know about it.
This “question email” can help collect that value, belief, and feedback and turn it into something valuable for customers.
Opener: Introduction + Keeping It Personal
Here is the “opener” for this email.
It addresses the reader directly. It then introduces the reader to who is sending, making it even more personal. And to top it all off, there are zero graphics or visual elements outside of black text on white background.
The focus is purely on the message and the relationship.
Another reason this email probably inboxes really well is that it looks like a personal send from Matthew at Magic Mind.
Images, graphics, and visuals can/will trigger promotion and spam filters, moving the email out of the inbox and into another folder…
This makes it so your reader is much less likely to actually see it, read it, and take action on it.
But, if you keep the emails simple, clean, and to the point, you can increase opens, clicks, and revenue WITHOUT dumping a ton of money into yet another specialist like design or layout.
The Question + Reason Why
Once the introduction is through, Matthew at Magic Mind dives right into expanding on the question from the subject line: “What can we do better?”
He gives the reason why for the email:
“To help us understand how we can improve our customer journey…”
Then he gets right to the point:
“…do you mind quickly sharing the main thing that’s holding you back from trying Magic Mind?”
This is a powerful one-two combo, because it gives the reader a reason for being in their inbox, and…
It asks the reader to consider something, not command them to take action.
When you ask an “on the fence” buyer to consider something, it reopens them up to the possibility of buying again.
Chasing them through the “parking lot” outside your store to demand they tell you why they didn’t buy is not effective.
(Unless you can catch them before they slide into their car and drive off 😉)
Easy-Peasy CTA
We’re talking to people who did not buy from you AND who probably aren’t going to pay attention to your email.
But…
If you remove as much friction as possible, you can get a response.
In this easy-peasy CTA, Matthew at Magic Mind makes the game super easy.
“…reply with a number from the options below…”
How simple is it to press “4” or “2” and hit send?
Simpler than sending “kk” in text.
And if someone wants to share more than a number, they can with the magic number “5”.
It’s an near frictionless effort by the reader, which gives Magic Mind some great data to consider when optimizing their customer journey.
Personal Sign Off
Continuing with the personal touch of this email, the signature is simple.
It doesn’t add a phone number.
It doesn’t add a website.
And it doesn’t try to get the reader to do anything other than reply to the email with a number.
This email has one goal.
Most brands make the mistake of doing too much with their emails, and it ultimately confuses or puts off the reader.
People are distracted, attention-depleted consumers of advertising.
They see, on average, more than 10,000 ads per day (in many cases, much more than that).
Get to the point. Give them a reason why. Ask for action. Get out.
Focus on one thing like this email does.
P.S. Money-Back Guarantee
What’s one of the most common objections people give Magic Mind?
I’d bet they hear this a lot from prospects:
“But what if I don’t like it?”
Which is why they put their guarantee in this email as a P.S.
They specifically mention first purchases get a 100% money-back guarantee, which means the new prospect has zero risk to giving Magic Mind a try (other than some teased taste buds).
This is a brilliant guarantee for a brand that’s growing and expanding across markets and niches.
The Full Email
What You Learned
Here’s the tl;dr of what you learned today:
- Keep feedback, survey, or support emails clear, simple, and direct.
- To keep emails personal, introduce the sender, too.
- If you ask for something, give a reason why. This “because…” increases compliance.
- Reduce as much friction as possible to get the response.
- Give a “100% money back guarantee to first purchases” a try. Really helps increase acquisition efforts while reducing the new buyer’s risk almost entirely.