How An Online Training Company Made 4 Months of Sales in 4 Days
7 Emails. No Fancy Graphics or Pictures. Just Words.
Hey, you. Bailey here. I hope you’re well.
Here’s a case study of a successful email campaign I wrote for an online training company
The company has been around for over a decade and serves a niche market. They have a pretty big list (over 200k) but it was unresponsive.
For this campaign, I used many direct response principles. Principles the company hadn’t used before. Like selling one product at a time and trust-building through story.
It was the best promotion for this product in over ten years.
In this case study, we’ll go over what the company was doing. Why they brought me in. What I did. What the results were. And what you can learn from this for your own company.
(I also offer you the option of hiring me to do something similar for your business if you’re interested.)
Situation: Site-wide Discounts and Brand Awareness Emails
The business has a pretty large email list. Over 200k emails. Yet, they weren’t effectively selling with email. Tracking sales conversions was challenging and unclear.
Why?
Because their emails focused on brand awareness and sitewide discounts to create sales. When they did offer products for sale, they showcased many products at once.
(Even though their product line targets a range of very different customers…)
Meaning they were sending out emails to hundreds of thousands of people. Yelling at them to come into the store. Without offering a good reason aside from saving money. And they didn’t care who came in.
They made sales, but they didn’t know exactly what was working and who was buying and why.
Email is one of the most personal forms of communication left. And they weren’t matching their message to the medium.
Why They Brought Me In
I’d been working with this company for a while.
Helping write newsletters. Making Facebook ads. Writing sales pages. Building brand awareness. Composing emails. And other general digital marketing tasks.
Yet, I wanted to do a direct response email campaign for them. Something unlike they’d ever done before. Proving the capabilities of writing copy.
So, this was an experiment.
Bottom Line: “Long Copy” Works Because Buyers Read
Why was this an experiment? Because what I was planning went against everything the company had done before.
I was writing the longest emails they’d ever sent out. I was selling only one product for consecutive days. I even sent out more than one email in one day.
And there were no pictures or graphics. Just words. And a lot of them.
The company wasn’t sure their customers were willing to read the emails. Figuring every customer has a short attention span.
I told them one thing, “Don’t worry about the people who don’t read the long emails. The buyers will.”
What happened?
We Sold 4 Months of Product In 4 Days
In the four days the offer was live we sold over 150. The company sold that many in four months, before.
I shocked the boss; she felt the excitement. I was getting daily (sometimes hourly) updates about how many products I was selling with my email copy. And I felt vindicated.
The people who doubted the campaign complimented me and shared their previous skepticism.
What was surprising was the number of people calling and emailing customer service.
The callers were asking about the story I had written. And whether they knew the people involved. (They didn’t, I checked.)
People read the long 612-word email I wrote. And they were buying from it.
Long copy works.
The owner told me the promotion was...
The best promo for this product in 10 years.
What do I attribute to the success? Clarity, Story, and Scarcity.
Because I was clear about what the offer was, who it was for, how to get it, and what to expect.
I held the prospect’s hand throughout the entire process. I didn’t waste words clearing my throat. I got their attention and explained exactly what to do.
Pictures and graphics might have caused confusion. Losing many prospects before they even got to my story.
On the day of the story, we had the most communication from the prospects. The email starred an idealized version of the customer, and what my prospects hoped to be.
Because I told a true story. I told it well, and I built trust. And, I mashed my customers’ emotional hot buttons. Forcing them to respond.
Customer service was fielding calls and emails all day wanting to talk about the story. (And the orders kept coming in…)
That was the longest email in the sequence, and it sold a lot of products. Yet, the shortest email was the most effective.
Because it created scarcity.
The last email was the second of the last day. The gist was: “The sale is ending in less than four hours. Act now or miss out!”
This created actual scarcity because the coupon code expired at midnight. It convinced those on the fence to decide.
Deadlines will do that.
Now You Have A Decision
Throughout this case study, I shared with you the success of this email sequence. And some ways to put in place the techniques yourself.
Now, if after reading this you want your own email sequence. Converting prospects into customers faster. Then let’s talk.
Reach me by emailing me at Bailey.Rogg@gmail.com
with the subject line: “Write Me A Sequence.”
And I’ll email you back to set up a call to get something on the schedule.
But don’t wait my schedule is filling up. I’d hate to put you on a waiting list.
If you’re not ready for that but know someone who would like this service, then forward this case study to them. I appreciate you.
And finally,
Get on my email list. It’s where I keep you informed about the quick win tactics and techniques of direct response. So, you can use them in your business. (And other cool stuff going on in my business in life.)
Email me at Bailey.Rogg@gmail.com
with the subject line: “Put me on your list!”
Unsubscribe at any time. I’ll do my best to never bore you. I know how important your inbox is to you.
Have a great day. Think about what we just discussed. And feel free to reach out.
R. Bailey Rogg
The Copy Operator - Converting Prospects into Customers Quicker