Have you heard of the Soap Opera Email Sequence? It’s a proven email nurturing sequence that you can use to get more leads to convert into customers. Russell Brunson came up with the concept and has been using it for years.
Think of a Soap Opera Sequence as this:
- Email #1 hooks the reader into reading email #2.
- Email #2 hooks the reader into reading email #3.
- Email #3 hooks the reader into reading email #4.
- Email #4 hooks the reader into reading email #5.
Aside from hooking your readers, you are also:
- Generating rapport.
- Relating to your audience.
- Becoming an attractive character.
Why Soap Operas?
Whether it is daytime TV or your favorite prime-time thriller, you watch with bated breath until the last 5 minutes for the cliffhanger. We all know it’s coming, week after week, and that’s exactly what keeps you settling in at 8 pm every Thursday for the next episode.
We all need to see how our favorite character, the one we’ve come to love and are rooting for, survives the latest challenge.
SOS email operates exactly the same way. Your company is the main character and by the end of the email sequence, these new leads are going be ready and waiting for what you have to offer them.
The whole point of this Soap Opera Sequence is to do a few things but the first one is allowing the new lead to connect instantly with our brand and us personally. Just like a Soap Opera, these emails will be filled with a Hero who has his ups and downs to finally reach the point of victory. Also just like a Soap Opera these emails will show not only show how awesome our Attractive Character is, but also his flaws.
So let’s dive in!
(My Example will be a 3 part series instead of all 5 you can always build out a 5 part though!)
Email 1 SET THE STAGE/High Drama:
This is the first email and just like a movie or TV show they cut right to the action scene. Either someone being chased or someone shooting a gun, just something to grab our attention. As well as making a connection and introducing yourself. Make sure to include:
- What will they see in the following emails?
- How often are you going to be emailing them?
Example:
“ You don’t feel the same anymore…
I didn’t know what to do anymore I use to be young-looking and fit. Pretty much throughout my entire life, my complexion was great and I always got compliments but as of recently… those stopped.
I was sitting in my room crying, I was bloated, my face was filled with wrinkles, and I had zero confidence. The only thing I could do was try and hide who I was, I would wear bigger clothes and try to hide my face if possible. I didn’t even wanna go out anymore!
Is this how you feel? I finally got through that and this is how, stay tuned for tomorrow’s email to figure out what I did to truly get my confidence back!”
Another example
“I’ve been in the real estate business for over a decade. But it’s only been in the last 5 years that my business has really exploded. I sell every house I list within 30 days. And do you want to know how I do it? I’ve got a secret and it works. Every. Single. Time. Watch for my next email and I’ll share it with you.”
Email 1 was dramatic but entertaining, make sure to make this a real story to really connect with the audience… talk about why you do what you do!
Email 2 The Backstory:
Talk about what you dealt with in life.
“ I was always the good-looking person in my classes, at the job every where I went, I always had amazing confidence. I was always fit, like I said, I made sure I stayed in great shape and took care of my skin.
But life happened, I had kids, the weight was hard to shed, I couldn’t keep up with them and my body anymore. It was starting to go, it was all starting to go.
Here are the steps for email #2:
- Open with the highest-drama-aspect of your story.
- Rewind a little bit and talk to them about the back story.
- In the end, talk about how you hit a wall and then found the solution.
Here are some questions that you can consider answering in this email:
- How did you get yourself into such a bad spot?
- What was your life like and how did it feel (like crap, most likely)?
“I learned that all those advertised products on TV were not as good as they said they were, I tried everything but nothing worked. I did the whole drink this for better skin and to lose weight at the same time… that’s right I’ve had tried what seemed like everything. But then I found something that worked better than any of that, a Medical Spa.
That’s what I want to share with you, tomorrow how I went from feeling gross sitting at home, to a few days later feeling great! Tomorrow I will share with you how I made the leap from average mom to young-looking mom… and if you want you can to.”
Real Estate Example
What is the mysterious and valuable trick to quickly selling your home?
Odds are high the user will open the next email and this is where the selling process begins. Start with a back story. In the case of the real estate agent above, the discussion could cover an economic downturn that really hurt the real estate business. The agent was in a dire position and managed to turn it around.
But wait! The user is waiting to hear that secret.
Here’s how to start the sales process: Add a P.S. or a final paragraph and mention your product or service.
“And before I conclude, I realize it’s time to share my secret. Take a look at my website and check out how I’ve managed to grow my business and sell my clients homes faster than any other real estate agent in town.”
Email 2 is meant to meet people where they’re at and connect with them!
Email 3 Epiphany:
An epiphany can be defined as a sudden, intuitive perception or insight about something.
In other words, it’s going to be the turning point where your problem was finally solved.
- Note #1: This is where we finally get to promote the offer that you have.
- Note #2: You can even promote an offer that you don’t own as an affiliate.
Here are a couple of scripts that I modeled from Russell’s Dotcom Secrets book:
- My epiphany was that I needed to generate traffic, and that’s when I learned XYZ.
- I needed to get support in order to get to the next level, that’s when I found XYZ.
- I couldn’t convert all of my traffic, and it’s a good thing I stumbled upon XYZ.
Make sure that you fill in the XYZ part with whatever solution that you came across.
Also, make sure that you add these two aspects to this email as well:
- A link to the solution with a call to action.
- Yet another cliffhanger (or open-loop) for the next day’s email.
Yesterday I left you off thinking about how you can go from feeling gross to looking hot… And if you want to do that you NEED to do this too.
I was searching the web for different types of products and that’s when I learned about medical spas, these places will take you from feeling down to feeling confident again in no time.
They have all kinds of services, from injectables to get rid of wrinkles, to weight management, and even get rid of extra hair.
These places can do wonders for you, so if you want to do this for yourself and your body come on in for a FREE Consultation and see what we can do for you!”
On email 3 Expand it much more and have a hard call to action for direct service, but a free consultation works too.
Here is the short 3 email Soap Opera sequence to get people eager to come in your doors and give you money!
Email 4: The Hidden Benefits
This email is ideal for honing in on your customer persona. The reader now realizes your product works.
They are called this simply because these benefits aren’t all too obvious to your readers.
Here are a few examples for you:
- Sure, you can make more money, but you’ll also have much more freedom.
- Sure, you’ll do less work, but you won’t need to be chained to your computer.
- You’ll have a nice passive income stream, but you won’t have to work with clients.
Get the idea?
For every benefit that the product offer, think of many more benefits that it can provide.
So here are the main sections that you’ll want to include in this section:
- A story (as always).
- More hidden benefits of the product.
- A link along with a call to action (or even a discount).
But have they realized how it can work for them?
Using customer persona as a starting point, list all of the ways your product can directly help your leads. This is the email where your reader starts thinking, “This is what I’ve needed all along!” Go ahead and provide links for them to contact you and purchase.
Oftentimes, readers are prepared to do that right now.
Email 5: The Call to Action
It’s May Sweeps and everyone knows the cliffhanger is about to arrive.
How do we conclude the SOS?
This is the last email in the series, but it isn’t the last email they will receive from you. By now, readers will be familiar with your product and connect on a personal level with you and your brand. Include a great offer and a sense of urgency. Consider a mid-funnel offer like a scheduled webinar. “Sign up by 5 PM for a limited attendance webinar tomorrow.”
The goal is to provide your subscribers with a reason to take action as soon as possible.
You’re also going to be kicking up the heat on your call to action.
Here are a few examples that came straight from the Dotcom Secrets book again:
- I’m pulling the video offline.
- The perfect webinar starts tomorrow.
- There are only ten seats left at the event.
- I only ordered one thousand books, and most of them are gone.
Beneficial Note #1: Make sure that if you use scarcity, you actually do what you say.
Fake scarcity will backfire on you and have you quickly losing your credibility.
Beneficial Note #2: You can certainly use this sequence to send traffic to a webinar.
We all know they’ll hear from you again, but attaching a real sense of urgency can drive some readers through the sales funnel more quickly. And go ahead and ask for the sale! Construct a killer campaign around a serious offer and kick off the next phase of the buying process.
We’ve just covered one of the most compelling communication tools available in email marketing. Try it out! Remember, a Mac was just another computer until the world fell in love with Steve Jobs.
They loved the products, but everyone loved the story, they loved the guy even more.
While Jobs is no longer alive, and his friend Steve Cook is now running the show, Apple will never be Steve Cook. Regardless of the great inventions they produce, or the revenue they generate over the next 10 years, Apple will always be Steve Jobs.
SOS email is a spectacular tool for turning your product into the next “Must Have” on your target persona’s list.