Do you really want some bewb like this buying from you?
Published: Sat, 10/06/18
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Dear Ben
Greetings and felicitations!
I’m curious as to why you don’t use a salutation in your (irreverent, often entertaining but, honestly, can be a wee bit misogynistic) email missives?
Surely a little, “Dear Friend” or “Dear Aspiring Email Copywriting Supremo”, or even a casual “Howdy” or “Hey there!” wouldn’t go amiss?
Gosh, you know, it’s even possible these days to use a first name. Amazing!
Personal and engaging is good, no?
Or perhaps, against prevailing wisdom, it makes not one jot of difference?
Love to hear your views.
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Here is my wee bit evil answer:
I get more opt ins by not collecting first names, and don't care to flag my emails as commercial by using a salutation. Frankly, if you know what you’re doing, including or not including a salutation or first name makes absolutely no difference whatsoever.
And you know what else?
I’m in good company, too.
At least, with the first name personalization.
The great Bill Jayme (one of the highest-earning copywriters who ever lived) once declared:
“Personalise indiscriminately at your peril. Do you really want as a customer, some boob who gets turned on by seeing his own name repeated nine times in a single page?”
More:
With email people aren't as stewpid as the typical "talk-down-to-people" goo-roos think. They know perfectly well your personalized email, with their name randomly inserted in throughout, isn't a one-one-one email any more than they think you sent it from your iPhone (the opt-out link is a tip off if nothing else...)
Speaking of Bill Jayme:
Until tomorrow at midnight (EST) you can have his 209 piece 11-DVD swipe file — which collectively earned him $22 million in today’s money in fees — at a $200 discount.
More still:
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* A secret way (I learned by studying certain popular comic book writers) of using photos to make your sales letters far more persuasive. (Not only does this trick give your ads more built-in “prestige”, but it can ratchet up your sales, too.)
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But time is short, and this sale ends tomorrow at midnight.
(EST)
To grab it all while the grabbins’ good, go here:
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Ben Settle
P.S. Brian Kurtz is printing these “on demand” — so realize it could take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to get them, depending on mail speed and restocking times.
But, the bonus videos are digital and you will get them immediately.