A

simple exercise for getting email ideas

Picasso’s ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ (1907) - widely regarded as

the greatest painting of the 20th Century. But it’s the story behind
the canvas which reveals how to get a never-ending supply of
effective email ideas.

Behold. This is widely accepted as the greatest painting of the 20th

Century.

Yet Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was NOT a totally original

idea. He’d spent months studying Iberian sculpture at the Louvre.
He’d taken inFluences from his heroes, Cezanne and El Greco, then
combined everything he discovered with his own emerging style.

There’s an important lesson behind this painting:

An idea is never a single element.

It is a combination of 2 or more elements. These are fused together

in new, interesting ways to create something fresh and original.
Once you understand this concept, you start seeing ideas
everywhere. And it’s especially helpful for writing emails, because
this is the sort of copy where you write about the same subjects
again and again.

Let’s look at your emails a second.

What can you send your subscribers?

Most likely, you write to them with:

1. Lessons and advice you can teach

2. Products and services you can sell

That’s it. 2 elements.

It doesn’t give you many email ideas, does it?

Eventually, you either run out of steam, or bore subscribers with dull
copy.

So let me suggest a different approach. (And this is the exercise):

Get into the habit of actively observing the world around you. Pay
attention to the places you go, books you read, Films you watch etc.

Every time you see something, ask yourself 2 questions:

1. Does this demonstrate a lesson I can teach?

2. Does it dramatise the beneFits of something I can sell?

Often, you’ll Find the answer is ‘yes.’

You connect your lessons, advice, products and services with an

inFinite number of outside elements, so you have a never-ending
supply of email ideas.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

A while ago, I watched a Derren Brown’s The Push on NetFlix. I

realised a number of his hypnosis techniques were linked to
marketing. This meant I could teach our subscribers something –
without simply handing them a boring list of tips.

Notice how this First email demonstrates a lesson:

Subject: How to persuade anyone to commit
murder

Have you seen Derren Brown’s The Push?

It just popped up on Netflix, << first name >>.

Well worth a look.

Because it proves ordinary people can be led to

commit murder.

Suppose you knew a few of Derren’s deadly

persuasive tricks.

Couldn’t you get more buyers?

Of course you could.

So here are a few I spotted while watching:

1. Qualify those most likely to act

Before picking subjects, Derren runs a quick test.

He wants to know who’s more submissive – and

likely to be persuaded.

In marketing, this translates to ‘who’s most

interested?’

Make your sign-up form visible above the fold –

without having to scroll.

Let people qualify themselves for your offer.

2. Find some common ground fast

Before suggesting murder, Derren Brown’s actor

does something unusual:

He pretends to have the same surname as the

test subject.

This creates a quick connection. It makes them

more likely to obey.

Your first email is a golden opportunity.

Use it to reveal something about yourself.

Something your reader can relate to.

3. Ask for small actions first

Nobody would commit murder right away.

You have to take baby steps.

So Derren has subjects fetch a glass of wine,

carry a suitcase and commit small ‘crimes.’

This gets them into the habit of taking action.

You can do the same.

If you have a Facebook page, get subscribers to

‘like’ it.

Or ask them to buy a low-price product.

Once a customer buys they are 3-8 times more

likely to buy again.

4. Show them how to ‘fit in’

People HATE being shunned.

This goes back to caveman days, when

exclusion from the pack meant certain death.

Derren’s subjects don’t know they’re attending a

black-tie event.

They arrive underdressed. So they’ll do virtually

anything to raise their status.

This technique is particularly effective if you sell

B2B.

Tell your prospect what their industry peers are

doing. Ask them:

‘Isn’t it time you did this too?’

5. Make them act now

By the end, Derren’s subjects are caught in a

web of lies.

They have 2 choices:

 1. Commit murder (and enjoy 100%
certainty of not getting caught)

2. Do nothing and face prison

This brings me to your offer.

You should give readers a strong guarantee so

they risk nothing…

…But put them on a time-limit so they have to act

now.

Your offer matters more than any amount of

fancy creative.

Derren Brown proved it.

(Spoiler alert: 3 out of 4 subjects pushed the

victim to his ‘death.’)

And I’ve seen this make a difference of 64%,

331% and even 551% to clients’ sales.

Why not do the same? You risk nothing.

Take the first step here.

Simply enter your email to begin.

Best,

Alex

But you can – and should – use email to sell too.

And you can do it in a way that people enjoy.

This next email actually received fan mail from our subscribers. Yet it
was pure hard-sell. It used a story from the English Premier League
to dramatise the beneFits of our service. See here:

Subject: How to cash in before Jose gets

fired
Who saw it coming?

Certainly not Mourinho.

6 months ago he was the most successful

manager in Chelsea’s history.

Now he faces the boot from an angry Russian.

And a relegation battle.

And a court case.

But I can sympathise with poor Jose, can’t you?

One minute the whole Universe is on your side.

Then...

...”CRASH!!!”

you’re working 16-hour days and losing money

faster than a flaming bank truck.

Only one thing can stop the rot.

You need a big result. And you need it now.

Sadly, I can’t help Jose. But I can help you.

Because we’ve found email is the fastest, easiest

way to transform your fortunes. Just load them
up and press the ‘start’ button.

A fitness client did this with only 4 of our emails.

By the end of the week they were counting an
extra $30,000 in revenue. But it gets better...

Because clueless pundits are telling your

competitors email is DEAD.

So while they flock to the newer, sexier solutions,

you pick their pockets with simpler, more
powerful marketing.

It’s dirt-cheap compared to the usual social

media / content guff you see.

And according to Adweek Magazine, email is 6X

more effective than social media.

Still, your competitors are none the wiser.

If you need a result fast, email is what you must
focus on before Christmas. Why?

Because December is the worst month to mail -

unless you’re a charity.

And January is the best.

So why not spend flat-line December creating a

profit-pulling series in your autoresponder?
Ready for when the New Year gravy-train rolls in.

We’ve discevered 3 email secrets which work

every time. Want to know what they are? Click
here and book a FREE 30-minute consultation
today.

I’ll spill the beans, with no obligation for you to do

anything after.

But if you’d like Drayton, the young birds and me

to have a crack at it, you risk virtually nothing:

Results are guaranteed.

Look: you’ll soon be opening your advent

calendar.

You can faff around with complicated funnels

while you count down the days.

You can sweat through the holidays on another

elaborate scheme from a questionable expert.

Or tinker with a new VSL while your turkey gets

cold.

But why not prepare a series of profit-pulling

emails instead?

Get ready to radically change your fortunes in

2016.

I only have 4 email elves at work. You really must

act now if you want this in your autoresponder -
ready to launch - before the new year.

You cannot afford to wait.

Just look at Jose. How long has he got?

Best,
 Gerald

So, just to repeat the exercise real quick, you’re looking for stuff
which:

a. Demonstrates a lesson you can teach, or

b. Dramatises the beneFits of something you can sell.

If you’re having trouble Finding ideas, here are a few places to begin:

• News bulletins: This always gives me at least one email idea. And
it’s doubly effective, because you’re writing about the current
affairs which already have peoples’ attention. You could boost your
open rates too.

• Something unusual from your past week: A cardinal rule in copy

is to ‘make it about the reader.’ But you need your readers to know
who you are. Otherwise, how can you hope to build a relationship?
This is where your own personal stories come in handy. Stories get
attention. They’re remembered. And they help you empathise with
your reader’s problems.

• Magazines and tabloids: I like to read a mix of high-quality

journalism (The New Yorker, The Economist etc) with trashy tabloid
gossip (The National Enquirer, US Weekly, etc). This helps keep your
Finger on the pulse of what’s happening - and what gets peoples’
attention.

Hopefully you found this useful. If you have any questions, write me
at alex@alexbusson.com

I check my email twice each business day.

Best,

Alex