Email marketing guru Ben Settle says the cornerstone (at least one of them) of his successful strategy is something called:
Infotainment.
(That could be either a combination of “informal” and “attainment,” or “information” and “entertainment.” Take your pick.)
The thing is, if you look around the great email marketing landscape, you will see that most businesses and marketers have a much easier time with the information part of this formula, than with the entertainment bit.
And no wonder.
Teaching stuff, or at least appearing to teach stuff, is easy. That’s why teachers don’t get the big bucks.
On the other hand, entertaining, while it might seem trivial, is actually hard. It takes thought and practice. And nobody gets any credit for “appearing to entertain.” You either do or you don’t. That’s why people who genuinely entertain, like Eddie Murphy and Rob Schneider, get the money and the chicks.
So what to do?
Well, if you are not naturally entertaining (and who is?) then you will have to study, practice, and try to improve.
The good news is, there are lots of examples of entertaining content out there. In fact, we’re swimming in it. For example…
Syndicated newspaper comics, such as Garfield or the Far Side.
Or shock radio and entertaining podcasts, like the Howard Stern Show or the Joe Rogan Experience.
Or actual comic books, and their monstrous movie imitations.
Or late night talk shows, with their recurring characters, skits, and familiar format but ever-new content.
Or even newspapers. Particularly tabloids, and their incredible headlines (“Headless Body in Topless Bar”).
So if you’re having trouble crafting infotaining emails, try studying some of these sources, and see what you can copy, model, and mimic.
Or just get in touch with me and hire me to write for you. Because, while I’m not Rob Schneider-level yet, I’m actively working on it.