EMM17: $1 Story Ideas by Daniel Throssell
In November 2019, I wrote 29 sales pages in 29 days.
The work was completely voluntary...
Completely unpaid...
And for the most part, completely unnoticed.
There WERE a few people who took an interest in it.
I’ll tell you one of them in a second, but first I need to tell you this:
Writing 29 sales pages in 29 days wasn’t an original idea.
I took the concept from another copywriter who wrote 100 headlines per day for 100 days in a row.
He ended up with 10,211 headlines and used the project to launch his freelance copywriting career.
He’s a household name in the copywriting world now and has worked with clients like Amy Porterfield, Puma, and Red Bull.
And on January 30, 2019 — two months after The 29x29 Project was done — he messaged me on Facebook:
“Hey Robert - just saw your site. Helluva job with the project. I missed it while it was happening, but Chris Orzechowski just tagged you in a post. Well done.”
Then, in another message:
“(I’m The Headline Project guy, by the way. I understand this undertaking more than most people ever will)”
If you’re a copywriting nerd like me, you likely know I’m talking about Justin Blackman.
Since then, he and I have stayed in touch. And he's one of the people I trust most when it comes to any sort of copywriting recommendation.
Last December, I messaged him and asked:
"What copywriters / marketers are you following these days?"
One of the people he mentioned was Daniel Throssell.
I'd never heard of Daniel before, but I signed up for his list. And Jesus...
I'm glad I did.
Daniel is one of the few people whose writing I read on a regular basis. The dude is just GOOD.
And earlier this week, he sent out an email I loved.
So in this week's episode of Email Marketing Motivation, we're going to dig into what makes it so good…
And how you can use those lessons to write better emails for your own business.
The Piece
Lessons We Can Learn From This Piece
1. Start In The Present Moment To Create Tension.
I usually recommend starting your emails with a short first sentence.
First, because the main goal of your opener is to start a "slippery slope" that gets someone to read the rest of your copy.
And it's easier to do that with a short line than a long one, because people read short lines more quickly.
Second, because most people have too much "fluff" in their writing. And as a general rule, writing becomes stronger when you shorten it.
But recommendations are meant to be broken…
Or something like that. Because this is a great (and long) first line:
"I’m sitting on a bench outside a 7-11 in the middle of Perth city the other morning, sipping a coffee, when a lady walks up to me and asks:"
It's damn near impossible to read that sentence and NOT be intrigued. One of the main reasons is because…
It starts in the middle of the action.
There’s no preamble. No build-up. Daniel just gets straight into it.
If you want to tell good stories in your emails, you should do the same.
One more thing to notice — this one is subtle:
This emails starts in the present tense.
Daniel doesn't say:
"I was sitting on a bench and a lady walked up to me and asked…" (past tense)
Instead, he brings you into the present moment, as the story is happening. He says:
"I’m sitting on a bench…"
If you want people to actually read your story-driven emails, then you need to create tension.
There’s a LOT to unpack on that subject. But for now, I’ll just tell you that writing in the present tense helps create tension in your story.
It brings readers into the action and implies that the end of the story is unknown — which keeps them reading.
2. Use Dialogue.
If you want to write storytelling emails — get into the habit of paying attention to what people say.
That might sound simple. But let me explain:
Most of us hear what other people say. And for the most part, this allows us to function in social settings.
But if you want to write stories about your life…
Then you actually need to pay deep attention to what people say.
That way, you can write about it later. ;)
Trust me, it's much easier to write dialogue when you actually pay attention to what people are saying in the present moment…
And make an intentional effort to store it in your memory.
This email is a perfect example of how paying close attention to dialogue can make your emails stronger…
Because a large part of the narrative is based on two extremely weird quotes from the woman Daniel meets. She says:
"I get my jobs done from Jesus."
And then…
"I don't take it out of the stomach."
… WHAT.
A less-observant person would ignore these quotes — and maybe even this woman — altogether. But Daniel paid attention, and it led to a great email.
So… pay attention to what people say.
Write it down, too.
Seriously, if someone says something unique and memorable, open the Notes app on your phone and write it down for later use.
You’ll be glad you did.
3. Use Internal Dialogue Too.
External dialogue is a great way to strengthen your emails. But if your entire email is dialogue…
It's not an email — it's an interview.
So, in order to put all that beautiful dialogue you've recorded to good use, then you need to build a narrative around it.
One important part of that narrative is internal dialogue — the thoughts and feelings you were having during the experience.
Why is this important?
Well, if you're a personal brand, people probably care about your thoughts and opinions on things.
So share those things with your readers.
Here are a couple quotes from Daniel's email that give you a peek into his internal dialogue:
"Ah. So I am talking to a crazy person."
"FFFFFFFFRESH ROASTED COFFEE BEANS WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO HERE."
So, while writing good dialogue requires you to pay attention to what other people are saying…
Writing good internal dialogue requires being aware of your own thoughts and feelings.
Interestingly enough…
I think one of the best way to get good at this is to write storytelling emails on a regular basis.
You'll begin to notice moments in your daily life where you find yourself thinking:
"THIS will make a great email!"
And after you have that thought, you'll automatically pay more attention to what's happening…
Which will make writing dialogue (both internal and external) much easier.
4. Pay Attention To Formatting.
I'm a big fan of the way Daniel formats his emails. But I’m not suggesting you try to copy his style.
What I am saying is this:
You should make your emails easy to read.
Part of this comes down to writing at a 4th-grade reading level or less. (Use The Hemingway Editor.)
And another part comes down to writing shorter paragraphs…
And using ellipses to your advantage.
A good way to test whether your emails are "readable" or not is to write your email, then send it to yourself as a "test" email.
Try to imagine the email was coming from someone else. Someone less attractive and interesting than your beautiful self.
Open the test email on your phone and pay attention to your initial reaction.
Would you want to read it?
Or would you say "hmmm… maybe I'll read this later?”
("Later" means "never," btw.)
Shorten your paragraphs and simplify your writing until your answer is:
“Yeah, I’d read this right now. In fact, this email is almost impossible NOT to read right now.”
5. Remember: "It's All Material."
Cole Schafer is a great writer and friend. Occasionally, when I'm going through a less-than-ideal situation in life, he'll remind me:
"It's all material."
Because if you write regularly — it is.
Just like Daniel mentions at the end of this email:
"Truth be told, I was happy with the deal.
She got a coffee for free … and I got a fun story for $1.
And because I am me … I can spin said fun story into a sales email for my Email Copywriting Compendium."
Stay on the lookout for interesting events in your daily life.
Because even if they're unpleasant, you can turn them into fun emails that earn money for your business.
“It's all material.”
How To Apply These Lessons To Your Email Marketing ASAP
Here's a quick summary of the lessons from this piece:
Start In The Present Moment To Create Tension.
Use Dialogue.
Use Internal Dialogue Too.
Pay Attention To Formatting.
Remember: "It's All Material."
And here’s how you can apply them to your email marketing:
Over the next 3 days, look out for an event you can write an email about.
You don’t have to alter the way you live. All you have to do is notice when something interesting is happening.
When you find yourself in that moment, pay special attention.
When it’s over, open your Notes app, and write down details from the event.
That might include quotes…
Thoughts and feelings you had…
The way certain things looked…
Or any other sensory details you noticed.
Then, write an email about that event — using the quotes and details from your notes.
Tie the story into a CTA at the end, so someone can click a link to learn more about a product or engage with your content.
(If you want a 4-step template you can use for that CTA, check out Stories That Sell.)
Here's What You Should Do Next
Thanks for reading Email Marketing Motivation. Here's what you should do next:
Click here and join my email list. I'll give you a heads up when I publish the next episode of Email Marketing Motivation, AND you'll get free access to my email copywriting cheatsheet, The Email Copy Instant Upgrade.
Click here and join Daniel’s email list. There are only a handful of copywriters I read regularly, and Daniel is one of them. Sign up for his list. You won't be disappointed.
Share this article with someone — or a group of people — who would like it. They'll be impressed by how smart and thoughtful you are.
Check out my course, Stories That Sell, if you want my comprehensive guide on how to write storytelling emails that earn more money for your business and help you connect with your audience in a genuine way.