TOC #195: An unfortunate Viagra emergency
(September 17, 2024) Why Email Marketing Is The Best Way To Market Your Business
No single woman ever wants to see a strange man at her door after dark.
Especially not when she's expecting her best friend instead.
…or when she's braless.
…and in the middle of putting her greasy hair into a rats' nest bun.
But, unfortch, that's exactly what happened to me on Wednesday night.
My hand was literally still stuck in my hair when I swung the door open, expecting to see Alli standing on my porch, ready to help me haul the massive Wayfair box with my soon-to-be kitchen table inside.
To my surprise (and, to be honest, a little bit of disgust), there was a middle-aged man standing there instead.
For the third time.
I wish I could say the previous owner of my home hadn't ever stopped by my house unannounced before, but he has.
The first time, it was to “give me the keys.”
(Everyone who has ever purchased a home knows that the first thing you do is change the locks. Likely for this exact reason.)
The second time, it was to “take back his hose” that the “movers forgot.”
(Oh, you mean the movers that came a day late, took 4 hours longer than you said they would, and delayed me moving into what is now MY new house? Cool!)
And the third time — this past Wednesday night — was for his ED pills.
(I wish I were kidding.)
The first thing out of his mouth was “sorry!” (rightfully so) as I stared at him, confused, wondering what the hell he was doing on my porch AGAIN.
“[Redacted] said she had some boxes delivered here?" he said, as I (still) stared at him."
"I know this is inappropriate,” he continued. “I was so mad when [Redacted] told me to come over to get them. This wouldn't be happening if we'd moved further away.”
For context: the sellers moved one street over, into a very gorgeous house (that they're turning into a bed and breakfast).
For more context: [Redacted] is… not nice. And that's *me* putting it nicely.
For even more context: I'm very concerned about how [Redacted] plans on running a hospitality business when an extremely important piece of that is being, well, HOSPITABLE.
(I'm kind of nervous to even mention [Redacted] in this newsletter, actually, because I have a weird feeling she may be subscribed. I know she was Internet-stalking me.)
It was a very awkward moment to be me, to say the least.
The husband is a nice person, though, it seems. I felt a bit weird being mean to him, even though half of me wanted to yell “get off my lawn!” like a crochety old grandpa.
So, instead, I made him bring in my heavy ass kitchen table box while I went out to my car to get their boxes that were mistakenly mailed to MY (not their, anymore, which I think they keep forgetting?) house.
I was planning on dropping their boxes off at the realtor's office — aka the NORMAL thing to do — the next day.
There were 2 boxes total.
One was unmarked, likely from Amazon.
The other was from Hims.
If you're not familiar with Hers or Hims, they're essentially online generic pharmaceutical retailers (or “telehealth company” as they say), selling things like off-brand Viagra and Ozempic.
I know a lot about both companies because I use their websites as examples in my website copywriting course.
Now, Hims doesn't *only* sell solutions for erectile dysfunction — they sell hair loss pills, vitamins, GLP-1s, anti-anxiety meds, and more.
So, I suppose I can't be certain that it was ED pills in that little box.
…but why else would he blush when I handed it to him? And why else would his wife force him (his words, not mine) to go to a stranger's house to pick up the box under the cover of nightfall?
[Redacted] wanted to get freaky, obviously.
(Or, now that I think about it, maybe they ARE anti-anxiety pills? I'd need them, too, if she were my wife, I think.)
(I don't condone bashing women, but I do condone bashing people who lie about their leaking oil tank, try to take advantage of young mothers, come to my house unannounced, ignore the feelings of their neighbors, and yell at sweet old ladies. So.)
Whatever was in the box, the dude clearly wanted to get them, STAT.
The next day, the more I thought about the interaction, the funnier it became to me.
This 40-something dude's wife literally made him come to my house to get his pills so they could bone.
I laughed.
Then I posted a Thread about it. Of course.
& if you've been following me on Threads, you'd know that I'm chronicling the launch of my live email marketing course, and I've been posting about it every single day since last Tuesday.
Those posts are getting a normal amount of engagement.
…but nothing close to my random shit-post about my neighbor's surprise visit (and his potential ED).
And, to me, that is PROOF that people care way more about the mundane happenings of our regular lives than they do about our marketing content — which is proof that we need to cultivate a space to talk about those mundane things, and use THAT to keep people reading; not the other way around.
Why Email Marketing Is The Best Way To Market Your Business
I've been yapping about email marketing all week (here's why), but I've yet to tell you the REASONS email marketing is so beneficial for your business.
Let's discuss. 👇
→ You set the pace.
You get to decide what your people care about, because YOU are the one attracting the “right” readers.
This means that you get the luxury of writing about whatever you want, marketing your business however you want, and you'll grow an audience that genuinely wants to read about it.
→ You don't own your social media platforms.
You could lose your followers at any second (TBT to when I lost 15,600 Pinterest followers overnight last year but was unfazed bc I had you xoxo) and your community could be completely gone.
Putting all of your eggs in one basket (or, rather, on one platform) could potentially leave you up the creek without a paddle if anything ever went wrong.
→ Even if you have millions of followers online, that does NOT directly translate into money, sales, or even interest.
A few years ago, I worked with an extremely successful influencer on a course launch, and I thought for sure all of her sales would come from social.
Turns out, her most effective sales tool was the emails I wrote for her—and she only had an email list of a couple thousand (as opposed to her combined following of 1.7 million across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok).
→ The analytics on social can only get you so far.
Just because people follow you doesn't mean they're interested in your offerings; analytics only show you numbers about a story or a post in general—not specific data about each person.
But with email marketing, you can see specific data about every single subscriber. And, even better, you can tell exactly how someone enters your list, which means you know exactly what they're interested in. (Helllooo, segmentation!)
EX: If someone downloads my Homepage How-To Guide, I know they're interested in website copy, and I could choose to send a specific sales email about my website copywriting course to that person, because I know they're interested. Can't do that on IG!
→ The level of intimacy in relationships with your subscribers is WAY better than on social.
Sure, social media has DMs - but nothing feels as personal as a message sent directly to your inbox, with value you're curating specifically for your subscribers.
On social, posts are for everyone. Via email, the message is transformed into a 1:1 conversation.
And if you'll join me on 7 weeks of instruction & support, I'm going to teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about how to master it.
JOIN MY LIVE EMAIL COURSE!
The Email Marketing Chapter LIVE is my most favorite course to teach, not only because students are able to accomplish SO much in the time we have together — but because what they learn they actually USE every single week to grow their business.
With the combination of pre-recorded lessons, 7 weeks of LIVE group learning sessions, and 1:1 support from me, you'll learn how to grow your email list with a lead magnet and opt-in copy, keep subscribers engaged with a bomb welcome sequence, and consistently email your list with a regular newsletter to build better relationships with your community.
By the end of the course, you will have…
A bomb lead magnet that is relevant to your offerings & meets your future clients' needs
Opt-in copy that makes people actually want to download your freebie
An engaging welcome sequence that keeps your subscribers interested
A newsletter strategy, template, and content plan, so you can start sending regular newsletters & build relationships with your readers
The knowledge you need to replicate the lead mag > opt in > sequence formula for as many freebies as you want to launch
KILLER storytelling skills that are applicable to ALL areas of your business (not just your newsletter!)
…and if you want to stay consistent with your email marketing efforts, create the next cult-favorite newsletter, and make selling to your audience feel EASY, I highlyyy recommend checking it out! 😇 Doors close on Friday.
If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
Subscribe to my newsletter! I send one marketing tip, once a week - and, according to my subscribers, it's "the best marketing newsletter on the Internet" and "the only reason to wake up on Tuesday mornings." So... yeah. You'll love 'er. 😏 Click here to subscribe!
Check out my services. I write website copy, sales pages, email sequences, blog posts, and brand messaging guides for entrepreneurs of all kinds! Maybe you’re my next favorite client.
Read my blog. It’s home to everything from copywriting tips, to marketing education, to freelance advice, to portfolio-worthy projects… if you like this post, you’ll love the blog. Here’s a quick roundup of my most popular posts.
Sign up for my email marketing course. Learn how to grow your email list full of loyal, ready-to-buy readers with this self-paced course teaching you how to write the best lead magnets, opt-in copy, welcome sequences, and newsletters.
Enlist me as your mentor. I have an entire in-depth blog post about my one-on-one consulting process for new and aspiring copywriters, if you’re interested in having a big-sis-style mentor to help you grow your freelance copywriting business & get results.
To get in touch with me directly, send me a DM or email sara@betweenthelinescopy.com. Have a great day!