88: The anatomy of a great storytelling email
In this episode of ill communication, we're diving into something that trips up a lot of people when they sit down to write an email -how to weave in a personal story.
I’m sure you’ve read some fantastic emails that start with a story and hook you in, and then transitions into something helpful for you or maybe an offer or next step.
I know a lot of business owners want to write emails like this… but they think it’s super hard or complicated.
But guess what? It’s not!
When you break it down, it’s actually pretty simple.
So I’m sharing The Anatomy of a Great Storytelling Email. And trust me, it's one you'll want to bookmark.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
The flow of a great storytelling email
How to write a great hook
The key to incorporating stories into your emails
A couple of prompts to get you started using stories
The power of a good segue
How to link the narrative to the lesson or tip for your reader
So there you have it! The Anatomy of a Great Storytelling Email. I hope you found this episode helpful! Take a moment to think about a story you could share this week. You might be surprised at how even the smallest moments can transform into very impactful messages for your reader.
Get great at writing storytelling emails inside the Joy of Copy Club! Join now at www.kimkiel.com/copyclub.
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[00:00:03] Speaker1: Welcome to ill communication, copywriting tips and sales strategies for small business. I'm your host, Kim Keel. I'm a copy coach, sales strategist, and direct response copywriter. It's my mission to help women leaders and change makers amplify their voices through copy. It's why I'm dishing out all the juicy tips, writing prompts, and sales formulas to help you generate more leads, book more calls, and get more high value clients on repeat. Sounds pretty good. It's time to ditch the overwhelm you might be feeling and find confidence in your copywriting so you can get your message out there and attract more soulmate clients. Let's get started. Hey, hey my sweet friend, and welcome back to another episode of Ill Communication. I'm your host, Kim Keel, and I'm thrilled you're here with me. Today. We're diving into something that trips up a lot of people when they sit down to write an email. It's how to weave in a personal story. Now, I'm sure you've read some great emails that start with a story and hook you in, and then it transitions into something helpful for you, or maybe an offer or a next step. Now, I know a lot of business owners who want to write emails like this, but they think it's super hard or complicated. But guess what? It's not. When you break it down, it's pretty simple. So today I'm sharing the anatomy of a great storytelling email, and this is an episode you'll want to bookmark. So let's begin by walking step by step through the flow of a great storytelling email.
[00:01:50] Speaker1: The flow is hook story segue. So what? So first up is the hook. Now the hook is the most critical part of your email. You want to hook your reader with a great subject line, and then you want to hook them again in the first line or two of your email. Now, a hook is something compelling to snap me to attention and make me want to read, which is why your subject line and opening line are so critical. If you don't hook your reader right away, they will just delete. Now, if you need some inspiration for a great hook to use in email, some of the things I like to use are. I like to start in the middle of a story. So for example, I might write. I started to cry when I stepped up to the podium. My hands were shaking and I thought I'd pass out. Now that's gonna hook a reader and they're going to want to keep reading. And after you start at the climax, then you back up and start your story from the beginning. Or imagine opening your email with something attention grabbing like the house is already on fire or I have never been more embarrassed. I also like starting emails with a little dialog because it really jumps your reader into the story immediately. So I might start with something in quotations like you'll never amount to anything.
[00:03:17] Speaker1: That's what my third grade teacher told me. When the hook creates intrigue, it captures attention, and then it gets your reader to keep on reading. Now I have an entire podcast episode dedicated to hooks, so go back and check out episode 7610 scroll stopping hooks to get more engagement on your emails and posts. There's even a PDF cheat sheet of the ten hook formulas waiting for you. I'll link to it in the show notes. After you hook your reader, you get into the story. And this is where a lot of business owners get overwhelmed. They think it has to be a big, significant, juicy story, but it doesn't. It can be as simple as an encounter you had at Starbucks yesterday. We are not aiming for a Pulitzer here. A simple, heartfelt or amusing anecdote will do. You could tell a story about a client's breakthrough. You could tell your own personal story into your career or business. You could tell a story of a personal mishap or a tiny adventure that taught you something valuable. The key here is to not overthink it. Keep a story bank in your notes app or in a journal, and jot down daily happenings that could one day turn into email. Storytelling gold. For me personally, when I'm thinking of writing a storytelling email, often something will happen and I'll be able to see immediately how I can use that story in an email and relate it to my reader about something about business or copywriting.
[00:04:51] Speaker1: Other times I'll have an email that I want to write about something, and then I'll go back through my story bank and find the perfect story that will lead into that message. I kind of reverse engineered the story. But if you're really stumped, here are a couple of prompts to get you started. What's a recent mistake or oopsie you made in business or life? And how did you recover? Have you faced a recent challenge where you had to learn or do something new? What helped or hindered your progress? When was the time you took a big risk? What did you learn and what would you do differently? Any embarrassing moments to share? Do you have a great or a terrible customer service experience? Was there something funny your kid or your grandma said, all of these can be turned into a great story for email. As long as you can relate it back to your reader. And to do that, you use a segue. Now, the segue is the bridge from your story to the heart of your message. It's where we connect the dots and make it clear why your story matters to the reader. The segue is important because it answers the question, so what's in it for me? And a lot of writers get tripped up here. They don't know how to transition from the story into the relevance for the reader, but it's not that hard. In fact, if you've found this tricky, you're probably just overthinking it.
[00:06:18] Speaker1: So next week I'm going to dedicate an entire episode just to segue transitions. So watch for that next week. And finally, in The Anatomy of a Great Storytelling email, we come to the so what the moral of the story? The takeaway this is where you link the narrative back to a lesson, a tip, or the next steps for your reader. It's your chance to make your email not just about a story, but about a valuable lesson or a call to action that resonates with your audience. So there you have it. The anatomy of a great storytelling email. Start with a hook that makes your reader stop in their tracks and want to read. Share a relatable or an engaging or a silly or funny story. Seamlessly connect that story to your main point and then wrap up with a powerful takeaway hook story segue. So what? And hey, if you're sitting there thinking, I love this, but I need a little help, this is the kind of work we do every week inside the Joy of Copy Club. I help business owners write great storytelling and sales emails. Whether you're drafting your weekly newsletter or you just want to infuse more storytelling into your email, so the joy of copy could be a really good fit for you. So reach out. We can have a chat. Thank you so much for joining me today. And before you dive into your next task, take a moment to think about a story you could share this week.
[00:07:48] Speaker1: You might be surprised at how even the smallest moments can transform into very impactful messages for your reader. All right, that's a wrap for today. Don't forget to tune in next week for an episode all about how to segue from a story to the point of your email, and make sure you subscribe and leave a review. If you found today's episode valuable, your support really means the world to me. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'll catch you next week. Hey, would you like to hang out with me and other women business owners doing rad things in the world, just like you? Then you should join the Joy of Copy Club. It's a group copy coaching experience where you receive access to all my sales templates, writing prompts, and copy recipes so you're never wondering what or how to write. Once a week, you can pop into my open office hours, where we'll live, review and edit any kind of copy you've written. Seriously, you can bring a social post and email or even some edits to your home page, and I'll help you optimize it before you send it out into the world. The Joy of Copy Club gives you the tools and the confidence to get your message out there so you can grow your impact and your revenue. Find out more at Kim Dotcom Slash Copy Club. I'll see you next week.
Resources Mentioned
Listen to episode 76: 10 scroll-stopping hooks to get more engagement on your emails and posts
10 Scroll-stopping hook formulas Cheatsheet
Get great at writing storytelling emails inside the Joy of Copy Club
Additional Resources
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