So, Olly’s been banging on about using personality in newsletters.
Getting your readers to fall in love with you, and all that.
Which led to a rather good question from a reader:
“This makes me wonder whether you can sell in this way without a single person as a face of the brand. Any thoughts?”
Well yes, I have thoughts.
See…
People think brands don’t have personalities.
Brands are supposed to be faceless…
Serious…
Trustworthy…
If you write your emails for a brand, you have no place writing with — ahem — personality!?
Hah!
The fact that most people think like this, means, ironically, that:
Brand newsletters stand to gain the most from an Olly-style overhaul!
Consider the following from Carnivore Snax, a food brand, written by copywriter Chris Orzechowski:
” When we sent out our first bags of Carnivore Snax to beta testers, we heard a lot of great things.
But the one thing people keep RAVING about is…
The TEXTURE.
They’re light, airy, and melt in your mouth.
People have called them “steak chips” and even “meat pastries.”
(We wish we would have come up with that ourselves.)
When you bite into one of these bad boys, the first thing you’ll notice is the salty, savory flavor of Redmond’s Real Salt.
Then you’ll be greeted with the rich, buttery, velvety flavor of the fat.
Keep chewing, though…
Because you’re not done yet. The crescendo is coming…
As you continue to chew, all the flavors will come together in a beautiful symphony of succulent flavor as this “meat chip” just melts in your mouth.
Your legs will quake.
Your knees will shake.
Your eyes may or may not roll to the back of your head as you chew.
You’ll fall to the ground, throw your head toward the heavens and let out a cry of elation.
The clouds will part.
Time will stand still…
All your troubles and worries will vanish for one fleeting moment…
A single tear will roll down your cheek as you realize that you’ve finally found the perfect snack you’ve been waiting for your entire life.
THAT is what it’s like when you take your very first bite.
*wipes drool off of keyboard*
We can confidently say:
You’ve never had a snack like this before. “
See the personality in there?
It’s literally dripping off the page, right onto your lap.
But it’s not a “party trick”.
It’s sales…
They raised $100,000s for a Kickstarter campaign with this copy.
See, if you write as a brand, writing with a personality is simply a choice.
Granted, a choice that requires you to break from 100+ years of corporate conditioning…
But a choice, all the same.
And it’ll make you stand out so hard they’ll wonder if you’ve been popping blue pills.
Namaste,
Olly “Blue Pill” Richards