Russell Brunson is a brilliant internet marketer and the author of the book Dotcom Secrets.
In this book, he talks about a 5 part automated email sequence that should be automatically set up to send to new subscribers.
This simple sequence will not only bond your new subscribers with you (establishing nearly immediate trust) but, it will lead them to purchase from you.
It’s called a “Soap Opera Sequence,” because, like a soap opera, it pulls you in and leads you to want to know the next part of the story.
Let’s walk through each email one by one. Here’s a blueprint of what the sequence looks like for your reference.
Day #1: Sets The Stage
Over the next five days, you’re going to relay a story that will persuade your readers to buy whatever it is you are going to sell them on Day #5.
So, set the stage for your story.
For example:
“I had built up a skill set that allowed me to help new business owners with their marketing. But, I didn’t know how to present myself. I lacked the skills to have a professional looking site online – and to have other people have a professional site online. I thought it would be fine – that people would overlook it – until the day my first client called me screaming. He said something I could never have anticipated…”
Day #2: High Drama -> Backstory -> Wall
Pick up your story right where you left off. Build camaraderie amongst your readers. Help them to understand that you understand their pains and vulnerabilities. You can do that by sharing your past pains and vulnerabilities.
For example:
“The phone rang. I saw that it was my first client. I had just delivered an extensive and proven marketing plan to take his business to the next level earlier that morning. I was sure he was calling thank me for having done such an exceptional job. Imagine my shock when I picked up the phone and he yelled, ‘I cannot believe that I paid you $[x] for this pile of crap!’
“That didn’t feel too good. The basis of his message was that I was a ‘waste of time,’ ‘didn’t know what I was talking about,’ and ‘obviously didn’t know anything about marketing.’
“I asked him what in my analysis made him think that. He replied that the format that I had given him my instruction was so confusing that he gave up and didn’t read any of it. It was too hard to navigate. When I tried to explain, he got frustrated, huffed, and then hung up the phone without answering. I was absolutely devastated.
“I just kept thinking, ‘He didn’t even read what I wrote?!’
“I was shocked. In my opinion, it wasn’t that ugly or that confusing. But, maybe it was?
“I opened the report back up again and I had an epiphany that changed the success of my business entirely. I complete and utter breakthrough…”
Day #3: Epiphany -> The One Thing
In this email, you reveal what you learned from the story you just told. Your reader, just like you were, is desperate for this epiphany. Present it in a way where they realize that this epiphany is also the breakthrough they need for their business.
For example:
“I replayed the hostile words my client told me over and over and over again: ‘I didn’t read any of it: it was too confusing to understand.’
“And then it hit me!
“The meat of what I had sent him was good, but if I couldn’t figure out how to present it in a way that 1) was easy to read, 2) was enticing to read, and 3) was easy for him to understand, it wouldn’t matter how absolutely brilliant my marketing coaching was: it would never translate.
“So, I spent the next four hours simply re-formatting what I had previously sent him. I didn’t change a word of my instruction. I simply presented it in a way that was extremely aesthetically pleasing and very easy to interpret.
“I re-sent the report to him and asked him to take another look.
“I didn’t hear anything for a week.
“I thought he hated me, honestly.
“A week later, I get an email. My client came to me with his tail between his legs, very kindly apologizing for being so harsh before. He ended up applying what I had told him to do and he was already, even just after four days, seeing success.
“I learned one of the most important lessons of my life: it doesn’t matter how great your message is, if it is ugly or hard to understand, you’ll never get anywhere.
“So, I tweaked my branding, my wording, and my positioning, and everything changed for my business (and for all of my clients’ businesses as well).”
Day #4: Hidden Benefits
After reading your third email, your subscribers will be able to resonate with your message. And, they might start forming a semblance of a thought as to how they could incorporate your epiphany into their business model. But, as happens with all change, fear and trepidation will seep in, causing them to doubt. This is where this fourth email comes in.
Blast them with additional benefits that come with implementing this epiphany.
For example:
“Not only was my messaging figured out, but I finally knew how to present my message in a way that people could consume it, understand it, and them implement it. I was thrilled.
“But, what I didn’t expect was the untold wealth of benefits that would come to me because of this.
“Sure, my business skyrocketed.
“And so did the businesses of my clients.
“But, what I didn’t anticipate was the confidence that it would instill in both myself and my clients. I wanted to get featured, I wanted to speak on stage, I wanted to show off what services I had. Because I knew they worked and because I knew that they were designed and portrayed in a way that actually represented what I could do.
“And, my clients experienced the same thing. Which only meant more and more confidence, and then more and more business for them.
“And, all because I had a client who refused to read my poorly formatted analysis of his business.
“I’ve never been more grateful to have been screamed out.
“Tomorrow, I’ll show you the exact tactics and strategies I used to position myself as a complete authority within my industry.”
Day #5: Urgency, Call To Action
You’ve taken your readers through your journey of how you came to understand your expertise. Now, you’re going to sell them with a product that will help them to come to have the same experience as you. This is where you present your offer, all with a sense of urgency.
For example:
“After helping over 40 clients in the past year absolutely transform their businesses to be presented in a way that actually represents them and their message, I want to help you to do the same.
“That is why I’m launching my course, CF Design School.
“Here, I’ll teach you how to build custom and beautifully designed website, membership sites, optin funnels, and sales funnels without any coding or Photoshop knowledge. I’ll also show you how to convert those skills in such a way that you’ll be able to make money off your newly designed site (or that of your client’s) by the weekend.
“I’m only accepting students through the end of the weekend. Click here to optin.”
And, that’s how it works.
Follow the five-part email sequence, build trust between you and the reader, indoctrinate them with your message, and then ask them to be a part of it by selling them on a product of yours.
Thank you, Russell Brunson.
Read Russell’s entire DotCom Secrets book here.
