5 Tactics I Used To Improve My Open Rate By 12%.

And Sometimes Even By 15-20% 🧵

Currently, my open rate ranges between 45-47% with nearly 15k subs.

My last email had a 48% open rate.

With iOS15 putting fear into every email we send, I thought I'd break down how I've been able to increase my open rate by 12% on avg.

Gimme 4 min...

1. Emoji Identity

This is something I stole from Morning Brew.

Morning Brew includes a "☕️" in all of their subject lines for good reason.

Because the repeated use of the "☕️" ingrains their identity in a reader's inbox.

And so I did the same.

Example: Morning Brew

Every email I send, the subject line starts with the "🔍"

And when you signed up for Marketing Examined, I let you know in the welcome email that each email subject line would start with the "🔍" " so that you would know it's me.

Example: Marketing Examined

2. Ask For A Reply In Your Welcome Email

The almighty spam and promotion folder where open rates go to die.

And where newsletters go to be forgotten.

One of the most effective ways I've found to combat this is by asking for a simple reply in your Welcome Email.

I took Ogilvy's course on Behavioural Economics and Comsumer psychology.

Here are the 10 important theory's I learned from it which you'd be a fool to miss out on:

Loss aversion theory:

The negative psychological impact we feel from losing something is about twice as strong as the positive impact of gaining the same thing.

Finding ₹100$ would makes us happy
Losing ₹100$ would makes us 2X unhappy

Sentence Framing:

The way you frame your sentences is very important. Make them forget about the negative thing by reiterating something which might be positive. We have a stronger bias for things that sound positive.

10% chance of death Vs 90% chance of survival

Goal Gradient Hypothesis:

Humans are hardwired for instant gratification.
as people get closer to the reward, they speed their behavior. So, reward people sooner instead of later

eg: Don't make a goal of reading 52 books a year, make it 1 chapter per day.

Mental Anchoring:

It's the phenomenon where our decisions are heavily based on the 1st piece of information we receive, regardless of whether the information is relevant or not.

Make the first piece of information powerful.

If I had to give a lecture series on marketing, here's 11 points I'd include:

1. Data is like protein:

It’s valuable - but it shouldn’t be your *only* input.

If all your decisions are guided by A/B tests, you’ll eventually end up with a porn site.

2. The infinite ROI skill stack:

A. Understand how people work - Lindy.

B. Understand platforms + culture - Ever-changing.

Live in the barbell.

3. The best marketers are open source for the *first time ever*

• You can visit ad libraries
• You can sign up to newsletters
• You can see the copy on their website

There's no centralised database like Github - but it's there for the resourceful

4. Copy or reverse-engineer

A. If you want to do good marketing, just copy the greats.

B. If you want to do great marketing, reverse engineer the principles behind great marketing.

Warning: You will then be copied.

5. Think with headlines first

Mr. Beast has full time staff who's sole job is to write headlines for YouTube videos.

If the headline is good, they then make the video.

This is the inverse of making the headline fit the story.

Think of distribution before creation.

Good copywriting is a superpower.

Amazon, the second most valuable brand in the world, puts an emphasis on teaching its employees how to write.

They know good copy equates to more customers.

These are the 8 tips to write like an Amazonian 🧵

1. Keep Your Sentences Under 30 Words.

I'd keep them under 15 words.

They should be Kevin Hart short.

And only focus on one idea.

Short sentences help break down info into bite-size pieces.

This makes the communication smoother.

Digestible info = Retained info

2. Replace Adjectives With Data

In 1880, Mark Twain said, “When you catch an adjective, kill it."

In Amazon's case, don’t kill them -- replace them with data.

Why?

Because numbers are eye candy.

It organizes info into a logical order.

3. Eliminate Weasel Words

Weasel words kill sentences.

They're vague. Boring.

If you’re going to use adjectives -- use descriptive adjectives.

NOT interpretive adjectives.

Ex:

Interpretive - We went on a long boat ride.

Descriptive - We went on a 5-hour boat ride.

4. The “So What” Test

Re-read your writing and ask, “so what?”

Can the reader understand the sentence, paragraph, or page?

Does it make sense?

Does it provide value?

Are they learning?

This helps give you an understanding from the consumer's perspective.

Storytelling is a superpower.

A key to unlocking growth in your writing, startups, marketing, business, or career.

THREAD: 10+ principles of effective storytelling (that you can start using today):

Clarity of Purpose

The best storytellers always define a clear purpose prior to crafting their story.

What is the story trying to achieve? What does success look like with this story?

Commit to answering these key questions before doing anything else.

Define the Audience

Every great story begins with a well-defined audience.

Who is the audience? What do they consciously (or subconsciously) want from the story?

Be deliberate with this exercise.

Be honest with yourself. The audience may look different than you expect.

Establish Structure

“People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.” – Steven Spielberg

Stories need structure.

Clear narrative arcs (like Pixar’s “hero’s journey”) work well.

The Story Spine

Playwright Kenn Adams created a neat framework - “the story spine” - for establishing structure:

Once upon a time there was [blank]. Every day, [blank]. One day [blank]. Because of that, [blank]. Until finally [bank].

Fill it in and watch your story take shape.

10 sales tactics that work:

1/ Stage out the conversation

One conversation is just that: another conversation.

Land a second, and now you’re being “evaluated”.

Don’t try to jam through everything in the first convo.

Do just enough to pique their interest and land that second meeting.

2/ Do your homework

If you’re pitching a customer, use their product,

Read about the company and the person you’re talking to.

Ultimately, this proves that you will do the work to make their lives easier.

It’s so powerful yet so easily overlooked.

3/ Ask about the decision making process

Who is required to make a decision like this?

What would you need to see from me to be able to buy?

How long will it take to make a decision?

These questions give you the roadmap on how to close the deal.

4/ Don’t always demo

Sometimes it’s habit to jump straight into a demo.

If someone wants to talk first, do that.

This could consume a whole first conversation.

Which gives you a great excuse for that second meeting: going thru the demo.

How to grow on Instagram reels?

I went from 1000 followers to 215,000 followers in 8 months and here is what I learnt!

If you're just starting out, this is a great time. With recent changes to the algorithm, Instagram is promoting smaller pages more than ever. (1/n)

1) Pick a niche. Something that hasn't been done before. Create your own style, the accounts that have grown the fastest have had a first mover advantage in their niche. (2/n)

2) Quantity over Quality. Trust me the algorithm loves small accounts. Even if the content is marginally good IG algorithm will promote it. Upload twice daily if possible until you get a viral video. This doesn't mean you compromise a lot on quality though. (3/n)

3) Trends. The algorithm understands trending music and heavily promotes videos on trending music! If you can use those trends with your niche. (4/n)

4) Now lets talk about Content:
4.1 Entertain as much as possible. No one comes to Instagram to learn. Package information with entertainment. (5/n)

The best marketing affects a human's behavior.

It leverages psychology to impact people's perceptions and decisions.

Understand it and you'll influence consumer's buying decisions.

Use these 12 psychology tips to influence your audience 🧵

1. Theory of reciprocity

As humans, we’re more likely to do something for someone after they’ve done something for us.

When you consistently provide value to your audience -- they’re more likely to reciprocate by supporting you.

This builds brand advocates.

2. Too many choices

Too many choices means too much confusion.

This affects a consumer's ability to make a decision and demotivates them from doing so.

Reduce your options.

Increase your conversion rate.

3. Decoy Effect

Perspective influences decisions.

With the decoy effect, you alter the consumer’s perspective by making the highest ticket item look like a deal.

Ex:

Small Popcorn: $3
Medium Popcorn: $6.50
Large Popcorn: $7

The large feels like a great deal.

4. The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

This phenomenon is when you see something for the first time then feel like you start seeing it everywhere.

Once you become aware of something you start to look for it unconsciously.

This then convinces you that it really is everywhere.

Compelling copy combined with good storytelling is an unfair advantage.

An unfair advantage that the Wall Street Journal used to drive $2 Billion in revenue over 28 years using the same sales letter.

Here are 7 copywriting tips to help you write sticky stories 🧵

1. Use Familiar Words

Every audience has words familiar to their interests.

Injecting these words into your stories connects the familiarity gap.

And unfamiliar words create seclusion.

Gary Provost with a great example:

2. Inject Real Stories

Your story is your social proof.

The more a consumer can see that you were once in their shoes, the more that consumer will see you as the guide they’ve been looking for.

Customers want to know you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.

3. Your Brand Isn’t The Hero

The customer is always the hero.

And their goal is the destination.

Your brand provides the map.

The visualization from start to destination is how you sell them.

4. Use Emotional Tones

Emotions are your best friend.

They’re what get people to take action.

And the best writers use emotional tones to transfer information through characters, plots, and conclusions.

“Targeting” doesn't mean what it used to in the marketing world - the days of targeting different ages etc are GONE - algorithms do that now.

“Targeting” means crafting messages that resonate with your customer.

Marketing is the ultimate meta skill.

Lifehack: Most people are awful at marketing.

Marketing 101

How to build a brand strategy from 0-1: a guide for startups

// 🧵

Reminder: brand strategy should be done WITH your Head of product and Head of Ops vs presented to them.

This creates buy-in and alignment on why this is important from day 1.

Brand strategy is NOT a marketing plan.

Brand strategy is WHY you will win.

Marketing plan is HOW: levers you will pull to hit your goals.

Step 1: Review Competitive Landscape

Do tear downs.
Understand leading value props.
Interview users of your competition to understand what’s working, what’s not.

Know who the players are and where they play vs where you will play.

Step 1b: Create your “ONLY” statement

Complete this sentence

We are the only brand that does x, y and/ or z.

Are you better, faster, cheaper? What makes you different and how would you say that efficiently.

I've created $10,000,000 in traffic value:

Here's everything you need for a *simple* SEO strategy that works: 🧵

The secret for SEO success is not advanced strategies & cutting edge ideas.

It's a simple plan paired with consistent execution.

To succeed, view SEO through the proper lens -- building equity into online presence.

It takes time & effort.

The 5-Step Simple SEO Strategy:

1. Keyword Research:

Identify the search terms that have a combination of search volume & intent.

Intent = why is this being searched?

Types of Keyword Intent:

Information: Shoes
Brand: Nike Shoes
Purchase: Best basketball shoes

Mix in all 3 -- to drive traffic & conversions.

The further down the funnel, the less volume, but higher purchasing intent.

2. On Page SEO:

Insert keywords into the proper places, so search engines understand site topic and target keywords.

- Page Titles
- Meta Descriptions
- Alt Text
- Content Structure (H1/H2/H3)

These are signals that algorithms use as information to influence rankings.

With digital advertising getting tougher and too many choices for consumers, it's important to have a website that is:

• story-first
• easy-to-navigate
• made to convert

If your grandma can't use it, you've already lost.

Here are 11 tips to build a high-converting site 👇

Have a compelling story and brand narrative on the homepage.

Your homepage should have a good balance of explaining WHO you are, WHY you exist, and WHAT you sell.

If someone doesn't go further, they should walk away with an understanding of all 3.

Focus on driving a customer journey.

Whether you're selling skincare or cookware, point the customer in the right direction with CTAs.

When merchandising, you should have a hierarchy of what you want your customer to buy. This helps reduce a customer's analysis/paralysis.

Incorporate social proof across the website & Google search results.

The latter: makes sure you stand apart in Google searches (search "non-toxic cookware" and you'll see)

The former: gives perspective from different POVs to potential customers.

Don't use full-bleed websites

From the data I've looked at, most people don't scroll when the website is full-bleed and you can't see the next section.

If you must, add a floating arrow or indicate there's another section to scroll into.

Always show there's more!

@jayhuffmandotco @alexgarcia_atx Was it Tiny Grocer??