Let me tell you a tragic tale about my very first welcome sequence.
It was 2014, I think.
It looked a bit like this:
- 1 email a week for 8 weeks
- In week 8 was a hand-raising link (“Click this if you’re interested”)
- Anyone who clicked got another 4 week sequence
- Finally, after 4 weeks, those people who clicked received some sales emails
- The grand total of… 3 sales emails. Sent 3 days apart.
Now, I know what you’re thinking…
“Steady on, Olly… you’re in danger of annoying them with all that selling!”
But of course, there wasn’t much chance of my annoying anybody ever, with this kind of email sequence.
There wasn’t much chance of making any sales either.
And that’s precisely what happened.
Oops!
See, I don’t mind admitting that, as a newbie to the online world, plagued by imposter syndrome, the #1 thing at the top of my priorities was: Not annoying people.
But here’s the thing:
I also wanted to make sales!
I had a product. (It was good.)
I wanted to get people in.
But, in my mind, there was a conflict between:
a) sending good emails
b) trying to make sales
Surely you couldn’t do both?
After all, good emails aren’t salesy. And sales emails aren’t good.
Right?!
Surely it was a simple choice:
- my dignity as a teacher
- or my evil, capitalist ambitions
OK, I’m be facetious.
But only somewhat.
Because I know that a lot of people feel this way deep down:
“I’d rather not have a business than have to [DO SALESY THING].”
Let’s be clear:
There is absolutely no conflict between “good” emails and “sales” emails.
You can write a good email that also makes sales.
You just have to do it well.
See, people do, actually, love to buy stuff.
And your job with email marketing is simply to demonstrate (in a cool way) why your stuff is good…
And then many people will want it.
It really is that simple.
When I think back to my timid efforts at writing emails in 2014…
I just didn’t know any better!
- I’d never been on the receiving end of good email marketing
- I didn’t know what a good email looked like
- I didn’t have any models to follow
To put it bluntly:
I was paying the price for ignorance.
Sure enough, as soon as I started to study email and copywriting from the greats like André Chaperon and Ben Settle, I had my mind expanded…
I had good models, and could start applying them — writing emails that people loved, without being “salesy” at all.
So, I went from sending one email a week in my Welcome Sequence…
To one email a day… (scary, right?!)
And to my complete shock, my audience LOVED the daily emails in this new style, and my business was never the same again.
Now…
In the 10+ years since 2014, I’ve learned a lot.
I’ve adapted my approach to Welcome Sequences to be better for education businesses…
- Prioritising relationships over sales
- Showcasing my teaching
- Emphasising my unique brand
This is what ultimately turns new readers into lifelong customers.
And I don’t know about you, but this is what I want.
If I’d known all this back in 2014, it’s safe to say my convoluted 16-week email sequence would’ve never seen the light of day, and my business would have been better for it.
Namaste,
Olly