Last week I did a presentation inside Thom Benny’s Copyjitsu coaching group. Thom coaches 6 guys, all with good copy chops already, and he invited me, John Bejakovic, to come and pontificate on how to write emails.
One of the guys in Thom’s group asked me the following:
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I have this thing where I’m writing daily emails. I’m getting in reps. I wouldn’t be writing all this stuff if I didn’t believe I could help somebody.
But also, I don’t have any sales pages or digital products. All this that I’m offering, every day, is still consulting.
Do you have any way to think about that, when you’re at that stage, don’t have digital products, but you’re just pitching consulting?
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This is a great question. I bring it up now because earlier today, I asked what objections people had to buying MyPEEPS, a course I’m promoting until Sunday, on building up your email list with paid traffic.
Along with the usual objections — don’t need it, can’t afford it, already bought it — I got some surprises. For example, a few people wrote to say, “What can I do with an email list when I ain’t got no offers!”
So let me address that now.
If you got no offers, you can always decide to offer… consulting.
That’s Step 1 of my “Electrical Socket Offers” plan.
The problem is, “consulting” is a horrible, horrible offer. I say that without restraint because I’ve been guilty of offering “consulting” myself. I’ve also been guilty of making other horrible offers, like “coaching,” or “copywriting services.”
These offers are all horrible because they put the burden on the prospect. They say, “How am I supposed to know what I can help you with? I do have some knowledge and skill… but you tell me how you can use them.”
So Step 2 of my “Electrical Socket Offers” plan is to take the burden off the shoulders of your prospects.
You take the burden off by figuring out what problems your prospects have.
This is much easier to do than you might think. You simply ask. You can do it by digging around online. You can do it via email. Or, if you have the stomach for it, you can even do it over the phone.
Ask your prospects where they’re at… where they hope to go… what’s keeping them from getting there. Do this a few times, until you find a specific problem you can actually suggest a solution to.
BLAM!!
Suddenly, you’ve taken your horrible, horrible “consulting” offer, and you’ve transformed it into something wonderful and valuable — a solution to a specific problem that your prospects have.
Because really, when my laptop is running out of battery, I look for an electrical socket.
Once I find an electrical socket, I don’t stop and ask, “What manner of electricity does this socket supply? Was it electricity generated by a windmill? A hydroelectric dam? Solar?”
I really don’t care. I just want my laptop charged. Any socket I can plug into will do.
Same thing with people and their problems. People don’t care if you solve their problem via a digital course, consulting, or even a done-for-you service. Really, what they are after is a solution to their specific problem. They’re looking for a socket to plug into.
Step 3 of my plan is optional but highly valuable.
It’s to give your consulting offer a name, such as, for example, “Electrical Socket Offers.”
Because there is magic in giving things a name. It relieves any remaining burden on your prospects, and gives them just a simple, light word or three to hold in their mind.
So that’s the 3-step plan to create “Electric Socket Offers” out of thin air.
I imagine few people will take the above advice seriously.
I imagine even fewer will actually choose to implement it.
But if by chance, you’ve had the the light come on in your head… and you’ve realized that there is in fact nothing stopping you from selling attractive offers, starting today… then maybe it makes sense to build up an email list? You know, so you have people to sell your attractive offer to?
You decide. And if you decide that the answer is yes, then maybe take a look at the MyPEEPS offer I’m promoting. It comes with my free “Shotgun Messenger” bonus, which is live until this Sunday at 12 midnight PST. For the full details on this offer: