A question about my email sequence-less ways:
“Hey Ben, quick question (not relevant to the current offer as I’m not qualified right now). Why do you not have a welcome sequence that would provide a more seamless introduction to your world? I feel that when there isn’t such a sequence in place, it takes longer to build the relationship. I’m not asking if you’ve thought of it, because I’m sure you have and decided against it. But I wonder why. Cheers!”
Answer:
Same reason Rush Limbaugh never had a “welcome sequence” of shows to listen to:
I sell the relationship in every email. Frankly, it’s what I first and foremost do sell. I don’t give a flying rodent’s puckering backside about selling the click, the open, or even the offer at first — I sell the relationship, even if that means the email is sometimes a blatant sales pitch.
Example:
A few months ago I generated my lifespan report inside BerserkerMail.
And since using BerserkerMail back in June 2021 (when I became the main “guinea pig” to warm up the IP)… and after sending over 120 million emails, getting nearly 15 million opens, generating 290,000+ clicks, earning over 20,000 unsubscribes, and getting slapped with just under 2,500 spam complaints… I realized two things:
1. It was a helluva lot easier & less frustrating to load/send/schedule those emails than it would have been with all the other ESPs I’ve used
2. My “opens” and “clicks” are clearly nothing to brag about if you go by the metrics goo-roos fap themselves blind to… although our Enterprise sender was astonished I get the engagement I do considering the sheer volume of emails I send, which is not “supposed” to work
But I couldn’t care less about either of those metrics.
What’s far more important to my business is the relationship and ROI. I’d take the Pepsi Challenge pitting the relationship I have with list vs anyone else’s in my industry any ol’ day of the week.
To me it’s ALL about the relationship.
Get that right and you almost can’t lose even if your copy is still weak, your offers are not yet the best, and your list is currently puny. At the same time, if you get the relationship wrong and it’ll be hard not to lose — even if your copy is brilliant, your offer is amazing, and your list is 1 million+ in size.
That’s not a license to sell crap or not grow a list and improve your skills obviously.
But anyone not guzzling the goo-roo kool-aid knows that.
So I sell the relationship in every email.
And other than a welcome email I’ve never used or needed a welcome sequence, “indoctrination” sequence or, worse, “nurture” sequence… nor have I had to send “good will” emails (where nothing is for sale, to show people what a swell guy you are by not selling), or do any of that amateur nonsense you see people do who have trouble connecting with another human being with their words. An exception is when doing a test drive sequence for SaaS but even that is still also selling the relationship while also demonstrating the offer.
Every email sells two things:
The relationship and the offer.
The one has to come before the other far as I’m concerned.
This is probably considered controversial or contrarian by some people.
But like practically everything I say, do, and teach… it’s merely selling 101.
For more approaches like this see my paid Email Players newsletter here:
Ben Settle
